by Dick Keyes

We are living in a time of crisis of moral authority, with culture wars raging all around. Although the Christian church’s message speaks to the deepest issues in contention, it often seems ill-equipped to act fruitfully in our society. Instead it can easily become part of the problem, not its solution - especially if we give in to the polar tendencies to turn into either chameleons or a tribe.
When Christians accommodate and compromise before the pressures of being a dissonant minority, we become chameleons. And when we turn inward as a Christian ghetto, using self-protecting measures out of fear, we become a tribe.

But as Dick Keyes explains, we can avoid the perils of polarization through biblical ways forward. One is apologetics - reaching outside of the enclave or sharpening ones argument for truth. Another is overcoming individualism to reclaim a real Christian community. However, no recommendation will be successful without true dependence on God and a return to foundations.

Chameleon Christianity calls Christians to righteously engage the surrounding culture. It provides tools for expressing the gospel and offers a fresh look at Christian community that crosses barriers of age, race, and gender.

Here is a great book that I’d recommend…it is by our old Pastor while we attended Mars Hill Church in Seattle…

Today’s mission field starts
just outside your door

“Reformission” is the continual reforming of the mission of the church to enhance God’s command to reach out to others in a way that acknowledges the unique times and locations of daily life. This engaging book blends the integrity of respected theoreticians with the witty and practical insights of a pastor. It calls for a movement of missionaries to seek the lost across the street as well as across the globe.

This basic primer on the interface between gospel and culture highlights the contrast between presentation evangelism and participation evangelism. It helps Christians navigate between the twin pitfalls of syncretism (being so culturally relevant that you lose your message) and sectarianism (being so culturally irrelevant that you lose your mission). Included are interviews with those who have crossed cultural barriers, such as a television producer, exotic dancer, tattoo studio owner, and band manager. The appendix presents eight portals into the future: population, family, health/medicine, creation, learning, sexuality, and religion.

Every Christian fellowship in the USA needs to make “radical reformission” their #1 priority in the decades to come. Are you in a place of leadership? Drop whatever you are reading and get this excellent primer from Mark Driscoll. ” The Discerning Reader

Buy:
The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out

The Burning Man festival has come and gone. Roughly 40,000 people came and gathered in a desert to experience a 6 day celebration of life, existence and being man. As they ask questions about our meaning and purpose as man, what answers do they give? As they celebrate man is our initial reaction as Christians to jump to judgement? Shouldn’t we understand more than any our value because we were created in God’s image? Full Article >

I’d like to find examples of film (or music, art, or other works) that communicate a view/attack of Jesus by our culture. (The more absurd, subtle and false the better.)

For example, I was watching the movie Love Actually and they showed the nativity scene with Lobsters, Spiderman and all sorts of other crazy creatures while playing the song, ‘Catch a falling star And put it in your pocket’ in contrast to another scene of immorality (where love is above morality) and it played O’ Holy Night. The message was subtle but powerful in it’s attack…

Post as comments THANKS.

In my life I often procrastinate and react to situations rather than pressing continually toward ‘the upward calling of God’. I wake up in the morning with no sense of urgency. When we fell in the garden, we now had to toil against the ground. This labor is not easy and often we wish we could live a life free from work. Lately I’ve been reflecing on these ideas.

God understands man and in His communication addresses this. God speaks far more than we as Christians ever seem to about the idea of ‘fearing Him’. We see that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Or as we read the ending of Ecclesiastes as Solomon discusses meaning and purpose we read that “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

Do we fear God? Do we read this and gag, rejecting the concept that we should ever fear God. Many of us want to say, ‘but wait God is love’ or that fear just means respect. Re-read the verses in scripture on fear and quickly you will see these do not accurately portray the whole. Yes God loves us and we are to have a respect for Him, but if we desire to see a proper response to God, read Isaiah 6:5 as he is visited by God:

Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

My prayer is to reflect on this idea of fear and live with a sense of urgency. This urgency should move me from a place of apathy to one of living out the kindgom. It should spread from my inner-being to my actions, evangelism and love for those around me. I should live with a constant healthy sense of urgency responding to a God who has demonstrated His love for me by entering into space and time and taking my sin upon his back. We truly have an awesome God to worship and respond to.

Here is a model I did a while ago as I was thinking about truth.

Goodmanson.com is a site that will collect the writings, thoughts and interests of Drew Goodmanson. I hope that some of these ramblings and ideas are profitable for friends and families to join in and discuss. And most important we will also put pictures up of Gideon (always a family favorite).