Christ & culture II

often times we think that Christ and culture are polar opposites and that they have no relationship to each other, that an individual can't be culture savvy and still be a devout follower of Christ. what if being a devout follower of Christ means that one has to be culture savvy? it would make sense to me to think that if i want to know how to most effectively impact someone with and through the love of Christ i need to know the culture in which they live. there is a certain amount of responsibility on me to know and understand the culture in which i am trying to follow Christ in.

i think it's more than just knowing culture but actually engaging culture as well. engaging culture can take a number of different forms: talking with a neighbor over the fence, going to the movies, staying aware of current events, going out on a Friday night, joining the league at the 'Y', etc. Christians engage culture when we take Christ with us outside of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings and into our places of work, our homes, schools, cars, etc.

now please understand that i'm not saying we should be standing on the street corners "preaching" at passerbys but i'm also not saying we should just blend into the background of the cultural landscape. engaging culture means we have to give culture a reason to engage us, if we are exactly like culture then there is no point of engagement. something about Christians is different than culture and that's the way it should be. the very lives that we lead should cause people to stop and ask questions like; "You really think this, why?" or "There's something different about you, what is it?" it's in questions likes these that Christ and culture meet, depending on our response. Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden...In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."