Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect~ Romans 12:2 ESV
I have lived most of my life living in
cooler climates, including Washington, Alaska, Oregon and Wyoming. Despite a few brief stints in warmer places
(North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico, and Utah), I prefer locales where
the temperature rarely gets above ninety degrees. I would much rather be cold
than hot; after all you can always put clothes on, but there is a limit to how
many you can take off (for most people at least). Sunny with a high of seventy-five has always
been my idea of a perfect day.
I was recently surprised to discover that
I have acclimated to the desert environment of Arizona. Last week Alan and I
were out running errands. It was late afternoon when we left the house and
about ninety-five degrees. By the time we finished up our last errand it was
early evening and the sun had gone down. As we walked to the car I was stunned
to discover that I was cold, so cold my teeth were chattering. I was shocked
when I got to the car and the thermostat in the car read seventy-three.
It got me thinking about how adaptable
most of us are. God has graciously and lovingly shaped us in such a way that
sooner or later most of us find a way to acclimate to almost any situation or
environment we find ourselves in. Most of the time this adaptability is
beneficial and protective. It keeps us from becoming completely miserable and
losing hope in situations that are beyond our control to change.
Sadly, this adaptability has a dark side,
especially when it comes to the cultural and spiritual realm. Just as people
can easily adapt to changes in their physical surroundings, they can also adapt
to slow incremental changes in their cultural and/or spiritual environment and
unconsciously begin to take on the characteristics of the society around them.
I have observed that there are some subtle
indicators that culture—especially popular culture—has infiltrated the church,
changing not just the way we view the world but also affecting the way we “do
church” and interact with unbelievers.
Please understand it is not my intention
to “bash” the church. That is both pointless and unproductive. My intent is
simply to provide some food for thought and perhaps get a conversation started
concerning the Church’s role in society. Today I will share three ways we have
become acclimated to popular culture and a few things we can do to combat the
intrusion of popular culture in our homes and churches.
We’ve accepted style over substance when
it comes to leadership~ 1st Timothy 3:1-5
It’s difficult for a reasonable person to
dispute the argument that political and corporate leadership is in trouble in
America. This is because we tend to choose our leaders based on outward appearances
and qualifications: looks, political and professional connectedness, personal
charisma, whether or not they own an iPad, and education level are far more
important than integrity, experience, personal convictions, track record or
willingness to tell the truth about tough issues. This has been a sad reality
in secular culture since the dawn of the television age.
I fear that the same standards for
leadership are sneaking into the church world. Like most secular organizations
many churches have become more numbers-and-results driven so churches seek
leaders that can draw a crowd and keep the crowd coming. The spiritual state of
the crowd is rarely evaluated. When the size of the congregation is the
motivating force in decision-making, leaders are chosen based on the same
criteria we use to pick political leaders. The danger of choosing leaders based
on outward criteria rather than proven character is that some of those leaders
will be willing to bend and modify their values and convictions based on what
continues to draw a big crowd (Rob Bell, anyone?). There is nothing wrong or sinful about having
a big crowd as long as the crowd has gathered for the right reasons and is
growing towards individual and corporate Christ-likeness.
We
are awed by celebrity~ 1st Corinthians 1:27
It is no secret that that popular culture
is star-struck. Celebrities who do little but pretend for a living are
venerated and given opportunities to share their feebly formed, unschooled
opinions about everything from politics to science without anyone fact-checking
them on anything. Unfortunately, the church
has demonstrated a similar inclination in recent years. Not only are we
interested in turning our leaders into celebrities, we are also quick to put
the spotlight on and take spiritual instruction from any “new believer” who has come out of the
entertainment industry. We do this long before they have an opportunity to prove
themselves faithful or become properly grounded in the faith. The saddest
aspect of this inclination is how much it hurts the celebrities themselves. 1st
Timothy 3:5-7 warns Christians not to put new converts in positions of
authority or leadership because it causes them to become “puffed up with
conceit and fall into the condemnation (judgment) of the devil”.
We have become numb to inappropriate
entertainment~ Psalm 119:37
Standards have changed dramatically in
recent years. In the not-so-distant past it was considered sinful for
Christians to attend movies or watch any sort of secular entertainment. That
standard was based on legalism, and I for one am thankful that most Christians
have moved beyond such knee-jerk thinking. Sadly, the pendulum has swung a bit
too dramatically in the opposite direction. Many Christians give little
attention to what they watch or listen to. I confess that I have been guilty of
this myself. I think it’s because many programs start out benignly enough; the
writers don’t introduce the really shady stuff until the viewers are too hooked
by the storyline to notice that every episode is filled with glorification of
the same sort of perversions that Jesus came to save us from.
Studies
have shown that entertainment choices affect behavior; one study proved that
young adults who watched sexual programing were much more likely to have
permissive attitudes towards sex than those who do not. It’s sensible to assume
it’s not just young adults who are adversely affected by such programing.
I don’t know if I have solutions to these
problems, but I do have some suggestions. First, we can intentionally seek out
leaders who meet the biblical standards for leadership found in 1st
Timothy chapter three and Titus chapter two, rather than simply trying to
figure out if they can successfully put butts in the seats on Sunday mornings.
This will mean looking for men and women old enough to have acquired some
wisdom and life experience who are also willing to engage and mentor younger
leaders.
Secondly, as individuals we can stop deceiving
ourselves about why we consume popular culture. One of the shams we’ve bought
into is that we have to be well versed in popular culture to reach our world
for Christ. Being able to sing along to Lil’ Wayne on the radio and knowing all the characters from The Office does not make us more holy or
better witnesses of Christian truth; it just makes us more worldly.
We
must remember that just because something is witty or clever does not mean that
it is suitable or beneficial (1st Corinthians 10:23). Many
Christians have found that taking a substantial break from secular music,
books, movies and television makes them much more aware of what they are
consuming. When we are more aware of our consumption we become less enamored with
celebrity. Being less enamored empowers us to think more clearly about what
exactly those celebrities are peddling.
Another benefit to distancing ourselves from
popular culture is that it will give us time and opportunities to develop
ourselves spiritually. Developing spiritual strength will help us to become more
discerning, and discernment will empower us to change culture rather than
simply adapt to it.
What we have received is not
the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us~
1st Corinthians 2:12
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