Engaging Culture with the Gospel

At this week's meeting we talked about how to define culture and how to understand the way the gospel relates to it. As we start gathering information about the culture of Greenville's urban poor, keep some of these questions in mind. You may even want to ask people some of these things on your own while hanging out downtown: 

• Where do people spend their time and money?
  
• What do people do during their free time?
  
• What do they fear?
  
• What do they dream about?
  
• Where do they shop?
  
• What cultural experiences do they value?
  
• What are the most painful experiences they have had?
  
• What music do they listen to?
  
• What film and television do they watch?
  
• What do they find humorous?
  
• In what ways are they self-righteous?
  
• What do they read?
  
• What is their spirituality?
  
• Whom do they trust? Why?
  
• What do they think about the gospel?
  
• What sins will the gospel first confront and then heal for these people?

Jesus was the perfect missionary, taking 30 years to understand his culture and then preaching the gospel and accomplishing the work of the gospel. Our missionary efforts are weak and often misdirected; however, we continue learning about our culture and seeking to share the gospel in it because Jesus died for our sins of cultural arrogance and insensitivity. The progress of the gospel is not tied to the quality of our efforts but to the sacrifice of our Savior. Jesus exchanged our sin-filled efforts for his perfect missional life.

As we take these first few outings to gather information, remember that Jesus made our acceptance to God possible on the cross; no amount of cultural relevance can make us more pleasing to God. We take time to learn our culture not for our own sake but for the sake of our friends living in culture. To understand them and take the gospel to them in an understandable way reflects the life of Christ and highlights him as the perfect missionary. In every way possible, we want to be highlighting Christ and pointing to him as our only hope.

I encourage you to further your understanding of these issues by reading this helpful article at TheResurgence.com.