Monday, May 04, 2009
Politics and Church
Over at MMI Todd quotes Thomas Jefferson:
I am not sure that we ever really understand how deeply "style" affects us. I was reflecting on a walk the other day about the group of young people that my wife and I help lead at church - how extraordinarily different their lives are than mine was at their age. My thoughts centered on how technology has enabled them to live far more chaotic lives than I have ever dreamed of. Because they are always "in touch" a simple decision to go for ice cream is actually simple - unlike when I was a kid it required a search for a pay phone and the time for everyone in the group to use the same one. They do not need to look more than about 10 minutes into the future, technology enables then to live right here. And as I say, the effect feels to me like chaos.
That is going to have a radical affect on the gospel. It better matter - RIGHT NOW - or it is not important. Discussions of heaven and hell and the future are pointless, they'll just text someone then and work it out.
Now, set aside for a minute the question of whether that is a good or bad and ask yourself what in that equation is style and what is principle? It's not easy. At a minimum, different style changes emphasis in the message if not alters the message completely.
Try this on for size - communicate the gospel over Twitter - not as easy as you might think at first pass.
My point - separating style and principle is easily said, but almost impossible to do. These are ground to be tread upon lightly.
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"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."and then notes:
In matters of style, the church has to swim with the current. We must be able to communicate and relate to people (both saved and unsaved) in a language they understand. Yes, we must be relevant to the culture and communities in which they live. That is why we have cowboy churches; Asian, Hispanic, and Chinese churches; hip hop churches; churches for men; contemporary churches, and traditional churches. It is a matter of style. It is a logical conclusion that to reach certain segments of society, the church needs to speak their language or relate to their style. As Jefferson said, in matters of style, you have to (HAVE TO) swim with the current...Are they really as separable as we would like to think? If they were completely separable would it be necessary to learn Hebrew and Greek to "really" understand scripture? -- OK, argue that language differences are more substantive than style and then try to define the "substance" of the gospel. Heck, the English speaking church cannot agree on that - how are we going to define it for others?
In matters of principle, the church must stand like a rock. In areas of doctrine, right and wrong, and sin—the church must stand firm. It cannot waiver. It must stand like a rock.
The confusion comes for some when they try to make style and principle the same. They are not.
I am not sure that we ever really understand how deeply "style" affects us. I was reflecting on a walk the other day about the group of young people that my wife and I help lead at church - how extraordinarily different their lives are than mine was at their age. My thoughts centered on how technology has enabled them to live far more chaotic lives than I have ever dreamed of. Because they are always "in touch" a simple decision to go for ice cream is actually simple - unlike when I was a kid it required a search for a pay phone and the time for everyone in the group to use the same one. They do not need to look more than about 10 minutes into the future, technology enables then to live right here. And as I say, the effect feels to me like chaos.
That is going to have a radical affect on the gospel. It better matter - RIGHT NOW - or it is not important. Discussions of heaven and hell and the future are pointless, they'll just text someone then and work it out.
Now, set aside for a minute the question of whether that is a good or bad and ask yourself what in that equation is style and what is principle? It's not easy. At a minimum, different style changes emphasis in the message if not alters the message completely.
Try this on for size - communicate the gospel over Twitter - not as easy as you might think at first pass.
My point - separating style and principle is easily said, but almost impossible to do. These are ground to be tread upon lightly.
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