Theology and Culture

Our world has grown to understand such a variety of issues.  Science, music, sports, literature and a variety of other issues dominate our culture.  I wonder just how much theology has been talked about in our world?  With the discussion of homosexuality, the racial issues of America just about 50 years ago with Martin Luther King, and the latest discussions about the pope, it seems like there is a lot of discussion.  But do we all know what we believe in?


The reason I ask this question is because I see people who choose to let other people tell them what to believe.  People go to church wanting to get feed information about God, and then to go home and continue doing their own thing.  I feel like there is more to church then that.  I feel that church needs to be more about discussion and action rather then ignorance.  Instead of allowing church to be boring, people need to take action is learning, understanding, and living out the message.


Why do I go on about this?  I hear people talk about theology that is to far away from the church.  That theology is just for people like pastors and professors that teach that stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone should go out and get lots of theology books.  What I do want to say that theology is not out of reach of culture.  We need to know what we believe in.  Pastors bring the message of God to the congregation that allows the congregation to take that message and do something with it.

Here are some ways that I think people in the church can take the message and apply it.

1. Bible Study.  Most pastors offer a Bible study to go off their sermons.  This can be such a helpful time to understand the Scripture at a greater depth.  When I say at great depth, I mean understanding the Scripture passage for yourself.  Discuss it with others, ask questions about the passage.  Searching for a better understanding of the Bible helps to understand God's message.  Without a message, how can the church move on?  It can't!  We need to be able to discuss and understand the Scripture. 

2. Small Groups.  Small groups can be a great part of Bible studies to not only understand the meaning, but seeking ways to apply it to life.  Some churches do not have Bible studies.  Most will have small groups that are focused on understanding what it means to live in our world, and to offer encouragement to one another for the week.  This is an important time to offer prayers for the group, to keep each other accountable and to challenge one another to grow.


3. Setting time aside for devotion.  A lot of group activity is good to stay connected in the church.  It is very important to stay connected.  In addition to group discussions is personal time.  Personal prayer offers you time to give your everyday to God.  To give everything over and allow God to be your guidance for the day.  Setting time for Scripture is also important.  Scripture brings an encouraging Word from God that leaves us with a message to take with us for the day.

4. Pay attention to what is going on in the world.  One thing that has stuck with me as a wana be pastor is to carry the Bible in one hand, and a newspaper in the other.  Staying connected with our world is important.  Even though the news is not always the best information to hear, it is good to know what is going on.

Living in a Culture in need of Community

Recently, I read an article in Time magazine about a change from living in suburban areas to living in more urban areas.  Why is this?  Well, the article went on to explain that suburban areas lack community.  Our generation seeks to be among other people.  Among other people at coffee shops, restaurants, malls, and etc.  Suburban areas do not have a lively atmosphere as do various cities.  I have been asking myself lately what happened? 

Many people say that we are living in a new age.  This is an age of equality, society, and relativity.  In other words, we have now moved from an age of individualism, reason, and capitalism to an age of postmodernism.  People are seeking to live a life together, with a sense of equality as well as in community.  Our generation is beginning a process of growing together in a new fashion that has unfortunately been ignored.

This is a crucial misunderstanding when it comes to understanding postmodernity.  Its not that postmoderns are not easy to understand.  Its that people are not taking the time to understand them (and maybe even understand themselves).  Thinking critically about this means taking an initiative to learn, to grow, and be in relationship.  We have taken something away from modernity that should have been left alone, and that is individualism.

Instead of seeking out the needs of others, modernity sought the needs of the self.  The self was the sole importance in the modern age movement.  It came to understanding this key principle in life that everyone was supposed to reach.  Modernity was about finding that one thing that everyone was to believe in, and if you found it, then you were on your way to being who your made to be.  Unfortunately, that one single most important thing is not what they found.

I named my blog Coffee Shop Theology because our postmodern world seeks community.  I think that modernism missed the mark through there individualistic mindset.  Instead of worry about the needs of the self, we should look to others.  A community means living together for a goal.  As a pastor, I believe the church needs to put their goal, purpose, and life in the hands of Christ.  Christ is the head of the church that leads the way for the church to go forward (Eph. 5:25-32; Col. 3:14-16).

Not only must the church find it's place in Christ, but the church must find its place in mission.  Service was the central characteristic of Jesus' ministry.  He did not focus on his own needs, but focused on the needs of others.  Jesus did not seclude himself from the world waiting for the day when God would make all things new.  Christ took initiative in coming to earth to redeem the world.  The church should not sit by praying for Christ to return, but to be present with us as we (the church) go out and serve others.