This is the second of four articles we are preparing for our church newsletter. It will be published in the Fall, 2006 edition. Much of this article was drawn from columns by Doug Giles. Columns by Doug Giles can be found at ProudToBeCanadian.ca and townhall.com. In today's cultural environment, the believer has three options: absorb the culture, separate from the culture, or infiltrate and engage the culture. As Christians, we are expected to engage the culture, to leave our comfortable and secure enclaves, step out into the surrounding culture, get our feet and hands dirty, and attempt to influence the people and institutions around us.
While all believers can and should be evangelists, not all of us are gifted in this area. How do we then actually go about influencing the people around us?
Some time ago, I read that we should "minister constantly, and if necessary, use words". I understood this to mean that we should constantly model the Christian life to others. We tend to forget that, whether they are aware of it or not, in their heart-of-hearts, many people want what we have. We need to show it to them. How did you come to be a Christian? I became a believer because I wanted that mysterious something special and joy that the believers around me obviously had. Actions speak louder than words. This is an effective form of evangelism we all can do.
Integrate Faith and Life
In order to model the Christian life, we must start to see life as a whole, and to integrate our faith into all we do. In his columns (Profane faith: Part II - June 3, 2006; Profane faith III - June 10, 2006), Christian author and broadcaster Doug Giles writes that each of us should "begin to merge:
- Our Christianity with culture,
- Our contemplation with achievement,
- Our worship with work,
- Our labor with rest,
- Our fasting with a Fosters, (!)
- Our love of God with love of neighbor and self,
- Our personal identity with social identity,
- Our wide spectrum of relational responsibilities with each other in a thoroughly conscientious and considered way."
One very important specific way we can show our beliefs and values to the world is in the area of ethics. We can earn the trust and respect of others by demonstrating outstanding personal and business ethics.
Become Spiritually Strong
In today's challenging and complex culture, we need to get our Christian act together and become spiritually stronger than ever. When we do have our act together, we then realize that there is no reason for Christians to be intimidated, because our faith is based on God's "instruction manual for living life", it has stood the test of time, and it works.
Doug Giles writes, "Listen: true spirituality is incredibly practical, robust and workable no matter where you dwell or what you do. If your spirituality/Christianity isn’t viable and stout in the most difficult of cultures, then it ain’t the stuff Moses and Christ sold."
"If, as a Christian, you want to have true influence upon culture, then you must deepen your soul’s relationship with God... Having a profound and extensive knowledge of the scripture, coupled with contemplation and application of the Word to one’s person, will naturally cause one to move into substantially deeper waters."
And further, "If Christians would toughen up a bit, get out of the religious closet, follow their faith instead of their fears, and live their beliefs in a more robust way, we would once again change the face of this nation..."
Are we up to the challenge? Stay tuned for Part III - Engaging the Culture as a Group.
After six weeks of effort, and thanks to some great weather, we have finally finished staining the outside of our house.
The logs now have two coats of stain in a colour called Cinnamon, and two coats of clear-coat to protect the stain.
