Greetings,

Want some shocking news? The culture in the USA has moved beyond the Christian influences of the generations past. What?! You mean to tell me that this culture is post-Christian and does not value or uphold the word of God as a culture? Hopefully, you hear the sarcasm in my writing. Of course we know that this culture has, in general, pushed Christianity aside like a gorilla might push aside a priceless painting to get to a banana. Most of the people born in the 1900’s (that sounds old) remember a culture that was vastly different than our current reality. The direction we are heading as a nation, culturally speaking, looks fairly foreign to us, especially as believers. There are many ways that we can approach this rapidly changing culture. I’ll start off by discussing some of the popular ways Christians have handled the culture war, and then we will look at what I think is the most effective method.  

Some Christians choose to hide from the changing culture by making alternatives for popular things that are secular. Imitations of secular things pop up everywhere and they are often poorly produced shadows of a more popular and better funded secular version. Whether it is Godtube instead of Youtube, Pureflix instead of Netflix, Faithbook instead of Facebook… you get the idea. None of these brands are necessarily bad but they are based on the philosophy that Christians should avoid the secular and hide from cultural norms. Here is a funny video that shows the silliness of it all: https://youtu.be/0FRKojjf89Q

Another, perhaps more popular, approach is to simply complain about the culture and reminisce about the “good old days." This is obviously not going to accomplish any positive change in you or the culture.

The there's the extremely popular option of fully embracing the culture. The risk of this approach is that the Christian ends up seeing nothing “morally” wrong with popular cultural philosophies and becomes blinded or desensitized to the beauty and power of Jesus and His call to live with an eternal perspective and they might lose a sense of urgency to reconcile the lost sinner to God. If you choose this approach you could be extremely relatable but lose your Christian witness while you’re at it. Not advisable in the least.

Maybe you are of the mindset that believers should influence the culture and try to bend and change it to conform with scripture. This ideology is valiant, noble and is often built on a great faith. However, it is also a steep uphill battle that has been the effort of many great people throughout history. Some have had success, but most have failed. Culture is a construct built by the masses and moves at a blinding pace. Trying to change the culture is like trying to reign in the will of a huge flock of sparrows.

Let’s not forget the option to ignore the culture and act like nothing is happening. This is the easiest method of dealing with the cultural shift. There is something to be said for doing what you do and not paying attention to the culture around you. The trouble comes when you try to relate with the people that are fully steeped in the culture. This approach can create a canyon nearly impossible to bridge for the unbeliever.

Some people try to adapt or adopt parts of the culture as it moves and utilize the culture to their advantage. Trying to remain relevant and keep their witness. It becomes a balancing act of measuring how to live in the world but not of the world.