Hearing and reading the news the past couple of weeks about Sarah Palin and her ‘Christian’ viewpoints ranging from the Assemblies of God to some ‘quazi domionalist, word of faith, New Apostolic Reformation’ slant (the slice is reporting that they received e-mails from people claiming that the foolishness of “demons being barfed up on towels” was practiced there), I started thinking about something that we hear about quite regularly in a sermon on Sunday morning…..

Culture

One of the many definitions of culture as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is:

the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group ; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time

As I thought about that definition more and more and thought about how the religious right and the liberal left want to redefine the term, a very interesting observation came to me:

The same culture that “Americanity” (American Christianity) obsesses with in terms of being “relevant” to is the same culture that “Americanity” is spending millions of dollars “warring against” to expose and eliminate “moral depravity” within that culture. (along with eliminating anyone else who doesn’t ‘agree’ with their ‘official leaders’ who self-appointed themselves to those positions to begin with)

At the same time, “Americanity” is spending (in addition to monies spent to fight the culture war) millions of dollars trying to create ‘cheezy Christian alternatives’ to become ‘countercultural’, ‘theocratic’, and ‘domionalistic’ in order to one day ‘evolve’ into the new ‘official Christian definition’ of ‘culture’ that will be dominant practice in America and eventually the world.

We went from living in the world of ‘us and them’ to ‘us versus them’ to ‘them versus us’.

Just go into a Christian book store and see the Christian alternatives being marketed. From ‘Christian music’ with certain artists deemed as “Christian (insert rock singer here)” to books by “Official Christian Moralist”, “Official Christian Chef”, “Official Christian Global Conspiracy Y2.009K Philosopher”, “Official Christian Mom”, “Official Christian Grief Recoverist” “Official Christian Nutritionalist”, “Official Christian Child Psychologist / toiler trainer” to ‘Official Christian Painter of Light’ and ‘Official Christian Toys and Cartoons’ (I Wonder if Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber are saved??? LOL! and being snarky and sarcastic at the same time) .

Just listen to Christian radio preaching ‘right wing’ politics from the ‘left end’ of the dial deeming the change from ministry to ‘information and analysis features’ telling you your ‘official Christian Perspective / worldview’ and our ‘official Christian truthful news source’.

Just go online to many of the ‘Christian Internet Portals’ and get the ‘latest’ news, latest artists and latest book reviews. See the ads from Christian vitamins to increase your metabolism, Christian cruises, Christian jewerly, to Christian stockbrokers who promise not to invest in companies that advertise on controversial prime time television shows (what ever happened to that ‘Christian long-distance’ company that promised not to trunk your telephone communications over a giant telecom’s network because they had same-sex domestic partner benefits… and by talking on a ’straght’ telephone fiber optic, the light will shine, we feel some tingles, and America will be saved…….?).

Just look at a Christian youth group targeted for relevance to reach their peers and how many of the are either home-schooled or go to Christian private school? The vast majority.

All with the implication and fear (not Godly fear) basis of:

If you read our books, listen to our music, vote for our candidates, homeschool your kids, listen to our ‘unbiased news’ (equal bias from an ‘opposite extreme’ while making a biased statement about being unbiased), follow our diet plan, ‘court’ instead of ‘date’, buy our Jesus Junk, have six kids to vote Republican twenty years from now, buy ‘testamints’ at the ‘Christian bookstore’, and watch only our television networks, you will be healthy, wealthy, wise, your kids will do well in school, you will not miss the rapture, prayer will be back in the public schools (and a voucher will be available for you to send your Christian kid to Christian schools), abortion and the lotto will be outlawed, terrorism will be defeated, political correctiveness will be eliminated, no more social security and welfare, homosexuality will be completely extinct, taxes will go down on families (but go way up on Singles because the church views singles as ‘cursed’), the secular humanists (sheck-you-lurr u-men-nists) will no longer teach college and have their PhD’s revoked, the democrats will be imprisioned and persecuted, and God can finally come back to America and be sovereign and provident again, etc. to help establish the kingdom James Dobson, Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, Donald Wildmon, Jerry Falwell, and R.J. Rushdoony dreamed of.

We’ll be perfect because only perfect people can be president, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, or a ‘real Christian’.

or

If you don’t read our books, don’t listen to our music, don’t vote for our candidates, don’t homeschool your kids, don’t listen to our ‘unbiased news’ (equal bias from an ‘opposite extreme’ while making a biased statement about being unbiased), don’t follow our diet plan, don’t buy our Jesus Junk, and don’t watch only our television networks, you will be poor and sick, your sons will smoke pot, your daughters will get pregnant or die from a botched abortion, or will end up in prison, you will miss the rapture, Islam and Evolution will dominate the public schools, people will not get married, you will lose your salvation, abortion will run more rampant, the democrats, minorities, illegial immigrants, and gays will run rampant, etc. and God will leave us and hate your soul.

If God did leave us, then why do we still go to church on Sundays and proclaim that God is in our presence (like God found the secret unlocked door that was unguarded and ’snuck in’ to ‘quickly bless us’ before being discovered and having to escape to be free)? Time Magazine may have said that ‘God is Dead’ but I can feel everyday the sovereignty and providence of God everyday

Since we voted for “God’s Candidate”, then why do we see high unemployment, tragedy and natural disaster as ‘excuses’ to raise the prices of food and gas, terrorism still rampant, increased hysteria and paranoia, and an attitude that your unemployment, poverty, terminal illness is due to secret sin, lacking faith, voting democrat, not giving a televangelist money, failing to stand with a sign at the annual pro-life rally on the first Sunday in October and/or disagreeing theologically with your pastor? In fact, complain about “God’s Candidate” and see how many Christians bring up the Aaron and Mirian / Moses’ Ethopian woman scriptures and the ‘constant manna’ and ‘touch not mine anointed’….?

Where is Osama Bin Laden? Nobody has answered the question that started the war on terror…..

If we are God’s Children, then why do we constantly look for ‘loopholes’ in laws we do not like in order to ‘attempt to escape the feeling of guilt and remorse that you are supposed to feel when you have done something wrong, illegial, or immoral’ and when we find the loophole, praise God for giving us ‘divine revelation’ to circumvent the law that we are supposed to obey per the Scripture?

How come when it’s Nielsen ratings time, one Christian television network encourages it’s viewers to leave the TV on their network 24/7 to affect the ratings using the threat of if Nielsen determines no one watches Christian TV, then Christian TV will be eliminated permanently and we will be further persecuted….

When the secular media services does a better job of exposing the shallowness of evangelical Christianity (the “Saved” movie and the ABC exposes of Robert Tilton, W.V. Grant, Larry Lea, and recently Todd Bentley) we cray ‘foul’ and demand a boycott and tell Christians to watch Christian TV instead.

Why are we always trying to ‘go back’ to a ‘time of innocence’ or go back to ’some enforced legalism’ when in those times of innocence and enforced legalism, the same sins were occurring but on a smaller scale thinking that by going back to the ‘time of innocence’ or ‘reinforcing the legalism’, the sins will be eliminated because ‘en mye day sunny, we never saw dem teenage pregnancies’ [but the girl was sent to a relative in the 'big city' to 'straighten her out' (aka, teenage pregnancies were more 'normalized' in that society but shamed and shunned ostracized in Southern Christian America)]

There will always be a war. The Bible tells us so. If it wasn’t so, would we need Ephesians 6 in the Bible? There will always be persecution on the church. The book of Acts clearly tells us this. We can live a New Covenant lifestyle by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and not by modernizing and re-legalizing some Old Testament Ritual made into a Third Wave prophecy and numerology scheme.

The war on drugs, prostitution, out of wedlock pregnancies, homosexuality, terrorism, racism, and other unmentioned depravities and social ills will always be with us and in many ways in greater force in the days to come. The church in Acts realized this and the church was built and grew on individual holiness and repentance. They relied on miracles to exist and not some buddy who could bribe a favor from a politician. They met in small groups in order to not get further persecuted and not because that was the ‘only gateway to personal ministry within the corporate church’. They sung quietly with no music to not get further persecuted and not because instruments were ungodly or a 2-4 beat was the devil’s beat.

Paul was a tentmaker who became a Christian, not a maker of Christian tents with a cross sewed on the material in order to charge double the price claiming blessings if you purchased his tent or curses if you purchased one from the competitor. We have forgotten how to be in the world and not of the world because we believe that to be in the world, we have to create a world to control and be of in order to feel safe, secure, and loved by God. Why can’t we teach people how to live in the world and be able to overcome temptations and persecutions? No, we either fight to eliminate the temptation and persecution or we just get by hoping we are raptured or we hope that we die and let the next generation deal with the problem.

The Bible tell us to flee temptation, not eliminate it. Fleeing is not eliminating. Fleeing is overcoming. New Testament Christianity was never designed to war to eliminate to reconstruct the earth. New Testament Christianity was designed to overcome the enemy to be the church and to rebuild the heart. We never saw New Testament Christians promoting voting guides telling us to vote against Caesar? We never saw New Testament Christians push clothes made by the official Christian seamstress dyed in Lydia’s ‘official Christian purple dye’ promising us favor. We never saw New Testament Christians consult their ‘official Christian lawyer’ on how to find a loophole in order to proselytize their co-workers and not get fired, persecuted, and killed and then sue with the Christian rights lawyers taking the case on contingency. We never saw New Testament Christians stand outside of a building where infanticide occurred with their two year old kids holding signs saying ‘abortion is murder’. We never saw New Testament Christians place property stakes around the government buildings calling it ‘God’s building’

We saw people who lived life according to the Bible. We saw people who sold dyes, animals, tents, etc. in the day with the Christian principles they learned at the secret, small, and silent housechurch at night. They did not have a choice of umpteen different bible versions geared for every socio-demographic group. They heard the scriptures and memorized them. They didn’t have a minstrel playing their favorite worship song three times a day hoping that they will sing it at the next bretheren meeting. They didn’t care about Gog and Magog being the modern day USSR, Finding Caesar in Bible Prophecy, or decoding John 3:29 for the new revelation. They didn’t send in money to get their personal prayer prosperity hankie, miracle manna, or their blessing on Yom Kippur. They didn’t have their parachurch ministry entitled “Fill in the blank” For Jesus…… It was “Everyone Sees Jesus by the Lifestyle I Live”

They learned to live in culture, not fight and reconstruct it. They didn’t throw money towards how to discover their purpose driven life. They lived their life guided to fulfill His calling. They overcame their trials and temptations because Jesus was the author and finisher of their faith, not a personal ideology made corporate theology to become their apostolic Joel’s Army manned by Joshua’s Generation and Ezra’s Templebuilders defeating the demon of gambling on eight avenue. They saw, felt, and lived a life experiencing the sovereign and providential move of God in the midst of an oppressive government and we cry ‘foul’ when a democrat becomes the register of deeds. They didn’t have Christian lawyers design a sermon to preach on “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”. They preached the Word and not the government. The church was the church and the state was the state.

We made Christianity complex while calling it ‘next-level, cutting edge, fresh revelation’. We looked for a sign when the Scriptures give us clear directions. We cry out for ‘revival’, experienced a crock of deception called Lakeland, while the early church experienced ‘vival’ (life) and saw souls saved and added, and fellow brothers persecuted freed from prison while some were martyred and their faith became sight. The early church saw true miracles via the laying on of hands while we saw a pro-wrestler wanna be, snake-oil salesman named Todd “Bam-Bam-Bam” Bentley performed false signs when he kneed the stage four metastatic colon cancer patient. The early church casted off evil spirits instantly but we spend years fighting the territorial spirit of gang murder on main street from our sanctuary located in the megachurch on Apostle Paul Drive while crime goes up, drugs are rampant, and food and gas is going up with people become homeless blaming it on God hating them. We are dumbfounded when we lack the discernment and can no longer tell the difference between a pastor and a pimp, a church and a corporation, a sermon from a pep talk, and a worship service from an old episode of Solid Gold (and the Solid Gold dancers danced better in my personal opinion).

We have our coffee ‘bar’…. We have our relevant sermons…. We have our modern music…. We have our entertainment centers and babysitters…. We have our cool hypnotic special effects in the background of the worship song lyrics projected on the projection screen…..

However, I have to ask the hard question…

Do we have Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit at work in our life?

The air conditioner, the computer, and the iPod did not cause the quagmire of a mess we call ‘church’. We caused it when we decided that consultants, ANALysts, salesmen, (I meant it the way I spelled it), psychiatrists, and sociologists could call themselves pastors, teachers, apostles, evangelists, and prophets because we thought they had a ‘new and improved’ way of doing Jesus and the church and we allowed them the freedom to self-title themselves and self-appoint their own authority schemes. Marketing replaced ministry. Holistics replaced healing. Mission statements replaced missions. Trends replaced Trinity.

We are desperate. Our christian cliches, our Christian softball leagues, “God’s President named W”, our Christian music, Mel Gibson’s Passion movie, and the Promise Keepers didn’t change society. Why? Because society was never designed to be changed to begin with. We were supposed to change and be conformed and transformed by the renewing of our minds. The battle was never supposed to be ‘us versus them’ and / or ‘them versus us’. It is the Holy Spirit within us versus the flesh that constitutes us fighting to destroy us.

The battle all along is really “Us versus Us”

Not us against culture. Not God against the democratic party. Not the Holy Spirit against the state education lottery. But us against us and the choice to fight and not ‘us versus them’ and / or ‘them versus us’ with the choice of flight back to our bunker called church with it’s coffee bar, Christian resource library, entertainment concerts, and gymnasium where we play “BaptistBall” where a slam dunk is a technical foul (pride).

We are supposed to fight the fight and finish the race, not pick the fight and rewrite the rules to the marathon. Culture will always be around us. It was here before i was thought about, around me now, and will still be here hundreds of years after I die. Do you think that after thousands of years if the culture didn’t change, that it is somehow going to instantly change if we ‘humble ourselves’, vote Republican, defeat the drug demon on First Street, and put some more money in the offering plate?

Remember, in closing, that in the Bible, the change we saw eventually became ‘the same’ as the ’stagnation’ that was deemed to be eliminated. It wasn’t society that changed. It was men and women of God who did. If society really changed permanently for the better, then why did Israel repeat a vicious cycle of repenting to only sin again years later to repeat the cycle but we do not see this pattern mandated in the New Testament? We do not need to change culture nor war against it. We need to change by crucifying this flesh daily and take up our cross to war against our filthy rotten stinking flesh.

That is the only change we are expected to see manifest.