Category Archives: culture

culture, evangelism

Know, Like, Trust

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Last night I heard about “know, like, trust” for the first time. Religious groups (usually YouTubers refer to cults in this case) to espionage use this marketing paradigm coined by Bob Burg. Here is the progression in short.

  1. Know – A person has to get to know me.
  2. Like – After they know me, person has to decide that they like me.
  3. Trust – After they like me, a person is more inclined to trust me.

To me it clicked as evangelistic in a post Christian world. While we do not lure or trick someone into the Christian faith, western Christianity no longer has automatic trust in the culture. Furthermore, some Christian groups or individuals push the truth of the Faith (or their interpretation of it) in a manner that makes them disliked, and thus not listened to, let alone trusted.

Positively, evangelism requires Christians making intentional relationships. Next, if the relationship continues, the Christian cannot stop at just being liked, but must work to build trust, not just that they trust me, but that they also know I trust them.

I can’t know everyone, but I can know someone.

I don’t expect everyone to like me, but I shouldn’t be content with merely being liked.

I build trust so I can best deliver the message entrusted to me.

culture, multi-generational ministry, spiritual formation, worship architecture

The Place of Ritual

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prayingMy recent guest appearance on The Techology Show left me wondering if I presented my church as stuck in the past with regard to worship as we discussed ritual as part of worship. In fact, our worship is contemporary, but I believe that ancient ritual is relevant for today. A recent article titled “Researchers: ‘Ritiual’ Atheists and Agnostics Could Be Sitting Next to You in Church” by Jeff Schapiro in The Christian Post illustrates this point. Schapiro states: Continue reading The Place of Ritual →

book review, culture, ethics

Ross Douthat’s Slippery Slope

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I felt one proposition of Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, deserved its own post aside from my book review.

At the last Wesleyan General Conference (GenCon12), the North Michigan District offered a memorial (#79) to amend The Discipline, putting in a stronger statement against abortion and to actively work to protect the life of unborn children. This memorial did not come to the General Conference recommended for passage. I was not a delegate to GenCon12, but followed the proceedings as closely as I could. I admit, reading memorial #79 made me wearily remember the 1980s, when this debate seemed more fierce. Continue reading Ross Douthat’s Slippery Slope →

culture, evangelism

Culture Influenced Christianity part 2: Individualism

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The Bible speaks both of salvation and judgement coming to groups of people, such as the people of God, as well as the reward or judgement of the individual. Various traditions tend to emphasize one over the other. Cyprian of Carthage’s phrase extra Ecclesiam nulla salus “outside the church there is no salvation” reflects strongly in the Roman Catholic tradition, among others. The Wesleyan-Arminian holds that the Church is chosen in Jesus,1 yet as part of Evangelicalism in the United State we are also influenced by the teaching of individual election by God. A biblical case may be made for either position, with ramifications throughout our doctrine of salvation, but in my opinion, the flow of Scripture does not move from corporate to individual accountability and salvation, but both threads move throughout. Continue reading Culture Influenced Christianity part 2: Individualism →

culture

Culture Influenced Christianity part 1: Society going downhill

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As a Christian and pastor, I strive to not only increase the depth of my relationship with God, but also in my knowledge of Christianity as a religion, the cultures in which it exists, and the cultures it creates within itself. Life has provided me opportunities to study outside my own denominational traditions, and recently I have  gained a more acute awareness of how our cultural positions (Christian culture/doctrinal positions and our larger national culture) affect our day to day Christian practice in society. (By “doctrinal positions” I do not mean the core Christian beliefs, such as The Apostle’s Creed, which orthodox Christians affirm, but instead I mean the theological systems which we construct around our core beliefs.) Emerson’s & Smith’s (2000) Divided by Faith sparked some of these thoughts. For this first post I will consider premillennialism. Continue reading Culture Influenced Christianity part 1: Society going downhill →

culture, evangelism, multi-ethnic ministry

When Evangelism Is Not Enough

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In Divided by Faith, Emerson and Smith (2000) make a case, supported by U.S. history, that Evangelicals generally work within culture to spread the gospel, and, for some (perhaps many), taking action that is counter-cultural would expend energy and resources that could better be used spreading the good news of Jesus. Evangelicals, according to Emerson and Smith, take this stand because evangelism and discipleship are the first priority of the Church, a position that is difficult to argue against when one considers the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Continue reading When Evangelism Is Not Enough →

culture, family, multi-ethnic ministry

The Broken American Family

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I am becoming convinced that there is a systemic dichotomy in African-American family culture. First, let me state that when I refer to “African-Americans” I am specifically referring to those of us who are descendants of the North American slave population, not all dark-skinned North-Americans nor modern immigrants from African countries. Here is the dichotomy: African-Americans highly value family relationships, yet we have adapted to a culture that systemically breaks our families apart. Continue reading The Broken American Family →