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Author: Jonathan Dodson
Why is Christian Culture Bad?
This weekend I was in San Antonio Texas to cheer my wife on in her second marathon. She finished strong and I am so proud of her (more to come on that)! It’s weird being out of Austin and seeing so much bad Texan Christian culture. The notion that Christians should have their own sub-culture is a very interesting topic. One that we will only briefly address here by way of your commentary on some case studies.
Below are some pictures of several Christian T-shirts my wife and I found while we were on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, a place where a wide array of ethnicities and cultures of the world converge. Embedded in this cornucopia of cultural diversity, I found the following shirts. As you look at them, share why you think they reflect good or bad Christian culture. Have fun!
Yes, I bought all of them and will start preaching in them each Sunday. Just kidding.
Church Planting Models
There are a variety of Church Planting Models. If you think you don’t fall into one of these, you’re probably ignorant or arrogant. I wanted to break the mold when I started planting. Then, I realized that God uses all of them. All these models, correctly or incorrectly assume that the planter is gospel focused. My hope is that, by laying these out, you will get a sense of where you are and how you might need to correct in the planting process to plant a better church, to cultivate a more missional people.
- Program-driven: mission by program, by generation
Southern Baptist Churches - Purpose-driven: mission by purpose, by paradigm
Saddleback Churches - Community-driven: mission by people, by relationship
House, Cell, Missional Communities - Seeker-sensitive: mission by profile, by target group
Willow Creek Churches - Ministry-driven: mission by mission, by ministry
Community Development, Evangelistic/Gatherables
Which do you identify with and why? Are all of the models missional? In what sense?
[1] Adapted from The Church Planting Village, North American Mission Board: http://www.churchplantingvillage.net/site/c.iiJTKZPEJpH/b.784555/k.D77/Church_Design_Models.htm
Lewis on Community
He works on us in all sorts of ways. But above all, he works on us through each other. Men are mirrors, or carriers of Christ to other men. Ususally it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important. It is so easy to think that the church has a lot of different objects – education, buildings, missions, holding services … the Church exists for no other purpose but to draw men to Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any
other purpose. – C.S. Lewis
Not sure how this quote came together, Doug? Part of it is from Mere Christianity.