Joe Thorn shares with us his six rules (be sure to see his post for the entire text):
What do people mean when they say “cultural engagement?” That phrase is often spurned as if it means thoughtless syncretism between the church and culture. In my reading it rarely means that. It is certainly not what I mean. I am a fan of that three-fold approach to engaging culture: reject what is evil, receive what is good, and redeem what is broken/lost.
6 Rules of Cultural Engagement
1. Be present.
It sounds easy enough, but being present in the world these days is made difficult because of the Christian sub-culture the church has created around itself. Being present means being a part of the community God has sent you to, not just the community he wants you to help create. Do you know the people, the local issues and struggles, the values, practices and interests of your neighbors?
2. Practice discernment.
You must be thoughtful in your engaging. Is [fill in the blank] something to reject outright (nothing good in it), something to receive as it points to truth or beauty, or is this an opportunity to point to the redemption we, and all things, have in Jesus? It is not always time to be the culture warrior, nor does Jesus call us to be spiritual pacifists. Sometimes we must fight, sometimes we share things in common, but we are always looking to heal.
3. Develop your theology.
You cannot be a culture engager if you are not a theologian. You will be unsuccessful in “redeeming culture” if you are unsuccessful as a student of theology.
4. Find courage.
Engaging the culture in this way demands great personal conviction. Like Jesus and the apostles, preaching the gospel in word and deed will both lead to you being favored as a helper, and hated as a meddler. It just depends on the issue.
5. Speak clearly.
To properly engage your culture, whether rejecting what is evil, or receiving what is good, you must speak the language of the culture. It is not enough to say the murder of the innocent is an abomination, or that all men are dead in sin and need to be regenerated and justified. We must explain ourselves – even better, the gospel – in words they can understand.
6. Love.
This is perhaps the most important rule of engaging culture, because most of the time you will not only be engaging ideas, but people; people made in God’s image, people who feel, people Christ calls us to love and serve. It is not appropriate to claim we love our neighbors without a real demonstration of that love. Whether we are rejecting, receiving or redeeming love for God and others must be what moves us to speak and act.
