COPING WITH CULTURAL SHIFT IN POST-CHRISTIAN AMERICA (Part 6)
This is it … one last dive into the important topic of Coping With Cultural Shift in Post-Christian America. In this issue we will explore an answer, or an approach, we think is the best way to engaging the Post-Christian Culture with the Gospel.
So what is the approach followers in the way of Jesus should use for this post-Christian world?
The same as with every generation before it: disciple making.
At the end of the day, Post-Christian thinking struggles, and most likely rejects, any attempt at discipleship in the Christian faith.
Did you catch that?
The answer we are proposing to you is not readily received by the people we hope to reach. At the very least, the secularist will struggle with the methods we are most familiar with using in the church for discipleship. They see the Christian way of thinking as something which is exclusive, inconsistent, a relic of dogmas, and forced on people.
The reality is that whatever is perceived to be true is as real to them as the truth. Perception is powerful. We have to figure out a better way to engage this growing sector of our society and change their perception.
In the secularist’s way of thinking they need to be free to search out, discover, and define what is truth for themselves. We need to develop space for this to happen in their search for God. In their minds, Christians are focused at telling you what you have to think and how to live your lives, which excludes anyone who doesn’t match the criteria.
We never said this is going to be easy … only that we see disciple making as the approach through which fruitfulness in our efforts might be achieved.
Still, as those who have been called to the life of a sent person (a missionary), who have been given the task to go and make disciples, it is our responsibility to do the hard work of a missionary by crossing cultures with our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and families. God didn’t burden the unbeliever with this task. He commissioned those who follow in the way of Jesus (us) to find a way.
It means we build bridges and find ways to better disciple people who come from such a cultural background. Why? Because this is how they process life; it’s how they need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. We simply can’t ignore it. It is time to find common ground so we can advance Christ’s kingdom in meaningful ways in this generation.
This is one reason we (David & Kandy) advocate for a mix of coaching with disciple making as it improves our serve among such people. In this approach, we follow the example of Jesus and strive to aid those we are discipling through the discovery process by asking them good questions, and then through friendship, being available to answer any questions they may have of us.
This helps the person being discipled to think more deeply about life issues. It gives them time and lets them remain in control. These are two really important factors. We don’t tell them; we ask good questions, and then we trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest as He guides them into all truth. Our position is to be available and approachable.
We are inviting you to join the movement and cross cultural divides, which can seem impossible at times to reach across.
We ask you to be people willing to genuinely live transformative lives as you reach through the maze that separates in order to bring forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love.
Our hope is for you to invite others to walk with you, so they can make a better, more informed decision concerning Jesus Christ.
In this humanist society of Post-Christian culture, it takes authentic representation of the Gospel lived out in us who call ourselves people in the way of Jesus. We must learn to incarnate the Gospel in every day life and become fluent in sharing the Good News.
Our story (whatever it is) when mixed with God’s story should create a narrative that is better than whatever story those we are sharing with have heard before. People need real people who tell the story of Jesus’ love and how it has impacted their lives for the better.
We ask you once again, will you join us?