I’ve been going through Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline” with a couple of guys I meet with on Sunday nights and we are looking at the chapter on “Study” as a personal discipline this week. He ends the chapter with these wise words that we should spend some time thinking about-
We would do well to study institutions and cultures and the forces that shape them. Also, we should ponder the events of our time, noting first, with a spirit of discernment, what things our culture lifts up as “great events.†Let’s look at the values of the culture—not what people say they are, but what they actually are.
Let’s learn to ask questions. What are the assets and liabilities of a technological society? What has the fast-food industry done to the tradition of a family gathering for dinner? Why do we find it difficult in our culture to have time to develop relationships? Is Western individualism beneficial or destructive? What in our culture is in harmony with the gospel and what is at odds with it? One of the most important functions of Christian prophets in our day is the ability to perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them.
Looking at the “great events” of American culture (Super Bowl, award shows, etc) and what it says about our values is depressing to me. Our almost complete obsession with celebrity, sports and entertainment speaks volumes about our values. The fact that at any major university the football and basketball coaches make at least 4x what the president makes (and maybe 10-20x what a professor makes) speaks loudly about what we value in this country. But what really worries me is how the church and most people who consider themselves followers of Christ are as obsessed with sports and entertainment as the pagans are. It’s not that I don’t enjoy sports, movies or other forms of entertainment- I do. They play an important role in society. But when a culture elevates sports and entertainment to the level it has in America, I believe that culture is in danger. When Christians buy into that level of idol worship, I believe that the church is in danger.
There are of course, many things in our culture that are not in harmony with the gospel but it is really dangerous when the values of the church are not in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus’ last instructions were to “go and make disciples” and to teach them to observe all that He commanded- not entertain them in the hope that they will “accept” Him. I believe in excellence in all that we do in the church because God is worthy of our best efforts- not because we need to compete with the world. The church will never be able to compete with Dubai World and if we try, we waste valuable time and resources.
So I wonder where the modern day prophets are who “perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them”?
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