Why Another Blog?
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)
Welcome to Faith and Culture. Allow me to introduce our new Highlands Church blog with a question: Why another blog? Good question. We’re all busy and hundreds of social media sites bombard us, all pleading with us to read, like, repost, or whatever.
But how did it happen that we all got so immersed in cultural chatter? The answer is: the culture constantly imposes itself on us without our consent. It’s not easy to get out of its reach. It provokes us to respond: be informed, get angry, mock opponents, debate, and stand against the “bad guys.” But we forget the importance of faith at times – for believing and trusting in a wondrous God – from a place outside that intense discord.
So, what can we offer you? A brief and thoughtful reflection on those cultural events, grounded in faith and biblical truth. We aim to be something like a breath of fresh air, or a moment of peaceful quiet amidst clanging gongs and stormy yelling matches. Our goal is to examine events and ask: what does living out our faith look like in this moment in our culture? How do we interpret headlines through the lens of our faith?
Picture it this way: the culture is like a swirling wind around us. It is constantly changing, and what was applauded a few years ago may suddenly provoke outrage. Keeping up with cultural change can be exhausting. What can we no longer say? What expression has suddenly become forbidden? What are the latest terms and expressions I’m supposed to use or avoid?
But faith in God is likened by Jesus to a house built on a rock. We sit on a rock, watching the cultural tornado whirling around us. It isn’t that we do not care; rather, the latest trend does not dictate our beliefs, which come from an eternal God. Cultural values will keep changing, but we do not lose our equilibrium or our peace. We are grounded in truth outside of the latest cultural styles.
We promise to respect your time, and provide something we hope will be insightful and helpful. We have all heard the expression that Christians are “in” the world, but not “of” the world. That is not an exact biblical quote. We all understand that we live in this world; we need to eat, find shelter, and pay to put gas in our cars. But Jesus taught several times that we are not “of” the world, for example in John 17:14-16, and John 15:19.
What does that mysterious expression mean, not “of the world”? Perhaps, in part, something like this: we are not, or should not be ruled by things the world often values, such as wealth, fame, or political power. As Christians we are, instead, citizens of an eternal Kingdom. We obey its rules and treat others as God has instructed us. Our lives are meant to display the fruit of the spirit, with characteristics like love, joy, peace, and patience. We look to serve and esteem others higher than ourselves. In short, we live out biblical values.
It is through that lens that we examine and judge events around us. We won’t always agree on all the conclusions, of course. Individual conscience is part of the living dynamic God has designed for us. But our goal in this blog is to wrestle with how we respond, provoke some discussion, and mostly to challenge each other to navigate events around us through faith in Christ.
We hope you'll join us on the journey.