IX. Thoughtful Christians Envision Ongoing Service in the Church, to the Culture, and for the World
This central feature of the Christian faith declares that God is Savior, but we fail to understand the comprehensiveness of the Christian faith unless we also see the triune God as Creator, Savior, Sustainer, Ruler, and Judge.108 This God is calling to himself a people for his name, a people called the church. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ includes men and women who have responded in faith to the work of the triune God. Thoughtful Christians, in community with other believers, must invest in the church, engage the culture, and serve the world.
1. Church
The church was inaugurated at Pentecost (Acts 2) as God’s new society (Ephesians 2:15). It was founded upon the finished work of Christ (John 19:30) and the baptizing work of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). The church was a mystery (Ephesians 3:9–11), was prophesied by Christ (Matthew 16:18), and was revealed at the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. The church was built upon the foundation of Christ’s apostles with Christ Jesus himself the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20–21). The church is more than a human organization; it is a visible and tangible expression of the people who are related to Christ. As far as humanly possible, all thoughtful Christians should involve and invest themselves in the visible, organized church of Jesus Christ, and every person in the church should be rightly related to Jesus Christ by faith.109
2. Culture
Many people today are rejecting the church and the Christian faith, not because they perceive it to be false, but because they believe it is superficial or trivial. People are looking for an authentic and integrated way of seeing life that brings coherence to all of life’s experiences—some of which are quite confusing. In many ways, our post-Christian Western culture in general—and American culture in particular—resembles the pre-Christian Athens of Paul’s day (see Acts 17), particularly in the focus on the new, the novel, and the world of change as emphasized by the Epicureans.110 Our culture is similarly enthralled by novelty.
C.S. Lewis, in his well-known collection of essays, God in the Dock, in which he highlighted the value of classic works, stresses the point that we are obsessed with the new and the novel.111 Truth and values in our culture of novelty seem to be of minimal concern or consequence. In the address by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17, we find a model for thoughtful Christians. We learn how to engage culture in meaningful and relevant ways, as well as how to communicate and live this truth in an effective manner in the midst of an incredibly superficial world.112 The cultural trends that shape much of our world today are similarly influenced by the rise of neopaganism and the various and diverse forms of spirituality.113 Thus we believe that the Apostle Paul can become an insightful guide to enable thoughtful Christ-followers to respond to this changing post-Christian world in which we live and serve.114
3. The World
Thoughtful Christians live in a world where English is the new common language in most discussions of globalization, but the Spanish language is most frequently spoken by Christians around the world. We live in a context that points to the browning of Christianity and the movement of the Christian base toward the Global South. Christ-followers in the West must be willing to defer to non-Western opinions and ideas whenever our most basic Christian convictions are not at stake. Western wealth and isolation have at times kept us from understanding the real issues of the “majority world” and those in the unevangelized belt. Similarly, we must recognize the importance that social justice plays in understanding and carrying out the mission of God. We need to engage in the serious work that seeks to connect theology, education, justice, and missions together as partners rather than competitors.115
Many Christians, particularly younger believers, comprehend the importance of providing homes for the homeless and food for the hungry. They understand that they are to work for justice while simultaneously taking the good news of the gospel cross-culturally to new areas of the world. We must recognize that we now live in a globally-connected context with new faces representing the various contexts and cultures of our larger global family.116 We must recognize that what brings Christ-followers together is not our homogeneous characteristics, but our deep love for Jesus Christ. Our lives are to become an offering of thanks to Jesus, best expressed in lifestyles of compassion to the least of these in our world.
Thoughtful Christians should assume a posture of humility, listening to and learning from one another. The current climate of fear that characterizes the world around us will likely create a strong challenge, keeping many people from participating in new opportunities. A love for Jesus Christ and a desire to understand others will help to counter this fear, launching exciting global opportunities for the days ahead. We should think not only about international opportunities, but intercultural ones as well. The major cities across the United States now look as if the world has moved to the doorstep of these places.117
Poverty, homelessness, drug abuse, and violence surround us. Our cities are multiethnic and intercultural. We must grapple with our own insulation. We now have the privilege of locally living out the global implications of our faith, joining with others to forge relevant ties for global service. Let us not shy away from this task. Let us ask the Lord to raise up and develop a new generation of thoughtful, committed, convictional and courageous Christ-followers who will go forth in wisdom, humility, and confidence to serve the church, engage the culture, and disciple the nations for the sake of the gospel and the glory of the Triune God.118
Conclusion
We believe that thoughtful Christians, building on the themes that have been amplified in this essay, will joyfully desire to promote faithful Christian orthodoxy, while encouraging intellectual seriousness within this confessional context. We gladly confess afresh our belief that God has revealed himself to us in creation, in history, in our conscience, and ultimately in Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14–18; Colossians 1:15–18). This God-revealed truth provides the framework for understanding and interpreting the world, the events of human history, and our responsibilities toward God and one another. It is our hope that as we wrestle with the great ideas of history and the new and pressing challenges of our day that the great tradition of Christian thinking will provide both the resources and the examples to encourage our faith and shape significant intellectual pursuits as well as faithful living for the glory of God.
We trust that knowledge informed by faith will lead to an ethic and formation of character that will serve individuals, families, and churches and promote integrity, justice, and generosity. It is our hope that the ideals and commitments called for in this essay will not be seen as culturally confined, for we believe that these matters, particularly the pattern of Christian truth, Christian worldview formation, and a commitment to the enduring authority of scripture, express Christian commitments that cannot be easily expunged without great peril both in the short term and the long term for individual Christians, for Christian organizations and institutions, and for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the midst of the confused culture that characterizes this secular age, we need thoughtful Christians who exemplify commitments that are firm but loving, clear but gracious, encouraging the people of God to be ready to respond to the numerous issues and challenges that will come our way without getting drawn into every intramural squabble in the church or in the culture. Finally, we trust the Lord to bring renewal to our minds and hearts, providing a fresh wind of his Spirit not only to encourage serious Christian thinking, but faithful Christian living, expanding the work of evangelism and missions, reviving our education and service entities, and doing so in a manner that encourages us to relate to one another in love and humility. We pray not only for a new commitment to serious-minded, thoughtful Christianity, but also for a genuine orthopraxy that can be seen before a watching world. Let us work together with renewed commitments to advance the gospel in new, fresh, and thoughtful ways for the extension of God’s Kingdom on earth and for the eternal glory of our great God.119