Church + Culture

How do we engage culture as the church? 

Let's start by defining what it is we are talking about when we talk about church.

When I say church, we all have different perspectives on what that word means. Some of us in most of the world think of church as a building. Church equals building. That makes sense because where we get the word church comes from a German word that has to do with church buildings. 

Some of us think of church and we think of institutions. We think of dead religion. We think of our past experiences. We think of abuse. The word church is so unhelpful today because we say things like, "Hey, I'm going to church," or we leave something like an event that has been well branded, and we grade how good church was or wasn't. "Was the worship good at church? Was the speaker good at church?" That's just so unhelpful. It's part of the problem we have to face as a church. We are church.

The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia. That by definition means assembly, gathering, community, or congregation. It means called-out ones. From the beginning, if we say the church is just a gathering, we miss the definition of what it means in Greek, which at its source means called-out ones, which means it's a group of people with an identity and purpose.

Church, to use our language, is a bunch of Jesus followers who have been called out of darkness into light for the sake of mission. In other words, right off the bat, to get this out of the way, you can't go to church. You are church. I use this illustration, and some of you will get frustrated, but it's like a gang. You can't go to gang; you are the gang. When I talk about us becoming a redemptive presence as a church, engaging as a church, we have to get rid of all the unhelpful baggage.

I don't want to say, "Well, we're not that kind of church," like we present ourselves as up against something else. I want to paint the best picture, so it just draws everyone in. We're not going to be known for what we're against; we're going to be known for what we are for or, better yet, who we are for. So the church in Greek means called-out ones, a group of Jesus followers. You can't show up to it. You definitely can't shop it.

The language of church shopping shows the very tip of this ugly nightmare of an iceberg that is the consumeristic, narcissistic way of existence that has crept into the very nature of the body of Christ. You can't shop it because it's the resurrected life of Christ in the world. You either are in, moving that world to the new creation, or you aren't.

The word we use in the New Testament for church, ekklesia, has its origin in Hebrew. There's this principle of the first mention or the law of the first mention. Essentially, it means the way a word is first used in the Scriptures or when you first find it has massive implications for how it should be used or interpreted in the future.

The story begins in Exodus 1. Israel was enslaved to an Egyptian empire, and they are being oppressed, making bricks seven days a week. At the top of the Egyptian empire is a guy named Pharaoh. Pharaoh represents the incarnation of the sun god Ra. He was a representation of that deity for the rest of Egypt.

So you have a people selected by God to represent God on earth, chosen to be blessed above all of the other nations, to be a blessing to the world, as slaves to this Egyptian foreign rule. They cry out in slavery to a God that is far away at the beginning of Exodus. "Where are you?" They cry out to God, make an appeal, and God hears the cries of the oppressed. 

There, God sets on a mission to free the nation of Israel from the oppression of an empire. He sends a man named Moses. Moses becomes a messenger, and he confronts the powers of Egypt, the empire, Pharaoh, and says, "Let my people go." Then God brings plagues. You've seen the Charlton Heston film. 

Or maybe you saw The Prince of Egypt, the animated feature about Moses, or any of the other films we have. Or perhaps you've read it. In the story, you have these plagues. What's fascinating about the plagues is that they are systematically attacking the gods of Egypt one by one. When you read about the plagues, it is Yahweh confronting the gods of Egypt. Now, what are the gods or idols used for in an empire? 

Idols are used by people in an empire to control, manage, make sense, or organize their everyday life. So one by one, the plagues confront and humiliate the Egyptians. Then we get to chapter 12, and it's the last and final plague. This is the plague that's going to set the people of God free. Remember, this is the narrative they use to define themselves.

In Exodus 12, we read about this Passover meal, where God sends the final plague. What is the last plague? To kill every firstborn male, animal, and human. Why? Because the god Egypt worshiped was Ra, and Ra's incarnate figure was Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's lineage was the son of god, his son. Do you see the parallels of what's going on? So Egypt was sent another plague against the god they worshiped, and Yahweh brings this divine punishment and judgment over Egypt.

For the last nine plagues, they've been exempt from having to do anything. The Israelites get to go about their merry business and the plagues attack all of the Egyptians, but on this one, they have to participate. This is what God says. This is the way they have to participate. Exodus 12:1: "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 'This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.'" The event is so significant it marks the beginning of a new year and a new calendar. Serious stuff going on. Verse 3:

"Tell the whole community [edah] of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there is. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat."

He gives this provision that there's going to be this meal. "You're going to sacrifice a lamb. You're going to eat this meal in a particular way." Then it says this in verse 12: "On that same night [the night you eat this meal] I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood…" So you take the lamb's blood and put it on your doorposts.

"The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you." That is where we get the word Passover. "No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance."

The moment of liberation is Passover, where the Egyptians are freed, and this word comes out of nowhere: edah. Tell the whole edah, the community, the assembly, the congregation. This is the definition of edah: community, congregation, assembly. Does that look like ekklesia? Yes. The rabbis uniquely defined the word. The Hebrews carried edah. Every time they heard or read in the Old Testament the word edah, it's connected to this story of God's abundant liberation and provision over their life.

The word they carried that edah represented was witnessing body. The people of Israel gathered as edah, a witnessing body, to the liberation of a God who liberates those who are oppressed. It was never about the congregation of people. It was about the kinds of people who experienced, who witnessed, a God who liberates the oppressed.

When you witness a God who liberates the oppressed, it not only defines who you are and your identity but also sets you on a trajectory to become the kind of person who represents the God who liberates the oppressed. When we use a phrase like going to church, it loses its meaning. We are a people defined by a God who has liberated us, who has set us free, who has made us his treasured possession.

The story of Israel is they're set apart. They become edah, witnessing body. In Exodus 19, as the story of Exodus continues, as they begin to define who they are, God calls Israel and says, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

In other words, "You will represent me to all of the other nations, and you will represent all of the other nations to me." Does that sound familiar, if you were here last week? Like a mirror. So the purpose, the identity, the mission, is all wrapped into one thing Israel knows as edah. The Ten Commandments, the Old Testament, the Law, not committing murder, not committing adultery, not coveting… These are all ways of existence to reflect the God who liberates the oppressed on earth.

Israel is given this covenant, this great relationship with God, and they are to live this way. They do in the wilderness, and then they enter into the Promised Land. In the Old Testament, you see a group of slaves who gain territory and land and begin to prosper. Look at what happens. Over time (this is the entire Old Testament), Israel has kings who rise. Some follow God; most do not. As they become more and more successful, they build a temple. They build palaces. They build military outposts in other countries.

Solomon becomes so successful he becomes an arms dealer and sends off chariots and horses to the rest of the world, becoming an arms dealer to the other nations. The queen of Sheba comes and observes the success of Israel and says, "I know why you've been so successful. You are supposed to maintain justice and righteousness." Israel is to represent God to all of the other nations. In their success and prosperity, they forget who God is. As one author, Walter Brueggemann, says, "Prosperity breeds amnesia."

Again, we're talking about the Old Testament here. 

We're not talking about the New Testament and the church, are we? Well, this is what happens. Jesus comes onto the scene. If you read the Gospels it's so clear. He is fulfilling all of what Israel was called to fulfill in the Old Testament. He is a faithful Jew. Jesus takes on the vocation of Israel to be the representative to all the other nations, and in his life, death, and resurrection he fulfills the vocation of Israel.

Jesus comes onto the scene and creates this community around him, 12 tribes, which represent the 12 nations. He says that after he is raised from the dead he will send his Spirit. I want to go back to last week's passage, Acts, chapter 1, verse 8. Look at the word Jesus will use. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jesus commissions his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He commissions them in Acts 1. He says, "You're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you to be witnesses." We talked about this a lot last week, but I want to just reframe last week. The word witness in Greek is where we get the word martyr, which means someone who lays down their life.

Another definition of witness is one who testifies or one who brings testimony. Another definition is one who affirms the truth or brings facts to a case, story, or event. I like that. A witness is someone who affirms the truth or brings facts to a case, story, or event. I like to say that a witness, someone who's filled with the power of God through his Holy Spirit, commissioned into the world, is a person who affirms truth, beauty, life, goodness, justice, righteousness, and resurrection of Christ in their everyday, ordinary life.

 A witness is someone whose life simply points to the reality of Jesus Christ. The music they're listening to is turned up loud, and other people want to hear what they're hearing. Our job is less about talking about music, less about talking about the tone and the beat, and more about helping people hear the music we're listening to. This is what we talked about last week with witness. A witness is someone who becomes so irresistible and attractive that people want to become like them in everyday, ordinary life.

Jesus says the church is to be witness to the world. If you go back to edah, that makes sense, because the community of God is designed to be the witnessing body for the rest of the world. Then Jesus says in Matthew 5… Again, this is just an introduction. I'm just trying to define the word church for us if that's okay. This is what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. What you need to know is he takes something that was designated for Israel. These two illustrations are used for the vocation of Israel to the nations. He says to his followers:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Jesus takes the vocation of Israel and says, "This is for my church." Salt. There's probably nothing more appropriate than what we need now as we engage culture as the church. Salt is not just for bringing out the best flavor, although that's interesting, isn't it? To bring out the best of culture and society. The Renaissance was an example. The church was at the center of an artistic revolution, music revolution. It was bringing out the best of culture.

Salt in the first century had to do with preservation, preserving foods and meats. If you think about our task as the church to be salt, it's to preserve all that is good and true and beautiful and just in culture and society. And light…to reflect God's light into darkness. Our task, Jesus commission us, is to be salt and light wherever we go. In other words, to become the kind of redemptive movement Jesus intended his church to be, a witnessing body, a community of people formed by the liberating power of God, set free for a mission and purpose in the world.

Don't ever say, "Let's go hang out at church." Don't ever say, "Church was good today," because that implies that you had a part in the gathering or service. The church is us. We are church, moving this mission forward as a redemptive presence, ushering in the kingdom of God with every thought, action, deed, prayer, lifestyle, and purchase. The kingdom is breaking in whether we want it or not. We can participate in this new creation or we can sit back and say, "It was good today."

So what is the church? The church is a witnessing body set apart for mission. It's brothers and sisters, people who have gathered around the confession that Jesus is Lord, and set into the world to continue the project God started in the resurrection of Christ. So what is culture, then? How do we engage in culture? We live in a society and culture that has a particular set of values. It has a vision, a particular life that's moving forward. Sometimes this culture opposes the very life and essence and values and vision of the kingdom of God.