Today Susie talks with author and culture commentator Gabe Lyons. Gabe makes the case that cultural engagement is the calling of the Christian.
“Our faith is real, it has something to offer in the world, but we have to role up our sleeves sometimes and get engaged in it. It’s not always easy, it’s not always clean and it doesn’t mean you can spend all your time around people who think the way you think. It’s going to mean mixing it up in a world where people don’t think the way we think.”
As we do that, we have the assurance that God can move the things in our culture that are beyond our power.
They talk about how Christians should engage in culture in a way that would make society miss our contribution if we were gone. It’s important that this cultural engagement flow out of a heart that is right with God.
“The public witness that we ought to have has to first be lived, not just something that we talk about or share with people.”
Gabe and Susie talk about how the public views Christians. In the early 2000s, Gabe found that among individuals ages 16-29 who were not a part of the faith, 9 out of 10 thought Christians were judgmental. 7 out of 10 believed Christians were only out to proselytize.
While these sentiments continue, there’s a new movement within Christianity of those who acknowledge the negative perception the world has of Christians but refuse to accommodate to culture. Rather, they believe that they are called to stand for the truth of Christ.
Gabe and Susie talk more about this return to evangelism flowing out of a well-lived life in the rest of their discussion.
Gabe’s newest book is The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith.
Key Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 3:15
