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Many, many Christians struggle with what is good and bad, what is right and wrong, as far as cultural things go. What TV shows should we watch, what movies are okay to see, what social networks should we be a part of, what music should we listen to? It all comes down to your mindset on what our relationship as Christ-followers to culture is. I have seen four general mindsets about that relationship:
1. Combatants. This is by far the most well-known, and most visible attitude. Combatants consistently moan about the deterioration of American society as seen in movies, TV shows, and elsewhere. These people are boycotters, feeling like it is their moral obligation to fight against immorality.
2. Consumers. These are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Consumers ignore what culture is saying all together and just devour as much of it as they can, generally for their own entertainment or self-fulfillment. They rarely, if ever, consider the ideas, notions and consequences of the TV shows, movies, etc, that they join in on. Consumers just know it is funny, entertaining, or otherwise personally-fulfilling and that is all that matters.
3. Creatives. These people jump into the middle of culture with a mission. Creatives are artists who use their abilities and gifts to make culture. Art, movies, TV, and music. You might be amazed at how many Christ-followers there are in the midst of Hollywood and Nashville that are teaching the truths of grace, wisdom and beauty. And I am not just talking about 'Jesus movies'. Creatives are painting the portraits of grace in modern terms and stories. (Parables?) I could give you a few modern examples, but would rather see them from you in the comment section.
4. Communicators. These people use culture as a listening post. Communicators participate in culture as a means of understanding the prevalent themes and trends and attitudes in the world around them. They subscribe to the age-old notion that we must first seek to understand, and then seek to be understood. Communicators approach culture and media with a mission to know how to best voice the message of the gospel in the midst of that culture.
I find myself to be a communicator more often than not. What about you?
Tomorrow I will discuss some questions/concerns I would have for each of these groups!
**DISCLAIMER: THIS post by Dick Staub got my mind working on this over a year ago. I added to his thoughts and categories though!**
Please Discuss:
Do you fall into one of these categories? What are some examples of each?
1 comment:
REPOST FROM MY BUDDY, DREW SNYDER,ON FACEBOOK:
Is it possible to be both a consumer AND a communicator? To me, it's impossible to credibly communicate if you're not consuming as well. Here's what I mean: there's a lot of movies, TV shows, music, etc. that I will never use to try to communicate Christ to other people. I pay attention, not only to understand where people are at, but also because I happen to enjoy it. However, I think if I didn't have things like this, then any time I did try to communicate, it would come across as contrived.
It's a tricky thing, this 'being a Christian in the world to reach people thing,' - you can't fake it. There's no pretending, because people see right through it.
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