So God cares about culture which is why he corrects culture when it has ventured away from his design. We’ve already seen what God doesn’t want, what does his word say about what he does want from culture? The second half of Ephesians 2 tells us:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Out of the ashes of sinful culture because of Jesus, Paul says, comes a redeemed culture formed and fashioned into the type of culture that God desired all along. It is a culture where people who lived estranged from one another are made one, where people actually get along, enjoy each other’s company, have a common purpose, where what they produce by design and intent is holy and good instead of sinful and ugly. What do we call this new culture? The ekklesia or the church. It is the medium where God (re)creates in Jesus what we ruined through sin.

So why is it important to plant churches? Because God wants to redeem culture and seeks to do that through his body, the church.

If you’re following my train of thought then you should see where this is going. It is high time we put more focus, more resources, more emphasis on planting in “Western” culture because this is where global influential culture is produced. It’s like trying to save a town from the flood of a broken dam; if money, resources and man power are sent in to put down sand bags and no one is sent to deal with the break in the dam wall its a waste of time. It’s not a bad thing to have been sending missionaries, planting churches, and teaching Jesus in the cultures of the East or in South America. It’s not bad that there has been a focus on the 10-40 window where 8 in 10 of the worlds poor live, because in all of these places people need Jesus. However, have you ever seen pictures of people in the East? Usually they are wearing designs from the west, they are listening to “western” music, watching “western” television, emulating “western” *ahem* stars. For much of the past 50+ years the focus has been on putting spiritual sand bags around the neighborhood but very few have been sent to repair the hole in the dam wall. The flood of debased, wicked culture from the West, being consumed in the East must be addressed. That means taking a hard look at the efforts being made to preach Jesus and plant New Testament churches in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. This is one of the reasons why we are a part of KontaktMission, because of their commitment to the cause of Jesus, planting churches where culture is produced and where it needs redemption. It is important that we seek to redeem the producers of culture...

Tags: Planting