Why is church planting important? (Part 1)
May/19/2009 20:23
Why is it important to plant churches, especially in midst of “Western” culture? Because God cares about culture.
First off, we need to define culture. I am using the sociological definition for culture when I use the term. Simply put, culture is the thing produced when people of various walks of life come together to live out life together. There are several places in the Bible that describe the outcome of this type of coming together:
Continuing on in Genesis we read this story:
Now, let me be clear for my artistic friends, not all culture that is produced is bad but there seems to be a tendency for sinful humans to produce sinful culture more often than not. If you’ve ever been inside a museum of modern art you will understand what I mean; where else can you witness in one room an artist’s painting so exquisite that it brings tears of joy and awe to your eyes and in another room a piece of trash so hideous that tears of shame well up and children run and hide? (Anyone seen that painting?) Because we are simultaneously made in the image of God and fallen because of our broken sinfulness we tend to produce both. Culture produced by humans is important to God and when they produce sinful culture they are accountable to him. In both stories from Genesis God poured out his wrath upon those sinful cultures which should demonstrate to us that God cares about culture and as Christians, we should too.
There is however a type of culture that God rejoices with gladness over...
First off, we need to define culture. I am using the sociological definition for culture when I use the term. Simply put, culture is the thing produced when people of various walks of life come together to live out life together. There are several places in the Bible that describe the outcome of this type of coming together:
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5
Continuing on in Genesis we read this story:
“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:1-4
Now, let me be clear for my artistic friends, not all culture that is produced is bad but there seems to be a tendency for sinful humans to produce sinful culture more often than not. If you’ve ever been inside a museum of modern art you will understand what I mean; where else can you witness in one room an artist’s painting so exquisite that it brings tears of joy and awe to your eyes and in another room a piece of trash so hideous that tears of shame well up and children run and hide? (Anyone seen that painting?) Because we are simultaneously made in the image of God and fallen because of our broken sinfulness we tend to produce both. Culture produced by humans is important to God and when they produce sinful culture they are accountable to him. In both stories from Genesis God poured out his wrath upon those sinful cultures which should demonstrate to us that God cares about culture and as Christians, we should too.
There is however a type of culture that God rejoices with gladness over...
0 Comments
