Tag Archives: Christianity

Soccer, culture and Christianity

9 Replies

Well, if you know me, you know that I can’t just let a cultural study end at noticing differences. Not even during the World Cup.

I look at how people in the United States have such different tastes in sports than most of the rest of the world. I look at how what we like in sports announcing differs from that of many other countries. And I can’t help but wonder… could we possibly see the same thing in our Christianity?

I’m not talking about doctrines so much as I am the application of those doctrines. I’m specifically thinking about worship styles, although leadership styles and evangelism methods could also be examples of differing applications. Shouldn’t we expect, for example, worship among Latinos to be much more effusive and emotional than the typical U.S. worship style? Shouldn’t we expect the preaching style in Latin America to be more similar to the style of a Latin sports announcer than that of a U.S. sports announcer? Questions like that creep into my brain.

Maybe we need to study a culture’s sports as we contemplate the best ways to take the gospel to that culture.

Suffering: An integral part of the Christian life

18 Replies

churchsign“Come suffer with us!” Maybe that should be what we advertise on our church signs. It would be more honest than much of what we see out there.

The New Testament makes it clear that suffering is part of the Christian life. It may not be the part that we like to talk about, but it’s an integral part of who we are.

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33) That’s pretty clear. When Paul and Barnabas went around encouraging new Christians, they told them: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)

It’s pretty straightforward. Still, we get surprised when bad things happen to good people. We ask “Why me?” “Why them?” and “Why that?” There are dozens of passages that say that Christians will suffer. Hard times aren’t a sign of God’s disfavor. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:7) He told the Romans: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)

Suffering isn’t fun. But it’s definitely part of the Christian life

The ties that blind

12 Replies

tiesI like neckties. I think they look good. In most cases, I don’t find them to be that uncomfortable.

And I think every missionary should leave them at home.

We’ve exported an obsession with this piece of clothing to countries far and wide. In some of those countries, no one wears a tie except for preachers. They aren’t a part of the culture in those places. In others, people who otherwise wouldn’t even own a tie are forced to put one on every Sunday.

In many countries, Christians believe that a preacher has to use a tie or he isn’t worthy of respect. Preacher schools around the world have required their students to wrap this colored cloth around their necks as a sign of their seriousness and spirituality.

In Argentina, it was easy to spot the evangelicals on Sunday: the women all wore long skirts (completely out of style) and the men used ties (often with short-sleeved shirts… ugh). You didn’t even need to see the Bibles under their arms to know, without a doubt, that these people were part of some religious group, a group that had been imported from the United States. They stood out, not because of Christian behavior, but because they tried to dress like people from another place and time.

Do Christians have to dress like Americans from the 1960s to be faithful? Are we supposed to create barriers between us and outsiders by the way we dress? Obviously I think not. What do you think?

How Does It Work?

Leave a reply

Years ago, when I was in college at ACU, a speaker at our chapel told the story of being on a campaign. He went into a store and told the man that he’d like to talk to him about being a Christian. The storekeeper asked, “How does it work?” The question caught the campaigner completely by surprise and he stood there in silence. The other man said, “Forget it. If it doesn’t work, I’m not interested.” And he went back to the storeroom of his shop.

So, what would you say if asked that question? How does Christianity work?