Have you tried to define culture before? It is a term we talk about a lot, but do we really understand it? Culture can be defined as a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a group of people. It encapsulates societal norms in thought and behavior. It is amazing to visit other nations with other cultures- and every culture has what we would consider to be strengths and weaknesses. It is always interesting in the Rice household because we are a collision of two distinct cultures- American and Brazilian. I hope that we can incorporate the best of both worlds into our family.
Often we look at culture today as a negative thing. The societal norms in thought and behavior have shifted dramatically in the past couple decades, particularly with the advent of the internet and smartphone. In many ways new technology seems to set our intelligence, certainly emotional intelligence, back to the Dark Ages. Therefore, it is easy to view culture as some kind of boogeyman responsible for all the evil we see in the world today.
The funny thing is, we are all part of the culture. Even/especially Christians have culture. We have done many amazing things, particularly in the Western worldview, to elevate the dignity of and opportunities available for all people. Christians have been behind so many incredible movements including hospitals, schools, and charities to help out the poor. However, the same cultural pull on the worldview of secular society has also been hard at work in church culture today, and the results are not pretty.
You’ve probably heard it said that the Church is the only army that shoots its own wounded- which is wrong- because the Russians did that too. Nevertheless, the state of the Church cultural today isn’t exactly stellar. So many of us have church hurt to varying levels and from various causes. Maybe you’ve been wounded and shot at. Needing grace in the midst of addiction or a helping hand, and you’ve been judged and ostracized. Leaders we’ve looked up to having moral failures. Gossip and slander impacting us personally. Friction over secondary, surface level issues such as carpet color. It happens, and rumor has it, happened here many years ago. We are not immune from bad culture here.
One of the great and terrible things about culture though, is that we are a part of it. Which means we can actually do something about it. By our actions and attitudes, we can transform the communities that we are a part of for the better. When we look at Acts 16 we see a picture of Paul and Silas that is incredibly counter cultural. There is so much we can learn and apply from their incredible mentality. We need to be more like them.
I invite you to join with us this weekend as we explore the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-40. Our service Saturday is at 3:30 in the afternoon, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us in person or online. Our Sunday School classes are on pause for the summer.