Ken Myers on Titus and Cultural Engagement

In the recent issue of Touchstone Magazine Ken Myers' article “Waiting for Epimenides” draws from the letter to Titus lessons for cultural engagement. This is a good article both in its handling of Titus and in its observations of the current church scene. Here are some quotes:

“A passion for Christian maturity is easily obscured when church leaders become preoccupied with the church’s cultural relevance.” (9)

“Far from looking more like their neighbors in the interest of winsomeness, they are enjoined to live lives that put their neighbors to shame.” (11; commenting on Titus 2:1-10)

“St. Paul’s letter to Titus is a bracing rebuke to much of the vague talk about cultural engagement one hears in so many Christian settings. … It recognizes that cultural moods and styles can be enemies of faithfulness.” (11)

Noting that there are often secular voices pointing out the deadening effects of cultural trends, Myers goes on to say:

"But, all too often, these prophetic voices are ignored, as American churches have emulated the most popular trends of our time to attract people who want a spiritual supplement to the cultural status quo instead of a radical critique of the conventional wisdom. Christian leaders have assumed that ‘engaging the culture’ means finding out what the majority wants and figuring out how to exploit those desires in the name of Jesus." (11)

If you are not a subscriber to Touchstone, I would encourage you to try out the magazine.

Touchstone, 2

Yesterday I commented briefly on a great editorial from the April issue of Touchstone magazine. Today, I want to mention to other articles from that issue.

First, Amanda Witt contributed “Distant Neighbors: On Keeping Children Innocent When Lesbians Move in.” This is a compelling account of the Witt’s family leading their children as they encounter the “new family” in their neighborhood, two lesbians with a daughter, and the questions this raises for the Witt children. It is honest, humble, faithful and a great example of gospel-centered engagement. One of the greatest elements is that it is not in any way triumphalistic. It seems to me they have handled this very well, but she is transparent about the troubling questions this has raised for their children, questions one would certainly have rather not have raised yet. But, we live in a fallen world, and we need not pretend otherwise. Good fodder for pastoral as well as parental thinking. (the full article is available online)

The second article is another gritty, honest piece from a mother. Annegret Hunter’s “Losers Keepers: The Liberating Power of Negative Thinking” is certainly a keeper! She describes the hectic life of motherhood and how it makes her look like a loser in the eyes of the feminist circles she once inhabited. I smiled at numerous places in her opening sections recognizing things which my wife has also said. Mrs. Hunter then moves to discussing how the gospel addresses us not as “winners’ as so typically suggested in the shallower realms of evangelicalism but as “losers” who need the rescue of the one true Champion. The personal account she gives is moving.

Touchstone Magazine

As my most recent issue of Touchstone arrived a few days ago, I realized I had not yet written the post I intended on how much I enjoyed the April issue! This is really a great magazine, and I commend it to you. Let me point to three articles from the April issue to illustrate.

First, David Mills’ editorial, “Dwelling in Tentatives: The Gift of Christian Uncertainty,” is a great word for us. He addresses how Christian’s are so often expected to be certain about every issue and the sense that if we do not have certain answers to everything somehow that disproves our belief.

“It is a dynamic worth considering, because the Christian often finds himself outside the typical polarity, precisely because he is a Christian. We are constantly treated in the mainstream media as people who are unreasonably and dangerously certain, when in fact because we are certain about a few things, we can be uncertain about many others, while those who are uncertain about the few must be certain about the others.” (3)

“The Christian does not need to believe that almost every decision is obvious and crucial.” (3)

“The Christian does not have a final answer to all the practical questions of living rightly in a fallen world, if ‘final’ means completely or almost completely n this world. He does not have a final answer of this sort, yet because he believes in eternal mercy and justice, he does not have to pretend that there is one. He can do the best he can, confident that the Father, who loves suffering men infinitely more than we do, will in his own time and way make all things right.” (p. 4)

With echoes of 1 Peter 4:19, this is very solid, helpful counsel.

Time (and space!) is up. I’ll address the other two articles in a follow up post.