Culture Shift? & the Inauguration Speech

Maybe you have heard people talking about a culture shift, maybe the letter you received from me about my trip is the first time you have ever heard anyone using language like that.

Either way, I was struck by some of the words of our new president in his inaugural speech, because of how similar they are to the discussions that are happening in many different disciplines of study concerning our shifting culture.

And I think this President has captured the hearts of many young people because he is speaking a language that makes sense to them. Here is how he part of the task that is before his administration.

"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government."

Do you hear it... A shift has occurred, and the arguments that have stalemated our government (i.e. big vs. small government, democrat vs. republican) are no longer the pressing issues, and that by continuing to dwell on these issues the government has lost the trust of her people.

In essence, he is asking for people to put aside some of the most important things in their entire political career... why? For the sake of the American people. But isn't that what the arguments were about... taking care of her people? Sure, they were. But because the arguments are so divisive, moving forward has stalled because both sides want so badly to prove they are right. In the meantime, trust has been slowly eroding because public opinion is that the government is not acting in the best interests of her people.

Right about now, some people reading this are fuming because they are firmly entrenched in the arguments of policy and have strong feelings and long term investments in these arguments.

While on the other side, many people see this President as a figure of hope, because of his pronounced detachment from the argument, so that the interests of the people can be addressed.


My intention in this post is not politics, nor is it meant as an endorsement or in opposition of our new president. What I am hoping to do is simply articulate what I hear in this portion of the presidents speech. A clear articulation of a shifting culture... and his solution to move forward: Unity is more important than winning the argument!


In Christian circles there are plenty of people crying out for a similar solution to the divisiveness that plagues "the Church." The argument follows the same pattern as the one above.

Different Church Parties (denominations,etc), have become so focused on being right in regards to divisive issues, that the church is no longer acting in the best interests of the Gospel.

For example, an issue like "Can a believer lose his/her salvation?" Answers that divide us vary from: Yes to No to Maybe, and all the answers have fairly good arguments from scripture for why they are right. And this argument, in particular, has created numerous divisions in the church.

Sadly, it seems that these division have hindered the progress of the Gospel. While churches have been concerned about getting the answer right, the world is looking back at the church and calling her irrelevant as this issue is not relevant to the needs of our culture. And what is the need of our culture... The gospel. So, inside the church, you are beginning to hear a similar plea for Unity as you hear President Obama's speech.

As a part of this Pilgrimage to Italy we are hoping to learn how to embrace unity centered in the common vision to advance the Gospel in our rapidly shifting culture.


Your Thoughts?

Preparation

One of the ways we are preparing for this trip is by reading together.

There are 4 books that we are going to read before we embark on our actual trip. The first is, "Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture." by Michael Frost.

I am currently reading it and will make some comments about it soon. If you have read the book or if you want to grab it and give it a read, I want to invite you to post your thoughts/comments below. Maybe we can learn something together?

The other thing I have found to be helpful is that many websites that you can purchase books online from acually provide an exerpt to give you a feel for the book like this one found at Amazon.com. Maybe that will be enough to spark some ideas you wanna post, or even better... encourage you to read it with me!

Why Pilgrimage?

It's an interesting word, and one that isn't used much in our current cultural context.

Generally, when we hear "pilgrim" with think of thanksgiving and those funny hats with the buckles on the front.

Our class chose to not only refer to this trip as a Pilgrimage, but also named our cohort by the same name almost 2 years ago.

At its core, the word, pilgrimage refers to a trip, generally a long trip taken for religious purposes. For our class, this is the way we have viewed our seminary experience, as a trip or a journey.

None of us wanted to simply have more information in our heads at graduation time, we wanted to be different people, more Godly men and women, more spiritually attuned leaders, better equipped students and teachers. A classroom wasn't going to be sufficient to accomplish these goals... so we committed to taking a journey together. Similarly, we have made the same commitments for this trip we are taking to Italy. Our prayer is that God may use this experience to transform our lives as we bring our seminary experience to a close.

In many ways, we are asking you to take this journey with us... hopefully this blog helps you feel a part of this Pilgrimage.