The Cycle of Redemption

The cycle of redemption

We are called to be different than the world. But the world in which we live is dramatically different than the world in which Jesus walked.  But God is at work, and that work is visible in the cycle of redemption.

The movement and flow of daily life have presented us with opportunities and challenges, and the systems beyond that seem to grow and expand, even though we are unaware of their existence. But if these systems are broken, how can we respond with a gospel that was given to a small, close-knit community?

God’s System for Change

The good news is that there is a system behind these systems, a Redemptive Cycle, which does move us from culture to community. We still need that small, close-knit community, and the changing circumstances that affect our systems have not changed that.

Instead, we can map those circumstances onto this larger system to understand. Then we can see where we are and recognize the points at which moving to community is possible and necessary.

Understanding the Redemptive Cycle helps us recognize and encourage healthy cultures. These cultures in turn give birth to genuine community. It also helps us see where culture is serving community, and where culture is causing harm.

And, perhaps more urgently, it helps diagnose some of the particularly vexing problems we are facing in our present circumstances, and to know how to better align ourselves with God’s redemptive work.

The Cycle of Redemption

We have now moved into the realm of faith. These are the things that we cannot necessarily define or prove, but that we still believe are true. This is true with the history of culture and community.  

And in the same way, we pay a great deal of attention to the differences and similarities of various faiths. But the basic definition of faith is to hold as true something that cannot be proven.

I am writing from within the Christian faith. That is both descriptive of what I personally believe, and the system of faith that has had the greatest influence on western civilization. In many ways, in this conversation, we cannot avoid that system of faith.

And I will be the first to admit that I, and those who share this faith, have contributed significantly to this undiagnosed problem. So I believe we have a responsibility, and an opportunity to contribute to the unidentified solution.

The System Behind All Systems

The System Behind All Systems

We rely on systems to manage our lives. But do we ever step back and look for the system behind all systems?

That begins to sound like a conspiracy theory or some kind of “deep state.” But if we’re honest, we all have moments when we wonder if the whole thing isn’t rigged against us.

A Downward Spiral

There is a system behind all these systems. And yes, this system has been corrupted. But this is not a system we developed. Rather it’s the system we discovered. In fact, every system we have is a reflection of this system to some degree.

Because this system was not our design, it’s not our problem to fix. Rather, someone else is already fixing it, and we have the opportunity to be part of that work.

I’m speaking of the simple story that God created the world with a specific purpose, it was corrupted when it fell into sin, but God has begun a process of redemption to restore the world to its intended purpose. That redemption was accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the effects of that redemption are still being worked out in our world and lives today.

I believe, by faith, this is narrative is true. But how does that apply to the problems we are facing today? There are many excellent resources that will describe and seek to persuade you of the truth of what I’ve described above. But I’m trying to take a different approach.

I want an approach that is practical and hopeful. One that helps us see and feel immediate results, and make plans for the future. To do that, I look for where God is working in these systemic failures that burden us now.

That gives me glimpses into his solution for the brokenness of the world. Then I try to bring that hope into the brokenness of the systems in which I live and work.

The System Behind All Systems

Yes, that means I’m using a system to manage my systems. And based on what we’ve seen, that would only create more problems.

Unless there is a system that God created. That system would be perfect, and all our broken systems are just a poor reflection of it. But even a poor reflection points to the existence of the real thing.

But first, we must look at how God created his system, in the beginning.

What Redeems Culture?

what redeems culture

We’ve all heard that culture beats strategy, but what redeems culture?

For decades now, culture has been the thing everyone sought to control. We worked for it in our companies and fought for it in our politics.

But despite these efforts, we now face problems we’ve never seen before. These problems stem from conflicting views of the world, and a willingness to act on those views at any cost.

What have we unleashed? Are not these problems caused by culture? Are we not seeing the thing we have prized used against us, and taken to an extreme we could not imagine?

It seems undeniable that culture has a role in our problems. But that has not brought us any closer to a solution. Rather, we stand dismayed as the unthinkable plays out before us, and our beliefs and values are swept aside.

We wonder openly if we have reached a point of no return. Has culture become a force beyond our control? Does it now control us? To ask that another way, is culture redeemable? And if so, what redeems it?

There is something that redeems culture: Community.

Defining culture and community are complicated tasks. That’s because they are closely related, and often overlap.

But perhaps two diagnostic questions will help. Where would you be missed? That is your community. What do you worry about missing? That is your culture.

These questions are overly simplistic but can begin to create a bit of separation between community and culture. That separation helps us see the relationship between community and culture.

Community is more enduring than culture because community creates culture. It makes sense that the only thing that can redeem culture is the thing that made it in the first place.

But our perception of community seems weak in the face of what we are experiencing from culture now. How can something so intangible and undefined redeem something so powerful and out of control?

Culture is powerful because community is weak. Think about it. Where culture is its most destructive, community has already failed.

Culture rules in the ruins of community.

The more superficial the community, the more destructive the culture it creates. That’s why movements can form around hashtags and catchphrases but inevitably burn themselves out.

But the opposite is also true. The more substantive the community, the more constructive the culture. That’s why some communities survive, regardless of what forces of culture align against them (Read more at FaithCulture.org).

How did it come to this? We took community for granted and pursued culture instead. Now we’re seeing culture for what it is, and are wondering where to turn next.

Like warriors of old, we left our homes to pursue the prize. But we are returning bruised and empty-handed only to find our communities in ruins.

But there is hope. Community can be rebuilt.

We can build community. Even while we are in shock or grieving, our most basic instinct is to reach out to another human being. We look to join hands and begin to build again.

We’ve been here before, countless times. But we’ve also made the same mistake over and over again. Even as community is being rebuilt, we are drawn away by culture.

We forsake our communities again to pursue the prize. So now we must ask, what redeems culture?

Maybe this time will be different. Maybe we’ve seen enough of the destruction and chaos that culture can create.

Maybe this time the cost of rebuilding will be enough that we’ll choose to protect what we have, rather than chasing what we can’t possess.

Community is powerful because it creates culture. But it requires discipline and understanding to be content with culture in here, and resist the allure of culture out there.

We must choose the good of those who are with us over shaming those who are against us. That builds substantive communities which in turn build constructive cultures.

It’s as simple as choosing who over what.

Then culture can be redeemed.

Changing the Conversation

Changing the conversation

This Blog looks at culture and the Bible, and how they fit together. But my goal is to be part of changing the conversation about culture among Christians.

I believe the Bible is God’s inspired word, so it sets the standard of truth that culture must be measured against. But I also believe that culture is part of God’s created world, and that God created it for a purpose.

I am concerned that we have missed the purpose for culture that I see described in God’s word.

As our awareness and understanding of culture has grown, our understanding of culture’s purpose has not kept up.

That biblical purpose for culture needs to be brought into the conversation. Only then will we be able to start to apply the truth of God’s word to the problems of culture that we see today.

Culture has gotten a bad rap, and this is particularly true in how Christians think and talk about it (Read more at FaithCulture.org).

That doesn’t mean there aren’t things that are part of culture that shouldn’t be changed. There most certainly are. But I am concerned that we have largely misdiagnosed the problem, so we can’t properly apply the cure.

God has a purpose for culture. That purpose is part of accomplishing his plan for us, and all of his created world. I am hoping that with biblical truth I can persuade you to look at culture from a different perspective from the one we’ve been given.

What conversation needs changing?

Our current situation presents us with a new set of challenges as we seek to understand and apply God’s Word.

God’s Word hasn’t changed, and how it describes us hasn’t changed. But the way we see and understand our world and how we interact and relate to each other has changed in big ways.

This has created challenges we have not faced before. But with these challenges come the opportunity to look more deeply into God’s word from this new vantage point, and see things we did not see before.

What we see around us is bad and unbiblical. But it gives us the opportunity to see new and profound insights into God’s goodness and grace.

By standing on what we believe about the unchanging truth of God’s word, we can gain new insights into how to respond to the issues we face today.