culture

In II Cor 5:18-20 Paul reminds us that God has taken care of the problem of sin for the whole world and calls us to be ambassadors of that message to our world. To be honest, I tend to focus more on the prevalence of sin in the world rather than on the message of reconciliation I am to represent.   With a 24-hour news cycle there is always something to be alarmed about. I find it easy to slip into a critical and judgmental

Recently visiting Europe and it’s many churches I was reminded again of the sober reality that God has no grandchildren.  Richly beautiful cathedrals now attract crowds of admiring tourists rather than crowds of humble worshippers.  Walking among the tourists, admiring the powerful art displaying biblical themes, my heart grieved for the lost awe of and growing apathy for God so prevalent in our 21st century culture.

Do you, like me, often feel you are on information overload?  Between texting,emailing, surfing and living I declare that I need a bigger hard drive and a updated chip for my brain.

It doesn’t help to view an Internet video highlighting the rapid pace of change and learning that the amount of information contained in one week’s New York Times is more a person in the 18^th century would have received over an entire lifetime! 

Most of us recognize that certain things in the Bible were written for certain times, certain cultures, and we don't practice them today. For example:

- do we practice the Sabbath from sun-down on Friday to sun-down on Saturday?

- do we sacrifice doves at the birth of a child?

- do we greet one another with a holy kiss (on the lips, no less!)?

- do we refrain from braiding our hair?

Ever wonder why the greeters at the doors of your church don't welcome you with a smack on the lips? (In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul exhorts the believers to greet one another with a holy kiss.) Or why we don't share everything in common as the brothers and sisters in Acts 2 did?

All of us practice contextual theology. Contextual theology recognizes that:

Having lived in another culture and experienced the frustration of not knowing “the rules” the following email story got my attention this week.

Tapestry began as women came together to discuss sharing ministry ideas and resources on the Internet, particularly through bible.org. We came to realize that it would be profitable to discuss these issues with women serving God in various ministries throughout the world.

Thus, the blog.