Church Relevance - Issue 10
August 2006

Culture is the product of life.

Everything you do is driven by culture. Your thoughts, your beliefs, your actions - they are all influenced by culture. It defines you, yet ironically, you define it. Everything you produce will contribute to supporting or redefining your culture. But it is not just about you. You also help shape the culture of every group you are a part of - your family, your church, your community, your country. And in return, they help shape you.

Influence is a powerful thing. If your church can understand how culture is influencing the people you want to reach and in which direction that culture is evolving, your church will be able to minister far more effectively. Understanding culture is not about imitating or mimicking culture. Understanding culture is about understanding people in a way that enables you to minister more effectively to their needs and to reach them in a way that is most responsive to the gospel.

Each church is called to reach a unique mix of culture. What works for one church may not work for your church. You are reaching a different culture. Furthermore, what used to work for your church may no longer work if the culture has evolved. Let’s look at the four eleven on culture - 4 ways to respond to culture and 11 areas that shape it. Once you know how to respond to culture and how to learn more about it, your church will have the tools needed to stay relevant to the people you are called to reach.

4 Ways to Respond to Culture

1. Educated Response.
   These churches understand culture and where it is heading. They have the ability to discern which trends will stick and change culture and which trends are simply passing fads. They foresee the changes their church will need to make to continue effectively ministering to people long before those changes are needed. So what’s their secret? They spend a considerable amount of time observing the people they want to reach and studying reliable statistics and trends that affect them. They know history and how to learn from mistakes that others have previously made. They know what will strengthen their ministry and what will weaken it.
2. Early Response.
   These churches quickly respond to cultural change but lack the ability to discern between lasting change and passing fads. They frequently scramble after a trend without fully understanding it or how it shapes society. They chase cool for cool’s sake. Ultimately, their inefficiency costs them resources that could have been used to strengthen their ministry. And their fad-chasing habits can quickly earn them a superficial label that prevents them from reaching some of their community.
3. Mid-level Response.
   These churches respond to cultural change with a conservative wisdom. They are not current on the latest culture or deeply familiar with their community, but in the long run, they respond to cultural changes once it is apparent that the change is here to stay. The downside of their slow response is that by the time they do respond, they have lost ground to thousands of other outlets (companies, industries, etc.) that have already responded to their community’s need.
4. Late Response.
   Late Responders are out of touch with their community and culture. Their focus is primarily on the congregation. Traditions and stubborn members become huge barriers to change. Unfortunately, these churches respond to culture decades too late.

Obviously, an educated response is the ideal way for your church to respond to culture. But it requires an understanding of culture. You need to learn to recognize and understand the areas that are shaping your community’s culture.

11 Areas that Shape Our Culture

1. Arts.
   Nearly everyone is a fan of some type of art, music, theater, or film. How are the themes pervading the box office and song charts shaping the thoughts of your community? How has culture changed since the creation of rock n’ roll, pop art, and hip-hop music?
2. Economics.
   How does your community’s mindset change when times are bad versus when bank accounts bulge? How do they cope with unemployment, inflation, and high gas prices? How did The Great Depression and Dot-com Bubble change culture?
3. Education.
   How will today’s school systems and latest theories shape tomorrow’s minds? How has culture changed since Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and the removal of school prayer?
4. Family.
   Everyone is influenced by the quirks and culture of their family, but how is the concept of family changing in your community? How high is the divorce rate? How many single parents are there? The average family isn’t quite what it used to be.
5. Geodemographics.
   How are age, race, and gender segmented throughout your community? Are there certain areas that attract senior citizens? What about immigrants? What areas are struggling with racism or other prejudice?
6. Moral Issues.
   Where does your community stand on moral issues? Are they for or against abortion? What about homosexuality? Is your community becoming lax in its moral standards? If so, how will that change things?
7. Politics.
   As a whole, is your community Republican or Democrat? Conservative or Liberal? How are political trends shaping the perspectives of your community?
8. Religion.
   How much of your community is Atheist, Hindu, Muslim, or unchurched Christian? And how does your church plan to reach each one of these groups?
9. Technology.
   Twenty years ago, the Internet did not exist. How will our lives change in the next ten years? Technology creates new avenues that expose people to more culture. As technology progresses, how much more complex will cultures become? How have automobiles, aviation, the computer, and the Internet changed culture? And how will nanotechnology shape our future?
10. Social Class.
    What social classes pervade your community? Blue collar or white collar? Welfare or high society? What are the predominant fashions of your community? Who are the cliques?
11. War & Trauma.
    War changes people. It shocks. It hurts. It changes people’s opinions. How is our world at war changing your community? How did the terrorist attacks of 9/11 affect you?

Keep in mind that these areas are just the tip of the iceberg. Purpose to delve further into each area by asking questions of your own. Think of other areas that are shaping culture and your community and explore those areas too. If you do, you will begin to improve your understanding of culture and how it influences the people your church wants to reach. Then you will be equipped to have an educated response to culture. And that’s the 411 on the basics of culture.