John Piper writes:
"We will not have succeeded if we are known as a friendly place. And we will not have succeeded if we are known as an unfriendly place. We will be on our way to true success if we are known as a people besotted (head over heals, infatuated, radical, smitten, obsessed) with the glory of God. If our children speak of the glory of God. If our young people love the glory of God more than the glory of sport or music or fashion. If our career people pursue the glory of God more than the glory of financial success. If our older people rejoice in the hope of the glory of God just over the horizon.
Almost everything in American culture threatens this radically serious, God-centered passion to see and savor and show the glory-the greatness and beauty and worth of the full range of his perfections, his eternal being and unchanging character, his independence and self-sufficiency and holiness, his infinite power and wisdom and goodness and justice and wrath and mercy and patience and grace and love. Almost everything in American culture threatens to make our devotion and our services and our mind and our heart shallow and casual and chatty and-our most favorite blessing of choice-fun."
The question has to be asked, "Is American culture conducive for Christianity?" Where do Christians fit in this fast paced, free living, money making, American Dream culture? You only have to read the gospels to discover that Jesus' teachings contradict mainstream American culture. We all need to examine this subject as we seek to make Jesus Famous in a culture that seems to disinterested with the church and content with their stuff.
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"Death By Suburb:How to Keep the Suburbs from killing Your Soul" I started reading this book recently that Dudley Hall recommended. Our problem may be our prosperity! We need to learn how to handle it. As Dudley says," A famine is a blessing, God does whatever is necessary to expose and eradicate your idols."
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