Charlie Brown was shooting his new bow and arrow.  Each time he shot it; he would run to the fence and draw a bull’s eye around the arrow.  Lucy saw what he was doing and informed him that he was not doing it correctly.  His reply to her was, “It works.  I always hit the target.”  Too often, this is the story of the church as it attempts to carry out the Great Commission.  To defend its ineffectiveness and inefficiency, she often argues that even if one person is converted, it is worth it.  The reality is that the church has not, is not, and will not have much cultural influence unless it changes its ways.  This is the thesis of the book To Change the World by James Davison Hunter and to the extent that I understand his thesis I agree.  He says “that the dominant ways of thinking about culture and cultural change are flawed, for they are based on both specious social science and problematic theology. In brief, the model on which various strategies are based not only does not work, but it cannot work. On the basis of this working theory, Christians cannot “change the world” in a way that they, even in their diversity, desire.”  Hunter proceeds by pointing out factors that are crucial to impact cultural change and that “Christians will not engage the culture effectively, much less hope to change it, without attention to the factors mentioned … .”

Christianity, in the attempt to change culture, has become like the culture it is trying to change.  This is a dynamic expressed in the book Nation of Rebels.  Our language has been co-opted and meaning has been dissolved, rendering an offensive using the weapons of values and beliefs weak at best.  Focusing only on individual life change apart from the institutions of culture and their leadership has reduced the church’s leverage to the margins of culture where potential change is weakest.

Hunter suggests the church must “disentangle the life and identity of the church from the life and identity of American society… . decouple the public from the political.”  He says the church must recapture its identity as the people of God under the reign of God living out life in community demonstrating Godly living with one another as well as with others.  

What stirred my emotions was the idea that the church cannot expand the Kingdom; that is the work of God.  The church can be an influence, but not apart from a healthy community.  If the community (church) is not healthy largely because it is too much like the world how can it have impact on the culture?  I found myself identifying more with the “pure from the world” position than with the “moving against” or “relevance to” postures that Hunter writes about.  By-in-large, the North American church is much more organization than organism.  It has morphed into the very form it rails against and even embraces the functions it despises.  Having reviewed many board room minutes, the dominating subjects are not spiritually inclined, and even the top down hierarchical administration functions like that of the world (Mk. 10:41ff).

I was especially stirred when thinking about the author’s encouragement that the church also be intentional about sending people into specific niches of society where influence has the potential to impact important institutions and leaders.  I thought it refreshing to read him say that unless the church does send out people into key social arenas it is not truly and completely fulfilling the Great Commission.  As the church sends people to these arenas they have the opportunity to engage the model he recommends, that of “faithful presence within.”  I find my self quite in agreement with him that by living a Kingdom life in the context of fallen society where the Christian’s first priority is glorifying and honoring God will have more impact than trying to change society through a utilitarian approach using God to effect the change.

I was challenged by this book and will keep it for future reference.  It encouraged me keep on facilitating a mentoring/discipling model that is Christ-O-Centric and reproducible and is therefore, given to movement. This, coupled with intentional prayer and focus, could impact key individuals in key institutions.  Perhaps this is the way the church could begin shooting arrows that hit the mark!

Hunter, James Davison (2010-04-14). To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (p. 92). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.