Written by: gfesadmin on March 14, 2013

Welcome to the city of brotherly love! These were the first words I heard this past weekend after pulling up to the curb at our Center City Philadelphia hotel.  Never have I experienced such service.  Being our 16th wedding anniversary, we decided to splurge a little and stay at a hotel which is usually beyond our means of living. After hopping out of the car our setting began to take shape.  Within a two block visual we could see amazing architecture sitting beside condemned buildings, profound wealth living among extreme poverty and opulence residing beside those who were homeless.  The contrast was striking.  For our time in Philadelphia, Naomi and I wanted to celebrate 16 years by getting some well needed rest, taking in some good Philly food “cheese-steaks”, see some historical sights and partake in a faith community named Liberti, which a good friend planted four years ago in the Center City area of Philadelphia.  As I stood checking out my surroundings, I quickly realized that the church sitting next to our hotel, was Liberti.  In the middle of all which is Philadelphia, the good and the bad, it simply
sat being present.  Here is a picture from the spot I was standing.

This past week while reading “To Change The World” by James Davision Hunter I was struck by the three political wine skins which formed intricate models of cultural engagement within modernity.  While studying these forms, I to recognize their current widespread use in family, society and the church.  It was evident these old wine skins or better yet forms are largely ineffective in reaching a 2013 community with the message of Christ.  After having read a portion of the book this past Sunday, my wife an I walked across the street to attend a service at Liberti.  As the service began, a Pastor from the leadership team began to express Liberti’s heart for the city, their vision for embodying renewal and restoration to all and the desire to extend this formation to all of life and creation.  While participating in the liturgy, my mind began to evaluate the following cultural structures in relationship to what I was experiencing.

Political Theologies of Cultural Engagement

Defensive Against… This theology hits a little close to home.  Having been raised in a fundamentalist heritage, the arguments for this position are somewhat cemented into my head.  Over the years and through my movement away from fundamentalism I began to think of this model as a “cactus”.  Cactus are kind of cool to look at, but every time you go to touch one they strike you.  It’s not that they don’t have anything good to say, but due to their defensive nature, it creates an us verses them mentality against culture.  Therefore the only reason to have a conversation with someone immersed in culture is to change them.  Thus having a motive or agenda.  “Defensive against” never sees the image of God in an individual and compassion is usually a foreign term.

Relevance To… A few years back I was able to attend a well know conference focused on the gap between mainstream culture and the church.  By the end of the conference many church teams attending concluded that they needed to create environments which modeled exactly what is experienced in mainstream culture.  At the center of many conversations was the idea that the church needs to become more like Disney World.  Customer service, dimmed lighting, production, smoke machines and louder music were all keys to capturing people outside the church with the message of the gospel.  Similar to Walmart, one key leader at the event made the statement, “The customer is always right!”  If there is anything I have learned, after 12 years of pastoring and 8 more years of shepherding and teaching college students, thecustomer “parishioner or student” is not always right.  In fact, it is our given responsibility at times to tell them they are flat out wrong.

Purity From… Very similar to “defensive against” in the respect that this group is often set apart. However, different in the fact that they believe they are standing for holding onto the purity of Gospel and its truths from 2000 years ago. Just down the road from our house is a significant size church well know in our area here in Central Pa. They are committed to teaching, academics and preserving the truths of Christianity.  Those who attend this church are really good at Bible trivia. Seriously, don’t get caught in a game with one of them!  They also believe the world is not going to change and that there really is not a whole lot that can be done to change culture, society or others. Though they know great amounts, I never see them engaged with their neighbors, community or city.

The Church as Culture and Community – A New Way

Presence Within… As I sat looking around the community worshiping together at Liberti, I noticed all walks of life.  Young families with children, business men in suits, homeless people off the street, a massive lineman from the Philadelphia Eagles, people in jeans, beggars in rags and a spirit of love.  Throughout the service, people were invited into the sacraments, the liturgy and to simply be present with God. No flash, no lighting, no over the top worship team… just simplicity, presence, community, scripture and communion.  The time ended with a statement, Liberti exists for the renewal and restoration of the City to Christ.

What does the balance of living “Presence Within” look like?  A few weeks ago I came across a video of Penn from Penn and Teller speaking about a man who gave him a Bible.  Now understand, Penn is an atheist and has taken many occasions to speak of the ignorance of many who follow Christ.  As you watch, remember the “Defensive Against” would argue with Penn, trying to convince.  The “Relevance To” would compliment his show and friend him on Facebook.  The “Purity From” would not be at the show or at least would go and then not tell anyone they had been present.  But what would “Presence Within” look like?

Which political theology do you live by in your faith?

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