LeaderLines -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

Cultural Conversation Starters
by Tom Goodman
April 30, 2009

How are we to interact with the culture? Books and films and music often touch on the same subjects that the Bible does: forgiveness in the midst of betrayal, failure, hope in the midst of suffering, redemption in the midst of failure, and so on. So, the books and films and music around us can be "cultural conversation starters."

The Apostle Paul shows us how. In Acts 17, he's waiting in Athens for his friends to catch up with him. As Paul walked around the city, he noted it was "full of idols" -- the Greek text could be translated it was "under" idols, it was overwhelmed with them, overrun with them. And verse 16 says he was "greatly distressed" at this reality.

He shared the message of Jesus with anyone who would listen, and soon someone said, "You need to present your case at the Areopagus." That's a Greek word that means Mars Hill, and it was a place where the philosophers of ancient Athens gathered to hear various opinions and then discuss them.

The interesting thing is that, although all the idols and wrong ways of understanding God disturbed him, when he was given a chance to speak, he didn't blast the people for it. He actually used one of the many idols as a reference to start his message, and he even quoted from two of their familiar pagan poets as a way to support what he was trying to say. Here's his speech:

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' 29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone -- an image made by man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Now, obviously at this point in the speech, he's starting to turn the conversation to Jesus; but this whole idea of a dead man alive from the grave brought the whole conversation to an end for the time being. Verse 32 says, "When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.'" That was the end of the conversation for that day, but some of them expressed interest in hearing more later, and verse 33 says some came to believe.

Acts 17 gives us a three-point outline for how to use the surrounding culture to begin conversations about Jesus:

Know your world.
Respect your world.
Inform your world.

I want to look at each point for the next three weeks. First, know your world.

There's a guidebook for preaching with the title Between Two Worlds. What a perfect description of anyone who wants to explain the faith to others. You have to know your Bible and you have to know the culture you're in. Paul knew something about the culture he was in. In Acts 17, you see him walking around Athens, talking with the people, paying attention to their shrines. In fact, he was so well acquainted with their shrines that he could point out the inscription on one of them: "To An Unknown God." This also means that he was checking all this out for himself instead of just drawing conclusions about the culture based on what others were saying -- that's a lesson we could learn in outreach to our own culture. Did you notice that Paul quoted not one but two pagan poets that would have been familiar to his listeners, and that means he must have read more than the Bible and religious material.

In short, Paul not only knew his Bible, he knew his world. He knew something about the customs and convictions of the people he was speaking to.

Next week we'll look at the second way to interact with the culture: Respect your world.

--Tom

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Cultural Conversation Starters by Tom Goodman April 30, 2009 How are we to interact with the culture? Books and films and music often touch on the same subjects that the Bible does: forgiveness in the midst of betrayal, failure, hope in the midst of suffering, redemption in the midst of failure, and so on. So, the books and films and music around us can be "cultural conversation starters." The Apostle Paul shows us how. In Acts 17, he's waiting in Athens for his friends to catch up with him. As Paul walked around the city, he noted it was "full of idols" -- the Greek text could be translated it was "under" idols, it was overwhelmed with them, overrun with them. And verse 16 says he was "greatly distressed" at this reality. He shared the message of Jesus with anyone who would listen, and soon someone said, "You need to present your case at the Areopagus." That's a Greek word that means Mars Hill, and it was a place where the philosophers of ancient Athens gathered to hear various opinions and then discuss them. The interesting thing is that, although all the idols and wrong ways of understanding God disturbed him, when he was given a chance to speak, he didn't blast the people for it. He actually used one of the many idols as a reference to start his message, and he even quoted from two of their familiar pagan poets as a way to support what he was trying to say. Here's his speech: 22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' 29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone -- an image made by man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Now, obviously at this point in the speech, he's starting to turn the conversation to Jesus; but this whole idea of a dead man alive from the grave brought the whole conversation to an end for the time being. Verse 32 says, "When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.'" That was the end of the conversation for that day, but some of them expressed interest in hearing more later, and verse 33 says some came to believe. Acts 17 gives us a three-point outline for how to use the surrounding culture to begin conversations about Jesus: Know your world. Respect your world. Inform your world. I want to look at each point for the next three weeks. First, know your world. There's a guidebook for preaching with the title Between Two Worlds. What a perfect description of anyone who wants to explain the faith to others. You have to know your Bible and you have to know the culture you're in. Paul knew something about the culture he was in. In Acts 17, you see him walking around Athens, talking with the people, paying attention to their shrines. In fact, he was so well acquainted with their shrines that he could point out the inscription on one of them: "To An Unknown God." This also means that he was checking all this out for himself instead of just drawing conclusions about the culture based on what others were saying -- that's a lesson we could learn in outreach to our own culture. Did you notice that Paul quoted not one but two pagan poets that would have been familiar to his listeners, and that means he must have read more than the Bible and religious material. In short, Paul not only knew his Bible, he knew his world. He knew something about the customs and convictions of the people he was speaking to. Next week we'll look at the second way to interact with the culture: Respect your world. --Tom LeaderLines is a weekly "e-briefing" providing valuable information and inspiration to those who serve at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Do you know friends who would appreciate LeaderLines? Just forward this e-mail to them! Have you subscribed to LeaderLines? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given away to anyone, and you can automatically change your subscription or drop it by following the easy steps provided with each e-mail.