The Change We Need

Throughout history, influencers of society have discovered that the power they wield lies in their ability to communicate their values and concepts to the people effectively. Once people can grasp the concepts and ideals they are passing across, then it becomes easy to change their behavioral patterns and habits. No matter how powerful an idea, concept or value is, if it is not properly communicated, then there's no change. Those who attempted to present their message in such a way that it produced change had to understand the framework of the society i.e. the culture that they lived in. To be more effective communicators, they had to understand the cultural framework of the time in which they lived. Martin Luther, the 17^th Century reformer said this with regards to the translation of poetry

Whoever would speak German must not use Hebrew style. Rather he must see to it-once he understands the Hebrew author-that he concentrates on the sense of the text, asking himself, "Pray tell, what do the Germans say in such a situation?" Once he has the German words to serve his purpose, let him drop the Hebrew words and express the meaning freely in the best German he knows

It is this same principle that some translators of the bible follow, when creating new versions and I believe this same principle is what individual Christians and any local body of Christ should adopt in bringing the change into our societies.





In the 21^st century, our cultural framework has evolved rapidly (and it is still changing as you read this post). Issues that were not mainstream a few years ago have now become topics of heated discussions among people, organizations and communities. Definitions have changed and the entire landscape of society has metamorphosed into something many of us have no clue about. Today believers are living in a completely different cultural framework from the time those who brought us into the light of Christianity are. As a result, many of the methods and arguements that worked for our fathers in the faith are either obsolete or not strong enough to counter the ones thrown about in our culture today. Many people, Christians and non-Christian alike do not know the power of the present cultural framework, the power of global media and as such, we are either shooting ourselves in the foot (by destroying our self-esteem, trying to measure up or revealing things that are meant for private and intimate consumption) or shooting others in the foot (slandering, attacking or bad-mouthing others, destroying relationships and isolating ourselves). My gist today is not about the ills of media but that for us to be relevant in sharing our message, we must understand the cultural framework we live in and this starts from understanding how powerful media has become in the 21^st century.

In the 21^st century, the influence of media permeates every area of life; education, family life, religion, leisure, business, name it. Media is affecting how we talk (language), how we relate to others (relationships), what we eat (nutrition), even how we interact with our children/parents! What is influencing you is what is influencing the culture. As simple as this sounds, it is really profound. The challenge today for the body of Christ (at both local and global levels) is how to express our faith (the Way, Truth and Life) against the rising tide of this media-dominated culture.

When you consider the amount of media clutter in today's society-TV, internet, radio, digital music players, mobile phones, other technologies, the task ahead of the church is enormous especially since we have focused on using methods and structures that worked well at a time but are not as effective today. It seems that the media-dominated culture is swallowing believers, who are meant to be the salt of the earth. Interestingly, Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises. (Matt 13:33). That's the potency that the kingdom carries. When the incorruptible seed is planted in our hearts and we become born-anew, that influence spreads to the environment we live in. The Church (the body of Christ) needs to know how to be relevant in this culture because it's already inside our nature to be influential.


I'll be hosting a workshop focusing on how we can be more effective in sharing our message and discipling more people in this generation on March 7^th, 2014. Please join our facebook page http://facebook.com/RAMPAGEOutreach to get updates.