Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
Eugene Peterson writes of the period in his ministry when he discovered that “in the cultural flatland of suburbia the people to whom I was pastor had no interest in books or the life of the mind.”
Stephen Witmer • A Big Gospel in Small Places: Why Ministry in Forgotten Communities Matters
The Forgotten Ways Handbook: A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches
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When we approach the biblical text, we come with a “pre-understanding,” a set of already established beliefs
Timothy Keller, Daniel Strange, Gabriel Salguero, • Center Church
he first confronted their culture’s idol of speculation and philosophy with the “foolishness” of the cross,
Timothy Keller, Daniel Strange, Gabriel Salguero, • Center Church
faith and culture;
James K. A. Smith • Discipleship in the Present Tense: Reflections on Faith and Culture
To reach unchurched, postmodern young adults, many ministers preach in warehouses, dress informally, sit on stools, show video clips, and use indie-rock music. At Redeemer we did none of these things, yet we had thousands of the very kind of secular, sophisticated young adults the church was not reaching.
Timothy Keller, Daniel Strange, Gabriel Salguero, • Center Church
More often than not, this interaction with a new culture shows us many things taught in the Bible — things we either missed altogether or thought unimportant, possibly even ways in which we misread the Bible through the lens of our own cultural assumptions.