Most people agree that the nations of the West are headed in the wrong direction regarding morality and culture. While it is very popular in some circles to blame presidents, congress (or parliament) as well as local elected officials, the Word of God makes it clear where to place the blame.

To quote Evangelist Charles Finney:

The error that lies at the foundation of this decay of individual and public conscience originates, no doubt, in the pulpit…Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree.

If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it.

If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.

Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation”.

I say amen to this! The Bible calls Christ followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world, not secular political leaders! (Matthew 5:13-16)

Consequently, I believe we will never see a positive shift in our general culture unless we first see a radical biblical shift in our churches.

The following are some of the church /culture shifts I think we need to shift general culture:

1. Pastors need to promote the kingdom, not build their own empire

Unfortunately, many pastors are focusing merely on building their own empire instead of the Kingdom of God. We (I have been a pastor for almost 30 years) are often consumed with the needs and challenges of our own particular congregation to the point in which we forget about our surrounding community and the larger picture of the Kingdom of God. The general theme of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the apostle Paul in the New Testament was the Kingdom – not even the local church! 

2. We needs to focus on “mega influence” not “megachurches”

Too often the goal of pastors is to have large crowds instead of making disciples. Jesus told us to make disciples not just new converts (Matthew 28:19, Luke 14:25-27). Crowds accommodate secular culture, only disciples can transform it!

3. Christians need to go from a consumer mentality to a service mentality

Too often believers only come to church to feel good and to have their needs met. This is expected for a new Christian but many believers I have known for years still come to church with a mentality of what they can get instead of what they can give. Until the body of Christ changes en masse regarding this mindset we will never be cultural shifters but merely self-focused consumers. Mature believers commit to a congregation to serve the saints and their community and not visa versa.

4. Prosperity needs to be focused on spreading the gospel

Many people are drawn to congregations that preach prosperity because they have a desire to be financially blessed. While it is true God wants us blessed, it is also true that He wants us blessed so we can be a blessing! Deuteronomy 8:18 teaches us that God has given us power to get wealth so He can confirm His covenant on the earth. We need to seek first His Kingdom and be God’s treasurers who steward His wealth for His purposes on the earth!

5. Emotional maturity must be a criteria for all Christian leadership

It is not enough that a person is gifted, anointed, and able to preach before we put them in a pastoral leadership role. Too many leaders are carrying emotional wounds from the past that give them an unhealthy drive to be successful in order to prove themselves. The result is ego driven ministry that is not always led by the Holy Spirit regarding the mission and activities of the church. I believe we need to pay attention to the emotional maturity of a person as the first criteria before placing them in leadership because the foundation of our life is not our abilities but our character. Having emotionally mature leaders will attract the next generation of high-end leaders who are craving for authentic, broken leaders who intimately know their God!

6. We must equip our congregations with a biblical worldview of cultural leadership

Too often our preaching is more mystical and about escaping the earth instead of engaging it. The bible is not a book about heaven but on how to steward the gifts God has given us to serve faithfully on the earth. That being said, it behooves pastors to equip the saints with a biblical worldview that enables the disciple to think God’s thoughts after Him regarding politics, economics, science, philosophy, education, family, music and the arts. If we don’t start doing this en masse in the body of Christ, we will continue to lose culture because the saints will only know enough for personal salvation but will not know how to relate their faith to the secular world for the sake of Kingdom advance on the earth!

7. We must reach the next generation of high-end leaders in our churches and community

Many of the churches I preach in that are culturally engaged have an average age of fifty years old and older. If this age demographic does not dramatically shift in the next twenty years these churches will not exist! The church needs to get Holy Spirit inspired strategies and create a church culture that celebrates creativity and attracts the next generation of capable leaders. This is a must if our nation will have a chance of having a future restoration of Judeo/Christian ethics in culture.

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