WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW
Seven leaders identify ministry's most strategic points.
Leonard Sweet, Eugen Peterson, Rick Warren, D. James Kennedy, Jack Hayford, James Montgomery Boice, and Don Argue
January 1, 1993
Discernment has always been a noteworthy trait. In the days Of King David, the men of Issachar were singled out because they "understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (I Chr. 12:32). Today, reading the culture and knowing how to respond is still crucial. We asked seven respected leaders how cultural changes are affecting the way they do ministry. Not surprisingly, the seven views are dramatically different.
Target the Trends
by Leonard Sweet
We are facing the end of one era and the beginning of another. The world that many pastors prepared for is no more.
The 500-year period of history that Martin Luther started, the era we know as the modern age, the era of Enlightenment, has come to an end. It's being replaced by a post-modern culture.
The modern world was characterized by trust in-almost deification of-reason, which made doubt the basic spiritual problem. The spiritual problem is no longer doubt. This culture hasn't gotten more secular; post-modern culture, if anything, is superstitious, characterized by easy-believism.
Our challenge is to help people believe the right thing. People believe in astrology, New Age, gurus, Shirley MacLaine. If we continue to minister with modern assumptions-that people need to be convinced of the supernatural-we'll miss the mark. People today believe in miracles, in angels. We don't have to argue the case for spiritual realities anymore.
Our challenge is to claim this moment for Christ. It is a unique moment that calls for unique strategies, skills, and sensibilities.
I have tremendous respect for the Amish, but they've decided not to live their moment in history. They aren't taking any cues from our current culture. Their culture is frozen in the 1830s. They talk like it; they dress ...
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