Ray Ciervo Ministries

There is a lot ofinformation and desire to affect culture. I believe this would fall under theumbrella of “love your neighbor.” Unfortunately, I don’t find a lot of love inthe process. Affecting, or changing, maybe transforming culture normally takesthe shape of voting someone who Christians think represent Christian valuesinto office. I don’t know that I agree with this. Actually I do know. I don’tagree with this. Most of what I hear is angry, sometimes vitriolic languagewhen it comes to changing, excuse me, transforming culture.

I’ve not always believedwhat I now believe about transforming culture. There was a time I believed thechurch would make such a great impact on the culture it would turn to Christ.By “it” I mean the masses that participate in our western culture. I now havecome to the place of believing only God decides when a transformation occurslike the effect the Great Awakening caused. Transforming culture is notsomething God asks of the church unless it is under the umbrella of “love thyneighbor.” God’s plan is not pacifism, nor is it an aggressive military posturelike manifest destiny. I do believe in the “just war” approach to militaryconflict, but that’s a topic for another blog. Back to transforming culture . ..

It is in God’s plan for thechurch to love the people in the world not the stuff in the world. Love youneighbor is the way the church should proceed evangelistically.

Since studying apologeticsI’ve embrace new “tools” for evangelism. I still believe in the greatcommission, the mission of the church to reach the unsaved of the world andmaking disciples. As my years go by I become more astute of my time andresources so I focus more diligently on what I think needs to be done. So here’smy plan for really affecting culture, really.

I believe we need a newkind of missionary, one that will see the high school and college campuses asthe main US mission field. Here’s where Jesus is most needed and will have thegreatest affect. I still believe in confronting those who manufacture ideasthat are raised up against the knowledge of God. The university campus is thelaboratory and factory of such thoughts. And, there’s need to bring the battleto them.

But, what is needed morethan that, in my humble opinion, are those who will go among the collegestudents and share the message of Jesus. I know this is not popular, but it’swhat is needed. Students go to college to get their degree, which now onlyqualifies them for further degrees needed to make a decent living – anotherblog. College is the place where not only are ideas manufactured, but it’swhere these students are forming their plan for life. They’re looking for lifeto make sense and what they’re being told is that it doesn’t make sense. Bothpostmodernism and scientific naturalism give no hope for the future of mankind.Both have a “flat” view of morals and meaning. Another blog?!

What the church ought to bedoing is putting its resources into strengthening their young people to bemissionaries in this field. We ought to focus on the tools needed to equipthese young people for the war they’ll experience in measures they’ve neverdreamed of.

They need to be taught torely on the power of God to resist the plethora of temptations they’ll face andbe equipped to confront the arguments against the existence of God, thereliability of the Bible, moral relativism and militant Darwinism.

We must also move away fromthe “hip-shot” apologetics and teach the core of our beliefs. We must resistthe “pat answers” so often heard from popular pseudo apologists. We must firstunderstand the mind set of the secular world, investigate their gripes and formour answers from an enlightened intellect. Although space doesn’t afford us acomplete answer here – the point is we must focus on the students of ourculture and reach them with the message of Jesus Christ and his resurrection.