A Word of Welcome to "Cross and Culture"

The Evangelical Portal has been thoroughly redesigned, and now Cross and Culture stands at its center.  Welcome to the new order of things!  If you’re new to the Evangelical Portal itself, please read about its vision and future.)

Please note the blog’s name.  “Cross and Culture” reflects the tension of following and worshiping and conforming our minds to Christ, a carpenter crucified in abasement and humiliation — while living in a culture that worships excess and esteem, rampant consumerism and unconstrained narcissism.  You can call it many things.  Discipleship in the midst of decadence.  Faith amidst the fleshpots.  Okay, I confess that I just wanted to use the word “fleshpots.”  But the essential issue is what it means to carry our cross daily, and make the cross central to our lives, our hearts and our minds, while living in this contemporary culture.

To be clear, culture is not the enemy.  Christians should be expert interpreters, wise consumers, and imaginative makers of culture.  Moreover, “culture” is not merely out there, out beyond the walls of the church.  There is a culture within the church that also stands in dire need of critique.  So, consider Cross and Culture a clearinghouse in these three areas.  How do we understand and critique the culture of the world around us and the culture that permeates the churches?  How do we consume these cultures — which we cannot avoid — and respond to them in a way that reflects the life of Christ within us?  And how do we fashion our own culture, how do we shape the political, social, relational, ecclesial and media structures around us in ways that reflect the agapic love of God?

I will comment more on the evolution of Cross and Culture in the coming days.  In the meantime, you should know that it is now a group portal and no longer a one-man show.  I am thrilled that our other authors agreed to contribute, and they will begin writing blog posts in the days and weeks to come, as I have the opportunity to install them in their full contributor rights and make a proper introduction to all of you.