The Role of the Church in Cultural ClashesSample

True Purpose When a football game begins, there are actually three teams on the field. There are the two opposing teams battling for victory, and there is a team of officials. The team of officials answers to a higher authority—the NFL head office. They don’t take sides because they represent another kingdom. They exercise authority using the NFL rulebook. They make decisions without hesitation because they don’t care who likes them, claps for them, or boos them. They are not there to win a popularity contest. They are there to bring order to a chaotic situation. Likewise, the church does not exist for itself. The central theme of Scripture is the glory of God expressed through the advancement of His kingdom so that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. The church was created for this purpose—to advance God’s kingdom in history. God gave the church authority and placed the church in the middle of a chaotic world to bring order. Therefore, the church is not to take sides on societal issues because it answers to a higher authority and represents another kingdom. Meaning, the church should always represent God’s view on any matter. When functioning properly, the church functions like a levee that prevents evil from flooding into the culture. However, the levees are breaking and our culture is seemingly getting worse. One reason they are failing is because we’ve made the purpose of the church, the church. Instead of building God’s kingdom, we want to build big churches with many members and lots of programs. We must return the church to its true purpose—advancing the kingdom of God. Based on this, what is the job of the church?