'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part XXIV)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
Preparing to Win the Culture War
"How can we win a war that we're not supposed to win?" some may ask. I will agree that this week's title is a little misleading, but not for the reason you may think. The reason we have been called into God’s family and Christ’s Kingdom, and the destination toward which our lifestyle should be directing us is not to win the culture war, Jesus has already done that. Our duty is to win the remaining battles through our daily obedience, and when we complete that task, the war will be over. If we focus primarily on the ultimate victory, we run the danger of becoming discouraged in our daily process of living out our faith. As we travel life’s highways and byways we should not be discouraged that we don’t occasionally see large neon signs flashing, “Way to go, Hanson, you’re making great progress in redeeming the culture!” While it would no doubt be encouraging to see billboards cheering us on in our service, we have something far greater to encourage us, which is our Creator’s revealed Word to assure us of the positive consequences of our daily obedience.
Our role in God’s family should not be viewed as a challenge to see how many victories we can accumulate during our time on earth, but as a privilege to serve the Creator of the universe according to the spiritual gifts and abilities He has graciously given to us. When we think about all of the bad things that are happening to our culture, it can be more than a little intimidating to think about how our individual obedience can make a positive difference. However, we must remind ourselves that since Jesus has already won the culture war, our duty is to simply do what’s in front of us according to biblical ethics. That is all we have control over, and when we do that we know that we have achieved a victory for Christ’s Kingdom by behaving in an obedient manner. This is our purpose, and therefore should also be our passion!
Are the officers of your church more serious about their favorite sports team winning, than they are about God’s team winning? Would they even question the possibility of winning the culture war? Sadly, many think that God lied to Adam and Eve when He told them that their descendants would “crush Satan’s head” by their faithful obedience.[1] If your officers don’t believe God on this pivotal point, they
obviously don’t believe the Apostle John’s statement “Greater is He
who is in you than he who is in the world,”[2] so stop hanging around
with a bunch of self-professed losers, and join a real church who
believes in God’s promises. You will find that a real church uses a
similar outline for winning the culture war as sports teams use in
winning their games. Even though a coach may not be a Christian, and
doesn’t realize that his tactics come straight out of the Bible, he
uses them because he knows that they have proven to work! For example,
they get the right players in the right positions; they convince their
players to trust in the Game Plan; they make the correct responses to
the opponents’ tactics; they dominate the execution of the
fundamentals, and they make correct adjustments to the opponents
tactics.
We demand each of these from our favorite team; why don’t we make the same demands of ourselves in living-out our faith?
KEY POINT #1 -- Every organization is designed to achieve the results it has. The design of an organization dictates its results. To win consistently we must get the right system and the right people, so we can prevent decisions that lead to unpleasant consequences.
Christian Response: We need to work back from our current results to the fundamentals we’re using that are leading to those results, and replace them with fundamentals that will lead to God-honoring results, instead of man-honoring results. In other words, we must identify which non-Christian decisions are leading to which unpleasant cultural consequences.
KEY POINT #2 Convince the players to trust in the Game Plan by
carrying out their individual responsibilities.
a. When a player leaves his designated area in an effort to “make a big play,” what he is doing is leaving a giant hole in the defense for the opponent to cut back and run through and make a big play!
b. Identify the offensive and defensive calls you should make in certain situations and practice them during the week. Former University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant said to: “Prepare the team for things you’re going to face in game situations and have a plan for everything.”
Christian Response: Help your members identify their spiritual gifts and abilities so they will know what their roles are and how to perform them. Then help them to set specific goals so they will have a clear idea of how to carry out their “assignments” for Christ’s Kingdom.
KEY POINT #3 -- Keep the opponent’s points down.
a. Great defense - don’t give up quick scores.
b. Field position - be proactive.
Christian Response: In sermons and small group lessons, present the correct responses to make to the common objections to Christianity. This way, instead of giving ground by being caught off-guard and not being prepared, we can take ground for Christ’s Kingdom by being prepared “in-season and out” to present and defend our Christian ethics.[3]
KEY POINT #4 Critical Factors
a. Dominate the kicking game.
b. Penalties - why do something that will allow non-Christians to
get the upper hand?
c. Turn over and take away margin.
d. Passing efficiency.
e. Runs and completions.
f. Design your defensive scheme to produce negative defensive plays.
These six basic factors determine the field position, prevent easy scores by the opponents, keeps us in control of the game and enables us to call the plays we want, rather than the plays the opponent’s defense dictates.
Christian Response: Systematically teach the basics of Christianity, from the pulpit, in small groups and in catechizing our children. Also clarify what each biblical truth means as far as self-governing ourselves, and present several specific ways in which to incorporate God’s counsel into our daily decisions. This way we will have the discernment to be able to live with Christian liberty, rather than being fooled by non-Christian ideas.
KEY POINT #5 -- Crucial situations
a. Make quick decisions/adjustments to tactics of our opponents
b. Red zone offense/defense
c. Beat the clock end of half/end of game situations
Every game presents specific situations that are predictable. By thoroughly practicing them, we won’t be surprised when we encounter them in a game and we will have the confidence that we can adjust to them because we have successfully done so in practice.
Christian Response: We never know when we are going to have an opportunity to present/defend the faith, but we know those opportunities will arise. So by disciplining ourselves to learn biblical reactions to common situations and circumstances, we will be able to recognize those opportunities and make the biblical reaction that honors God when they present themselves.
How is it with you? Are you more concerned that your favorite team’s coaching staff follows these logical tactics toward achieving victory in a game, than you are in your church officers (and you!) following God’s logical tactics to win the culture through your faithful obedience to God's revealed will?
Next week’s topic is “Teaching the ‘Process’ of Living the Christian Life.”
Buddy Hanson is President of the Christian Policy Network and Director of the Christian Worldview Resources Center and has written several books on the necessity of applying one's faith to everyday situations, circumstances and decision-making.