Discipling culture

Making disciples doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s inextricably linked with our culture, laws and institutions. The culture disciplers are those shaping these spaces, which helps pave the way for the gospel.

Example roles

Discipling culture is creating a culture which is a favourable environment to make disciples. This means intentionally shaping institutions, ideas and public discourse to foster openness to the gospel. Making disciples doesn’t happen in a vacuum – a nation’s culture and institutions shape what people believe, the stories they live by and whether they’re open to Jesus. By discipling culture, we facilitate the disciple-making work of the entire body of Christ, paving the way for the nation to know him.

Discipling culture is not about “taking over” culture or “winning” the culture wars. These approaches risk conflating political ideologies with Christian witness. It is instead about boldly making the Christian vision of reality feel plausible, beautiful and compelling again.

Throughout Scripture, God positions his people to disciple culture, using their positions of influence to shape the direction of nations.

• Esther (Esther 4:14): Esther used her proximity to the king to protect God’s people from genocide.
• Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:1–10): As cupbearer to the king, he leveraged royal trust to rebuild Jerusalem and enable Jews to worship God in the temple.
• Daniel (Daniel 6): As a royal official, Daniel remained steadfast in his faith, and God’s deliverance of him from the lions moved the king to command everyone to worship God.

We disciple culture by being in the world, but not of the world

Be in the world

We mustn’t retreat from the world into a “holy huddle”, but actively engage in it.

Daniel was trained up to enter the king’s service in a course where he’d have studied in detail the “language and literature of the Babylonians” (Daniel 1:4). Despite being immersed in learning about this paganism, he felt no contradiction between this education and his faith. He wasn’t afraid of seeking powerful positions.

In the New Testament, Peter expects us to “submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority” (1 Peter 2:13). We are to engage within the structures of authority.

But not of the world

Culture will shape us.

By being “in the world,” the cultural air we breathe is inescapable. Our perspectives and actions are shaped by the institutions, laws, social norms, media, families and communities that we’re part of.

And in particular, while power is a good thing in enabling us to have an impact, the love of power easily corrupts us, often becoming an end in itself.

We must be shaped even more by God.

Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.Romans 12:2 (NIV)). We need God’s word and the Holy Spirit to shape our thinking, desires and habits so we increasingly share the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

So it’s essential we’re embedded in a local church and accountable to others, to ensure we are disciples who are rooted in Christ above all.

Cultural change in the kingdom

There is value in simply being a faithful presence in different walks of life, to have relational influence to reach those in different arenas. But to disciple culture, we must be thoughtful and intentional about how we use positions of influence to make a larger difference. We should prayerfully enter these roles in order to make disciples and have a clear idea of how we might go about doing this.

To disciple culture, it’s helpful to understand the principles behind how we can shift culture:

• Culture is deeply tied to our history and institutions, so shifting it is hard and usually takes three generations.
• Culture is shaped as we engage with cultural artefacts such as objects, technologies, stories or ideas – so we either need to shape the institutions which create cultural artefacts, or create the artefacts ourselves.

Social dynamics

As Christians, we often emphasise how change comes from individuals’ hearts being transformed. But we also need to be alert to dynamics of how change happens in society and how movements can have an influence. In Renaissance, Os Guinness outlines sociologically how culture shifts and calls us to engage intelligently with these realities. These are Guinness’ core insights:

• The ideas of leaders outweigh those of followers
  The deepest and most enduring forms of cultural change take place when they are embraced and propagated by cultural leaders.
• The centre outweighs the periphery
  This is both geographical – with ideas in London having more influence than in Truro – and in the status of cultural centres, with Harvard having more influence than Surrey University.
• Networks outweigh individuals and institutions
  Like the Clapham Sect that Wilberforce was part of, ideas spread best through networks, rather than individuals or even single institutions. So join Christian networks and look for cross-sector collaboration.

Kingdom dynamics

We need to be wise to how the world works. Yet we must also remember that the kingdom does not advance by the same mechanisms. God is sovereign. His ways transcend and ultimately override the strategies of the world. Guinness then shares these insights:

• The Spirit of God leads
  Ultimately it is the Holy Spirit that leads the advance of the kingdom of God, and we must be alive to his leading.
• God brings surprising reversals
  Jesus was a helpless baby. Moses was tongue-tied. Mary was unmarried. The last will be first, and the first last (Matthew 20:16). We should always be ready for God to use the unlikely.
• Seek first the kingdom – cultural change is a by-product
  As Guinness puts it: “The world is not ours to manage or to save. Our task is to focus on our individual callings … to trust that others are following theirs too, and to leave to God the masterminding of the grand outcome.”^{1Note 1Os Guinness, Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times (IVP, 2014) p. 108}

Example areas

These are some primary areas where culture is discipled, and some principles to consider within them.

Thought leadership

Academics, think tank researchers and writers can create or communicate ideas which go on to shape culture, and academia can give a platform for public witness.

John Lennox is able to engage with leading public figures like Steven Bartlett and Richard Dawkins due to his high academic standing. Dr Krisztina Mair is a younger scholar who gained her PhD in epistemology – how we know what’s really true. This enables her to speak with knowledge and credibility to a key question facing people today.

We need Christians who can develop real expertise in their fields to engage culture at the highest level. Academia can be a key avenue for long-term gospel influence on how people think.

Education

Teachers, headteachers, policymakers and curriculum developers can open gospel opportunities and ensure Christianity is presented fairly.

1. Be bold, expect conflict and be prepared to risk your job – the enemy will push back if you’re seeing fruit.
2. Consider the multipliers. If you’re a teacher, how can you be an example to others? Might seeking promotion to headteacher give more influence to allow Christian teachers to better witness? Could you create a charity that helps church schools live out Christianity – e.g. prayer spaces in schools?

Arts and entertainment

We should be boldly Christian in the cultural frontiers of social media, music, art, film, theatre, literature, sports. The arts can directly enable the world to encounter God and give a platform where Christians must boldly share their faith.

C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are among the most famous examples of Christian storytellers whose creative art has had a global influence with The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Both authors insisted their goal was simply to tell good stories, which couldn’t help but embed their Christian outlook deeply within the worlds they created. We need storytellers who, like them, have imaginations deeply saturated in the Bible, who can help open the door to the beauty and truth of the gospel.

More recently, The Chosen TV series has vividly brought to life the story of Jesus as a high-quality television series. It portrays Jesus with emotional depth and historical realism, and it has reached over 600 million views globally, including many who would never attend church.

Politics and law

Whether as a politician, strategic litigator, researcher, pollster or staff worker, an active and constructive engagement is important. We need to be genuinely committed to loving our neighbours and to working for the common good, having a godly influence through loving example and persuasion.

Remember our core mission: our political work shouldn’t undermine our gospel message, nor be confused with it, but complement it.

The gospel is bigger than politics. No party or policy represents God’s view nor can bring his kingdom. Engage constructively, lovingly and wisely.

Media

Institutional media is fundamental in shaping the perspectives of both ordinary people and those in positions of significant influence. It only takes a few news reports to change much of the nation’s perspective on faith, allowing them to be much more open to the disciple-making work of Christians.

Seek opportunities to elevate Christianity in the cultural conversation. Often faith has been excluded or shown in a largely negative light. Take the opportunity to pitch or advocate for pieces that understand faith and represent Christianity fairly and proportionately as a vibrant part of modern life. Where possible, get into roles where decisions are made on what articles, shows, books and other media are commissioned that could influence people’s attitudes towards Christianity.

Sharing faith creatively

Dai and Cath Woolridge

Dai and Cath are a couple based in south Wales, who each use their creative talents to point people to the good news of Jesus.

Cath is a professional singer and worship leader who acted in Gavin & Stacey and now speaks regularly on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought.

Dai is a storyteller and spoken-word artist, who has performed at Westminster Hall, Lambeth Palace, Trafalgar Square and for BBC Radio 4 and Sky Sports.

“It’s a joy to try and use my gifts to story-tell about the greatest and truest story, signposting people to the ultimate storyteller,” says Dai.

Cath adds, “Creativity reflects the heart of the Creator, making Jesus visible to the world in ways that inspire, move, and connect deeply with people. When I sing, I feel his pleasure. When I sing, I know he has first sung over me! What a God!”

Explore the other pathways

← Back to Work strategically