I've been thinking about culture.
I just graduated from a Christian university whos mission statement is Engage the Culture to Change the World. What does it look like for the church to engage the culture? For me, a more fundamental question is what culture do I engage? And what does that look like? I'm way into the Harry Potter books, for example. They're really fun to read and yet wrestle with some very serious issues of good and evil. And the pop culture connects with these books. I have to admit I get disappointed when other Christians shun these books as evil and don't give them the time of day. What an opportunity, I say! The Potter books are taking a wonderfully accurate pulse of much of pop culture today; I think I have a responsibility to have an understanding of this pulse as well. Because before I can engage the culture, I have to understand it. (Of course this brings up the issue of where's the line of particpating in pop culture to understand and help it vs. participating out of lack of Christian discipline...)
The emerging church is all about being relevant to the culture. Maybe a more accurate term would be understanding the culture. Relevence can be a scary word for me sometimes - it has this connotation of doing something just to fit in. Understanding, however, has purpose. I don't read about Harry so I can feel included in the pop craze. I read so I can understand how the culture is thinking and what they are grappling with so I can better engage them.
And I read the books because they're fun.