Do you ever see to people and wonder how in the world they ended up together? You see a really tall woman and a short dude and wonder what in the world happened? How many of you paid attention to either the NFL or the NBA labor disputes? When they were in the midst of all of that, it seemed like we would never get football or basketball back. But as time went on and the two sides got closer together things started to fall off the table until they were able to reach an agreement. The middle ground caused each side to lose some thing that was a part of them going in just to make the situation work.

What about in the instance of our faith and our culture? When I look at the two of them, I see a lot of stuff connected to both that probably shouldn’t be there. There are some things in this culture that I have to actively shield my children from because I don’t want it to become a part of their lives and thought processes. And if I’m completely honest, there are some things in faith that I have to actively shield my children from because I don’t want it to become a part of their lives and thought processes. So how do we get them to move toward the middle? Do we think that there IS a middle for the two? Well, I stand here today (actually I’m sitting, but I digress) saying that there is. Why? Because the church should be part of the culture. And because the people in the church are part of the culture they live in. They are married whether we like it or not. However, we have spent so much time trying to separate the two that we forget that there’s really not a way to separate the two. Most of the time they are fighting like teenage sisters who both have a date and one is taking too long in the bathroom. The church has alienated the culture in which we live to the point that when you mention church to some people they have already turned a deaf ear to anything you might have to say. Culture has gone so far south in many ways that the church believes that nothing good can EVER come from outside the doors of the church. So they sit at opposite sides of the room staring at the wall with their arms folded, occasionally looking back to give a scowl to the other. Someone needs to get the two of them in a room and mediate a conversation. Are there distinct differences between the two? Heck yes! Don’t get me wrong here. There are some things that won’t work in either place, but I’m convinced that is because both sides have traveled so far that neither side will ever be able to release some things.

So the question remains, where is the middle? I believe that the middle sits right at the foot of the cross. To those more embraced in the culture than the church, you might already see that as leaning to the wrong side. And that’s okay. To those of you more embraced in the faith than the culture, you’re probably excited about that. But as Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend!” The cross is so welcoming and polarizing at the same time that it is able to handle being the middle of this complex spot. I like to think of it as the impact point for the collision between faith and culture. When we look at all the things that we hold on to in faith, some of those things aren’t necessarily things that we should be holding on to. We created things that we were never supposed to create. And then it threw the other side for a loop. When it comes to culture, there are things that just aren’t right. When people are left to their own devices, we get some crazy mess. Unfortunately, that can be said for both sides.

So why is the cross an impact point? Well, when you bring all of your baggage to the foot of the cross, it just can’t all stay there. Some of it was never meant to be. When two cars collide, there are parts of each car that are impacted. Neither of those cars come away looking like they did before they hit each other. They end up exchanging paint, losing windshields, denting doors…they both change. Both cars are changed individually, but they both end up sharing parts of themselves with the other. I tend to believe that the close faith and culture come to the cross, the faster things will fall off from either side. And if they ever collide at the cross, both sides will be amazingly surprised at what happens. Faith will be left with some bits of culture in it and the other way around.

What does this look like? Well, what does it look like to you? It’s my blog, so I can take your hypothetical question and turn it around on you. HA!