Hey guys good discussion,

I certainly agree with Stan on the difficulty that exists for changing the culture at existing churches - it is far easier to create your own culture from scratch (not that planting a church doesn't come with any difficulties of its own).

Driscoll talks about the need for "cultural exegesis" ie. looking at the culture you are in and finding the contexts in which you can minister the gospel in a faithful and relevant way. In other words you understand the people and the culture so you can best communicate the timeless truth of the gospel to them in the most effective way - this is not new - it is simply good communication and good gospel preaching!

However, in order to convince a church that is not outward focused and perhaps over-reliant on "care professionals", perhaps we need to do both cultural exegesis and "church culture exegesis", ie. looking at your church culture and finding the contexts in which you can minister the gospel and the call to mission and ministry. In other words understanding your church culture so you can best communicate the timeless truths of the gospel and mission to them in the most effective way.

To often a young leader who is sold on the outward focus thing and who is exegeting his culture well and communicating the gospel in a faithful and relevant way to the surrounding culture has little impact in his own church. He stands and delivers the call to mission and yet no one comes... soon enough he gets frustrated and joins or starts a church plant and perhaps the congregation's only hope of renewal is gone.

Where a revolution in thinking over the last 20 years has been to apply cross-cultural missions strategies to western unsaved people, perhaps the next frontier is for existing church pastors to apply those same missions principles to reach their own congregations with the gospel. While many are busy becoming the pub-going bogan to win the pub-going bogan maybe there needs to be some who become the crusty old overprotective religious types to win the crusty old overprotective religious types. It is a tough gig but for the sake of the kingdom someone has to do it. Heaven rejoices equally when someone who never heard the gospel repents as it does when someone who has sat in church all their life with selfish attitudes repents.