This is an introduction to the seven articles in the “7 Principles of the New Culture” series.  In this article…

• Light shines in the darkness
• The New Culture and this series
• My journey
• What is your part?
• In this series

Light shines in the darkness

It was September 22, 2001 in Queens, New York. Those of us who lived in New York City were still reeling from the attacks on the World Trade Center. Smoke from the remains of the two towers could still be seen from miles away.  It continually reminded us all of the devastation the previous week.  Some of us had lost friends, others had lost their jobs, and everyone lived with the fear of when the next attack would come. In the midst of the tragedy, we were in a local church preparing for our first “ReNew Monthly Meeting.” The meetings were the fruit of nearly a year of prayer, discussion, and work by a diverse group of young adults, ministry leaders, and me. We hoped the evenings of worship, prayer, and relationship-building would spark greater unity and partnership between the various ethnic groups and denominations in the area. We had no idea the first one would fall at such an emotional time — but the Lord did.

As we opened the doors, young adults from across the New York City area started to pour in. A bus load from Boston even arrived to show their support and join in the evening. As we began to sing, pray, and talk together we realized that the ugliness of what we had experienced was no match for the beauty and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We experienced a taste of heaven worshiping together as one body despite our many differences. As the young adults left the meeting refreshed and encouraged, many expressed, “We need more of this type of thing!”

Over the next five years, we continued to help facilitate multi-ethnic gatherings and service activities in Queens and other areas.  My wife and I eventually felt led to leave our role with the campus ministry we were a part of, and start “ReNew Partnerships” as a non-profit organization focused on helping to build greater interracial unity and partnership in the Body of Christ. Since that time we (ReNew staff and volunteers) have helped to facilitate many multi-ethnic meetings, events, workshops, outreaches, prayer events, luncheons, etc. in a variety of cities around the U.S. Over time our focus has shifted from multi-ethnic meetings and events to helping to foster ongoing, biblical, multi-ethnic community within churches, campus organizations, universities, etc. We have had the privilege of helping to introduce many Christians to the joys of multi-ethnic community; as we have done so, we have consistently heard comments like: “This was so fun!” and “I’ve never experienced anything like this before!”

The New Culture and this series

Why do so many people find it exciting and refreshing when they come together with fellow Christians of other ethnicities?  I believe it is because it is a taste of what we refer to as the “New Culture” — the beautiful, unified, multi-ethnic community that Christ made possible through his life and death on the cross (more on this later in the series).  Those of us who have received new spiritual life through Christ are attracted to the New Culture because it is what God has designed us to be a part of for eternity (Rev. 7:9-10).  When we share in the New Culture we feel a unique sense of God’s presence and favor.  As we experience the “unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3) the Holy Spirit within us rejoices – and so do we!  Therefore, it is not surprising that a typical response we hear when Christians are in those environments is, “We want more of this!”

So, how do we “get more of it”?  How can our churches, ministries, and lives be filled with more of the beauty of the New Culture?  How should we think about and define the New Culture?  And, how can our discipleship efforts be more effective in equipping leaders to build and sustain the New Culture?    These are the types of questions that are the focus of our (ReNew Partnerships) efforts and it is what this series is all about.

The title of this series is not “The 7 Principles…” but rather “7 principles…” because I realize that these are just some of the many principles that can and should be discussed when talking about the New Culture.  I have written this series primarily for those who are new to the idea of the New Culture. If you have questions (or, I should probably say when you have questions) as you are reading this series I encourage you to go to TheNewCulture.org and click the “discussion forum” button in the left column. One of our staff/volunteers, a visitor to our website, or I may be able to help.

If you are already a New Culture veteran I hope you will be encouraged and find a few things that you can apply in your current efforts as you read through this series. It will also give you an overview of some of the central topics we focus on with our website, training forums, and online courses. We welcome your input and involvement with these efforts. If you feel something I wrote is incorrect or unclear please let me know at TheNewCulture.org/contact – I would love to learn from your perspective and experiences.

Before I move on, I want to make something clear… The primary focus of our efforts and this series is the intimate community of all ethnic groups in the New Culture. But, the New Culture is not just about different ethnic groups being in community.  It is also about different socio-economic groups, gender groups, age groups, anything groups being in community with one another through the power of Christ.   The New Culture is about tearing down all the walls that divide one human being from another through Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit.  We believe God has called us to focus our efforts on ethnicity-related aspects of the New Culture for many reasons — but, it is not because we believe it is the only, or even the most important, aspect.

My journey

If someone had asked me twenty years ago, “Do you think it is wrong that the church is so divided by ethnicity?” I probably would have said something like, “Yea, I think so. But, I have no idea how that could change.” I was completely unaware of what Christ taught and modeled on interracial relationships, how diverse the first Christian fellowships were, and the many passages in the Bible that address issues related to multi-ethnic community. Growing up in the suburbs of white, middle class America, my exposure to other ethnic groups was limited, at best. What little interaction I had with friends of other ethnicities often ended in frustration or confusion. Even if I did see the need to connect with Christians of other ethnicities, where and how could I begin? And, why should I bother when so few other Christians around me seemed to be concerned about our homogeneity?

Since that time I have been on a journey…or, more accurately, the Lord has taken me on a journey where the idea of multi-ethnic Christian community has gone from a foggy, distant concept to an exciting, beautiful, attainable reality. I still have a long way to go on the journey, but it has been a great trip so far. I have experienced the unique love, encouragement, and broadening that can only take place in cross-cultural relationships and the power and beauty that can only be found in multi-ethnic community. I have no intentions of going back!

One of the realities of discussing the New Culture on this side of heaven is that no one has all the answers. There are pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists, etc. who know a great deal and can provide us with a wealth of knowledge and experience on these topics — I quote several of them in this series. But, I have found that even these experts are quick to admit that they don’t have everything figured out. The issues involved with building and sustaining the New Culture are too varied, complex, and ever-changing for us to nail it down.

What is your part?

This series isn’t just about presenting information. It is about inviting you to be a part of a growing movement of Christians who are pursuing biblical, multi-ethnic community. You may be thinking, “Me? What could I possibly add?” You can add your prayers, gifts, abilities, passions, perspective, and experiences. We need people of all ages, sizes, shapes, and colors to add their unique contribution to the effort — that includes you! Hopefully the reality that no one has this completely figured out will keep you from the false idea that you cannot be involved because you don’t have enough knowledge or experience.  If you are white (like me) you may feel like you have little to add.  But, that is not the case!  In fact, one of the common reasons that efforts to build multi-ethnic community fail is because there are not enough white Christians involved.

Before you read on, I encourage you to visit TheNewCulture.org, and use our free, 5-minute assessment tool.  It allows you to estimate your level of knowledge and involvement in several key areas related to the New Culture and then provides you with an overall score between 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest).  It will help you know which areas you may find the most helpful in this series.

Lastly, I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to pray:

• For the Lord to show you what, if anything, He wants to teach you through this series.
• For wisdom in how to apply what you learn in your life and ministry.
• For the New Culture to become a greater reality in our churches, ministries, and lives. Pray as Jesus prayed, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, NIV)

In this series:

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