1. Cultural Engagement + +
What does ‘engaging the culture’ mean for Christian retail?
By Lora Schrock
In the World,
Not Of It
Building Relationship Based on Truth.” Pan-
elists include Smith, who is also chair of
CBA’s board of directors; author Josh Mc-
Dowell; and keynote speaker Steve Green,
president of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
Defining Terms
“Engage the culture”—it’s a phrase that has
become a part of Christianese, like “it’s a
God thing” and “sold out for Jesus.” But
what does it mean, particularly for Christian
retailers?
By definition, culture is the beliefs, cus-
toms, arts, etc., of a particular group or so-
ciety. By virtue of running a retail store in
the marketplace, retailers directly engage
with the culture every time they open their
doors. However, for many Christians, cer-
tain aspects of today’s society are in direct
opposition to the Bible, so how involved
they become with the culture can range from
avoiding it to fighting it.
Answers in Genesis chose to fight. It ran a
15-second digital billboard in major U.S. cit-
ies earlier this year that was addressed “to all
our intolerant liberal friends.” According to
the organization’s website, “Society’s grow-
ing ‘let’s all get along in love’ approach has
led many Christians to become passive in
the culture about proclaiming truths. Most
Christians today prefer the comfortable con-
fines of their churches and homes and don’t
want to engage the culture.”
Other believers prefer to declare a truce
instead of a war. According to a recent ar-
ticle in Relevant by contributing editor Jesse
Carey, “the aggressive culture war mindset
is still alive, but an upcoming generation of
Christians—who are able to ignore ideologi-
cal labels and see people for who they are—
has the ability to extinguish it.”
The challenge ultimately for Christians,
says George Yancey, professor of sociology
at the University of North Texas, is to “main-
tain our Christian character while we seek to
enter important cultural dimensions.” The
author of Hostile Environment (IVP Books,
June), Yancey says engagement must be both
an overt proclamation of what we believe
and the subtle influence of contact that oc-
curs when we engage with non- or even anti-
Christians.
For Christian storeowners—and Chris-
tians everywhere—this means going into the
world and making disciples (Matthew 28:19)
but not conforming to the world (Romans
12:2).
The Whys and Hows
“We’re constantly reminded that our world
needs the hope of Jesus,” says Kirk Blank,
president of the Munce Group.
“Whether it’s watching a reality show,
reading the headlines, or listening to some-
one’s conversation at the airport, we hear
of broken lives, broken relationships, and
Sue Smith knew she was tak-
ing a chance. The event she
was planning might alienate
some of her customers. But as
manager of Baker Book House
(Grand Rapids, MI), she wanted
her store to be known as a safe
place for exploring the tough is-
sues of faith and culture.
So last August she hosted two represen-
tatives of the gay Christian community to
speak on how the church and the LGBT
community can discuss faith issues with ci-
vility. The well-attended event did have some
critics, but overall Smith felt the evening was
a positive example of how Christian retailers
can engage the culture.
Engaging the culture is an important sub-
ject CBA will discuss at ICRS next month in
the Monday panel discussion, “Engagement:
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2. Cultural Engagement + +
05.15 | CBA Retailers+Resources 15The Official Magazine of CBA
broken dreams,” he says. “The good news is
that we have the Good News. We all need to
be challenged to get out of our comfort zones
and look people in the eyes, meeting them
wherever they are, relating to their problems
and society’s challenges so that we can ulti-
mately point the hurting to Christ.”
Having conversations with people where
they are in life can mean dealing with those
who may have negative preconceptions of
who and what Christians are—or are operat-
ing with a negative agenda.
“Retailers should first recognize that there
are certain individuals who will always have
animosity toward Christians. This doesn’t
remove their responsibility to treat such in-
dividuals with respect, but it does mean that
we can’t gauge our success on winning such
individuals over,” says Yancey. “Treating such
individuals in a truly giving and Christian
manner may help us to lessen the hostility
they feel toward us. Ultimately, our attitude
should be that we are in a multicultural so-
ciety and our Christian culture has as much
right to the public square as other groups.”
He advises retailers to consider the mo-
tivations of the person they are dialoguing
with as well as their own.
“The Bible tells us that men are often mock-
ers of His Word. Discerning this motivation is
often difficult because those with anti-Chris-
tian animosity often want to hide that animos-
ity so that they can’t be accused of bigotry,” he
says. “If a person is willing to dialogue in good
faith then we should get out of our comfort
zone and enter into such dialogue.
“We must be willing to maintain friend-
ships even if the person won’t change his
or her perspective. It may be through such
friendships that those with anti-Christian
hostile attitudes learn lessons of tolerance,
but only if we befriend them regardless of
whether they alter their opinions.”
For Moody Bible Institute President Paul
Nyquist, retailers have to be engaged. “Shun-
ning cultural engagement isn’t an option for
believers if we’re going to fulfill our mission
to be salt and light for this world. If we avoid
cultural engagement, we will become cultur-
ally irrelevant and we won’t have to be con-
cerned about society marginalizing us—for
we will have marginalized ourselves.”
Product Selection
Beyond talking with and befriending non-
Christians, another way to engage the culture
is to bring relevant general market product
into your store.
“Knowing your culture is pertinent to
knowing what to bring in,” says Smith. “As
a storeowner or manager, are you only in-
terested in bringing in titles that you agree
with, or do you want your customers to be
educated on the subject from many different
perspectives?”
Nyquist agrees. “Pulling people in is
much more missional than pushing them
away. This doesn’t mean an uncritical accep-
tance of any and all mainstream products,
but it could mean a wise selection of prod-
ucts that would be attractive to a society with
a sizeable void in their lives.”
Smith suggests storeowners consider
stocking product that pertains to our cul-
ture. “For example, Christians everywhere
cook, travel, craft, knit, fish, play sports, etc.,”
she says. “As the store gatekeeper, you have to
know which theological line you won’t cross.
For stores that are owned by denominations,
that answer can be clear-cut, defined by the
denomination. For independents, the selec-
tion may represent a broader assortment.”
“Christian retailers have shelves and tables
full of products that meet the felt needs of
people,” says Blank. “Whether it’s a joyous
life event like a wedding or birth or a harder
time for someone dealing with divorce, mis-
carriage, or illness, we can connect those felt
needs with products that meet those felt needs
and present them to those who are in need.”
Legal Pressures
A sign of the times is the court challenges to
traditionally held Christian values, as seen
in the recent Hobby Lobby ruling. Retailers
need to pray and exercise wisdom as they en-
gage the culture.
“My hope is that if we truly live out a
Christian value system that more people
will be drawn to the Christ in us and we
may have more social power in the future,”
says Yancey. “As much as possible we need
to strengthen our own culture and maintain
a Christian witness, and we also have to de-
fend ourselves from attempts to remove us
from the public square. We can’t merely be-
lieve that there aren’t those with Christian-
ophobia who mean us ill, but we can’t also
look for victimhood at every turn. Working
out how to strike this balance is vital so that
we can cope with this changing society.”
Nyquist, whose book Prepare (Moody)
released in January, cautions “retailers may
eventually experience the same challenges
faced by bakers, photographers, and florists
today. The legal challenges could eventually
come to roost in the charges of discrimina-
tion and/or the merchandizing of products
that are ‘hateful’ to others.”
These and other concerns will also be ad-
dressed at ICRS. The Sunday afternoon gen-
eral session, “Religious Liberty: Can You Be
a Christian and in Business?”, will feature
keynote speaker Craig Parshall and panelists
Daniel Blomberg and Doug Napier.
Biblical Advice
The apostle Paul knew that to live a godly life
would bear witness for the Gospel message.
In Titus 3:1-2, he tells the Cretan church
how it should behave in relation to the cul-
ture: “Remind the people . . . to be ready to
do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be
peaceable and considerate, and always to be
gentle toward everyone.”
Stepping out of your comfort zone and be-
friending those who hold different viewpoints
while staying true to your convictions is the
best way to show Jesus to today’s culture.
“Stay true to the Bible and trust in God,”
says Nyquist. “This modeling of godliness in
the midst of opposition will communicate a
powerful message to both believing and un-
believing observers and will be pleasing to
our Savior.”
With more than 20 years in magazine and book
publishing, Lora Schrock is the owner of Edito-
rial Answers, LLC, www.editorialanswers.com.
She resides in Colorado Springs, CO.
Moody Bible Institute President Paul Nyquist
advises retailers to model godliness in all of
their interactions.
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