Christ and Culture Revisited, by D.A. Carson

Applying this book, I thought at the outset, would be easy. However, Carson seems to be more interested in destroying various approaches to Christ and Culture (at least critiquing them) than giving a way forward. If I can, I will attempt three main potential applications for my ministry context:

1. Encouraging Tension - over and over Carson expresses the old "already, but not yet" of the Kingdom of God. In my preaching, in my analysis of culture, and in my life I need to be careful to, as Carson says, claim every inch for Jesus, but remember the consummation to come. This seems to be the most obvious application.

2. Sharpening the Weapons - Carson reminds us at the end that the weapons with which we fight are not weapons of this world, but divinely given powers to destroy anti-Christ arguments and opinions. To remind people of this and help to sharpen their discernment and arguments would be key for any ministry.

3. Exploring "Church as church" and "Christians - I had never given much thought to this concept prior, but Carson's insistence that there is a difference and that matters in how we express our political activity in America was significant for me. I wish he had spent more time unpacking this. I hope the future reading will go deeper into this. Regardless, this is a concept I want to spend more time considering as it pertains to politics.

This was an excellent but frustrating book. I am eager to continue the reading throughout the course.