There are certain moments in history, such as the end of the Roman Empire or the Enlightenment, when it’s obvious how much the cultural ground has shifted. Cultural norms that worked before to foster social cohesion no longer suffice. Certain ideas and shared ways of thinking can no longer be taken for granted. At these “hinge points,” Christians are forced to remember who we are and to rethink our place in the overarching story of redemption.
This is one of those hinge points. The cultural ground has shifted quickly, and it’s disorienting. Many Christians struggle to know how to live in this strange cultural moment. Even committed Christians who study the Scriptures and attend church can struggle to make sense of it all. Even those with lots of answers to lots of questions, who’ve collected many pieces of truth from sermons, books, and wonderful teachers can struggle to know how those pieces fit together within the larger narrative of God’s story.
Our faith can feel fragmented and too far away, disconnected from day-to-day life in twenty-first century America. It’s as if we have logical answers, but people are now asking different questions. It’s as if too many Christians know the primary truth-claims of Christianity, but not how they fit into our lives. It’s as if we have this vast armory of truth, but we don’t know how to wield the weapons effectively.
Over the next year, the Colson Center will expand the ways in which we help Christians become more deeply grounded in the True Story of reality. This is so that they can better make sense of the world and connect more deeply with others who are committed to embodying what’s true and good in this cultural moment. Specifically, the Colson Center will serve parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, and other faithful Christians who are called to prepare the next generation for the challenges of this cultural moment.
I’m humbled and driven by what God is choosing to do through the Colson Center. Last year, during the tumult of 2020, every single program of the Colson Center grew, including these BreakPoint commentaries, our newer podcasts, the quarterly short courses, the What Would You Say? video series, and especially the Wilberforce Weekend.
In addition, the Colson Center partnered with the Association of Christian Schools International to train thousands of teachers through the innovative “Worldviews and Cultural Fluency” training program. This effort to “disciple the disciplers” continues to grow and expand, with homeschool parents and educators committed to passing on a Christian worldview to the young people in their care.
Over 450 Colson Fellows were commissioned in May, having completed a year of in-depth reading, study, and planning in Christian worldview. By all indicators, the number of Colson Fellows will increase this coming year, with regional cohorts in even more cities, filled with Christians seeking to serve God in the time and place where He has put them. Increasingly, schools and churches are homes for Colson Fellows training, providing opportunities for their staff to shape the work and outreach in their institutions.
We didn’t choose this cultural moment. Our time and place in history is chosen by God. Because He has placed us here, our moment in history is not an accident, but a calling. We have been invited into His life, His kingdom, His story. Nothing in our lives is excluded from this reality, and He asks nothing less of us than full participation.
The Colson Center seeks to serve you and your family, as well as churches and schools everywhere, to rise to the challenges of this moment, and find new ways to ground God’s people into that True Story centered on Christ the King. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us with a fiscal year-end gift.
Any gift given by June 30, 2021 will, by God’s grace, help the Colson Center expand and more effectively obey His calling. Our success is when followers of Christ like you are equipped to be the embodiment and testimony of God’s truth, God’s goodness and God’s story, and live with the clarity, confidence, and courage only a Christian worldview offers. To quote our founder, what the world so desperately needs right now is simply for the Church to be the Church.
Thank you for your generosity. Go to breakpoint.org/give.
Publication date: June 15, 2021
Photo courtesy: Nathan D
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
