We can learn much about how this works by watching the various groups in Scripture muddle their way through life while trying to serve God.

When we understand the cultural and historical background to much of the development of the people of God in Scripture, here is what we see:

They had about as much institutional structure as street theater: lots of improvisation, plenty of borrowing and stealing from whomever they bumped into, and free adaptation of other people’s ideas and property for their own purposes; but precious little polity, and no property at all (The Astonished Heart, 19).

Whether people realize it or not, large portions of what the Israelites said and did, as well as large portions of what the Early Church said and did, came not from heavenly revelation, but from cultural emulation. They saw what was going on in the culture and countries around them, and incorporated much of what they saw into their own lives and practice.

This was true of Israel as well. Much of Israel’s symbols, systems, stories, rituals, routines, processes, power structures, and organizational structures were borrowed almost directly from the surrounding culture, with a few minor (but important) divinely inspired modifications.

Churches can do the same. We must not run from culture, but watch, observe, and learn from culture, believing that God is at work there just as He is at work in our own lives, and that the needs and issues of culture can be championed by the church.

Christians ought to try to create a style of life which does not differentiate them from others, but yet permits them to escape from the stifling pressure of our present form of civilization.

The only successful way to attack these features of our modern civilization is to give them the slip, to learn how to give them the slip, to learn how to live on the edge of this totalitarian society, not simply rejecting it, but passing it through the sieve of God’s judgment.

Finally, when communities with a “style of life” of this kind have been established, possibly the first signs of a new civilization may begin to appear (The Presence of the Kingdom, 46).

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How does the Holy Spirit use culture to guide the church?

The winds of the Spirit blow across the entire earth, and while the Spirit blows on the hearts and minds of Christians, the Spirit also blows on the heart and minds of others. Though discernment is required, the church can get cues as to what God is doing in the world by watching and learning from our culture.

And when we see what God is doing, we can join with culture in standing against war, hunger, and other forms of inhumanity, but infusing such stands with the principles of the Gospel and the example of Jesus Christ (Resident Aliens, 46-47).

The Cultural Church

When one studies the history of cultural evolution and the changes that have been wrought in the church, the parallels are striking. Just when the culture raises issues about slavery, so also, voices within the church are also rising up against slavery.

Just when the culture starts talking about women’s liberation, many voices within the church also raise their voices to the cause. Just when the culture starts asking questions about economic equality and issues of international justice for the poor, the church also starts teaching and writing about similar issues.

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As we seek to follow Jesus into the world, one of the ways we can find guidance about where He is leading us is by looking to culture.

Christians often ignore culture because we think that since this world is under the control of the devil, culture also must be under his control, and therefore, just as Satan is evil, culture is evil as well. So in many cases, churches reject culture as having anything to say to us about how to follow Jesus and where He might be leading.

The Holy Spirit in Culture

Theologically and practically, this is a grave mistake. The Holy Spirit is not only at work in Christians, but is also at work in the world. He is guiding history, governments, and even people who are the sworn enemies of God.

By watching and observing culture and history, we can see the wind of God moving upon our times, and join with Him in His efforts. We cannot see the wind, but we can see the leaves blow and the waves form.

Too often the church is busily trying to rake up leaves into nice orderly piles, while the gale force winds of the Holy Spirit are intent on scatting them all over the yard. If we learn to watch where the wind blows in culture, and then move with it, we will find much more success and progress in our missional endeavors.

And just like we cannot see the wind but we can see the effect of the wind, so the effects of the Spirit of God upon culture can often be viewed in places like movies, music, literature, art, and politics.

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If we are following Jesus rather than cloning other Christians, this may take some churches and Christians in directions that look nothing like church.

If so, who are we to object?

There must be one focus, and one focus only: following Jesus in expanding the Kingdom of God in any and every direction, no matter where Jesus leads, and no matter how the mission looks.

Though the following quite from Jacques Ellul is quite long, it is also quote appropriate. Here is what he says about the formation of the church:

[Christianity] cannot be organized. We can have neither stability, routine, collective permanence, association, nor group cohesion if we want to live by revelation, if we put [Christianity] at the center as the sole truth. It cannot be lived out socially.

When we are told that the Holy Spirit constituted the church at Pentecost, we like that. But when we learn that the Holy Spirit is like the wind that blows when and where it will and we do not know where it comes from or where it is going, we do not like it. The church may say that it has the Holy Spirit, but if it does it betrays the truth and its legitimacy.

When we are told that the church consists of those whom God calls, we applaud, but who are they? Who can trace the boundaries? We must say that the church has a center, Jesus Christ, but it has no circumference. We can give assurance to none and exclude none. We may believe that we have found a solution in baptism. Church members get baptized, and the baptized are the church. Well and good. But unfortunately the New Testament clearly distinguishes between the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit. The two do not coincide (except when the church falsely declares that they do!). We are thus back at the same difficulty.

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