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Political division and “culture wars” are alive and well in the pews of American churches, and while some ministry leaders have joined a side, others are trying to remain faithful without capitulating to the Right or the Left. Many feel alone, worried about keeping their jobs, and ill-equipped for the decline of both church attendance and self-identifying Christians.
How do leaders model a life of Christian faithfulness, fruitfulness, and resilience when many of those we lead are primarily formed apart from Christian virtues? Many times, it seems easier and safer to choose a side culturally or politically rather than walk in Christ’s footsteps. But living by the rules of the culture wars robs the church of its power and witness. To effectively lead through cultural change, pastors and leaders need a renewed Christian imagination for both themselves and their congregations.
Christians are people of the Book, and as such, we are meaning-making and story-inhabiting creatures. Several writers, such as Karen Swallow Prior, Tim Keller, and Austin Carty, have argued that a redeemed imagination creates fertile soil not just for Christian conversion but also for keeping us in the faith. And it is the job of pastors and church leaders to lead the way.
This pastoral call and challenge is not new. Yet as pastors do the work of Christian imaginative formation—the slow weekly work of the liturgy, frequent conversations, meals brought, prayers prayed, a quickness to repent and mourn—we reckon with newer obstacles. While desiring unity within and among our churches, we are increasingly distracted by technology, angered by media, and heartbroken or cynical over the church’s failures. The long, slow work of spiritual transformation can appear too tame and ineffective in contrast to picking a side in the culture wars.
What does it look like to develop a renewed Christian imagination? This idea can feel a bit squishy or hard to define, especially since ...