Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel

Russell D. Moore

Aug 2015 · B&H Publishing Group

About this ebook

Christianity Today "Beautiful Orthodoxy" Book of the Year in 2016. 

Keep Christianity Strange. 
 
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that we are a Moral Majority. That may be bad news for America, but it can be good news for the church. What's needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
 
We seek the kingdom of God, before everything else. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonize opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let's do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
 
The signs of the times tell us we are in for days our parents and grandparents never knew. But that's no call for panic or surrender or outrage. Jesus is alive. Let's act like it. Let's follow him, onward to the future.

Ratings and reviews

This book was very helpful in understanding what Christian America was not, how America has changed, and how we can share the Gospel with convictional kindness without compromising the truth of the Bible. Definitely a must-read for Bible-believing Christians.

Everyone who works in Ministry should read this. In today's cultural climate, this book gives a great perspective on maintaining our Christian identity and staying true to the Gospel, while remaining culturally relevant.

The most practical book I've ever read for how Christians should function within and view the world around us.

About the author

Russell D. Moore is dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also serves as professor of Christian Theology and Ethics. He is the author of several books including The Kingdom of Christ, Adopted for Life, and Tempted and Tried. Moore and his wife have five sons.