Whether it's TV boxsets, Instagram stories or historical novels, we all consume culture. So it’s important that we are neither bewitched by it—buying into everything it tells us—or bewildered by it—lashing out in judgement or retreating into a Christian bubble.
Dan Strange encourages Christians to engage with everything they watch, read and play in a positive and discerning way. He also teaches Christians how to think and speak about culture in a way that plugs in to a bigger and better reality—the story of King Jesus, and his cosmic plan for the world.
It’s possible to watch TV and read novels and play video games in a way that actually ...feeds our faith, rather than withers it. It’s even possible for you—yes, you—to be that person who starts off talking to a mate about last night’s football and ends up talking about Jesus.
So be equipped to engage with culture in a way that helps your relationship with Christ and points others to him.
(Review written for 'Plugged In')
I got this book thinking that it would be a book all about how we are to live in a digitally connected world - how we as Christians should be on social media, playing games, watching films, listening to music and so on. I hoped this book would tell me about how we can evangelise to others using technology or how we can use technology to God's glory. I was hoping this book would show me what things may be worth changing or viewing differently with regards to technology in the light of Jesus' death and resurrection. But unfortunately I ...was mis-sold - this book is all about culture and really (if I'm honest) hardly anything to do with technology. If the book was called 'Plugged into Culture' that would be fine, but it wasn't so that's a bit of a shame. I thought the illustrations at the back of the book were a bit unhelpful too, again all to do with culture and hardly anything to do with technology. A somewhat helpful book for those wanting to link culture to Jesus and thus evangelism but for those who want to know how we link Technology to Jesus to evangelism, this book won't help.
(Review written for 'Plugged In')
How to connect with culture redemptively can be a formidable challenge. Strange dismantles this challenging wall giving the reader tools to connect with the world we live in with the Gospel. Strange is a scholar who can write at a high academic level, but here he writes for the Christian in the secular workplace as well as the mum who set up play dates with her kids, who are trying to navigate the cultural terrain.
Strange teaches us how we should engage culture and gives a framework for appreciating sun rays of grace as well as understanding the shadows of ...idolatry. He takes the reader to a place where they don’t just accept culture, nor merely reflect culture, rather the reader learns to engage it.
I love the fact that this is more of a “how to” guide. Strange gives several examples of cultural engagement, and helps the reader to read culture and to apply Gospel.
Strange’s book is primarily geared for a British audience, and it’s obvious the author is not locked away in some ivory book tower. British cultural references are plenty, which provide examples along the way of what he is teaching. Non-British readers may not get all the references but they will get the point as these cultural references are ‘translatable.’
I intend on buying several copies for our church here in the USA.. (disclosure: I was given an advance copy)
