Transformation and Cultural Ideology
Every day we are being formed into certain kinds of people. The shows we watch, the music we listen to, the friends we spend time with, and the places we spend our money not only reveal the things we value, but also help us understand the ways we have been formed by our culture and the world around us.
In this episode of Live No Lies, a podcast by John Mark Comer, Pastor Jon Tyson explores how the world has deformed us in ways that do not align with the gospel or life of Christ. He argues that the work of following Jesus is to be reformed and transformed into His image as we cast off the thinking, habits, and beliefs that are not from God.
Tyson, a pastor in NYC, describes the church as a counter practice to the formation of the world. Going to church is a spiritual discipline, a habit we do with body and mind to be formed into the likeness of Christ. Tyson gives the example of people moving to or visiting NYC and beginning to walk faster. If after a few days in a new city, you physically and mentally participate in new habits, how much more are we being formed in other ways? It must therefore be the goal of every believer to actively pursue formation that forms them into the image of Jesus while putting off anything that deforms us. Moreover, the Christian vision of formation must be stronger and better than that of the world otherwise we will continue to be formed by cultural ideologies.
Tyson suggests that to begin the process of spiritual formation into the likeness of Christ, we must first realize that everything we do is forming us into a certain kind of person. We must then work to identify the ways we have been deformed from what we are given and called to in Jesus and see the vision of transformation that is ours when we put our faith in him. The church and the body of Christ become those who share the vision of transformation and help us continue to hunger after seeing Christ formed in ourselves.
Christian Union is working to cast this same vision for renewal, transformation, and radical discipleship as it invites people across the nation and world to participate in the counter formation of fasting, prayer, seeking God, repentance, and revival. CU Day and Night offers regular fasts, devotionals, and retreats for the renewal and reformation of God’s people to be changed more and more into the image of Christ.
Listen to the full episode here.
