Responding to Cultural Crisis: A Redemptive Way Forward

Once again, we find ourselves in the middle of a national crisis.

What is occurring in Minneapolis is a real tragedy. Lives have been lost. The grief people feel is real. The anger is understandable. Predictably, fear is going viral.

Our culture is undeniably sick. Our politics are infected with cancerous arrogance. The familiar dynamics of outrage entrepreneurship have accelerated; progressive and conservative narratives have hardened; and the blame game is in a full-court press. A generation is growing up with few examples of adult leadership in Washington. All they know is hardened tribalism, where Democrats and Republicans retreat to their corners, assess the damage, and strategize how to come out on top – the consequences be damned. Social media is a courtroom without due process. Political influencers monetize pain through propaganda wars. And humility, integrity, and courage are nowhere to be found.

Moments like this reveal something important—not just about our culture, but about us.

For followers of Jesus, the question is not whether we should care, speak, or act. The question is how. What does faithfulness look like when emotions are high, facts are contested, increasingly distorted by AI, and the pressure to pick a side feels overwhelming?

The way of Jesus resists both withdrawal and assimilation. This moment gives us an opportunity to apply that vision in real time. And yet, crises like this can leave us paralyzed. We need principled guidance. I believe these six commitments can help shape a distinctly Christian response to cultural crisis.

1. The Kingdom of God Must Come Before the Kingdoms of This World

When tragedy strikes, the gravitational pull toward political identity is strong. The temptation is to interpret everything through the lens of party, ideology, or tribe.

But Christians belong first to another kingdom.

This does not mean disengagement from public life. It means remembering that our ultimate allegiance is not to the left or the right, but to Jesus Christ. The Gospel must be the framework through which we interpret the moment—not a tool we use to support conclusions we’ve already reached.

If your reflex is always to defend President Trump and the presumptive conservative position, you may be choosing an earthly kingdom over the Kingdom of God. Likewise, if your reflex is always to defend the progressive position—calling out the other party’s cruelty while remaining silent about your own—you may be doing the same.

If our political reflexes consistently override our Gospel instincts, something is out of order.

2. We Must Refuse to Dehumanize Anyone

Cultural crises reveal how quickly we are willing to flatten people into symbols. Victims become talking points. Entire communities are reduced to caricatures. Those who disagree with us are dismissed as irredeemable.

The Christian confession interrupts this impulse.

Every person—regardless of background, ideology, or guilt or innocence—is made in the image of God. That truth does not eliminate the pursuit of justice, but it shapes how we pursue it. Christians must be people who tell the truth without surrendering our commitment to human dignity.

We can name sin without denying humanity.

3. Use Scripture as a Scalpel, Not a Hammer

In times of crisis, Bible verses are often deployed like weapons—used to silence, shame, or score points. But Scripture was never meant to be a blunt instrument for winning arguments.

The Word of God is living and active. It convicts, heals, exposes, and restores. It cuts—but it cuts with precision and purpose.

If we find ourselves using the Bible primarily to condemn others while exempting ourselves, we are not submitting to Scripture; we are manipulating it.

4. Faithful Presence, Not Performative Outrage, is the Goal

Outrage is easy. It’s cheap. It costs very little to post the right thing or condemn the right people.

Faithfulness is slower and far more demanding.

Redemptive resistance is not about broadcasting virtue, but about embodied obedience—listening well, lamenting honestly, seeking understanding, and working patiently toward real change. The church’s calling is not to be the loudest voice in the room, but the most faithful presence in it.

The question is not, “Did I say something?” The question is, “Did I do something that reflects the way of Jesus?”

5. Humility Is Not Optional

One of the most countercultural practices available to Christians right now is the willingness to ask, “What if I’m wrong?”

Humility does not mean moral paralysis. It means acknowledging our limitations, our blind spots, and the fact that no single narrative captures the whole truth. It means listening before reacting, and learning before declaring.

In a culture allergic to self-examination, humility becomes a powerful form of witness.

When was the last time you heard a pundit or political leader say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong about _____. I should have been more careful to ______”?

One reason this confession is rare is that it is thought to “weaken” positions. It is sadly commonplace to see Christian culture warriors suggest that we need to stay faithful to the Bible’s teaching on XYZ issue by abandoning what the Bible teaches about humility, repentance, and the sovereignty of God over earthly kingdoms. This is not the Way of Jesus.

Without humility, our truth-telling becomes noise. With humility, it becomes a credible witness to the reign of Christ.

6. Justice Must Be Shaped by the Gospel

Christians should care deeply about justice – but not as the world defines it.

Biblical justice is not merely punitive or ideological. It is restorative. It is concerned with truth, accountability, mercy, and reconciliation. It seeks not only to restrain evil, but to heal what sin has broken.

Any vision of justice detached from the cross will eventually distort. And any faith that avoids justice altogether betrays the heart of God.

A Better Witness Is Possible

The early church lived through political turmoil, violence, injustice, and social fracture. They did not change the world by mirroring its anger, but by embodying a different way of being human – marked by courage, compassion, holiness, and hope.

That same invitation stands before us now.

In moments of cultural crisis, the church has a chance to either echo the noise or offer an alternative. To inflame division or practice redemptive resistance. To react – or to respond.

May we choose the better way. May our principles guide our practice. In a forthcoming essay, I’ll outline a few suggestions of what this might look like in our everyday lives.

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Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash