Deconstructing the 'Engaging the Culture' Meme

I know an old lady with a pace-maker. She's given up driving because the repair to her car is too expensive, and she's taken to riding around on the bus and going to various public places in order to avoid having to run her air condition at home. She's trying to make her fixed income last as long as possible, so that she can live free as long as possible. Or maybe I should say freer; because the nursing home is significantly less free than what she has now.

She's a part of a 'community.' The same community I ultimately decided was bullshit. I think it is pretty telling that they want to play at community, yet they can't take care of this lady. Frankly, I don't even understand people these days- they are not only not ashamed, they don't know what to hide. When I first ran into these people, the local chapter had about $100,000 or so, and would talk from time to time about buying a building. But the revolutionaries, who may have been in charge the whole time for all I know, soon manipulated the local chapter into giving it to them, so that America could have a few more Christian branded vacations, where young men and women can go forth and pretend to be missionaries for two weeks.

They are facing demographic death like the churches are. I think, if the Holy Spirit does communicate, there's been a lot of communication about building a real Christian community, and then a lot of deviltry about evangelism and 'engaging the culture.'

Here is an interesting way of changing that tune: Think this thought: the culture is mine. On a more abstract level, we know that the culture was Christian. We did not 'engage' so much as create, improve, etc... I do not think we even defended culture, not until it was too late and not really very Christian anymore.

But on a personal level, if you were just to say, the the culture is mine, do you see how that kind of turns 'engaging the culture' into gibberish?

And that's where we should be. Venice had it's own culture. It had an easily defendable position, took to trade as a national past-time, and probably looked after little old ladies a lot better than wanna-be communities ever will.