What do we do when we are overcome with the brokenness in the world around us? Often, Christians respond in one of two ways: we separate or we assimilate. We remove ourselves from the culture so that we are not affected by the brokenness; or we assimilate so that we are not bothered by it. Both of these responses prevent us from being able to have any meaningful impact on the world around us. Instead, Jesus offers a third way: We call this contextualization.
In Acts 17, Paul is overwhelmed by the brokenness that he sees in the city of Athens. But instead of isolating or conforming, he contextually engages the culture. As a result, the people of Athens hear the message of Jesus in their own language and are compelled to consider if Jesus is truly God and King of the world.
What is SELAH Commonwealth?
Selah is a collection of trainings, teachings, stories, and reflections from our community. Commonwealth is a community of missionaries and microchurches in Knoxville, TN, who exist to be with Jesus, be like Jesus, and do the things that Jesus did.