This article launches the first installment of a recurring column offered throughout the year by Global Communications. It is designed to equip pastors and leaders with biblical tools, practical resources, and Spirit-led strategies for navigating the pressing cultural issues of our time.
The views and perspectives expressed in this column are those of the author and are offered to encourage dialogue and reflection. They do not necessarily represent the official theological positions of the Church of God of Prophecy or the White Wing Messenger.
The church today finds itself in a cultural moment marked by turbulence and tension. Conversations about gender, sexuality, abortion, immigration, digital culture, racism, consumerism, mental health, and pluralism, to name a few, dominate the headlines and spill into the lives of our congregations around the world. These are not abstract debates, but rather, they are deeply personal struggles faced by the people sitting in our pews.
Sadly, many pastors and leaders confess a growing unease in addressing these issues. Some are tempted to shrink back in fear of being misunderstood or maligned. Others react with outrage, thundering against culture in ways that alienate rather than reconcile. But neither fear nor fury reflects the mission entrusted to us as God’s people.
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:18–21 that God “reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (NASB). He then adds, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us.” Ambassadors do not retreat to safety, nor do they declare war against those to whom they are sent. Rather, they enter foreign lands with courage, carrying the message of their sovereign with both truth and grace.
This is the calling of the church today. We are to live as cultural ambassadors for Christ, commissioned by the King, empowered by the Spirit, and entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.
Reconciliation at the Center
At the very heart of our ambassadorship is reconciliation. God is not distant from his creation. Though sin fractured the world, he has been on a mission, the missio Dei, to bring his children back to himself.
This is pure Pentecostal. The Spirit poured out at Pentecost was not given merely for ecstatic worship but for empowerment in bold witness. The tongues of fire symbolize a gospel that transcends cultural boundaries, meant for “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). To be Spirit-filled is to be Spirit-sent.
In this light, Paul’s image of ambassadorship is striking. In the Roman world, ambassadors were sent with urgent tasks. They did not carry their own agenda but the message of their ruler, and they did not return home until their mission was complete.[1] That is the picture of the church. We are a sent people, carrying the message of reconciliation until Christ returns or calls us home.
Cultural Confusion: A World in Search of Identity
The world we inhabit is restless. In his book, Strange New World, biblical scholar Carl Trueman observes, “Our culture has been fixated on the dual identity questions of ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I belong?’”[2] Without Christ, people scramble to answer these questions through sexuality, politics, consumerism, or self-expression, only to find dissatisfaction and despair.
This confusion should not surprise us. Sin disorients, blinding people to their Creator and distorting the image of God. But here is where the church must resist fear. Too often, we have hesitated to engage issues like gender identity, sexuality, or mental health because of the fear—fear of lowering God’s standard, fear of appearing to approve of sin, fear of saying the wrong thing. But as Scripture reminds us, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). Love liberates us to speak truth with compassion, rooted in the gospel’s promise of reconciliation.
The Posture of Ambassadorship
How, then, should pastors and leaders engage? Mark Yarhouse describes cultural ambassadorship as “convicted civility seasoned with compassion.”[3] Each word here is vital:
- Conviction: Our foundation is the unchanging Word of God. The Bible remains our compass, our “true north.” The Bible remains steady, though cultural currents shift. Without conviction, we risk echoing the culture rather than proclaiming Christ.
- Civility: We engage not with arrogance but with humility. Paul reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Recognizing our shared brokenness keeps us from assuming moral superiority.
- Compassion: We must see people not as “issues” to solve but as souls loved by God. We must acknowledge the reality of people’s struggles and extend Christlike empathy.
Jesus modeled this balance of truth and grace. He spoke the hardest truths, yet he welcomed sinners with open arms. For cultural ambassadors, conviction without compassion becomes harshness; compassion without conviction becomes compromise. Only the Spirit can hold them together.
Practical Strategies for Cultural Engagement
The calling to ambassadorship is lofty, but it is also immensely practical. Pastors and leaders can embody this mission through several Spirit-shaped practices:
- Deepen Conviction: Know What You Believe – Cultural engagement begins with theological clarity. We must be grounded in Scripture and research trusted sources. Without depth, we risk parroting soundbites rather than offering the living Word. Study God’s Word diligently, seek the Spirit’s guidance, and draw from the wisdom of faithful theologians.
- Understand the Times: Stay Informed – Ambassadors learn the language and customs of their host country. Likewise, we should stay informed about cultural trends and local issues. As Stetzer writes, “We need to study our culture like ambassadors so we can effectively show and share the gospel.”[4] This is not capitulation; it is contextualization for mission.
- Engage Prayerfully – Cultural conversations are not neutral. They are spiritual battlegrounds. The enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), seeking to devour. Prayer is therefore essential, aligning us with God’s Spirit and disarming fear. Before cultural engagement, fall to your knees. Ask for wisdom and be open to the Spirit’s direction.
- Begin with Questions – Rather than leading with declarations, start with thoughtful questions for those to whom you seek to minister, engage, or enlighten. Questions disarm hostility and invite dialogue. They help uncover underlying worldviews, often exposing inconsistencies without direct confrontation. Jesus himself frequently asked questions to draw out faith and expose the heart.
- Share Equal Ground – Avoid approaching others as though standing on moral high ground. Both you and the person before you are sinners in need of grace. This humility removes barriers and builds trust.
- Relate to Shared Humanity – Frame issues in light of universal brokenness. Sin is not limited to one group; it infects all humanity. By presenting cultural struggles within the broader context of human fallenness, we prevent stigmatization and highlight the shared need for a Savior.
- Keep the Gospel Central = Arguments cannot redeem; only the gospel can. Paul declared that God has “committed [entrusted] to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The gospel is not one issue among many but the foundation for every conversation.
- Lead with Love – Love is the defining mark of an ambassador. Author Rebecca McLaughlin exhorts us to fight “with the weapon God has given us: self-sacrificing, unrelenting love.”[5] Love is what opens doors, softens hearts, and points to the love of Christ.
The Spirit-Empowered Ambassadors
What distinguishes a Pentecostal approach to cultural ambassadorship is the conviction that the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in us (Romans 8:11). The Spirit is not an accessory to mission but its very engine.
The early Pentecostal movement spread rapidly because it believed the Spirit empowers ordinary believers to witness across cultures. That same Spirit still equips us today. He gives courage in our fear, wisdom in our uncertainty, and compassion in our hardness.
Cultural conversations are rarely neat. They require patience, discernment, and resilience. But the Holy Spirit enables us to persist with spine and heart, embodying Christ in both word and deed.
Faithful Until He Comes
Many of us find ourselves in a new, chaotic, and uncharted-era world. Yet this is not a time for despair. It is a time for sharpening our identity as people of the Spirit, chosen for this era, sent on mission, and empowered for reconciliation.
Pastors and leaders, we are not at war with culture, nor are we capitulating to it. We are ambassadors sent into it. We are citizens and representative of a heavenly kingdom, entrusted with the King’s gospel.
So, take courage. Learn the language of culture. Ask thoughtful questions. Lead with love. Trust the Spirit who empowers you. And above all, keep the gospel at the center.
The world is desperate for ambassadors who will represent the King faithfully until he comes again. May we be found faithful.
The images featured above is from the Church of God of Prophecy, 2025 Cumbre Leadership Conference of Central America.
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[1] Ed Stetzer, Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2018), 170.
[2] Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 186–187.
[3] Mark Yarhouse, Talking to Kids About Gender Identity: A Roadmap for Christian Compassion, Civility, and Conviction (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2023), 27.
[4] Stetzer, Christians in Age of Outrage, 177.
[5] Rebecca McLaughlin, The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims (Austin, TX: The Gospel Coalition, 2021), 107.
