Note: While reading this article by Carl Teichrib, keep in mind some of the “change agents” within Christianity today, such as some of those at the upcoming Catalyst Conference held at Mariners Church in Orange County, California: Michael Gungor, Andy Stanley, Donald Miller, David Platt, Erwin McManus, and Chris Seay. By the way, Rick Warren sent out a pastors.com announcement to advertise Catalyst where it was stated: “Your Presence is Requested for Catalyst, a premier leadership experience for influencers, cultural architects, change agents and next generation leaders, where you’ll hear from leading communicators of our day. Catalyst and Purpose Driven Network are partnering together to bring a special offer to you! ”
By Carl Teichrib
From Kjos Ministries
Social engineering, an activity of shifting the mind and heart of individuals and thus changing personal and group behavior – is a progressive endeavor. But please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t about “revolution” in a violent sense. Rather, it’s a process of incremental action that cumulatively moves toward the goal of a “better world” or the “good society.”
For the average person living in the moment of cultural change, such shifting sands trigger vaguely uneasy feelings. Something doesn’t seem right. Yet we progress: Accepting values and cultural views which our parent’s generation struggled over, our grandparent’s refused to accept, and our great-grandparents… well, such ideas of transformation may never have entered their minds. Or, conversely, they had seen the results of the “better world” in places such as Mussolini’s fascist Italy, Stalin’s Soviet utopia, or Hitler’s socialist Germany.
Change agents of yesterday and in the present understand that if culture is to fundamentally shift in a permanent way, then social values must move gradually until a tipping point is reached. For this to occur, institutional hubs must first be altered from within; government, the education system, media and popular culture, religious organizations, and other key societal crossroad need to embrace the new worldview. Once the gatekeepers in those sectors accept the new order, the larger pool of individuals that comprise civilization will experience a push toward transformation – the creation of a new mind for a new society.
At this point a vocal percentage of the general population embraces the “change” rhetoric. Grassroots momentum builds as they claim this transformation as their own, viewing it as “organic,” a bottom-up approach. Demands are loudly shouted; the top1% of society must reform to the “will of the people.” We must unshackle ourselves from the old masters, or so we’re told. Never mind that other “top-down” masters, those who called for change long before the public caught wind of the idea, are waiting in the wings with their version of transformation. Click here to continue reading. (Carl Teichrib is the director of Forcing Change in Canada.)
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