“We Need a Theology of When to Get Fired” (Illinois Family Spotlight #094)

Monte Larrick interviewed John Stonestreet at Illinois Family Institute’s Fourth Annual Worldview Conference. Stonestreet is the president of the Chuck Colson Center and BreakPoint Radio co-host. They discuss why Christians should be concerned about the Culture when we have seemingly lost; the next major cultural shift after the Sexual Revolution; the continued attacks on religious freedom; and when it is right for Christians to engage in civil disobedience.

Monte and John also discuss the cost of following Jesus, and legalization of recreational marijuana.

John’s new book is A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World.

Monte opened with the question, “Why should Christians care about the culture? It appears we’ve lost — we have legalized abortion, gay ‘marriage,’ unisex bathrooms — so why bother trying to change something that seems unchangeable?”

John Stonestreet answered: “I think we care about culture — not because we’re winning or losing but because it’s what we’re supposed to do as humans.

“The question is, which direction are humans taking? We certainly see a lot of bad news — but we also see a lot of good news. In my recent book Restoring All Things, my co-author Warren Smith and I told stories of 14 different areas of culture where Christians are engaged in education, in dealing with poverty, in dealing with victims of the ‘sexual revolution,’ in dealing with victims of abortion — both in fighting for the life of the unborn as well as helping mothers and fathers who are also victims of this very bad idea.”

When Monte asked when is it time for Christians to engage in civil disobedience, Stonestreet responded, “We need a theology of when to get fired. These are calculations we don’t make anymore. There is a cost to follow Jesus.”

“It’s been historically a part of the Christian life,” John said, “for almost every generation of Christians, except for us.”