Culture is described in a myriad of fashions, from “American Culture” and “Cross-Culture” to “Corporate Culture” and “Class Culture” Books have been written about the difference between East coast and West coast cultures. It seems culture can be found almost anywhere. Indeed, culture is found wherever there are people!

When one considers outer-space we immediately think of vast darkness, glimmering stars and ringed planets. When one considers cyber-space we think of computers, online discussion forums and information gathering. Yet when one considers the phrase culture-space, we are at a loss to describe the phenomena. Just what is culture-space?

As mentioned earlier, culture is found wherever there are people. I would suggest culture-space exists in three categories: our-space, their-space and cyber-space.

Our-space includes our homes (including our families), our work (including our co-workers), and the places we hang out with our friends. This is personal space, and we feel threatened when forced to change the location we meet with our family, friends and co-workers. Why? Because this is our-space. A change here means we change the way we interact with those closest to us, so our desire is to keep the status quo, to keep everything on familiar ground.

As Christians we must be willing to leave our safety net. Jesus put it dramatically when he said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…” (Matthew 10.37a). Jesus was attacking the comfort of our-space. It is not enough to get along well with your spouse; Jesus must be part of that relationship. It is not enough to do your job well; Jesus must become part of your relationships at work. It is not enough to have friendships with Unbelievers; Jesus must become part of those relationships to. If He is not invited to be a part, then we truly love that person more than we love Jesus. We must leave the comfort of our safety net and bring our-space under the authority of Jesus.

Opposite of our-space, is their-space. This is not where we live, but where others live. Their-space may include clubs (motorcycle or car clubs, collector clubs and, yes, even dance clubs to name only a few); it may include activities (such as tennis groups, soccer groups, scuba diving, skiing, etc.); and it may include cultural temples (such as colleges, universities, museums, zoos, historic sites, etc.). Their-space is anywhere the unbeliever is comfortable. It is where they meet with their families, friends and co-workers, and it is a place we must engage with the gospel. One word of warning, however: when you engage their-space be prepared to be criticized not only by those in that space, but also by your own family, friends and co-workers. Every time Jesus went to a party, every time he went to a “sinners” home for dinner, he was criticized. Grow a thick skin, but keep your heart tender.

The third distinction is cyber-space. This is a place where we can sit in our-space, and the unbeliever can sit in their-space, and both can meet on a server in some other space. This can be both the easiest and the most difficult culture-space to win. It is easy because you never meet this person and the conversation is not eye-to-eye. You might pass this person in the grocery store and never know it. There is also no familiarity, and while this may give you courage, this is also what makes it most difficult. It is easy to give up on a chat room discussion, and never realize we are giving up on a real person. It is also easy to be rude and thoughtless, because we are chatting with a computer instead of a real person. The human touch is missing from chats, e-mails and instant messages. It is a discipline of its own, to evangelize online. I call it “e-vangelism” and we’ll discuss this in more detail later.

These are the three culture-spaces: our-space, their-space, and cyber-space. This is also the battlefield to be won for Christ. Each of these places must be engaged.

C;ick for the next article in this series: http://www.think-biblically.com/8-blog/34-engaging-culture-101-prepare