Discernment has always been a noteworthy trait. In the days Of King David, the men of Issachar were singled out because they "understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (I Chr. 12:32). Today, reading the culture and knowing how to respond is still crucial. We asked seven respected leaders how cultural changes are affecting the way they do ministry. Not surprisingly, the seven views are dramatically different.

Target the Trends

by Leonard Sweet

We are facing the end of one era and the beginning of another. The world that many pastors prepared for is no more.

The 500-year period of history that Martin Luther started, the era we know as the modern age, the era of Enlightenment, has come to an end. It's being replaced by a post-modern culture.

The modern world was characterized by trust in-almost deification of-reason, which made doubt the basic spiritual problem. The spiritual problem is no longer doubt. This culture hasn't gotten more secular; post-modern culture, if anything, is superstitious, ...