All

The most recent articles, videos, blog entries, and more that have been added to ChristianUnion.org.

Serving the Common Good

By Tim Keller

Tim_Keller_1

Editor's note: The following article is reprinted with permission from The Center for Faith & Work, the cultural renewal arm of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

I am often asked: "Should Christians be involved in shaping culture?" My answer is that we can't not be involved in shaping culture. To illustrate this, I offer a very sad example. In the years leading up to the Civil War, many southerners resented the interference of the abolitionists, who were calling on Christians to stamp out the sin of slavery. In response, some churches began to assert that it was not the church's (nor Christians') job to try to "change culture," but only to preach the Gospel and see souls saved. The tragic irony was that these churches were shaping culture. Their very insistence that Christians should not be changing culture meant that those churches were supporting the social status quo. They were defacto endorsing the cultural arrangements of the Old South. (For more on this chapter in American history, see Mark Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis.)

This is an extreme example, but it makes the point that when Christians work in the world, they will either assimilate into their culture and support the status quo or they will be agents of change. This is especially true in the area of work. Every culture works on the basis of a 'map' of what is considered most important. If God and His grace are not at the center of a culture, then other things will be substituted as ultimate values. So every vocational field is distorted by idolatry.

Christian medical professionals will soon see that some practices make money for them but don't add value to patients' lives. Christians in marketing and business will discern accepted patterns of communication that distort reality or which play to and stir up the worst aspects of the human heart. Christians in business will often see among their colleagues' behavior that which seeks short-term financial profit at the expense of the company's long-term health, or practices that put financial profit ahead of the good of employees, customers, or others in the community. Christians in the arts live and work in a culture in which self-expression is an end in itself. And in most vocational fields, believers face work-worlds in which ruthless, competitive behavior is the norm.

There are two opposite mistakes that Christians can make in addressing the idols of their vocational fields. On the one hand they can seal off their faith from their work, laboring according to the same values and practices that everyone else uses. Or they may loudly and clumsily declare their Christian faith to their co-workers, often without showing any grace and wisdom in the way they relate to people on the job.

At Redeemer, especially through the Center for Faith and Work, we seek to help believers think out the implications of the Gospel for art, business, government, media, entertainment, and scholarship. We teach that excellence in work is a crucial means to gain credibility for our faith. If our work is shoddy, our verbal witness only leads listeners to despise our beliefs. If Christians live in major cultural centers and simply do their work in an excellent but distinctive manner, it will ultimately produce a different kind of culture than the one in which we live now.

But I like the term "cultural renewal" better than "culture shaping" or "culture changing/transforming." The most powerful way to show people the truth of Christianity is to serve the common good. The monks in the Middle Ages moved out through pagan Europe, inventing and establishing academies, universities, and hospitals. They transformed local economies and cared for the weak through these new institutions. They didn't set out to "get control" of a pagan culture. They let the Gospel change how they did their work and that meant they worked for others rather than for themselves. Christians today should be aiming for the same thing.

As Roman society was collapsing, St. Augustine wrote The City of God to remind believers that in the world there are always two "cities," two alternate "kingdoms." One is a human society based on selfishness and gaining power. God's kingdom is the human society based on giving up power in order to serve. Christians live in both kingdoms, and although that is the reason for much conflict and tension, it also is our hope and assurance. The kingdom of God is the permanent reality, while the kingdom of this world will eventually fade away.

Tim Keller, a best-selling author and apologist, is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

The following audio presentations were recorded in Sandy Cove, Maryland.

Dr. Bruce Ware:Empowered Messiah / 1 (54:01)

Dr. Bruce Ware: Empowered Messiah / 2 (54:01)

Other Talks from the 2014 Conference

Heading 2 (H2)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, plaga blandit mara utrum mara comis ne, et lobortis exerci humo nisl praesent brevitas et. Aliquip qui verto pertineo eum jumentum sudo elit luptatum. Plaga consequat augue plaga in velit eu pagus enim euismod incassum esse. This is a link. Enim loquor autem vero te, in et saepius ventosus typicus. Minim, wisi consectetuer wisi adipiscing nimis dolor epulae defui, adsum defui venio in iaceo.

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 3 (H3)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te. old stuff.

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 4 (h4)

Heading 5 (H5)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

Heading 6 (H6)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

Heading 2 (H2)

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 3 (H3)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te. old stuff.

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 4 (h4)

Heading 5 (H5)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

Heading 6 (H6)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

Heading 2 (H2)

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 3 (H3)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te. old stuff.

Nostrud distineo veniam suscipere nutus defu
Feugiat in commoveo vero abico commodo
Augue tincidunt, fatua nunc inhibeo utrum facilisis interdico usitas ex sed, ulciscor

Heading 4 (h4)

Heading 5 (H5)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

Heading 6 (H6)

Ad occuro, ibidem fere, caecus usitas patria. Velit cui et acsi os, antehabeo facilisi modo hendrerit consequat suscipere delenit feugait vicis te.

A Note from Founder & President Matt Bennett

The majority of America’s most strategic universities were expressly founded as Christian colleges. But over the years these gradually shed their religious affiliation and became secular institutions. I love these universities (I directed a ministry at Princeton for many years before founding Christian Union), including my alma mater, Cornell.

Matt Bennett

It grieves me to see where they are today, spiritually and intellectually. In addition, these institutions, and the ideologies they promote, will shape American culture for decades to come.

Our Leaders Matter video was created to show the remarkably disproportionate impact just a handful of universities have in America.

If we are going to change the world, we need, by God's power, to see these campuses radically changed. The Lord put on my heart to seek an increasing and dramatic spiritual revival at these very schools. So, in 2002, I launched Christian Union at the campus I knew so well by that time, Princeton. The Christian leadership development ministry would take a strategic approach to national culture change; by bringing sweeping spiritual transformation to the nation’s most influential universities and to key cities that shape American culture.

Everything in our university ministry is tailored to the academically intense and secular environments of these schools. The ministry faculty we hire is of a caliber that can teach and train students who are bright and motivated, and who take readily to leadership development, yet often know very little about Scripture. The programs tested and refined at Princeton were rolled out to additional campuses in the years that followed.

We have since launched our first city ministry in New York, to begin developing networks of influential Christian leaders, and more recently a web-based ministry with a much broader scope, Christian Union Day & Night.

What is the long-term goal? Christian Union envisions a country in which the Gospel has penetrated every people group and where Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, are seeking God as the defining characteristic of their lives. Our desire is that this spiritual vibrancy is ongoing.

Scripture and more recent history make plain the intimate connection between widespread, heartfelt revival and social reformation. Reformation includes rolling back destructive ideologies and reversing the harm they inflict on a society. Reformation involves men and women embracing and promoting what God loves; there is renewed emphasis on life-giving social norms that benefit all, especially the most vulnerable.

Would you join me seeking the Lord with great energy, asking God to soften our hearts and move us to desire Him more than we do today? Please explore this website to learn more about the ministry. I've unpacked our mission in five parts below. You also might enjoy this interview I did with CBN, which they ran in 2017:

We need partners like you to accelerate this exciting work, and I invite you to join Christian Union to bring God greater glory in the United States, to develop godly leaders, and, God willing, to use a transformed America to truly bless the world.

mattbennett signature blue

Matthew W. Bennett
Founder and President

Learn More

Christian Union is: (1) developing leaders; (2) with spiritual depth; (3) in strategic places; (4) for cultural engagement; (5) to change the world.

https://parhaatuudetnettikasinot.fi/rahansiirrot/klarna/

Five Crucial Aspects

Christian Union was founded in 2002 to develop and connect transformative Christian leaders. There are five elements of the Christian Union mission, the fourth is cultural engagement.

Christian Union exists to develop men and women who are prepared and inclined to champion Christ in their positions of leadership. Our country, and the world, need Christians who are ready and able to embody the gospel and pursue cultural change that reflects biblical values. It is the call of all believers to pursue justice, to stand for the oppressed, to govern with humility, and to bring the good news to the ends of the earth. But students at these prestigious colleges are uniquely poised to engage our culture because they will find themselves in significant positions of power and influence. The goal of cultural engagement is nothing less than cultural renewal and national revival.

Inspiring Examples

Working with passionate and gifted students, Christian Union ministry faculty members have coached and developed students to lead in profound ways.

Courtney McEachon '15 organized what is now the annual Pro-Life Conference at Yale which aims to make the pro-life vision intelligible on college campuses that rarely hear this position.
At Harvard, students involved with Christian Union annually engage the atheist/humanist student group on the nature of God, goodness, and suffering, in debates that attract hundreds of students.
At Columbia, some required classes engage Scripture but teach it as mythology or a work of fiction. A ministry fellow was invited to teach from his doctoral thesis on Ecclesiastes in a class. This is a massive opportunity to meet non-Christian students on their turf and directly confront their biases.
Owing to the high level of student-athlete involvement in the ministry, Christian Union ministry faculty have served as chaplains to sports teams at Columbia, Cornell, and Stanford.
A student at Harvard Law School, Trenton Van Oss, penned an article for Harvard Law Review addressing religious liberty issues.

God is at work at these universities and major cities. Christian Union wants to be there as well, fervently seeking the Lord, equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, sharing the gospel, and giving glory to God.

You Can Make a Difference

Pray for the hearts of those poised to lead society would turn to the Lord.
Connect others to the ministry of Christian Union.
Give generously to develop more godly leaders to transform American culture.

LEARN MORE

To Change the World >

Seeing an Opportunity, Praying & Working to Bring Change

In 2002, Christian Union launched its first leadership development ministry at Princeton, one of the nation's foremost universities. The ministry's founder and president, Matt Bennett, had long observed the influence that top secular universities possess when it comes to producing many of the nation’s most prominent leaders. He had a conviction that US culture could and would be changed as the Gospel influenced these schools.

As a student member of Cru in the 1980s and later as a staff member and director at Princeton for more than a decade, Bennett (’88, MBA ’89), a Cornell alumnus himself, saw firsthand the impact a campus ministry could have if it were tailored to the spiritual, intellectual, and relational needs of highly intelligent, goal-oriented students.

The ministry launched its first Bible course at Princeton University with just three students. Today, the ministry at Princeton engages more than 400 students in its weekly Bible courses.

On each campus where it operates, Christian Union’s highly credentialed ministry and teaching fellows mentor students and lead challenging, academically oriented Bible courses designed to help students develop a robust understanding of Scripture and Christian worldview. The ministries also host conferences, leadership lecture series, and evangelistic outreach events as they seek to change the spiritual climate at very secular institutions.

Thanks to the early lessons learned at schools like Princeton, and God's gracious provision at every step, each campus launched in the years since 2002 has experienced steady, fairly predictable growth patterns.

The natural progression of supporting alumni of the ministry as they transitioned into careers in major cities such as New York and the strategic impact of such cities led to the launch of the Cities ministries, which serve alumni and professionals.

Christian Union's most recent ministry, Christian Union Day & Night, now called Christian Union America, was launched in 2016. Christian Union America's mission is to promote spiritual strengthening in Christians across America, helping them thrive and impact an increasingly secular culture by covenanting together for successive spiritual initiatives. Given the nation's spiritual state, nothing less than the full power and presence of God will enable Christians to glorify him in all his splendor.

To view our partnerships, you can click here.

Historic Timeline

Christian Union Founded	2002
Princeton ministry launched	2002
Harvard College ministry launched	2008
Yale ministry launched	2010
Columbia ministry launched	2011
Dartmouth ministry launched	2011
Christian Union New York launched	2012
Cornell ministry launched	2012
Harvard Law ministry launched	2013
Penn ministry launched	2013
Brown ministry launched	2014
Stanford ministry launched	2016
Christian Union Day and Night launched	2016

Learn More

Visiting campus ministry or city ministry pages, signing up to receive campus or city-specific prayer requests, and supporting the ministry financially at a specific campus or in the city.

Learn More About Christian Union

We believe in an almighty, holy, and righteous God, who, in His divine mercy and love, provided the complete atonement for sin through Jesus Christ. What an awesome God! We are passionate about pursuing Christ and His kingdom. It is the heart of this ministry effort. We give Him all the glory, for He is worthy.

We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to transform the lives of men and women who lead American society; and every person, from the mightiest to “the least of these,” are blessed and more apt to flourish as human beings when leaders exhibit and promote biblically shaped, Kingdom-of-God values, here and now.

We believe that, while one person can bring about significant change, systemic change occurs when leaders are connected to one another, coordinating efforts, and challenging and inspiring each other to greater faithfulness and impact.

We believe that the time to develop Christian leaders to transform culture is now. Will you help by praying or by becoming a ministry partner and donating?

Writer and Communications Associate

Must be willing and able to work from home

The Writer and Communications Associate (WCA) is part of the Communications Team, and reports to the Vice President of Communications. The Communications Team serves stakeholders throughout the ministry and is responsible for the production and maintenance of tools that help Christian Union accomplish its mission by communicating with excellence to all internal and external audience.

As part of the communications team, the WCA wears a wide range of hats, and must be good at juggling a variety of responsibilities. At the highest level, these responsibilities break down into two categories: writer and producer.

Travel requirements: Average of 2 - 3 days per month to attend Christian Union training and events and professional development conferences. This is a full-time position.

To read a full job description, click here. Interested applicants should send a résumé and cover letter to Opportunities@ChristianUnion.org.

Return to Employment Opportunities Home >