Cultural Engagement

Slowing Down to Acknowledge "Endarkenment"

The Christmas season is upon us which means shoppers are shopping, homes are being decorated, city streets are filled with Christmas trees and garland, and a festive air seems to sparkle around us. But this kind of Christmas season stands in stark opposition to the Church’s season of advent. Advent is decidedly not about shopping and decorating. It is about waiting, watching, and hoping in the darkness of our world. And perhaps, that is the timbre of the season that we need most.

"That None Would Perish"

By Christopher N. White, Evangelist

As Jesus makes abundantly clear, the heart of God is never satisfied while even one soul is still lost, wandering in the darkness of sin:

A New Realm of Social Media 

When Facebook debuted in 2004 from a dorm room at Harvard, the world didn’t have any idea what the social media platform might become. Social media itself was still in its infancy, relegated to corners of the internet and certain affinity groups. But today, Facebook is preparing to enter an entirely new realm of its social media dominion—it’s called the metaverse.

Our Complicated Relationship with Eating and Drinking 

As the holiday season approaches, most people begin to anticipate the culinary experience of feasting. Thanksgiving turkeys or Christmas hams, pies and frosted cookies, sparkling ciders, and holiday cocktails—they’re all part of our tradition of feasting with those we love during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.

CU Lumine Introduces Student Leaders Via Social Media

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

Prior to hosting its Freshman Welcoming Campaign this fall, CU Lumine embarked on a social media campaign that introduced first-year students to the ministry and gave them practical wisdom and biblical insight before they even arrived on campus.

Nothing Less Will Change Our nation and Its People

Planned Parenthood recently distributed information to eleven-year-olds advocating for them to have sex with anyone they liked who was under the age of thirteen. The pro-abortion organization also communicated to these children that their parents can't control if they take birth control or get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, and that, ultimately, their sex life was up to their discretion. How our culture understands sexuality has been changing for a couple of generations, but in the past decade, the sexual norms have changed drastically. 

Dr. Anna Hampton Offers Insight, Clarification

Three weeks ago, a gang in Haiti kidnapped 17 North American missionaries as they were leaving an orphanage; the group who is taking responsibility is demanding a $17 million dollar ransom. Though Haiti has struggled to become a stable nation, the past several years have been particularly challenging and produced increasingly dangerous and unpredictable situations in the country. Because of this, the missionaries have received both praise and criticism for their willingness to remain in such dangerous circumstances rather than returning home to a safer place.

Social Critic Speaks at Christian Union NY Forum

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

“America, who has bewitched you?” That was the question posed by English author and social critic Os Guinness when he spoke at a Christian Union New York virtual forum on September 21. The title of his lecture was “1776 versus 1789 — A tale of two revolutions and America’s present crisis.”

Do Believers Need to Meet in Person?

Though most churches have resumed some form of in-person worship, a year and a half of zoom church forced many churchgoers to ask the question, "If we can do church online, do we need to do church in person?" The question has less to do with what we are capable of in our current technological era and more to do with what we believe about the nature and reality of the church. And for many Christians, they can’t tell you why zoom church isn’t the same as the real thing.

Transformation and Cultural Ideology

Every day we are being formed into certain kinds of people. The shows we watch, the music we listen to, the friends we spend time with, and the places we spend our money not only reveal the things we value, but also help us understand the ways we have been formed by our culture and the world around us.

In this episode of Live No Lies, a podcast by John Mark Comer, Pastor Jon Tyson explores how the world has deformed us in ways that do not align with the gospel or life of Christ. He argues that the work of following Jesus is to be reformed and transformed into His image as we cast off the thinking, habits, and beliefs that are not from God.

Russell Moore: Young Adults See the Hypocrisy

We’ve seen the stats: young people are walking away from the church. From the Gen Z “nones” who indicate no religious affiliation to the ex-vangelical movement, the church seems to be hemorrhaging its people at a historically alarming rate.

Repentance Was the Focus for Recent CU Day and Night Fast

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler

In the last two weeks of August, 3,884 believers from across the United States prayed, repented, and cried out to the Lord when they participated in CU Day and Night’s “Return to Me” fast.

CU Nova Leader Interns with Goldman Sachs

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

Goldman Sachs, a premier investment banking, securities, and investment management group, is known for offering a handful of remarkable college-aged students a grueling internship where they often log eighty hours per week. The intensity of these positions is notorious, allowing only a select bunch of top students to say, “I got Goldman” when they come through the recruiting season for finance positions. 

CU Martus Leader Earns Prestigious Fellowship at Penn

By Tom Campisi and Fuji Kim

Michael Hagan is one of eight undergraduates in the inaugural class of fellows for the University of Pennsylvania’s new Office of Social Equity and Community.

CU Day and Night Hosts Nationwide Event

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler

“I really do not remember how I came to find Christian Union, ‘It just happened.’” 

Even though Kimberly Brown cannot recall how she discovered Christian Union, she is very clear about the life-changing impact CU Day and Night has had on her. 

Rachel Gilson Talks About Sexuality and Gender Identity

In a culture that continues to become increasingly focused on sexuality and gender identity, Christians of all ages must be willing to engage with our culture in thoughtful, godly, and theologically sound ways.

Court Rules in Favor of Campus Ministry

When the University of Iowa deregistered a number of campus ministries, citing discrimination for requiring their members to be Christian, the ministries fought back. This past week, a federal appeals court upheld a previous ruling in 2019 stating that the university cannot selectively deregister student organizations. The lawsuit, originally filed by InterVarsity, is an important victory for religious freedom in the university setting.

Helping Students Face Anxiety, Depression, and Loneliness

As students prepare for their first fall semester on campus after over a year and a half of virtual learning it almost feels like life is returning to normal. But as dorm rooms, cafeterias, and classrooms fill up again, many students are still feeling empty as they battle the anxiety, depression, and loneliness churned up from the trauma and isolation of the pandemic. 

Learning to Engage for the Sake of Mission   

Christian leaders falling from grace has become a routine headline over the past few years. Our leaders have been caught in abuse, scandals, addiction, or lavish spending of church funds, leaving a trail of wreckage in the congregations they led, but also a bad impression on a watching world. It appears that Christians, who declare love and grace and humility with their lips, are often living a life that is out of sync with their declared good news. The word for this is hypocrisy, and it’s hurting the church more than ever.

Revival, Reformation Are Preceded by a Return to God 

By Chuck Hetzler

“We need to admit that there’s a problem,” said Matt Bennett as he addressed the need for widespread repentance to Christian Union Cornerstone Partners in a Zoom meeting, Monday evening, June 7, 2021.