Cultural Apologetics for Pastors and Parents: Engaging Values and Worldviews in Popular Culture

Each day we encounter a pluralism of themes, stories and arguments in movies, television series, and other products of popular culture. Many of these messages influence how biblical truth is perceived, both outside and within the church, and thus with implications both for evangelism and discipleship. Therefore, we need to be equipped to engage such media messages with sensitivity and integrity, both as media narratives and at the underlying levels of values and worldviews. This cultural apologetic task includes the art of double listening, where “we are called to listen both to the Word of God, and to today’s world, in order to relate the one to the other” (John Stott). This talk includes some illuminating case studies and equips pastors and parents for constructive conversations with their youth.