6 Ways to Live for Christ in a Cancel Culture

PASTOR MIKE FARRELL • MAR 18, 2024

Let me introduce myself first. My name is Mike, and I am the youth pastor at Christian Life Church. I’m honored to share some quick thoughts.

I by no means have it all together or have the final say in things. In fact, as I grow my learning and knowledge, I’m finding out how much more I have to learn. Nonetheless, I hope you can learn from some of the lessons I have been through. Remember, you are created on purpose for a great purpose.

Here are 6 ways to live for Christ in a cancel culture:

1 LOVE WELL

Sometimes we like to overthink things. Or, we feel the need to attain a lofty platform of knowledge or insight. What I am coming to find in my mid 30s – just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s shallow. In fact, it may be incredibly profound. The concept of “Loving God; Loving people” is so simple, yet it can answer this entire blog. We simply need to remember what our Lord told us is the greatest commandment, “To the Love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind and soul.” And “to love our neighbor as ourselves.”

How are we doing with this? Perhaps this is where we need to start. At the ground level. But it has remarkable depth.

2 HAVE FAITH

For a season of my life, I felt the heavy burden to know every answer. A burden to answer every attack against a Christian worldview. This was absolutely exhausting and certainly not healthy. I’m happy to testify that the Lord has done a work in me! I don’t put this pressure on myself. At the end of the day, it’s not all on me. I am not Jesus. I am not the Lord. God doesn’t solely rely on me to defend Him. That’s making myself out to be something that I am certainly not. Truthfully, not you either. Rest in the sovereignty of God and that at the end of the day it’s not all on you.

Now, this isn’t a justification to be lazy and not grow your knowledge. You should certainly do this! Strive to learn, and to have a defense of why you believe what you believe. But also understand that we walk by faith.

3 HAVE A CONSISTENT CONNECTION TO CHRIST

When we are faithful to the Lord, there will be fruit in our lives. Our fruit can be a witness to the world around us. The Scriptures say that they will know us by our love for one another (John 13:35). When we are connected to the vine (Jesus), over time, we can’t help but have more and more fruit of that connection. Let these be exhibited in your life. Not for you to look good or even for reputation, but for the glory of the Lord.

A good test for yourself is in asking, “As I go through my day, how do I treat people as they cross my path? Do I display good fruit?” For example, just this last week I was on the phone with a fast food employee. I hung up the phone hoping that worker walked away from my time on the phone sensing Christ-like traits from me.

4 UNDERSTAND THE TIMES

Understand that one day (perhaps very soon), it will be unpopular, even dangerous, to be a Christian. This used to scare me. It doesn’t anymore, though it does concern me. Perhaps, as persecution, hardship, and trials increase, the Lord will use this to sanctify us and refine us into who we are called to be. As these things increase, His grace increases with it. Don’t despise these things, for they are tools the Lord uses to grow us.

It takes a level of maturity to embrace the hard things in life as a way to grow. Make a determination to not only understand this but embrace it.

5 DO THE HARD WORK OF HEART WORK

Physically and mentally, we are to do the hard work of heart work. Let me explain, first in reference to physically. Our generation, oftentimes, can come across as selfish and irresponsible. Be a person of responsibility. Be a person of your word. Don’t be as committed as your best option. Look for ways to honor those that have gone before you in life. This is completely contrary to our culture, a culture that disregards age and idolizes youth. Be a servant leader. Life is found in giving it away. Truth be told, this means you have to do some heart work, which can be hard. But, the work of God’s Spirit transforms us from the inside out.

When it comes to mentally, I encourage you to be a person of growth. This is a commitment and very often hard to make a priority! If you do not have an intentional plan of growth in your knowledge, then you probably aren’t growing. This can be done through books, podcasts, audiobooks, conferences, training, mentorship, etc. I was recently faced with some deep questions on why I believed what I believe, and I’m thankful to testify, I put in the hard work to iron out why I believed these things. At the same time, it was heart work. I think I am better off for it. It’s easy to tear things down or criticize. It’s hard to build and grow.

6 DON’T BE A RECLUSE

We all need mentors, peers, and mentees (Paul, Silas, and Timothy). There will be many moments in life when we need each of these roles in our lives. Understand, there is no exception to this rule. Ask yourself, am I coachable? Am I the friend that I am looking for? Am I the mentor that I needed when I was younger? Show up for people and watch the seeds that you plant, bring a sweet richness and fullness to your life.