Called to Kingdom Culture

I’ve experienced many different cultures in my life. Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a society and/or an organization. Culture helps shape how we understand our world and our place in it. As Christians, we need to know what the Christian culture is.

I was born in South Korea and grew up in Korean culture. I was also born in a parsonage and grew up in Nazarene churches. As a result, I was very familiar with our Nazarene culture.

The Culture of Heaven

At the age of 18, while reading the 53^rd chapter of Isaiah, I surrendered my life to God and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in a profound way. In those moments, I experienced a heavenly culture through the sanctifying grace of God.

Later, when I enlisted in the Korean army as is the duty of every Korean young man, I experienced another unique culture. That culture was very different from the Christian culture I knew previously.

After I was discharged from the military, I went to the Philippines to attend Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, which consists of faculty members and students from various countries with their own cultural backgrounds. I had a chance to experience several different cultures.

A Common Kingdom Culture

In Genesis 12, we read that God called Abraham out of Ur to be a blessing to others. In extension, as the people of God, we are called to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, no matter what country we are from or what culture we belong to. We are not of the world. We are sent into the world to be a blessing. Our mission is to build up the Kingdom culture that is comprised of people from every nation, tribe, and language (Revelations 7:9). In this Kingdom, our culture must reflect God's glory to the world by good works, allowing others to see and know our good God.

As Nazarenes, God is calling us to be a Christlike disciple and to make Christlike disciples in the nations. Our calling as Nazarenes is to both a personal journey with God and also to journey with others along the way, regardless of their national origin or culture. As Nazarenes, our cultural identity is shaped by our love for Christ and Christ’s love for all people, regardless of their culture.