Our information-saturated world seems to run on news headlines. One comes at us after another, all calling us to shock or outrage. It’s no wonder so many choose to simply turn off the noise. It’s as if the world is constantly coming into our clean rooms and dumping a new pile of dirty laundry for us to deal with. So, we just shut the door in order to stop the madness. 

But for Christians, simply closing our eyes and plugging our ears is not an option. We may choose silence or a sort of media fast for a while, but God has not called us to this time and place in history in order to disconnect from it.  

At the same time, we need to discern between what is noisy and what ultimately matters. Breathless headlines and made-up news stories can distract us from far more critical issues. Christians believe that the specific stories of our culture don’t ultimately reveal “what” we should care about, but they are the “when” and “where,” the context in which God has called us to live out our faith.  

Another way to put this is that this cultural moment is the stage, not the plot. It’s the moment, not the story. The news is where we see ideas and their consequences expressed, both good and bad. It’s where the philosophies that were born in ivory towers meet the reality of people’s lives, dreams, relationships, and decisions. Confusing the noise and chaos of the headlines with the Story of the world is one of the most common ways that Christians lose their way. 

As Christians called to this part of the story, it’s essential that we learn to hear and trust the Divine Script Writer. God hasn’t called us to success as it is often defined in this moment, but he has called us to faithfulness. Like any actor, we can forget our role or lose our place in the storyline. We can miss our entrance or forget our line. Thank God, our Director is as good as it gets. 

This year, the Colson Center is partnering with Focus on the Family to produce a series of events designed to offer Christians a deeper level of understanding about the issues that matter most in this time and place. This special speaker series will focus on some of the most confusing and controversial parts of our story right now, specifically at the intersection of family and culture. 

The series will be presented in three parts this spring and three parts this fall and will feature a who’s who of thought leaders addressing areas where we need to refocus our attention on the roles and responsibilities we have as Christians in our community contexts. 

The series starts tonight, with Dr. Anthony Bradley of the King’s College. He will address the very important issue of how we are failing young men. The tyranny of low expectations, soft relationships, absent fathers… ours is a culture failing to transition boys to men.  In March, Katy Faust of Them Before Us will address the various ways that children’s rights are being sacrificed for adult desire.  

I hope you’ll join the Colson Center and Focus on the Family for this special series called “Lighthouse Voices.” To register for the livestream, visit www.colsoncenter.org/events.