Befitting Your Majesty : How the Twenty-First Century Christian Contends with Cultural Assimilation and the Re-defining of Christianity

Living in two worlds at the same time, each with its distinctive culture, is a real challenge for contemporary Christians. Hard choices are not optional, they are mandatory. The present world culture formed by human wisdom is exerting great pressure on Christian identity; the changes in Christianity identity are not necessarily the result of violent action as much as careless cultural assimilation.

The clear message interwoven throughout apostolic writings in the NT identifies two issues common to first- century Christians and which are becoming increasingly more relevant to Christians in the twenty-first century:

1. being persecuted for their distinctive Christian beliefs

2. being tempted to assimilate into the dominant current culture

Jim Mackey is a respected counselor, pastor, adjunct professor and international teacher. While engaged in pastoring a local church, he and his wife, Lynette, founded Shepherd Springs Ministries in 1978, a trans-denominational service ministry to clergy and clergy families. Their passion for the well-being of clergy families has taken them into well over thirty countries on five continents. For ten years Shepherd Springs served as a referral ministry with Focus on the Family for pastor families in Texas. Since 2008, Dr. Mackey has served as an adjunct professor of theology and New Testament studies at Christ for the Nations in Dallas, TX, and has served on the faculty of The King's University in South Lake, TX. He is also a permanent member of Theta Kappa Alpha, the National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology. His ministry has been varied and well-traveled, spanning over five decades. Jim and Lynette have worked with pastors in Asia since 1988 and have established two schools for house church pastors in China. In Nigeria they have established three regional pastor schools, one Bible Institute and two elementary schools. Dr. Mackey has a B.S in Religious Education from Southwestern Assemblies of God University, graduate work in psychology at Northern Arizona University, a M.A. in Theological Studies from Southwestern A/G University, and a D. Min from Andersonville Theological Seminary. Jim and Lynette have three children and ten grandchildren.