Bethany Well

On Sunday, I preached from Romans 12:2 -

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

As an illustration of the level of conformity in our culture, I cited the Asch Conformity Experiment conducted in 1956 [video after the break]. [I wonder what the results would show in today's culture; I imagine strikingly similar.] In the experiment, subjects were told to say aloud their answer to which line (A, B, or C) was the same length as line X. But the only hitch is that the rest of the ‘group’ were planted to give the wrong answer. He was researching the level to which individuals are influenced by the group.

The teaching point on Sunday was that we should beware of the influences around us. However, I think there is another point to remember.

If we can create our own counter-culture that loves God and loves God’s people, think of the influence we can have on unsuspecting “subjects”. Some of you may feel that our church is not a good fit for you for whatever reason. But my challenge to you is to become what you want the church to be and then recruit friends to create that culture. It is possible; it takes commitment.

Here is an old-school video ["nice threads!"] of an explanation of the Asch experiment as it’s conducted.

By the way, the correct answer above is: A

Written by: RjL on September 2, 2008.