When I was 6, my favorite song to sing at Sunday school was “This Little Light of Mine.” Not only was it easy to remember, but I loved the hand motions that went along with it. “Hide it under a bushel? No!” and “Won’t let Satan blow it out” were my most favorite lines.

As I finished Tim Stevens’ new book “Pop Goes the Church,” it reminded me of my favorite childhood church song. Although I really enjoyed the book – and even gave it to my pastor to read – the concepts are not complicated. In fact, they remind me a lot of “This Little Light of Mine.”

Hiding our light under a bushel – or segregating ourselves from mainstream society – doesn’t help us “Let it (His light) shine over the whole wide world” as Jesus did. Our ability to relate to others and understand why people are attracted to popular movies and songs and their references to faith and real-life issues hinges on us knowing what the world is watching and listening to. I would go so far as to say that all of the life issues in pop culture movies and songs are addressed in the Bible, and we can use these examples to leverage a real conversation about Christ.

Stevens does a great job of giving us strong biblical references to support immersing yourself into mainstream culture; not to become of the world, but to be a light to the world. More importantly, he gives us practical applications of how the Church should be using pop culture in our strategies to reach those in our communities.

I’m excited that his book is doing so well. Besides inspiring conversations, it’s challenging Christian leaders to think about how they do church – and really, how we, as believers, do life. If you haven’t picked up a copy of the book yet, you should. It will get you thinking about how you can help others connect in a disconnected world.

Katherine Kennedy is the publisher of Church Solutions and the exhibit sales executive for the Church Solutions Conference & Expo. She can be reached at kkennedy@vpico.com.

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