The Spirit is loose in the world, and the Word of God through which and by which the cosmos was created is now moving in the world to transform the world. This is profoundly good news.

The Spirit of Christ precedes us into the world. This Spirit is already at work in any society, any culture, any lifestyle, and absolutely nothing can stop this redemptive, liberative, and transformative power…

This means that we are not called to go anywhere where Christ has not already gone ahead to open the way, so that we are able to go, confident in the moving power of the Spirit. This is a bracing framework in which to pursue ministry among the lifestyles of any culture, including our own.

from U. S. Lifestyles and Mainline Churches