Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch

Apr 06, 2013 Erwin Pauang rated it 4 of 5 stars

Salah satu buku kristen yang mengungkapkan kembali kebenaran klasik akan tujuan penciptaan manusia mula-mula.
apalagi kalau bukan untuk menyaatakan keagungan Tuhan yang tergambar melalui mandat untuk memelihara Taman Eden, mengembangakan kebudayaan sampai pada puncak tertinggi perwujudan nilai kreatifitas manusia yang menggambarkan keagungan Tuhan, Sang Pencipta manusia itu sendiri.
Buku ini menempatkan seluruh konteks hidup manusia dan hasil ciptaannya (hasil kreatifitasnya) sebagai sebuah benda...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Joel Arnold rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book even though there was plenty not to agree with. Crouch is a very good writer. He has a nice, smooth and sometimes poetic style. This book is clear and easy to read. It's also quite thought provoking in many ways. Trying to summarize the content concisely:

-Crouch defines culture very broadly. Almost any of our actions that affect or change the state of nature in some way qualify as culture. Crouch rightly roots culture in the creation mandate of Gen. 1:28.
-Another way to defin...more

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Sep 26, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity-and-culture

Fantastic. Crouch diagnoses four ways evangelical Christians have related to culture: condemn, critique, copy, consume. Although each of this may be appropriate for particular things, as a way of relating to culture as a whole they are unsatisfying. Instead Christians should be creating and cultivating culture. Crouch grounds this in the Bible story, from creation on through Jesus Christ and into new creation.

I found this book thought-provoking and challenging. I think all Christians in the art...more

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Jun 19, 2011 John Gardner rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Culture” is a word often used but rarely understood. To some it connotes art, music, and fine dining. To others, it expresses a unique ethnic or national heritage. For some, it is the battleground on which the “culture wars” are fought.

Andy Crouch would have us understand “culture” as including all of these, but so much more. In Culture Making, we come to see culture as “the name for our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make something else”. As Christi...more “Culture” is a word often used but rarely understood. To some it connotes art, music, and fine dining. To others, it expresses a unique ethnic or national heritage. For some, it is the battleground on which the “culture wars” are fought.

Andy Crouch would have us understand “culture” as including all of these, but so much more. In Culture Making, we come to see culture as “the name for our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make something else”. As Christians who believe that the universe was created and is ruled by a sovereign God who designed man in His own image, this has huge implications. If we are to image our Creator, then we must exercise our capacity for creativity. God has given us the world and charged us to “work and keep it” (Genesis 2:15), which we may see as our cultural mandate.

Crouch’s book is broken into three parts, labeled Culture, Gospel, and Calling. In Part 1, he gives instructions on how first of all to diagnose the importance and impact of a given cultural artifact (which can be anything from languages to omelets to iPods). He asks five questions to accomplish this: (1) What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world is? (2) What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world should be? (3) What does this cultural artifact make possible? (4) What does this cultural artifact make impossible (or at least very difficult)? (5) What new forms of culture are created in response to this artifact?

For examples of how these questions are asked and answered, check out the author’s blog, Culture-Making.com, which includes a weekly “Five Questions” post. Definitely recommended!

Our task as creative imagers of God requires much more than mere diagnosis, however. We must have a robust understanding of what culture is and how it changes (which the author provides), and then ascertain our role in culture making.

For me, by far the most helpful chapter in the book was called “Gestures and Postures”, which examined four primary ways in which Christians have traditionally engaged culture: Condemning, Critiquing, Copying, and Consuming. Each of these he calls “gestures”, saying that each is an appropriate response to culture in certain situations. He warns, however, against adopting a “posture” of condemnation, critique, copying, or consumption, in which we engage ALL culture with the same response. This has been the error made by most Christians throughout history.

Instead, Crouch suggests that the biblical model of “good postures” are those of Creation and Cultivation. These “postures of freedom” allow Christians to respond appropriately in every situation, using the four gestures listed above as well as pro-actively creating new culture and cultivating existing culture.

Part 2 looks at how creation and cultivation are modeled for us in the Bible, by Old and New Testament saints as well as by God himself. While at times I believe Crouch overstates his case, I greatly enjoyed the tour through Scripture presented from a perspective I’ve never considered before. Even in the places where his interpretation of Scripture is different from mine, or, more commonly, ambiguous (for instance, Crouch seems to vacillate between viewing the Genesis account of creation as a historical record and as a poetic, non-historical story), my understanding of Scripture was strengthened through approaching it in a different light.

Part 3 digs into the practical application of this understanding of culture. The first chapter in this section is provocatively titled “Why We Can’t Change the World”. Crouch’s point is not that we are incapable of making any difference in the world, but that individually we are incapable of producing cultural artifacts that will “change the horizons of the possible” for everyone, everywhere. Instead, he says, we ought to focus on making positive changes within our own world; having a good impact within whatever sphere of influence we may have.

The only way culture is changed on a large scale is through community. Believers in particular are to work cooperatively to create and cultivate culture that will benefit the world. Crouch encourages us to see where God is working, and to get involved. The pattern he sees in the Bible and throughout church history is one of God using the powerful alongside the powerless. Though power is often abused, it is actually a good gift of God that is meant to be used to aid those who do not have power… though every person has some level of power within a certain context. It is only by the cooperative efforts of believers that see every human as an image-bearer of God and therefore a potential creative culture-maker that the church and individual Christians can fulfill their cultural mandate to exercise dominion over the world.

Though there are many points of contention where I would likely disagree with Crouch’s interpretation of Scripture, these are relatively small concerns compared to the benefit of many of the practical and theoretical suggestions in this book. As the author says, “the pursuit of a common good requires working in common with people who will not agree with us on every point.” I am more than willing to work with Crouch and others like him in order to help all Christians come to a better understanding of our mandate –and our potential – to make a real difference in our world (even as we await the arrival of God’s eternal and perfect kingdom) through culture making.

This is a book you should read.(less)

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Sep 26, 2010 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling attempts to address a question the church has faced since its inception. How should the church engage with the larger culture? Drawing upon a wide array of scholarship, Crouch takes pains to define culture and outline the various postures the church has taken in the past (condemning, ignoring, dominating, etc.) Crouch's main point, if I understood it correctly, seemed to be that culture has been a gift of God from the beginning and that believers s...more

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Feb 04, 2010 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

You ever get on a roll where every book you pick up or movie you watch is great? That's where I've been in 2010. Keep it coming!

"Culture Making" was a book I wanted to read but was afraid to read. I suppose I've been a little worn down in recent years by evangelicals' obsession with all things culture. Andy Crouch stands well above the fray, though.

What was perhaps most surprising about "Culture Making" to me was the scope of Crouch's vision. Crouch takes on the whole thing in his book: from wha...more You ever get on a roll where every book you pick up or movie you watch is great? That's where I've been in 2010. Keep it coming!

"Culture Making" was a book I wanted to read but was afraid to read. I suppose I've been a little worn down in recent years by evangelicals' obsession with all things culture. Andy Crouch stands well above the fray, though.

What was perhaps most surprising about "Culture Making" to me was the scope of Crouch's vision. Crouch takes on the whole thing in his book: from what is culture? to what would it mean for Christians to influence culture? to what does the Bible have to say about culture? to how we can make culture that will have a lasting and gospel-centered impact?

Each of these Crouch handles masterfully. Crouch's definition of culture -- the broadest possible definition ("culture is what we make of the world")-- sets up his thesis: God has called Christians to create meaningful culture. And with this in hand he sets about the task of reflecting on the redemptive history. Crouch isn't pretending to rewrite the redemptive story here, but his telling of it is compelling and inspiring.

Finally, Crouch gets to the nuts and bolts of his operation: what are the obstacles in culture making and how should one go about the enterprise. His reflections are God-centered and practical throughout.

Perhaps what delighted me most about the book was Crouch's ability to explain and then pass by what has subconsciously rankled me about evangelical 'culture talk' for years: talking about and analyzing culture does not equate to making culture. In fact, Crouch holds off on Niebuhr's worn out "Christ and Culture" typologies until nearly two-thirds of the book has passed. Everybody wants to transform the culture... Crouch actually begins talking about how and why we might do that.

There's really nothing negative to say about Crouch's book. In addition to being a very helpful book, it's readable and littered with wonderful turns of phrases and word pictures. The only minor critique I might have is really no critique at all... but rather a caution... Crouch is a very certain type of evangelical: a Northeasterner with a background that ranges from the evangelical and into the mainline. For many, I'm sure, there will be times where his own cultural language or theology is at a disconnect with their own. Be assured, though, that Crouch is a good guide who will serve you well, even if you don't agree with every point along the way.(less)

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Sep 13, 2009 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

Andy Crouch's book offers a thoughtful, and more importantly, an engaged vision of the relationship between Christians and the cultures within which we live and breathe.

It's a good thing that Crouch wants to move us away from the simplistic notion of "the culture," and instead help us to see the plurality of cultures that we find ourselves in. His definition of culture, "what we make of the world," presents Christians with an opportunity to involve ourselves in the world both as creators and cul...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Kyle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Crouch's thesis is simple. There is no escaping culture and each in our own way make and shape culture. The question remains: what type of culture?

It is the questions of culture and culture-making is where Crouch shines. The first part is a delight as Crouch moves us from the inescapability of culture, through cultural shifts, and the necessity for making our culture. For the most part this avoids tradional discussions of Christianity and culture that are tied exclusively to the paradigms of Nie...more

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Feb 09, 2011 David Shane rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a book about culture - about what culture is, God's role in culture, and what our actions as Christians should be, in roughly that order. I found it to be a helpful book in understanding what culture is and how to affect it, a thought-provoking book when it examined scripture through the lens of culture, and an encouraging book when discussing how we personally can and should act.

The author begins by removing from us the common idea that we can even talk about "the culture" in a simple m...more This is a book about culture - about what culture is, God's role in culture, and what our actions as Christians should be, in roughly that order. I found it to be a helpful book in understanding what culture is and how to affect it, a thought-provoking book when it examined scripture through the lens of culture, and an encouraging book when discussing how we personally can and should act.

The author begins by removing from us the common idea that we can even talk about "the culture" in a simple monolithic way, or that it would be helpful to do so if we could. Rather, he says, a culture is its pieces, is its cultural goods - the roadways, the foods, the institutions, and more. Broadly speaking, a cultural good is something that changes the boundaries of the possible and the impossible - the telephone makes it possible for you to speak to your family when far from them, and may also make it impossible (in some jobs) to ever be really off-work. If we want to have an effect on culture, we should drop this vague talk about "changing the culture" - we need to interact with it specifically, with these cultural goods.

But how should we interact with culture? There are actually many responses we can have to culture - we can condemn culture, critique culture, copy culture, consume culture, or cultivate and create culture. Cultivation and creation go together because no cultural good exists in a vacuum - it always builds in some way on what has come before it. At times, any one of these might be the proper response to some cultural good, but creation is particularly important because culture only changes as new cultural goods displace old ones.

After discussing culture in general, Crouch turns to the Bible, and walks us from Genesis to Revelation and presents the Biblical story as a story about culture. This is the part of the book I enjoyed the most. Starting in Genesis, we are told that man is made in the image of God, an image that surely at least includes God's creative aspect. In Genesis 2, we find Adam in a garden - a garden is not just nature, but already nature + culture. Culture too is one of God's gifts to man. We also see God making room for man's own creativity - instead of simply telling Adam the name of every creature He makes it Adam's choice.

The cultural story continues through scripture. Later, God chooses the nation of Israel, creates for them a unique culture through the Levitical laws and a unique cultural vocation - living in total dependence on Him. Then, He sets them in the well-trafficked Jordan valley, making sure that Israel's unique cultural vocation would be lived out in full view of the surrounding nations. Later still, in Jesus we meet the single greatest culture-affecter of all time, and it is worth noting that many of the personal changes Jesus encourages are to be accomplished by cultural changes - prayer is to be in quiet rooms instead of on the street, for example. Finally, at the end of the story, in Revelation, the new Jerusalem is revealed - not a garden as in Genesis, but a city, that place where cultures have their fullest expression. And, Crouch argues, many of the cultural goods we are so familiar with today will still be there, in redeemed form, and it is worth asking ourselves if the goods we create today will have a chance at making it into the New Jerusalem.

The middle section of the book, it should be said, will also be the most controversial, especially for readers with a more conservative view of scripture. Crouch states quite plainly, for example, that he views Genesis 1-11 as "less a finely documented history than a story that invites our trust." He does, certainly, trust these chapters enough to draw many lessons from them. And he later emphasizes the importance of the fact that "the Christian faith is a historical faith."

The final third of the book discusses how we are to go about in our calling to culture, and begins with a shot of humility - the first chapter is titled "Why We Can't Change the World." To change the world in this context means to create or modify some cultural good in a way that affects the horizons of possiblity and impossiblity for everyone - a difficult feat. Furthermore, Crouch says, there are no "sufficient conditions" for a world-changing cultural good - in other words, you simply cannot know ahead of time if your creation will have the effect and reach you desire.

We can, however, certainly have a more local effect on culture, and for that we need three things - power, community, and grace. Power is the ability to propose a new cultural good - but power also comes with risks, and is alluring and corrupting. So how should we act as Christians? Crouch has several suggestions, but perhaps they can be summarized in saying that we should choose to use power in ways that rob it of its temptation - specifically, by exercising service and stewardship.

But, even with power, culture is also rarely created alone. Instead, we need a community, and this community tends to take the form of concentric circles of people - Crouch calls them the 3, the 12, and the 120. He gives the example of a corporation, in which the ~3 might be the CEO, COO, CIO, and CFO, the 12 would be the board of directors, and the 120 would be the rest of the key staff. This numerical pattern has Biblical parallels as well - the Synoptic gospels stress the roles of Peter, James, and John around Jesus. Beyond them there are the remaining 12 disciples, and there are indications of a larger group as well - Jesus sends out 70 disciples to declare the coming of the kingdom in Luke 10, for example.

Finally, we need grace. God is at work in human culture, so supernaturally abundant results are possible every time we create a new cultural good. To find your personal calling in culture, Crouch suggests you ask yourself a question - "Where do you experience grace - divine multiplication that far exceeds your efforts."(less)

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Jan 13, 2009 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology

This book was so close to a five star for me!

Andy Crouch paints a insightful, compelling, and beautiful picture of the Christian as the Culture Maker. This culture maker understands that part of their discipleship is creating so as to give glory to God, by using their creative capacity to its fullest.

Despite a rather theologically "thin" section on the biblical basis for culture making (I think he makes it too simplistic), he does get his point across and I can see for the length of the book,...more

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Mar 14, 2009 ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

If there is anything that I think Christians have been the most vague and ignorant about it is the topic of culture. I had a class in college on Christ and Culture that was the most vexing of any I had. This book confirmed and expanded many of my own views and experiences with clarity and remarkable insights. His basic thesis is “It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient to merely critique culture, copy culture or consume culture. The only way to change culture is to create cultu...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

We are created to create; in the manner of our Heavenly Father to bring forth order from disorder. We were also created to rule: to maintain order and separation; to “cultivate” in the garden. This is how Andy Crouch’s excellent Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling begins.

Somewhat early in the book, Crouch argues that many Christians who say they want to transform cultures or worldviews subtly rewrite the problem they study into a fundamentally intellectual problem. Perhaps inevitabl...more We are created to create; in the manner of our Heavenly Father to bring forth order from disorder. We were also created to rule: to maintain order and separation; to “cultivate” in the garden. This is how Andy Crouch’s excellent Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling begins.

Somewhat early in the book, Crouch argues that many Christians who say they want to transform cultures or worldviews subtly rewrite the problem they study into a fundamentally intellectual problem. Perhaps inevitably, people with strong analytical and philosophical gifts look at the evident problem of Christian disembodiment and propose not a profound program of embodiment but more thinking as the solution. And after we have done a lot more thinking, how exactly does the world change? Well, “then a miracle occurs.” (Page 63) To “engage” the culture, Crouch says, becomes a near synonym for thinking about the culture (87).

I read several books the latter half of 2010 dealing with the broad issue of transforming cultures and worldviews, how to do this, and why some succeed and others fail in this regard (Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change, Paul Hiebert ; Communicating Christ Through Story and Song; Culture Shift: Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out; Lewis, Cordeiro and Bird; Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues With Timeless Truth, R. Albert Mohler; The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died, John Philip Jenkins). These books were thought-provoking in places, but most fell somewhat short in the area of mistaking analysis and commentary for application. So I could see the imbalance Crouch was pointing out in the above paragraph. Problem is, for the next 130 pages of his book, I kept wondering if this was not precisely the same pit Crouch had fallen into. Recycling biblical history to focus on culture and culture building (the exclusive focus of part II but also portions of parts I and III) was interesting in places but far from making the time investment I was putting into the book pay off for me.

Thankfully, the latter half of the third section of the book on Calling – particularly the chapters on Community and Grace as well as the postscript, made the effort worth it. To summarize, some main points include:

1. All Culture Making is Local: This means no matter how complex and extensive the cultural systems we may consider, the only way to change them is by way of a small group of innovative and creative people and a series of concentric circles of people the optimum size of which Crouch suggests are in the neighborhood of 3: 12: 120. We are, after all, according to Crouch, hardwired for villages. (p. 240-244).

2. All Culture Making is a Product of Grace: The way to genuine cultural creativity starts with the recognition that we woke up this morning in our right mind, with the use and activity of our limbs- and that every other creative capacity we have has likewise arrived as a gift we did not earn and to which we were not entitled. And once we are awake and thankful, our most important cultural contributions will very likely come from doing whatever keeps us precisely in the center of delight and surprise.” (p. 252)

Where do you experience grace-divine multiplication that far exceeds your efforts? Grace is no exemption from the disciplines: we are called to be painstaking cultivators before we can become creators. Indeed, the disciplines that undergird any effort at culture making are an essential path to grace. Disciplines are private and invisible, preparing our hearts to handle the pressures of our work becoming public and visible (257). There may be no greater value to the disciplines (practicing scales if you are musician, learning languages if you are linguist, learning the basics of math or science if you are mathematician or scientist) than to regularly bring us to these moments of disillusionment with ourselves. Grace is for the poor in spirit, and the disciplines bring us, no matter our ascribed power or actual wealth, to keen awareness of our fundamental poverty. 258

I’ll look back at this book again as I seek to synthesize what I gleaned from it in comparison with some of the other books mentioned above. In spite of its shortcomings, I’d recommend it as the best I’ve come across on the topic so far.
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Mar 24, 2013 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith-and-culture

This book is a spectacular introduction to the magisterial question of the relationship between Christian life and culture, or more correctly, Christianities and the cultures that surround and inhabit them.

I especially like his historical/sociological categories that move from condemning and critiquing to copying and consuming culture. They are all, of course, appropriate in their place, but have been misused in numerous ways. The alternatives, of creating and cultivating, or making culture, are...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Robbie Pruitt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling is a great book for studying how to be cultivators and influencers of culture. God has called us to be creative and to influence culture and we should, indeed, be attuned to this calling. Andy Crouch gets us back to our call in this well-done and extremely helpful book.

Andy Crouch addresses culture making in his book Culture Making, as well as on his web site, http://www.culture-making.com, when he says: "It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is...more

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Apr 19, 2010 David Mullens rated it 5 of 5 stars

There are some books that after you turn the last page, you know you will be different. You can't always explain why, but in the course of reading it, you know something deep within you has been changed. This book has had that effect on me.

I only read it because Amazon suggested it, and it did go along with some of my dissertation research. A couple of times, in the beginning, I thought about reading something else instead, but I continued on and I'm glad I did.

Crouch discusses "cultures" and ho...more

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Jun 14, 2013 Jay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: business, christianity, constructs, sociology

I believe the best content is that which is deep enough to permeate into every aspect of life, and this book definitely fits that. Despite being from a Christian perspective, this books taps into some of the deepest desires all humans have to be loved in community, to contribute something to the world, to enjoy others contributions.

The bulk of the book is unpacking the importance of culture, as well as theological and Biblical references to our call to culture, and the last section merely touche...more

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Aug 26, 2009 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this book, former "Christianity Today" columnist Andy Crouch discusses culture from a Christian perspective. The first part focuses on an explanation of culture. The second part looks at how the Bible views culture. The third part talks about how Christians should participate in culture in the contemporary world.

Crouch's main thesis is that Christians should make culture rather than (or in addition to) condemning, critiquing, copying, or consuming it. I thought he made a very strong case. I e...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Estelle Richardson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity, culture

A beautiful and theologically sound call to Christians to not merely critique, condemn, or imitate the culture around them but to create it. Crouch explains a broad definition of culture as what we make of the world, whether omelets, highways, policies, or sculptures. He weaves a Scriptural narrative of God as the ultimate Creator of culture and humankind as the cultivators of it, from the Garden of Eden to the future heavenly city of the new Jerusalem in the recreated heavens and earth. In an a...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Bob Robinson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Andy Crouch, in his landmark book, Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling, makes the case that the essence of humanity is that we are “creative cultivators.” This is rooted in his correct interpretation of the opening chapters of the Bible, where humans are created in the image of God, placed in the garden and given the task to “cultivate” (עָבַד) it (see Genesis 1:26-18 and 2:15)

But Crouch states that culture is not merely “a set of ideas” but rather “primarily a set of tangible goods”...more Andy Crouch, in his landmark book, Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling, makes the case that the essence of humanity is that we are “creative cultivators.” This is rooted in his correct interpretation of the opening chapters of the Bible, where humans are created in the image of God, placed in the garden and given the task to “cultivate” (עָבַד) it (see Genesis 1:26-18 and 2:15)

But Crouch states that culture is not merely “a set of ideas” but rather “primarily a set of tangible goods” (p. 10). “Culture is what we make of the world” (p. 23). Therefore, “the only way to change the culture is to create more of it” (p. 67).

In a book about making culture, Crouch surprises the reader by actually providing a needed corrective to the human quest to change the culture (especially recent Christian articulations to “change the world”) by insisting that while we are indeed “culture makers,” “when we thoughtlessly grasp for the heedless rhetoric of ‘changing the world,’ we expose ourselves to temptation. We find ourselves in a situation similar to Adam and Eve’s in the Garden. ‘You will be like God, knowing good and evil… Is there a way to change the world without falling into one of the many traps laid for would-be world changers? If so, it will require us to learn the one thing the language of ‘changing the world’ usually lacks: humility” (p. 201).

“Culture Making,” according to Crouch, must not be about grand strategies to transform the world, for that is too large of a scale for finite and depraved humans to attempt. “The record of human efforts to change the world is mixed, to say the least…And the larger the scale of change we seek, the more mixed the record becomes” (p. 198). Therefore, Crouch advocates that we attempt to create cultural goods that offer positive contributions in smaller scales of time and place. The success of such culture making should be measured not by how influential they are in the larger cultural milieu, but in how they exhibit “integrity”: “We can speak of progress when a certain arena of culture is more whole, more faithful to the world of which it is making something” (p. 54).

Culture makers, therefore, should concentrate on smaller scales of influence, what Crouch calls the “3:12:120” – a close and dedicated small circle of three, a group of people (12) to make the cultural good come into existence, and a network of people (120) that will bring the cultural artifact into use. He states that every cultural innovation “is based on personal relationships and personal commitment. Culture making is hard. It simply doesn’t happen without deep investment of absolutely and relatively small groups of people. In culture making, size matters—in reverse… The almost uncanny thing about culture making is that a small group is enough” (p. 243).

Crouch states that culture can be primarily understood as cultural goods or artifacts created by humans made in God’s image. If this is correct, then the question for culture makers is not the haughty one of “Can I change the world?” Rather, the question should be much more humble: “Does this thing that we have created meet the criteria of God’s intentions for his Creation and New Creation?” or, “Can I imagine this cultural artifact making it into the New Jerusalem?”

If God, in his sovereignty, decides to allow our cultural contribution to have an influence across the larger culture, then we thank him for that and pray for his will to be done with it.

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Jan 24, 2011 John Martindale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian, audiobook

It touched on somethings I never really thought about that seemed to me rather interesting. The book was not really anything to write home about though. It is pretty realistic, insisting that we are far more likely to be deeply influenced by culture then to influence culture. But if we are do so, its best not to just go around trying to separate and condemn, but to create. It was interesting how he pointed out that parts of secular culture are shown in the Heaven, giving the idea that things wil...more

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May 02, 2010 Kate Padilla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Upon the cover alone, this book had two things going against it: 1) the class I had to read it for was not proving itself reliable to quality literature, and 2) It was a Christian look at our role within the broader, "mainstream" world.

Disclaimer: I am a Christian. I just don't like the way Christians portray themselves in our literature with it comes to our role in not-necessarily-"Christian"-culture.

Andy Crouch approaches such a touchy subject with grace and respect but establishes his point s...more Upon the cover alone, this book had two things going against it: 1) the class I had to read it for was not proving itself reliable to quality literature, and 2) It was a Christian look at our role within the broader, "mainstream" world.

Disclaimer: I am a Christian. I just don't like the way Christians portray themselves in our literature with it comes to our role in not-necessarily-"Christian"-culture.

Andy Crouch approaches such a touchy subject with grace and respect but establishes his point so as to say, "I respect you, and I deserve your respect."

And deserve our respect he does. I have not yet read such a firm, realistic understanding of anyone's--be them "Christian" or not--role in the society. We don't all come from trust funds and fame. Some of us start from the ground up, driven only by our unquenchable desire to change the world like it's never been changed before. Past literature on the subject says one of two things: "It's not your job, as an evangelical Christian, to change the world because the world cannot be changed and there's no use trying," or "You can do it. Follow steps 1, 2, and 3 and fasten your seatbelt. It happened to me, it can happen to you, too!" Crouch takes a step back, sighs, shakes his head a bit and says, "You can't change the world. You are one person. But, don't lose heart. Keep trying. Changing the world isn't as grand as it seems. You want to change the world? Change your family. Change a few friends. Start small, and don't stop."

Crouch writes in such a style so as not to apply specific to the Christian community. Do not be fooled--that is his intended audience. But, unlike a lot of stereotypical Christian-literature, he doesn't hype up the "Godyness." He does not flower Christianity with scented roses and hyperbolic language, and he doesn't promise every dream to come true upon "trusting in Him." He has a definite center, but he is deeper than that.

And, to the audience for which he intended, he has a different message than they might be expecting. As to our role as Christians in the world (and not of the world, as we're told in Sunday School), he states his thesis very matter-of-factly. "We are created in the image of God. And since God is the Creator, so are we creators." It's as simple as that. We are made to take part in the world because we were made to create within the world, and to add our artistic voice to the grand mural growing each and every day.

Anyone, "Christian" or not, "creator" or not, would better himself (or herself) by reading this book.(less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Lashawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this. This book opened my eyes on the nature of culture. The culture of world. The culture of church. The culture of science fiction. And knowing that you must know culture in order to change it.

I was struck most by his four postures Christians use to respond to culture outside of the church: condemning, critiquing, consuming and copying, and found myself applying it on numerous occasions. For instance, Jon and I went to the mall were we went to a restaurant called Kato'...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Mark Ward rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, favorites

I went to a liberal arts school.

Why did I bother?

Why did I bother learning the history of art or music? Why not just learn what it takes to make money now?

Andy Crouch answers with a book-length "because God said so." That's what you'll find in Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. This is an expansive book that travels through sociology, through the whole storyline of Scripture, and into practical suggestions.

But it's not what you might expect coming from a centrist evangelical like C...more

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Oct 18, 2011 J.E. Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian-life

This was a great read, and challenging in its content. Crouch offers a view of how everyone is engaged in the process of participating in, sustaining, and (at least in some way) cultivating culture. He lays this out in a manner that is clear and understandable, both in the abstract as well as in how each of us might more fully take up our role in participation.

One thing I appreciated about the book is the constructive critique of “worldview” as an approach to engaging/changing/shaping culture. W...more

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May 09, 2011 Poiema rated it 2 of 5 stars

It took me a long time to get through this book and I'm having a hard time figuring out why. The subject matters to me. The writing was good, I had no major quibbles with the author's conclusions, and his work is obviously well researched. But somehow I did not feel an igniting spark that leaped from him to me.

I'm definitely in the minority here; most other reviewers give the book 5 stars. I'm concluding that it was just one of those quirky situations where the author's style failed to engage me...more It took me a long time to get through this book and I'm having a hard time figuring out why. The subject matters to me. The writing was good, I had no major quibbles with the author's conclusions, and his work is obviously well researched. But somehow I did not feel an igniting spark that leaped from him to me.

I'm definitely in the minority here; most other reviewers give the book 5 stars. I'm concluding that it was just one of those quirky situations where the author's style failed to engage me, though he charmed everyone else.

Having said that, there were a couple of good lines that I highlighted:

"The cross refutes progressivism, the idea that human beings can steadily improve their way into blessedness."

"Beware of world changers, they have not yet learned the reality of sin."

The wise use of power, seeing power as a gift, choosing to invest in the powerless, cultivating community, finding your calling- these were some of the subjects explored in the book.

The focus was on creative culture making with the goal of contributing healing to a sick world. I have the vague sense that my admittedly resurrection/other - worldly mindset leaves me more enthusiastic about my future hope and a bit pessimistic about what can be done to turn things around here on earth. I didn't catch an enthusiasm in the author 's tone for the heavenly hope, rather he focused on what can be done here and now. While I am not negating our scriptural mandate to "occupy until he comes," I truthfully find that most contemporary Christian authors take the same stance, our best life NOW. That is something I love about Christian authors of days gone by, i.e. Moody, Spurgeon, Tozer--they weren't afraid to point your thoughts heavenward.They really didn't even encourage "creativity" in service of the Master. Just faithful obedience in the daily round with the thought that any works done to please the Lord would be a little crown I would have to lay at his feet in heaven. Guess maybe that is the crux of my ambivalence regarding this book.
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Jul 21, 2009 Julie Golding Page rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology-women

This book has been touted as the best Christianity & culture book since Niebuhr's landmark "Christ and Culture." Despite the hype, this may well be a correct estimation of this fine book.

Any reader interested in how Christianity and culture interact - whether a non-Christian who wants to see what makes Christians "tick" or a Christian seeking to integrate a passion for culture with personal faith and integrity - will not be disappointed by this book. A short review cannot do it justice, so I...more This book has been touted as the best Christianity & culture book since Niebuhr's landmark "Christ and Culture." Despite the hype, this may well be a correct estimation of this fine book.

Any reader interested in how Christianity and culture interact - whether a non-Christian who wants to see what makes Christians "tick" or a Christian seeking to integrate a passion for culture with personal faith and integrity - will not be disappointed by this book. A short review cannot do it justice, so I will mention only a few points that particularly left an impression on me.

First, Crouch points out that there are in the Bible, and hence should be in the lives of Christians, two complementary approaches to culture. Both God and human beings are portrayed as creators and cultivators, with neither side of the equation taking precedence over the other in a healthy world. Imagining and making the new, and maintaining the good in the existing or old, are equally necessary.

Second, Crouch helpfully provides several chapters that demonstrate God's passion for culture, from the creation of the world all the way to its re-creation at the end of time, and everywhere in between. This cultural mandate on God's part, and his sharing of it with us as his creatures, may well surprise or even shock some, even as it delights others, whether they be Christians or not.

Third, I appreciated very much Crouch's humility in the face of all the "world-changing" agendas that are floating around in various incarnations of the Christian world these days. Instead of getting on the band wagon, he encourages us to first find out what God is doing and then act, wherever and however we can, leaving the results to God and realizing that not everything we do will be either a success or even have the well-intentioned results for which we hope. As Christians interested in culture, we would do well to adopt Crouch's combination of unwavering trust in God and equally unwavering understanding of our own fallenness and mixed motives. (less)

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Jun 13, 2009 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

A wonderful book that changed my thinking about culture and how Christians should interact with culture. Given Andy's background in journalism, the prose is well-written and a pleasure to read unlike most academic tomes. He has a great critique as well of Niebuhr's _Christ and Culture_.

Very insightful is his distinction between gestures and postures: gestures are actions and attitudes we take that are appropriate in given circumstances; postures are characteristic positions and stances. In regar...more

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Dec 13, 2008 Brett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: community, non-fiction, theology

From birth to death, culture shapes our experience of the world, molding our perceptions of the possible and impossible. At the same time, culture (“what we make of the world”) is both a profound gift and responsibility from God, a point Crouch draws from throughout the arch of the biblical narrative. Crouch offers three excellent contributions to the ongoing discussion of Christians in culture. First, Crouch shares five questions for understanding and evaluating cultural acts and artifacts. Thi...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Mindelynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Andy's book came with many accolades from friends who I respect. In addition, many articles and books I've read have quoted Culture Making at length. My expectations could have been too high as I was not particularly enthralled or engaged with this book. Part I and Part III were good (Part III being the redeeming section of the book in my opinion). However, I felt as though Part II dragged on.

Certainly worth the read, just not what I was expecting.

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May 15, 2010 Ian Callahan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book offers a theologically grounded vision of culture that transcends the "culture war" bullshit that gets so much press in America. The reasons I (and most intelligent people with even the slightest taste for art) find so much of so-called 'Christian' cultural production sad and irrelevant are articulated by Crouch's discussion of 'gestures' and 'postures.' His point is that adopting a particular gesture of creativity (e.g. copying or critiquing the culture at large) as your default postu...more

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