Unashamed Culture: Connecting Our Faith and CreativityExemplo

Day 1: What is culture and why does it matter?

Oftentimes when culture is spoken about, it is discussed in very general terms. Nothing better illustrates this than our popular phrase “the culture.” Thinking about culture this broadly is unhelpful because it erases the variety of human experience and limits Gospel engagement to a one-size-fits-all approach. This phrase, adapted from Christian writers Andy Crouch and Ken Myers, has helped us better understand culture and why it matters: Culture is what we make of the world.

When we use our experiences to make songs that express grief, or clothing that reflects our beliefs, or pieces of technology to better connect with one another, we are making sense of the world. We are making culture.

By understanding culture as the means we use to make sense of the world, we are more prepared to realize our creative potential to glorify God. We are even able to see this potential in others. 

Consider God’s creation of Adam and Eve. He made them in his image and gave them the assignment to cultivate the earth by making meaning of it. When God made Adam and Eve in his image, he gave them the dignity and ability to fulfill this assignment. While sin significantly altered man’s ability to reflect God’s image, it never erased our dignity or our yearning to make sense of God’s creation. In other words, culture matters because it is an essential aspect of understanding what God has created us to do.

Meditate on the following scripture: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Gen 1:27 (5 mins) 

Read about God’s creation account (Genesis 1) (15 minutes) 

Reflect on the following: 

1. What does the creation account show about God’s image? Are you able to recognize his creativity? His intentionality? Think about the orderliness of his creation. What does it mean that you were created in the image of such a creative and intentional God?
2. What possibility do you see to make meaning of the world around you? If you struggle with the confidence to engage in the creative process of engaging and making culture consider this prayer: “Lord, I recognize you as the creator of all things around me. I thank you for creating me with dignity and abilities to make sense of the world in ways that Glorify you. Please open my eyes to recognize any responsibility you have given me to apply in making a culture that glorifies you.”