Culture Making and the Gospel

This Sunday we are back in the Habits of Grace after a month long hiatus from the subject. It seems like everyone is interested in spiritual formation these days. There is so much written about how weak the outward expression of Christianity is. In other words, while believers talk much of the “Lordship of Jesus,” there is not much evidence of that when it comes to Christians being much different in their views of sex, money, power, etc. I have long contended that most people who profess faith in Jesus think that if they know a certain truth it means they do it. That is simply not true. Truth must be inhabited, it must be “habited” - that is, it must become a habit of your real life, not a theoretical abstraction recited on Sundays and when the religious crowd gathers.Thus, “Habits of Grace.” Just this week I read a couple of new books and both spoke at length about the formation of not only right beliefs, but right practices. Both talked of character formation as the formation of habits that form and inform what you love."Character is transformed by three things. First, you have to aim at the right goal (Loving God). Second, you have to figure out the steps you need to take to get to that goal. Third, those steps have to become habitual, a matter of second nature." (N.T. Wright, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters)"... if you are what you love and love is a habit, then discipleship is a rehabituation of your loves… The orientation of the heart happens from the bottom up, through the formation of our habits of desire. Learning to love [God] takes practice." (James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit)So, would we love Jesus more? Would we be an adequate reflection of his glory in our mundane lives where we work, shop, and play? Good question. Hope you’ll join us as we talk about the habit of “culture making.” If you’ve never heard that one, I do hope you will join the conversation this Sunday.Blessings,Jim