Culture Making -- a short review

Andy Crouch in his book Culture Making offers a number of useful insights on the fact that we should view our American landscape as many "cultures" rather than a unified "culture." He also identifies the ability of typical persons to make or influence culture by personal insight, influence, family insight, family influence, and then other organizations or outlets. He has a 3 person, 120 person, and then crowd sized group commentary on what is possible at each level of culture. The book aims to be a distinctively Christian culture encouragement. He advocates new culture rather than recycling pop or secular cultural items/themes. He claims that is what made the church great in its heyday through centuries. Some parts of the book are a bit hard to keep reading in, and others provoke your imagination. I would recommend it as a resource on thinking through how cultures develop and bringing an awareness of what is and isn't possible in making culture. I'm not sure how some of the biblical illustration he uses match the author's original intent at points. But I appreciated his effort in looking around. He is candid in the book about his personal success and failure at making culture, that is apprecicated. Some parts of the book are very helpful to a pastor in sermon application. More could be said, but I'll just give it a general recommendation, not your first book to buy but definately one to buy at some point. Be cautious at some points, as though his theological awareness is well appreciated, yet at times I wonder if he has neo-orthodox tendencies.

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