*UPDATE* Here’s the link to this lecture.
As this site attests, I am interested in education in general and greatly interested in time-proven “classic” methods that have endured through the ages. I would have enjoyed the ACCS conference for this reason alone. But the reason I leapt for the mouse and the online registration form way back in April was to hear Ken Myers, Douglas Wilson, and George Grant a mere 10 minutes from my home. A lifetime opportunity not to be missed!
And these gentlemen did not disappoint. Having listened to and read from each of them for years, I knew what to expect. It’s always wonderful to attend in person – an immersion experience that cannot be had simply listening to CD’s while waiting in traffic.
I’ll start with Ken Myers. Ken spoke 4 times and participated in a panel. 10 minutes into his opening lecture, I was already satisfied I had my money’s worth. The other 4 hours and 50 minutes were completely astounding. I’ve listened to Ken for years through my Mars Hill Audio subscription – a series of 6 interviews with professors, pastors, artists that Ken publishes every 2 months. So I knew much of his perspective. But it was overwhelming to hear him for a solid hour as he eloquently wove together insights and analysis of history, culture, art, the church – all presented brilliantly.
His first message was “Defining Christian Cultural Involvement”. This was a definitive analysis of “what’s wrong with the world”. These days most folks, Christian or not, have an intuitive sense that things, at least in the US and Europe, are in decline. No one seems quite able to put a finger on the fundamental issue – is it economic? too much crime? sleazy politicians? bad schools? Lots of finger pointing these days, but I don’t think hardly anyone really understands what’s going on. Ken doesn’t have all the answers, but his analysis helps me see what a culture is and why our seems increasingly “disordered” to most folks. I can’t capture his whole analysis here but will list a few of the insights that struck me.
Many of today’s evangelical churches in the US see the problem and want to transform the culture by full participation in it. They wish to “engage the culture” while being ambiguous in defining the term “engagement”. The culture is disordered but churches want to fully participate in it. They may not understand that culture is disordered. The church’s recent cultural activities have led not to widespread cultural transformation, but to the church’s “cultural captivity”, as most churches have ignored the significance of cultural forms and plunged head-long into whatever is in vogue. But the church has always been a people for the Lord, having our own distinct, godly culture and bringing others into it by baptism and discipleship.
Understanding what cultures are and how they work should inform the church’s participation. Ken lists:
6 things that define culture as an “ecosystem”
1) artifacts – literary forms, novels, etc.; anything material – car, buildings, etc
2) institutions – examples: The New York Times, schools, sports leagues, government
3) practices – holidays, proms, weddings, vacations, funerals, half-time shows
4) beliefs – *this is what many evangelicals consider to be the sum total of culture – important but only a part*
5) moods, styles, ‘ethos’ – Texan Confidence, Yankee Ingenuity, Rugged Individualism, “Fast Paced” vs. “Strolling”
6) meta-beliefs – intuitive sense of purpose; “gut instinct”; “a posture toward creation”
Dominant patterns define the culture but there are deviations. A particular belief or practice can have a “poetic resonance” with these 6 elements. Practices/belief lacking resonance with the elements is “counter cultural”.
Form and content are symbiotic – they sustain each other. Can’t separate content from forms and structures. Church tries to fit its message in context of structures that are incompatible with this type of message. This is how cultures work – we must understand ours to engage it faithfully.
James Davidson Hunter – “True character requires moral communities that enforce limits and establish boundaries” ..”but modern culture desires liberty over limits – we want what we can’t possibly have in the way we want it”
Significance of “culture” in light of the work of the church:
Romans 1 – God’s character evident from material creation- form/message linkage
Daniel Bell defines Modern culture as “open to newness” – a meta-belief that disagrees with biblical Christianity
Post-Modern? Ken says we’re really hyper-modern – “plowing on” through mistakes Modernity has made.
Role of Christian Education
– orientation of the soul; not just information transfer but consciousness reoriented
– not a “worldview” only; reality is less “Powerpoint” and more like “counterpoint”
– goal is “reordered affections”, not just “edited ideas”
Psalm 1 is a good example – trees and righteousness mysteriously linked somehow
Proper engagement – through a well ordered life, we can recognize disorder and seek to transform it.
Well this is a pitiful attempt to reduce a masterful oration to a few key points – I hope it gives you a taste for it. I’m looking forward to the CD arriving so I can hear it again 2 or 3 times. Ken’s lectures should really be delivered in 1 minute segments, followed by 20 minutes of silence to allow reflection. So his 4 hours of speaking would have lasted over a week. That’d be just fine with me….