Approaching a Culture of Despair

Last updated on: December 13, 2011 at 1:12 pm by Tim Suttle

Approaching a Culture of Despair 2011-12-13T13:12:00-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I had a phenomenal evening talking last night with a group of disciples from Redemption Church in Olathe, KS. We watched this video (below) of Stanley Hauerwas, and talked about despair and what it means to speak like a Christian in the midst of a world that has ceased to believe in God. I felt really fortunate to be a part of the conversation & have been thinking about it ever since.

We had a very lively discussion around the topic of whether or not Christians are supposed to try to run the world – and if our job is not to run the world, then what sort of community do we need to belong to in order to survive. Hauerwas asserts that we have to become a community that knows how to live by our wits again. Here’s an example of what we talked about:

When I was growing up Wednesday nights and Sundays were sacrosanct. There were no activities planned on those nights. We had no play/musical rehearsals at school, we had no athletic games on Wednesdays, nor did we practice late on those nights. No sports league for children would have ever considered planning league games on Sunday morning. That is no longer the case. School and sporting activities roll on undaunted through the Wednesday evening/Sunday morning time frame without giving it a moment of thought.

If those in our culture who run the sports teams and school calendars have rejected the idea that slowing down to worship a couple of times a week is an important part of a healthy rhythm of life, how should we respond? One side would be to say, “These people are running the world & they don’t follow God… We need to take it over. We need to take back the culture for Jesus,” and then lobby the school systems and athletic league managers. Another approach would be to say, “You can go whatever way you want, but my family and my friends – our community – we’re going to live according to a different rhythm. Join us, don’t join us, still we’re going to pursue a different way of living.”

Those are very different approaches, which require a very different obedience. The first approach sets up a situation in which it’s “us against the world.” The second sets up a situation in which it is “us on behalf of the world.” We live differently in order to offer the world a different way to do life – one in which they can actually come into harmony with the way the world is supposed to be. How could we live differently – hopefully more interestingly than most – and do so in front of a watching world? How can we do this and continue to make space for others to join with us in those different rhythms? These are the questions we have to keep asking. Thanks for letting me be a part of the discussion! If you want to join in – watch the video & let me know what you think!

http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/hosting_files/theworkofthepeople.com/content/store/images/preview_video.swf?preview_file=/hosting_files/theworkofthepeople.com/content/store/files/previews/V00889.flv&thumb_file=/hosting_files/theworkofthepeople.com/content/store/files/thumbs/system_thumbs/V00889.jpg

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 12, 2011

Monday Morning Confessional

Next Post

December 14, 2011 Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which church tradition celebrates the Feast of Epiphany as "Three Kings' Day"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eastern Christianity Quakerism Western Christianity Baptist