Creating a Lasting Culture
by Ashley High

The phrase “creating a culture of generosity” has been heard quite often in the past several years. In order to build a generous society, one must first know how to create a culture. Andy Crouch, in his article Skillful Culture Making, explains how to form a lasting culture.

G. K. Chesterton said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” Instead of becoming stuck in the hopelessness of current situations, individuals should do something about those problems. Crouch writes, “The best and most important things most of us will do with our lives […] will probably not be the things we do best, especially at first. They are worth doing badly, especially if the alternative is not daring to do them at all.”

However, people should aim for doing more than doing badly. Here are five ideas on how to create an excellent culture with a lasting influence.

Practices. The most basic function of excellence starts with “rudiments,” the essential practices that are “too basic to be impressive and often requiring a certain tolerance for boredom.” Discover what these basics are in the culture and study them thoroughly. Even after these elements have seemed mastered, they will still continue to teach.

Patience. An organization must learn patience because they will spend so much time practicing the rudiments. They must also realize that changing a culture often takes decades to accomplish. If the most important event in world history - the resurrection of Jesus Christ - took almost a century to really influence Roman culture, understand that patience will be required.

Purposefulness. When Crouch interviewed the pastor of one of Kenya’s fastest-growing churches, the pastor pointed out that all that their church did was intentional. The best culture creators are committed to making clear choices that advance their values and vision in every aspect of their lives. Contemporary society makes it very easy to live through a pre-made plan. People can only offer the world something new if they choose to live intentionally.

Partners. One individual or organization cannot create a culture alone. It is vital that firm relationships are established in this culture-creating project. Work with the same people and make new allies through relationships that are honest, affectionate, and full of integrity.

Willingness to Fail. Attempting to create a culture is a huge risk. Doing something worthwhile often comes with failure at least once, maybe many more times. Crouch writes, “But if you are afraid of failure you will ultimately create safer, smaller things than God made you to make […] Indeed, the secret of practices, patience, purposefulness, and real partnerships is that they all require us to embrace risk, and therefore lead us to the question of whom we ultimately trust. Do all these ‘p’s pay off in the end? Followers of Jesus know the answer.”

A culture of generosity is quite possible if individuals are willing to learn, be patient and intentional, love people, and are willing to risk it all for the Kingdom.

Information taken from: Andy Crouch. “Skillful Culture Making.” www.culture-making.com  

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