Gospel & Culture
Lectures Year at a Glance

Amilee Watkins

Last year the Center for Faith & Work initiated a monthly lecture series to engage the broader Redeemer congregation, particularly those who are not available to regularly participate in monthly vocation groups. The goal of the series was to help process what it looks like for Christians to participate in culture.

What is the link between the gospel and culture? Our work! As creatures made in the image of God, we reflect his character—of cultivation, of creation, of molding and shaping. In our daily work, as we steward the gifts and skills we’ve been given, we have the greatest ability to both create and influence culture. By looking at the society around us from various vantage points over the course of the past year our guest lecturers have helped to point us towards where God’s Spirit is at work and how we can join into His work of renewing all things.

 N.T. Wright- After You Believe
Attendance: 800
In light of the resurrection, we are new creatures, more fully human, given a tangible purpose of participating in God’s work of building for his Kingdom.

Jeff Van Duzer- Why Business Matters to God
Attendance: 189
Exploring the purpose of business through the lens of the biblical narrative reveals its created good as being intended for the service of society, its brokenness displayed in both individuals and institutions, and a vision of its potential to serve God’s purposes of renewal.

Andy Crouch- Creating Power
Attendance: 288
In opposition to Nietzsche’s view of power as a force of domination, the biblical view of power shows us an all-powerful God creating mankind in his image, and pouring out his power to make all things flourish. Through worship, we are re-oriented towards this God in order to steward our power in like manner.

Tim Keller- Why Work Matters to God
Attendance: 923
God matters to our work and our work matters to God. He has given us co-regency over His creation, to cultivate and steward all things towards their intended end—that is, His glory. Our work is thereby not only validated but also vital to his purposes.

Adrienne Chaplin- Art Matters for God's Sake
Attendance: 225
The arts saturate our culture and if Christians are not shaping the arts, they are certainly being shaped by them. Thus, the call to transform culture is as necessary in the arts as in any other area of culture. The arts nurture our imagination and encourage empathy, allowing us to make sense of the world, to experience the transcendent, and thereby to be as fully human as God intended.

Robert George- Natural Law, God & Human Dignity
Attendance: 236
Natural law provides a compelling basis—for both those inside and outside the church—for human rights and social structures that promote human flourishing.

Os Guinness-Challenging the Darkness: Towards a New Christian Renaissance
Attendance: 685
We are living in an age that yearns for a new Reformation, but one of humility and realism. As followers of Christ, we must acknowledge the brokenness of the church alongside the brokenness of culture and rely upon the unique and powerful cultural dynamics of the Kingdom and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in seeking cultural renewal.

James K.A. Smith- Culture as Liturgy
We are primarily creatures of love and desire—creatures created to worship. Cultural institutions put forth varying ideas of human flourishing. The “liturgies” (rituals, practices) inherent in culture form and shape human beings into creatures who desire the specified end-goal. The practices of Christian worship bring about a counter-formation—in essence, re-ordering our loves that we may desire the kingdom.

Douglas Johnston- Faith-Based Diplomacy: Bridging the Religious Divide
Emphasizing the tenet taught by Muhammad that God created people to do good works, and therefore Muslims are to respect people of other faiths, Johnston enters diplomatic relations in the Middle East with the name of Jesus. He has found that operating on faith-based principles rather than a secular construct provides grounds for cross-cultural peace-making.