There are basically four postures towards culture, according to Crouch.  We can ‘critique’ it, ‘condemn’ it, ‘consume’ it or ‘create’ it (he’s a man of ‘c’s).  Throughout history, the church has fallen into the trap of advocating one posture to the exclusion of the others.  Crouch argues that different circumstances call for different postures.  Then he helps us discern which postures we should assume and when.  All throughout there is an emphasis on embracing our God given calling to “create culture” with and through the gospel.

“Creating culture” is best done in community, argues Crouch.  Jesus modeled this and nearly every successful cultural good ever produced was incubated in community.  Crouch helpfully describes the various layers of community that commonly result in birthing of new and redemptive cultural goods, movements, trends, etc.

The last section of the book explores the limits of what we as humans can do through our (sometimes grandiose) dreams.   I found it to be almost devotional in tone and was deeply encouraged.  The section on “grace babies” was, by itself, worth the price of admission.

The energy in our community around becoming agents of grace is a beautiful thing.  Unharnessed, it will dissipate.   My hope is that Culture-Makers might help provide a framework for moving forward.

(There’s a free study guide to go along with the book here: Free study guide here.)

Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis.  Mere Christianity is the grand-daddy of the modern introductions to Christianity and still ranks highest on Amazon sales.  Lewis provides both a comprehensive outline of the core of Christianity (part 2) and interacts with the contemporary issues of the day (part 1).  Throughout, he addresses issue of the head and the heart, bringing the faith to bear on all aspects of what it means to be human.  His penetration into the contemporary issues of his day was so deep and far-sighted that his philosophical insights still apply (note that some find this depth of penetration overly strenuous and are bogged down by it).  Of course, many modern thinkers and writers with whom Lewis would relish interacting weren’t around in his day and so he is unable to make his defense to their criticisms.  But this shouldn’t keep anyone from enjoying the most read, most comprehensive introduction to Christianity.  The book is great for anyone interested in grappling with deep things. 1952

Basic Christianity, by John R.W. Stott.  Stott is one of the clearest writers I have encountered.  In this work, he has packed all the essentials into an unbelievably short volume.  It is comprehensive and concise. First written in 1958 and then revised in 1971, this is an ageless presentation of the Christian faith.  The drawback to this approach, however, is that Stott does not find scope here to interact with the contemporary trends of his day (nor ours).  Still, at some point early in your walk with Jesus, you should read this book. 1958, 1971

More than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell.  McDowell’s book is also focused on the person of Jesus Christ but brings in a broader range of topics than Green’s.  Some of the most famous passages in this book are on the origins and truth of scripture.  It is a simply written book, which is both good and bad.  Millions have found it helpful (10 million in print, they say) but at least some of those have found the arguments to be too simplistic.  It is, after all, only 128 pages long. 1987

Who is this Jesus? by Michael Green.  Green’s scope is more narrow than the others on this list as he focuses  entirely on the person of Jesus Christ.  It is a beautifully argued piece that builds to a crescendo as the various details of the portrait of Jesus come together.  I have often recommended this book to those coming from a Jewish background.  If there is any drawback, it is that it is not as comprehensive as the other works (it is the shortest at 107 pages). 1990

What’s So Great About Christianity, by Dinesh D’Souza.  I almost didn’t include this book as it is more about defending Christianity than introducing it.  Nevertheless, woven throughout the argument is a comprehensive picture of the Christian faith.  For those who like to roll up their sleeves and tussle over the hot-button issues that arise where faith and culture intersect, this is the book.  D’Souza is so refreshingly forthright that it is disarming.  Not all Christians will agree with his conclusions (for example, his perspective on evolution), but the book is certainly worth the read and, very fortifying.   2007

The Reason for God, by Tim Keller.  Of all the books on the list, this one comes closest to being an updated version of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity and I have a feeling I’ll be recommending to people I’d otherwise be sending to Lewis.  Keller addresses current thought trends in a masterful first part and then presents a comprehensive vision of the faith in the second.  Like Lewis, and absolutely essential to our contemporary context, he considers the rational, emotional and relational implications of both doubt and belief.  In several places, I found it to be truly soul-nourishing, even for someone who already spends a lot of time thinking about these kinds of things.  I recently recommended this book to a friend.  He is a fairly committed atheist, has a PhD in literature and is one of the more skeptical people I know.  He loves it.    2008

But Carson does not begin with this. Instead, he scrutinizes many activities and fundamental perspectives offered up as being the most urgent need in the church of the Western world— things such as personal holiness and purity, sound thinking on human dignity, encroaching materialism, or more intentional evangelism— and finds them each a very good thing, and yet not at the core. At the core, he says, at the root, “The one thing we most urgently need in Western Christendom is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better.” (This is indeed the same point made in J.I. Packer’s Knowing God, another recommended book.)

The thrust of Carson’s book is to address “one small but vital part of that challenge. One of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we do know God, is prayer— spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer. Writing a century and a half ago, Robert Murray M’Cheyne declared, ‘What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is, and no more.’ We have learned to organize, build institutions, publish books, insert ourselves into the media, develop evangelistic strategies, and administer discipleship programs, but we have forgotten how to pray.”

He goes on, “Shall we not agree with J.I. Packer when he writes, ‘I believe that prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is, so that how we pray is as important a question as we can ever face’? Can we profitably meet the other challenges that confront the Western church if prayer is ignored as much as it has been?”

Well, then! His purpose is to help us think through Paul’s prayers, to evaluate them, and thus to bring our own intercessory prayers in line with the emphases displayed in Scripture, but not just as a means to be praying ‘more biblically’; instead, the purpose is to show us the Lord’s heart and ambitions for His people, and to show us how our own prayers can help bring that about— to get us to pray.

He then devotes a chapter each to eight prayers of Paul for those in his care, such as 2 Thess. 1:3-12, Col. 1:9-14, Eph. 3:14-21 (how magnificent!), and Eph. 1:15-23. The writing is in depth, but not so deep as to suffocate the reader, instead he is deepening our understanding of the Apostle’s heart and thus the Lord’s heart. If I may interject a personal note: many years ago I memorized a significant portion of the book of the Ephesians, and years later I was put in a position of pastoral care for an adult Sunday School group. Not knowing how to care well for them yet feeling a huge desire for their spiritual growth, I went back frequently to Eph. 1, drew upon Paul’s prayer in vv. 15-19, and made it my own, knowing that, even though it didn’t cover everything they needed, there was much in there that I wanted them to have in their spiritual lives.

I recommend this book by Carson quite highly. It is useful either to read alone or to use in a small study group, because Carson has provided questions at the end of each chapter for that purpose. I have bought several copies and given them to people that I think will be aided by the content and the encouragement to pray.

Intercessory prayer is not easy; on the contrary it is hard, sometimes lonely work. But if you wish to pray in such a way that Time and Eternity will be changed, if you wish to seek the Lord’s face and His heart and His will on matters of eternal significance, this book can be a useful tool to challenge and encourage you.