I just finished this book

So, I just finished reading The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Popular Culture in an Age of Christianity-Lite by Dick Staub. Offering his critique of contemporary culture and religion, Staub concludes unsurprisingly that our culture is both superficial, celebrity-driven and soulless, but what's worse is that popular culture has seeped into Christianity as well. This, also isn't a shocking statement, but it is sad as many Christians settle for a "Christianity-Lite", a Christianity that lacks transcendence. where this book gets good is when Staub, writing from an Evangelical point of view, suggests that in order to transform the culture we must let God's transforming presence change us completely. Many Christians settle for a little when they could have so much more. What's gone, generally speaking, from modern Christianity is the sense of transcendence sometimes resulting in a Christianity that looks too much like the popular culture itself and not enough like something unique, inspiring and triumphant.

So much of creating a healthy culture is dependent on our dependence and connection to God. "Those who are prepared to dig a deeper well will find God. The cool, fresh restorative springs of living water are found only in the deeper reaches. Only those who go deeper can experience the deep wellness that comes from reunion with God, and only deeply well people can produce a well culture. This is because the spiritual, intellectual, anc creative health of a culture begins with the spiritual, intellectual, and creative health of the individuals who make it. Are we prepared to dig a deeper well? If we dig within the depths offered by Jesus, we will never reach the bottom, for the wellspring of our faith is the unfathomable, eternal God."

I liked this metaphor of comparing God with a deeper well. Staub says that the word well comes from a root word meaning "whole". This suggests that there is a connection between going deep into the presence of God that makes one well/whole. Staub says that a wise man once said, "...We will not find pure, refreshing water by digging many shallow wells."


I believe the most important line in the book is "...if God is not of central importance, God is of no importance at all."