Christian Culture: Can You Imagine It?

Feast of St. Steven, Archdeacon and First Martyr

Eighth_Day_Patristics_Square.jpegIMAGINE A bookstore in a Victorian-style home filled with classics in religion, philosophy, literature, and history.

Imagine a coffee shop pub next door where Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants gather together on a regular basis for prayer and study and food and drink and dialogue and celebration.

Imagine local Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant pastors gathering on a quarterly basis for spiritual encouragement, theological engagement, and ecumenical fellowship.

Imagine an annual winter conference that dubs itself “a mere Christian gathering” and promotes a dialogue of love and truth among Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants.

Imagine an annual summer lecture series that promotes the early Christian Fathers as a treasury house of wisdom for our decadent secular age.

Imagine an annual Octoberfest that celebrates the Inklings with lectures, craftsmanship workshops, live music, and craft beer.

Imagine a Great Conversation in the public square that promotes the revival of a healthy public discourse.

Imagine a publishing house that reprints out-of-print classics and annually publishes: 1) a catalog full of short book reviews combined with essays and essay-length reviews; 2) a newsletter choc full of EDI teaching; and 3) a book that could facilitate book groups around the country.

Imagine an academy that teaches our youth the Bible, the Fathers, and the classics of Western Civilization, plus leadership skills, craftsmanship, and life skills. And what if it provided opportunities for local and global missionary service, promoted vocational discernment, and immersed the students in a rhythm of prayer and liturgical fasting and feasting?

Imagine joining those students for any given week of the year.

Imagine a hub of Christian culture that could bring divided Christendom back together and could slowly and patiently transform the culture of your city.

Imagine the possibility of reviving a new and different sort of Christendom in the 21st century.

Does this seem like a pipe dream? Does it seem impossible, given the state of our culture today?

Christ says it just takes the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains.

The early Christians had that sort of faith and they transformed their culture. This is a historical fact. It’s not impossible or inconceivable to do it once again. But it takes a bit of faith and patient work.

We’ve made a great beginning in Wichita. Many of the things you have been asked to imagine are already happening. Take a look at this calendar of events for a typical year in the life of Eighth Day Institute in Wichita, KS.

Some of the other endeavors put forth above are coming. And with mustard seed faith, combined with much prayer, patience, sacrifice, and hard work, we believe a Christian culture is indeed possible.

Do you believe it is possible?

Can you imagine it in your city?

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