Micro Cultures
Here's some interesting fodder for thought about the shrinking of cultures… (the following is an excerpt)
One way of rephrasing the question here is this: is the climate and culture of a place (a university or a basketball team) just the net result of the personalities and idiosyncracies of the group of people who happen to have been recruited into the group; or does the culture of the group have a certain normative persistence, capable of transmission to new arrivals?
If the assertion is true, how would it effect the way we think about "mission", "education" and "ministry"? Love to hear your thoughts.
J
Microcultures? I think that’s a new word? I think what the blogger is actually saying is affinity groups (not the antiwar type). People share common experience and likes, which shapes their communication patterns and norms. One of the questions for the church should be how does our spiritual community look like the dominate culture? Are we looking for more, more, more…do we reflect capitalism and greed. Do we consider the marginalized without becoming paternalistic? How are we challenged by the gospel? Do we love our enemies? NOT easy. I suppose we are called to look at our sub-cultures and be tensioned. It may even be a look at the silent language of our community? What things do think are normal? I like the question…its something for us all to consider and embrace the uneasiness.
I think that it may be going beyond affinity groups… Look at the way that groups, even within organizations, give certain nuances to words, create their own symbols, identify their own values and create their own traditions. The church is a great example. Look how people within a church gravitate towards a style of music, a certain cause, a certain preacher, a certain ethic. They feel like they are championing the Gospel, but they’re really championing a part of it, at times to the exclusion of the rest of it. Maybe it’s an acceptable starting point, but we can’t get stuck there.
I agree that all of this shapes our communication within and without the church walls. And the things you mentioned, greed, love etc, aren’t given much room for debate within Jesus’ teaching.
I’m interested in what you mean by “silent language”. Can you educate me a little
Indeed the Church is more than an affinity group…our spiritual ties transcend likes and dislikes, even normative communication codes and organizational patterns. I suppose I am interested in the way our subcultures affront that spiritual connections. Edward Hall in The Silent Language unpacks the “hidden” attributes of culture. I like the concept and use it a lot, however I can’t remember his other points. http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Language-Edward-T-Hall/dp/0385055498 It is hard to uncover our hidden or silent languages, especially in the church–norms are norms for a reason, maybe good ones, maybe bad ones, and maybe ones that just formed overtime and need to be challenged.