The Shadow of the Creator

Good post Jonathan. I have yet to read Florida's work, though it is on my Amazon "Wishlist". And it is certainly pertinent, especially when we consider redemption not as an individualistic removal of a soul from a contaminated creation but instead consider redemption as the comprehensive re-creation of rhe entire contaminated creation beginning with the soul. It is redemption couched in creation ... or perhaps more precisely it is redemption as the crowning melody of the eschatological creation story.

How do we begin to train this generation of the church to live this? I guess that it must begin with teaching God's people to cherish the dignity of things created by God through ordinary human means (I'm not talking about teaching people to appreciate trees and mountains and stars, but teaching them to see the creative hand of God in things like literature, theatre, music, art, architecture, industry, economy, technology ... all of the "ordinary" stuff of life that still seems to stir the heart towards a deeper longing for the ultimate Creator whose shadow lurks in all of these things). I suppose it's essentially helping people see that God's redemption can not contained in the things of religion. That redemption is at least as comprehensive as the effects of sin (who was it that said that? ... insert proper citation here)

The Rise of the Creative Class

Richard Florida has served the church well and he doesnt even know it. In his ground-breaking work, The Rise of the Creative Class (followed by the Flight of the Creative Class), Florida identifies the emerging economic force called the creative class. This class is a product of the creative captial generated by high tech industries, visual and aural arts (live music). By developing a creative index to statistically determine geographical centers of creativity, Flordia locates the cetners of creativity in the US and in the world in his second book. What's the big deal?

Well, the creative class exists alongside the working class (Detroit) and the service class (Las Vegas), both of which have a robust self-consciousness and political influence. The creative class, however, does not know it exists. Moreover, wherever these creative centers arise (Boston, D.C. Austin to name some from the top five), they also generate considerable economic inequality. The people of the CC are generally rather unaware and self-absorped. Flordia's aim is to provide teh CC with self-consciousness that will produce social responsibility. How can theses wealthy and successful people contribute to society constructively? How can they reconcile economic inequality? How can they be a transforming influence in the cities in which they live? These are incredibly important questions. And if you are reading this blog, then there is a good change taht you are associated with the creative class. How can we as church leaders, agents of reconciliation and redemption, engage and redeem the negative impact and influence of the CC? How can we shepherd people into thinking and living redemptively in their communities, using thier creative and economic capital for the social good. How can the church respond to the various issues rasied by Florida's book? This is something I hope to apply myself vigorously to, wherever God leads. Oh for the rise of the Redemptive Class!!