Waiting for Good

Change Takes Time, But Do We Have the Patience?

by Erik Lokkesmoe

In 1933, the year Prohibition ended, two brothers, Ernest and Julio Gallo, launched a wine business from a small warehouse in California’s lush Central Valley. Acquiring grapes and equipment on credit, they joined a handful of other struggling winemakers in sinking every penny they earned back into the family business.

The first harvest yielded truckloads of frustration and little fruit. As the vines grew, however, so did their optimism. Neighboring vintners said the brothers told everyone who would listen, "... someday the Gallo name and family crest would appear on bottles throughout the U.S." Lack of money and name recognition were the least of their concerns. Foreign wine-making giants, particularly in France, dominated domestic sales; and wine was viewed as an elitist drink for the wealthy or the secret indulgence of the “wino.”

Ernest and Julio Gallo made a critical decision. Instead of looking to next year’s harvest or next quarter’s profits, they fixed their eyes on the next quarter-century. Their patience paid off. By 1975, the E. & J. Gallo Winery was the largest wine company in the world; the closest competitor was half their size.

[See Margaret Feinberg's Q Essay, "Napa Valley on Leadership."]

Decades of persistence did more than turn a profit. Along the way, the Gallo brothers transformed the perception and practices of wine-drinking in America. "Gone are the days when wine was only imbibed at formal occasions; when the wine bottle only made an appearance in somber dusky rooms or at candlelight dinners," an industry newsletter reported in 1983. "Today, wine ... entertains at picnics, social occasions, business luncheons, everyday meals and sporting events ... [and] is becoming a part of everyday life."

The Gallo brothers understood that changing their fortunes meant changing the cultural climate as well. The beliefs and behaviors of consumers had as much to do with sales as the product itself – as good as it might be.

Such eternal endurance is uncommon today. In our clamorous and rootless society, bravado is potent and expectations are high; great things are expected to happen quickly. Yet noble and daring deeds — ending extreme poverty, reinventing a new model for the music industry, or revitalizing devastated urban centers -- require a patient and persistent vision.

The same is true in contemporary culture. Elections matter. The Supreme Court is important. Nevertheless, it is movies and music, poetry and plays, fashion and video games that shape beliefs and behaviors. Art and entertainment often normalize, even idealize, as one author said, “the weird and the stupid and the coarse.”

The answer, however, is not regulation or legislation. To change the culture we must change our approach. We must encourage young people to innovate in every channel of culture. Challenge them to pursue everything from cinematography, dance, and the creation of original music to redesigning entire educational systems, architecting urban development and founding common good organizations.

To renew all things we must create movies and music, poetry and plays, fashion and video games, employing excellence and artistry in a way that subtly offers audiences startling glimpses of goodness, truth and beauty. We must be originators, not imitators, with an uncommon ability to tell new stories in new ways through new mediums. We must transform the arts from the inside-out and the bottom-up, to “criticize by creating,” as Michelangelo said. And we must celebrate the good wherever it is found, even in the most unlikely and unexpected places.

Our standard should be this: great art, entertainment, and media that leaves the audience a little better off than when they first entered the theater, turned on the iPod, or opened the book. Art doesn’t have to be happy or easy; it should, however, be a vehicle for recreation and re-creation, an echo of grace that reminds us what it means to be human and more than human.

Do we have the patience for such long-term transformation?

Do we have the patience to train one thousand talented young artists over the next ten years to weave redemptive themes into their art, knowing that only a handful of them will ever make a living at it?

Do we have the patience to take a job in the mailroom of Universal Music Group or Paramount Studios or NBC News, to work hard and not complain, to fetch expressos for executives, to learn how things work, and then ten years from now be in a position to take that job as Vice President of Programming?

A patient, persistent cultural vision will not earn many pats on the backs or make many headlines; it is much easier to criticize and complain. Like Ernest and Julio, we must till and plant, season after season. The fruit of our labor may take years, even decades to make a difference. But the investment is worthwhile. An enduring vision takes endurance.

-----
Do you think Erik places too much emphasis on the arts and entertainment or about the right amount? What stories of uncommon endurance could you share?

-----
Editor's Note: The picture above is of Ernest and Julio Gallo. It was quoted from here.

Comments

Gary Brumbelow

Thanks, Erik, for this inspiring and dead-on summons to the Christian to pursue his or her calling to change the culture. Policy making is important, and some Christians are called to it, but changing the culture is upstream from politics and we who follow Jesus Christ should be the best artists, musicians and media creators, for the glory of Christ, for the advance of His kingdom, for the blessing of the world.

SKilker

We are called to restore that which is decayed and decaying. Our striving to elevate culture is not without danger. My prayer for those who enter the world of art, music, and media do so with their eyes wide open realizing these arenas are fraught with spiritual peril. We will live in a culture that encourages, entices, and coerces compromise with godliness. If it is difficult for all of us to remain unstained by the onslaught of perverse media, how much more so for those who are immersed in the culture of media.

Michael

This all sounds great, and I am wholeheartedly supportive of such culture-redeeming efforts. But WHY should we do this? What is the purpose behind the plan? That is unclear here. In this entire article, I cannot find one mention of the words God, Jesus Christ, Bible, Christian, etc. - not one. If we are unable or unwilling to make any connection to the purpose of such culture-redeeming activities, what makes us think that any one else who is watching will? At best, it will be "an echo of grace that reminds us what it means to be human." But isn't there a larger narrative to which such activities are pointing? I believe strongly in the cultural mandate with all that it entails, as well as in the need to have a living and inviting faith as well as a verbal witness. But I'm disheartened to see us so unwilling to consciously connect these efforts to a biblical worldview centered in the person of Jesus Christ. May we not become infatuated with such a veiled witness that people only see the veil.

DB Beem

As a forty-something husband and father of two, I confess to being wrapped up in the more mundane aspects of life. Creating and changing culture frankly seems a little overly ambitious for me.

I do think about restoring and bringing the light to my workplace and to the places where I volunteer my time. As I was reading this, though, I thought about what does it mean to restore culture from an even more base layer, namely as parents. This is a place, where we get to influence truly the makers of our future culture, our children.

Most Christian parents seem afraid of culture, as if its something we need to protect our children from. We error on the side of overprotectiveness. Can't say that there is not a valid rationale there. I would do almost anything within my power to protect my children from things that could possibly harm them. And it does bother me that almost all of culture aimed at my children treat them as little consumers. Yet, I realize that trusting God and empowering God to work in the lives of my children means that I need to help them navigate through/to culture, rather than protect them from it.

It also seems that many parents are really only interested in culture, insofar, as it will helps their kid's academic development and extracurriculars (academic resume). In my estimation, this is just trying to play game according to the rules of the secular world. It sees culture, as a purely selfish venture. As in, "What can it do for me." If I read Erik's article, as a parent, as opposed to a young twenty-something trying to find their calling, it raises the stakes on how I have my girls interact with culture. Ultimately, it has to be the parents who have the most patience for long term transformation.

Joden Caine

Maybe the idea should be stretched a bit further. Perhaps we should all be using what talents we have been gifted to "be an echo of grace that reminds us to be human and more than human." Our endeavors should ever be a testament to Giver of talents by revealing aspects of the beauty and wisdom of His creation. I don't know how we go about changing cultural ideas of what is interesting, funny, or beautiful, as perhaps the Gallo brothers did, but I can apply myself to occupations befitting my talents in a manner that hopes to make my Father proud. Perhaps He will then honor that homage in ways that lead eventually to a new definition of interesting, funny, or beautiful as cultural norms.

Aaron Brown

I would like to explore the Gallo brothers example a little more. This is a great example that anything worth building and creating and restoring in life will never be an overnight success. It's going to take hard work, dedication, and devotion that will extend through the whole of your life. It could aptly be called "your life's work." we need to teach ourselves and our children that if we are going to restore and redeem culture for Jesus, we will spend our whole lives doing so. And doing this for Jesus is the most worthwhile pursuit as a good work unto him.

Jennifer C.

Thank you Erik for this post.

I am encouraged.

Having lived in East Africa for the past year+, the call of creating art that "leaves the audience a little better off" takes on a particularly poignant meaning. I cannot say how supporting the creation of great art (e.g. excellent, appropriately contextualized children's books) should rank among the many pressing needs of the region--i.e. books or clean water? But I do not think there can be lasting improvements in human well-being and social justice without meaningful, Truth-infused stories, songs, films and theater. I hope that more Christians will take become involved in creating art, and supporting local artists to create in the developing world.

Brad Brinkley

To be fair, I'm not sure E & J's success in capitalism and in increasing the popularity and social acceptance of wine consumption is the best analogy that could have been used to encourage godly, patient endurance. But, I get your point.

To Michael, who responded above: I'm completely with you. I read nearly all the Q articles that hit my inbox, and repeatedly I'm disappointed by the undercover Christianity. There seems to be a thematic undercurrent of, "Let's talk about the things of Christ, but try not to mention Him too much." Why? So Jesus becomes more palatable? Doing so diminishes the glorious story of Christ to a wise old fairy-tale, turning the heart-gladdening wine of God's love back into water.

Not every play has to be a Passion play. Not every painting needs to depict the crucifixion. Not every song has to mention the name of Jesus. Not every thought-provoking article--hopefully, you Q-writers take heed here--needs to contain the "Four Spiritual Laws." I get this. I really do.

But, the name of Jesus and the story of his work must be proclaimed. Spreading good Christian philosophy without connecting it accurately and explicitly with the gospel is either arrogance or cowardice, neither of which honors God or effectively advances His kingdom.

Chris Skaggs

Erik, I know this is minor point but I just want to give a kudo for mentioning video games. For better or for worse those things are a dominant cultural medium today and yet a niche that remains almost 100% unnoticed in discussions like these. In particular that industry is almost completely devoid of Christian input.

So - just tanks for bringing that into the mix.

Comments are now closed

ALSO BY ERIK LOKKESMOE

ALSO IN CHURCH