--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the challenges Christians confront…" description: "\"One of the challenges Christians confront is how the politics we helped create has made it difficult to sustain the material practices constitutive of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png" --- # One of the challenges Christians confront is how the… ![“One of the challenges Christians confront is how the politics we helped create has made it difficult to sustain the material practices constitutive of an ecclesial culture to produce Christians.” quote by Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png) > “One of the challenges Christians confront is how the politics we helped create has made it difficult to sustain the material practices constitutive of an ecclesial culture to produce Christians.” [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political structures created by believers can hinder the church’s material practices, threatening its cultural identity. **In simple terms:** Politics can block church life. Key Takeaway Re‑evaluate political involvement for faith community. Themes faith politics culture challenge Mood critical thoughtful Type theoretical concerned When to use this quote - parish budgeting - community outreach - policy advocacy Key Concepts ecclesiology social theory institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - How can the church balance politics and mission? - What alternatives exist to sustain culture? A Different Perspective Political engagement may be necessary for broader societal impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [One of our greatest challenges as Christians is to be driven by the love of Christ rather than constantly seeking after God's comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/one-of-our-greatest-challenges-as-christians-is-to-be-driven-by-the/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I am just postmodern enough not to trust 'postmodern' as a description of our times, for it privileges the practices and intellectual formations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-am-just-postmodern-enough-not-to-trust-postmodern-as-a-description/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Those nations that say it's a crime to preach your religion are making a terrible mistake. All they're doing is driving underground other forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/those-nations-that-say-it-s-a-crime-to-preach-your-religion-are/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Unfair servicing practices can worsen a family's already difficult economic situation, and the injury echoes from the family to the community and ultimately throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/unfair-servicing-practices-can-worsen-a-family-s-already-difficult/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Business principles are only as good as the practices that back them up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-conley/business-principles-are-only-as-good-as-the-practices-that-back-them/) [Chip Conley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-conley/) > [These core principles - helping patients, preventing medical errors, promoting best practices and improving quality - are the reasons that health IT is featured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/these-core-principles-helping-patients-preventing-medical-errors/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Shaking's one of the oldest practices known to man. Standing round a fire and connecting with the Earth and moving energy through the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-flynn/shaking-s-one-of-the-oldest-practices-known-to-man-standing-round-a/) [Jerome Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-flynn/) > [“practices are displayed only in performances: a practice is the trace, the residue, of its performances. Practices are not "stable compositions of easily recognized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-nardin/practices-are-displayed-only-in-performances-a-practice-is-the-trace/) [Terry Nardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-nardin/) > [When you build a product, you make a lot of assumptions about the state of the art of technology, the best business practices, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-sinofsky/when-you-build-a-product-you-make-a-lot-of-assumptions-about-the/) [Steven Sinofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-sinofsky/) > [“If you are doing best practices, you are not innovating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-levy/if-you-are-doing-best-practices-you-are-not-innovating/) Jaime Levy > ['Vogue' has the power to make and break - whether it's fashion trends, designers, models, and yes, even industry practices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/vogue-has-the-power-to-make-and-break-whether-it-s-fashion-trends/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [Developing a good, healthy culture is extremely important at a startup. Culture reflects the essence of a startup's operation because it directly affects the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-weiss/developing-a-good-healthy-culture-is-extremely-important-at-a-startup/) [Scott Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-weiss/) > [My practices were not set up to be easy or enjoyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/my-practices-were-not-set-up-to-be-easy-or-enjoyed/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Best practices usually aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-locke/best-practices-usually-aren-t/) [Christopher Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-locke/) ## More by Stanley Hauerwas > [Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/advent-is-patience-it-s-how-god-has-made-us-a-people-of-promise-in-a/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [It turns out that the God whose word will stand forever does not exist to insure our fantasies that we will not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/it-turns-out-that-the-god-whose-word-will-stand-forever-does-not/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I have come to think that the challenge confronting Christians is not that we do not believe what we say, though that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-have-come-to-think-that-the-challenge-confronting-christians-is-not/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Though the world may often appear to be more charitable than the church, it is crucial to remember that, for the church, the care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/though-the-world-may-often-appear-to-be-more-charitable-than-the/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [God knows we are subtle creatures who are more than able to use candour to avoid acknowledging our deceptions of others and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/god-knows-we-are-subtle-creatures-who-are-more-than-able-to-use/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [When love becomes what Christianity is all about, we can make no sense of Jesus's death and resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/when-love-becomes-what-christianity-is-all-about-we-can-make-no-sense/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [To try to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy is absolutely crazy. Islam has no understanding of the separation between church and state because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/to-try-to-turn-iraq-into-a-liberal-democracy-is-absolutely-crazy/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Our sin is exactly the presumption that we can know God or ourselves through our own capacities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/our-sin-is-exactly-the-presumption-that-we-can-know-god-or-ourselves/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [The heart of the gospel is that you don't know Jesus without the witness of the church. It's always mediated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-heart-of-the-gospel-is-that-you-don-t-know-jesus-without-the/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I have no doubt that for some to become a Christian may involve an experience of ecstasy. Yet I do not think such an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-have-no-doubt-that-for-some-to-become-a-christian-may-involve-an/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [The Gospel of John makes explicit what all the Gospels assume - that is, the cross is not a defeat, but the victory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-gospel-of-john-makes-explicit-what-all-the-gospels-assume-that-is/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > ['The Chronicles of Narnia' are war-determined stories. I do not think Lewis could have written well or truthfully if he had tried to avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-chronicles-of-narnia-are-war-determined-stories-i-do-not-think/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I should like to think how we write as theologians would reflect our confidence in the One who makes that writing possible. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-should-like-to-think-how-we-write-as-theologians-would-reflect-our/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Many who become theologians in our time think their task is to try to determine how much of what has passed for Christianity they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/many-who-become-theologians-in-our-time-think-their-task-is-to-try-to/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I am not sure how old I was when I began to worry about being saved, but it was sometime in my early teens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-am-not-sure-how-old-i-was-when-i-began-to-worry-about-being-saved/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) [Explore all 155 Stanley Hauerwas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) ## More Challenges quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [I personally think if something's not a challenge, there's no point doing it, because you're not gonna learn much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-personally-think-if-something-s-not-a-challenge-there-s-no-point/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) Whitney Gaskell > [Growing up with a parent in the army, I saw firsthand the challenges our service members face when transitioning to new jobs after time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharice-davids/growing-up-with-a-parent-in-the-army-i-saw-firsthand-the-challenges/) [Sharice Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharice-davids/) > [Nobody challenges me. I challenge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakuntala-devi/nobody-challenges-me-i-challenge-myself/) [Shakuntala Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakuntala-devi/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) [Browse all 8,851 Challenges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the challenges Christians confront is how the politics we helped create has made it difficult to sustain the material practices constitutive of an ecclesial culture to produce Christians.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stanley Hauerwas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/one-of-the-challenges-christians-confront-is-how-the-politics-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Challenges" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/one-of-the-challenges-christians-confront-is-how-the-politics-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stanley-hauerwas-2675_challenges_one-of-the-challenges-christians-confron_258616.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the challenges Christians confront is how the politics we helped create has made it difficult to…” — Stanley Hauerwas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stanley Hauerwas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the challenges Christians confront...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/one-of-the-challenges-christians-confront-is-how-the-politics-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/one-of-the-challenges-christians-confront-is-how-the-politics-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```