Yes, in the past the Church has reformed and has had reform movements, even leading to significant changes in once-held beliefs and practices.
But note: those reforms came by a return to the scriptures and were scripture-initiated movements, not changes that (not so coincidentally) happen to occur on the heels of cultural revolutions, following their beck and call.
Can aspects of culture progress? Absolutely. And can we as Christian’s learn from the surrounding culture? Certainly.
But don’t appeal to the former (reforming) when in reality what you’re doing is the latter (conforming). They’re not the same. Not all change is created equal.
James K. A. Smith sets out to present a vision of what a distinctively Christian education should look like. Without discarding the importance of what Christians think (worldview), he argues that authentic Christian learning ought to focus primarily on the formation of Christian desires (‘social imaginary’). In short, Smith argues that Christian education is more about formation than information, more about what one loves than what one knows. Practically speaking, distinctively Christian education should mean much more than merely teaching what is taught at any other university, but just from a Christian worldview. Rather, Christian education should be fundamentally rooted in liturgical worship as that discipline which forms students’ desires. Thus, he describes this educational ideal as ‘ecclesial,’ rooted in formative liturgical worship.
Kirk E. Miller 