All posts tagged Christian conversation

Lesson 47: Conversation in the Community

by Scott Noon on October 29, 2011 in Doctrine with No comments

I hope you remembered we are trying to make a list of ways the church might foster creative conversation, I can not report on our progress until next week as I am on vacation. However, let me offer some of my experiences.

The first that pops to mind are the High School and Young Adult Reading Groups that meet in my home. They report they come for the fine dining my wife offers and the kind of conversation they don’t find else where. When they describe what they mean, they speak of hearing what others think about a controversial subject. Here’s what happens: I send out a one or two page paper on a topic they have chosen. At the beginning of the year I set the one ground rule, “No put downs. Everyone has something that needs to be heard” I make a very brief opening statement that often is a question. I then bite my tongue and let them talk. I contribute when technical information would help. At the end of the meeting they chose the subject they would like to discuss next time.

The second are the house churches Bob mentioned. These are essentially small groups that meet regularly. Some participants use them for their primary church experience, but others regard them as supplements to traditional worship. One of the best I know was the Sycramore Community that gathered in State College, Pennsylvania. Their conversation encouraged a prophetic ministry. People often noted they knew them through their public demonstrations for a good cause. They also were pioneers in the sexual revolution. After deciding the church had to speak more clearly, they commissioned Rustum and Della Roy to write Honest Sex in the 1970s.

I struggle to find ways to make sermons more dynamic. My partner and I achieved a bit when we wrote and presented dramatic two-person plays in place of traditional sermons. It was interesting that this form enabled us to tackle more controversial issues. I also found gathering lay people to help write a sermon significant. After discussing the text, their ideas could easily be incorporated in the proclamation. Although I never tried it, I always thought inviting those interested in discussing the sermon after the service might be beneficial. I also felt we should be able to present discussions or even debates between lay people in the sermon slot.

I think all pastors should be offering and participating in small group classes. Their mode of operation should be listening as well as teaching. One of the most frequent comments I hear after many pastors teach is “I would have liked to ask him some questions, but he had too much to say”. Without critiquing what that means, I can still suggest a pastor should never speak without keeping at least half of the time for discussion from the class.

Of course, this online study has tried to be a conversation with some limited success. Most of group only reads the posts, a few make online comments; and more have chosen to email me personally. I am sure some of that comes from my inability to remove myself enough to enable conversation between participants.

So let’s see if we can get some more suggestions of ways the Church can foster conversation among lay people.

Lesson 46: Conversation in the Community

by Scott Noon on October 29, 2011 in Doctrine with No comments

Yesterday I worshiped at a Greek Orthodox Cathedral. I left elated having heard a fine sermon and participated in a beautiful liturgy. However, as the day progressed, I became more and more melancholy.

When I reflected on why this was, my thoughts went back to the worship that I came to see as the epitome of a modern church problem. As much as I loved the experience, it was much like visiting a museum. In fact, the church claimed its liturgy was unchanged since Jesus delivered it orally to the apostles. Regardless of how inaccurate this is, it also testifies to its disregard for how God’s Word changes to address our historical situation.

But even more problematic was its totally priest-centered nature. Much of the service was enacted behind the icon screen; many of the words were uttered silently by the priest; and almost all the responses were offered by cantors. In fact, the congregation’s inattention was taken for granted as some sentences of the liturgy called on the people to “pay attention” to this part.

But perhaps the best indication of the lack of laity involvement was the attendance pattern. When the priests’ public preparation began at 8:00, four people were in the pews. When the service itself began with no perceptible indication at 9:30, there might have been 25 present. Right before the sermon another 50 showed up, but the larger numbers arrived afterwards. By the time the Communion liturgy began, the congregation might have been 175, but people kept coming. Some did not arrive until The Distribution that was offered only to the Orthodox whom the priest knew. By that time we had about 225.

My Orthodox experience only epitomizes the failure of every Church branch to acknowledge what is going on with lay people in our democratic society. I have been suggesting one way to start correcting the problem might be to add conversation in the community to the classic standards the church has used for discerning God’s Word; charisma, canon, creed, custom, clergy, and ceremony. In fact, I observed lay people are already making this their most used standard as they customize their faith.

Bob thinks our readers should list various ways this conversation might take place. After making a magnificent analysis of the Internet, he concluded, “Those in the religious world must learn to use effectively electronic forms of communication to disseminate information. At the core of religion, however, is the personal and intimate — love. Fritz’ idea of small dinners to communicate among the faithful is an example of an attempt to carve out an intimate area of interaction in an increasingly impersonal electronic environment. There is no one answer. We need to supplement his opening gambit with other ideas. The intimate and the emotional are essential spheres for religion so religion must find ways to speak God’s word through preserving these spheres.”

He followed this up with an email: “I think we need a list of many possible initiatives. House Churches are another possibility, but a longer list is needed.” So let’s see if we can come with ways the church might encourage creative conversation with God and each other. Perhaps some of our readers might report experiences they have found beneficial.

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