As with all good seminary classes, Living the Text in a Postmodern Context has made me think, challenged my prevailing assumptions, and opened me up to new ideas and concepts. I am still processing the information presented in the lectures and as I continue to mull it over, new insights and questions continue to arise. This first entry will be a reflection of what I have processed thus far with a realization that these are just initial thoughts and that more reflecting will be occurring in the weeks and months to come.
One area in my life that has been challenged by this class is my concept of what it means to “do church”. To be honest, lately I have been having a great deal of trouble with attending church. While there are some parts that I still enjoy such as building community and relationships, there are other aspects that were troubling to me and after much reflection I still could not figure out the source of my discontent. It felt as though that every worship service was exactly the same: we sang the same type of songs, heard the same type of sermons, and was the same worship experience week after week. I began to think that I had come to the end of my time of attending church and the problem mostly lied with me. However, after this class I learned that the reason I was becoming “bored” with church is that, to use the words of Steve, was that my church was using only one muscle group in proclaiming the gospel. (I admit that some of the blame is my own and I need to hold myself responsible for my part of the blame). In the 4 prong diagram of proclaiming the word (word, image, dialogue, community) my church was only using one, the word. While my church was very good at using this technique, it made every church service exactly the same. As a result of this class I began to ask how I could help the leadership of the church to expand the way the live out the text in our setting and what my responsibilities are in educating the congregation. I also plan on asking around to see if others are feeling the same way as I am to start the process of “living out the Gospel” in a more holistic way within our church community and worship services.
Another way in which this class has challenged me also relates to church; not specific to my own congregation but in a much more general way. Two ideas that captured my attention was the concept of hearing multiple voices while living out the text and how we can live out the text in our congregations in community rather than as individuals. I think the idea of including multiple voices while living out the text is especially important in our congregations. For too long people that our living on the margins in our society have not had a voice within the church. If there is anyplace in our society where people on the margins should be heard it is within the church. In fact the Bible calls us to break down those walls (Galatians 3:28) that divide people and allow other voices to be heard. I desire to be a part of a movement within my own church and the church in general to allow the voices of people on the margins to be finally heard.
Also, the idea expressed in class that challenged my thinking is that the western church is highly individualized and the interpretation of the gospel has been done on a individual level. It seems like a lot of our churches are based on the concept of individualism and I have begun to think about ways this can be broken down and that our places of worship can become counter-cultural; living out the text within a community of believers instead of individually.
A third area in which I have been challenged in this class and an area in which I have changed my way of thinking is how I will use what I learn in this class to live out the text in a ministry setting. Although at this point I am unsure of what my ministry setting I will be in, I do know that I desire to work in some way with college students and young adults. Two concepts that I would like to use in my ministry setting are DJing and storytelling. As I worked with college students in the past within an urban setting, these two concepts would have been very helpful for me. In the future, how could I tell my own story as well as the stories of those that live in that context in order to aid the young adults to understand the gospel in new and refreshing ways? Instead of telling the students about the issue of homelessness in the city from my point of view, why not have a homeless person share their real life experience and stories of being homeless. (This would also bring in the concept of multiple voices as well.) I am also interested in how I can bring the concept of DJing into my work with young adults. What are some things from the culture that I can use to bring the text alive to young adults? As I plan the next step in my ministry career I will be making use of both storytelling and DJing, no matter where I may end up.
Lastly, this class has greatly impacted the way I look ay my personal spirituality. Much like my issues with church as outlined above, my personal spirituality has hit a dry spell. Throughout my life I have been taught that spirituality is a pursuit of the mind with little or no creativity involved. I was taught that using words was the way to connect with God; either through reading, verbal prayers, and other pursuits. However after this class I have felt excited that there are many other ways to express myself spiritually. I have never considered myself a creative person, but what would it look like if I branched out in my personal spiritual life and tried to connect with God in a different manner? This class has giving me ideas and the license to explore my relationship with God in a new light.
