Chapters 8 & 9

We come to the end of Christianity After Religion.  Thank you for reading along with us.  We did not generate much discussion, at least not in this forum.  We do know, however, that there were a number of you reading and discussing in other ways and places.  If you have suggestions, we would welcome them.

Here are this week's discussion starters.

On page 225, Diana said that her graduate adviser’s remarks made her “understand how much some people fear change and flee to leaders who promise to restore glory of the past when the future is uncertain. Although it is impossible to do, people will often try to go back to what was in times of loss and uncertainty.”  Have you seen evidence of this in your congregation’s experience?

How do you react to Diana’s conclusion and the quoting of Isaiah 2:2-4 (pp. 268-9)?

What will you take from this book?

Chapters 6 and 7

1.       I was struck by Diana’s description of mainline congregations, “…although they are not always open to change, that’s not the primary feeling in the congregations.  Their primary emotion is grief.  They are grieving the fact that their churches are declining, that their children are going away, and that the traditions they love might disappear.  They are in mourning” (p. 172).  Discuss.

2.       In Chapter 6, “Belonging,” Diana makes this statement:  “Church is no longer membership in an institution, but a journey toward the possibility of a relationship with people, a community, a tradition, a sacred space, and of course, God”  (p. 192).  What thoughts do you have about what Diana says?

3.       I drank my morning coffee from a mug that was given to me by a congregation of our synod.  On one side of the mug is the congregation’s logo and name.  On the other side is the website , phone number and the slogan, “A place to belong, believe and become.”  I am sure that the order was chosen quite deliberately.  It has made me stop and think on many mornings.  Diana suggests that Western Christianity traditionally ordered faith from belief to behavior to belonging (p. 201).  Now, she says, we need to reverse the order to belonging, behaving, and belonging (p. 204ff).  Does this make some sense to you?  How might that change your congregation?

4.       Diana sums up the chapter, “The Great Reversal,” by saying this:  “Relational community, intentional practice, and experiential belief are forming a new vision for what it means to be Christian in the twenty-first century, a pattern of spiritual awakening that is growing around the world” (p. 214).  How would you respond to Diana’s assertion and do you see this trend developing in your congregation?

Chapters 4 and 5

Here are the discussion starters for this week's reading.  To answer a question, yes, it is perfectly alright to go back and comment on any previous week.  Keep on reading! Keep on talking!

In Chapter 4, Diana talks at length of what she describes as the movement from “What do I believe?” to “How do I believe?”  Would you agree or disagree that traditionally, Lutherans have placed greater emphasis on the “what” of faith and seemingly less so on the “how” of faith as described by Diana and why?  Ascribing to her argument, what are some ways that we can be innovators in helping our church and congregations build connecting bridges between the “what” of faith and the “how” of faith?

As a synod staff person, one who comes into congregations without strong personal connections to the people with whom I am to work, this quote caught my eye.  “Authority comes through connection, personal investment, and communal accountability, rather than submission to systems or structures of expertise” (p. 115).  How do you react to this statement?

Diana titles Chapter 5 as “Behaving”.  In this chapter, Diana argues that there is what she calls a “practice gap” in the tension between “religion’ and “spirituality”.  Have you observed a “practice gap” in your congregation?  If so, what are some things we might do to address a “practice gap” in our church?

As I have witnessed the “spiritual bricolage” of which Diana speaks, I sometimes wonder why Lutherans look to the other great religions of the world for new practices rather than more deeply exploring Christian practices.  Thoughts?