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?