This week invigorating and challenging from a number of perspectives: I am not a preacher so I have had to constantly seek to transfer each new input to my own community. Although I have preached in the past, currently I am a tertiary educator and my teaching contexts are either cross-cultural and cross-linguistic, or training graduates (with degrees in a range of fields) to teach adults in a variety of environments; so it is from this perspective that my vision statement and community reflection arises.
The particularities of my contexts have raised a number of questions during the week. First of all, how does post-modernity relate to my own cross-cultural mission, especially with students for whom English is not their first language? I have deeply appreciated the focus on the need to replace concept of a single narrative with multiple narratives and multiple voices participating in experience oriented events as 'community’ is the way in which many non Western cultures function. Secondly, there are obvious issues for the church with regard to the post Baby-Boomer generations, but what about those from different language backgrounds? Australia is a multi-cultural nation with a rich diversity of alternative voices; people who have been educated in countries with very different pedagogical practices from my own. In what way can the issue raised this week be applied to those who have experienced a different pedagogy? A third question is to ask if I get bogged down by the way in which I use my mind? Many in tertiary education in the West are very word oriented – it is the way in which we have been socialised – but is it wrong to be oriented this way and how can I help ‘expand’ the thinking of those I teach beyond this?
The story of the young woman from generation X deeply impacted me. Her monologue left me feeling quite distressed in many ways. Her admission her generation is cynical, jaded and lost, longing for us to listen rather than talk, longing for authenticity, longing for connectedness and to know how we know what we know and how it works; and most of all her heartfelt “[we] know what it’s like to be homesick for something [we] never had” echoed something in my own heart. Many in my own Baby Boomer generation are also disillusioned. This seems to be especially true for women in the Church; those of us who are part of the ‘sit back with arms folded and observe’ generation, who have been discipled in church traditions where the Bible is the beginning, middle and end of faith, and ‘professional theologians’ the arbiters of interpretation and application of biblical truth. For me, this week has again affirmed I do not need to ‘fit’; I am contented to live outside of the ‘arms folded’ boxes; but perhaps can help other misfits to find that “something [we] never had” expressed in the video clip.
The notion of text as visual challenges the way I think about teaching and learning. Although I am familiar with learning styles and multiple intelligences (I teach about them!) and try to be inclusive in my teaching practice, I have been challenged to think about how I can integrate imagination into my teaching practice in the way Steve has done this week. Images and pictures: I am not a picture person, yet I like to paint pictures with words, using evocative and sensual language. I look forward to experimenting.
Thinking in colours was a very rich experience. As a word oriented person - I often even dream in words – I found thinking about what colour something is for me and why, quite profound. Although I kept returning to red, the way I conceived red developed considerably between Monday and Friday; from thinking only in a nice ‘theologically correct’ way about red as the colour of blood, representing salvation and God’s grace and mercy, to still thinking about the bible as red, but now as dangerous, subversive and challenging. I feel a great deal of excitement about the possibility of expanding my teaching repertoire to include the idea of colour in what I teach.
Over and over again this week, I have been challenged to think more deeply about how I can incorporate the biblical text into my teaching context. I do not teach the bible per se. I am a teacher educator, primarily teaching mature-age students how to teach the English language. While I can, and do, incorporate biblical principles into my teaching fairly regularly, actually using the text in teaching will be a great deal more challenging!
I like the concept of the preacher/teacher as a conductor of the story allowing many different voices to be heard, facilitating not only the individual sounds (voices) but also bringing it all together as the concerto ensuring the inclusion of the small and marginal. So, the story must be a collection of stories, not a single voice. The story needs to be a collection of flesh and blood stories, not dry and dusty academic ivory tower… thus teaching and learning should always be an unfinished story with different perspectives of the text laying along side of each other and mingling in perichoresis.
One of the most powerful images for me this week has been the challenge to connect an every day story – in my case a teaching event - into the living text; I think this is called thinking theologically! This will be a serious challenge for my future teaching ministry as I work with subjects that are not specifically biblical. I look forward to the challenge of connecting my topics them with Bible, either directly with texts, or indirectly with biblical principles. Even though not all of my students have been, or will be, Christians, if I am to take the challenge seriously, I need to find ways of living the text. If I just teach ‘skills’, be it in teaching or in English language, I will miss the opportunity to connect with people. Teaching becomes an intellectual exercise rather than a living experience.
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Response to Lesley Houston’s Blog
Cross-cultural ministry and stories.
Years ago I read a MARC book which explained that in some cultures the way you make an argument is to tell a group of stories, each story forming a part of an argument, in contrast to our methods which have been influenced by Greek rhetoric. It also argued that the parables of Jesus were much closer to the former than the latter.
I was reminded of this while I was reading your thoughts on both cross-cultural ministry and stories. The course provided a number of ideas for grabbing and keeping the post-modern audience’s attention, e.g. freeze framing.(Baker n.d., p 6) However, since Australian postmodern society is another culture it made me wonder if, at a deeper level, the way Australians make and process arguments has changed. Has the influence of television with its multitude of stories had an effect, especially since some stories are designed to convey a message? If so our society has moved closer to the world of Jesus then this might explain why a narrative sermon style should be considered more often. Also true life stories would seem to resonate with post-modernity’s connection with personal experience and distrust of “experts” and the meta-narrative.
References:
Baker, J n.d., ‘Preaching – Throwing a Hand Grenade in the Fruit Bowl. Something has to change.’ Retrieved from < http://johnnybaker.blogs.com/johnnybaker/text/Preaching.pdf >.
Response # 2 to Lesley Houston’s Blog
In your blog you wonder about post-modernity as it relates to those in Australia from a variety of cultural backgrounds while Steve’s book collated different voices from North America, Europe and Australasia. I started wondering about the forces which created post-modernity and their effect on South Pacific Islanders, Singapore, the Philippines and the rest of Asia. When those people come to Australia how is their post-modernity interacting with our post-modernity?
This leads on to the issue of how we minister in a multicultural Australia. The insights of the church growth movement revolved around homogeneous units. Although our idealism sees people of every ethnicity worshipping together, that research suggested that birds of a feather like to flock together, especially where there is commonality of language and culture. Instead of a single post-modern ministry seeking a single style that suits everyone we will probably keep having a variety of groups in our churches for different ethnicities or cultural groups, but each interconnecting perechoretically with each other. This ties with Steve’s church which has different services for the different ‘cultures’ in his church, the distinction between unity and uniformity and Steve’s thoughts on influence of the social and relational Trinity. (Taylor 2005, pp. 107-111)
References:
Taylor, S 2005, The Out of Bounds Church? Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change, Zondervan, Grand Rapids.
Thank you for your honesty. I enjoyed reading your reflection and found myself connecting with it at a deep level.
I agree that the visual aspect of the text and use of imagination is challenging in terms of how we use Scripture in our own contexts. I found Mc Spadden’s (2003) comment very enticing when she described imagination as ‘that moment when presuppositions, expectations, and worldviews are broken open…so forcefully and expansively that individuals find themselves in a surprising place, beyond that which was theretofore conceived…”Imagination” describes the capacity for self-transcendence when hearts are opened to hear the word of God’ (p130).
In terms of using more visuals, Allen (1998) discusses the use of images when preaching and states that when the visual aspect is incorporated, the listeners are engaged at different levels. He claims that the ‘image paints a word-picture of the proposition or abstraction that touches the congregation in heart and feeling as well as in head and cognition’ (p105). He also cautions that using visuals is not for everyone and will not suit every occasion. You have also eluded that you are aware of the many learning styles that exist, yet in view of the above comments, this concept of incorporating the imagination and visuals is very compelling! Blessings!
References:
Allen, RJ 1998, Patterns of Preaching - a Sermon Sampler, Chalice Press, St. Louis, Missouri.
McSpadden, C 2003, 'Preaching Scripture Faithfully in a Postmodern Age', in EF Davis & RB Hays (eds), The Art of Reading Scripture, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 125-42.
Lesley, what images you set free in your conceiving of the Bible as red. What vivid thoughts you attach to it! Dangerous. Subversive. Challenging. As well as the theologically correct concepts of salvation, grace and mercy. I note in passing that salvation, grace and mercy are challenging, subversive and dangerous ideas.
As I read your post, I am aware of the small group I lead, and the conversation that arose this week.. They are all pre-teen girls, and the goal of the group is to help them to have a deepening understanding and knowledge of the God who is revealed in the Bible. One of the girls complained that the group didn’t have enough fun, and in exploring the issue she said she would rather have fun than know Jesus more deeply: if knowing God through the revelation of the Bible wasn’t fun enough, she would choose fun. This struck me as being the philosophy of postmodernism, so cleverly elucidated by Gill Rowell in CyberCindy, of “aesthetics over ethics, style over content”. They see the Bible as red –the red of stop, don’t go there; conventional, conformist, old-school.
As I come to the Bible, through the power of your suggestion, I see the Bible as red – the red of a 1964 MG convertible. It’s powerful, inviting. It makes my pulse race with anticipation. I can’t wait to get into it. I know it will take me to a place where the racing wind will buffet and blow me, and I will experience adventure, sometimes out of control, but exhilarating. It makes me feel like a different person, bigger, invulnerable. Driving a red ’64 MG is always worth the trials of getting the thing maintained and tuned. Like the Bible isn’t always an easy read –there are passages of terror and boredom– but there’s always substance, and it’s worth the work to go there. At least I can afford to drive a ‘red’ Bible…if not a ’64 convertible.
What these girls seem to be saying is that they somehow need to see the Bible as red – the red of a glossy, sexy, high-heeled shoe, that has all the excitement and expectation of a hot date. You’re mother might not like these shoes, but you’re determined to wear them anyway (even if you have to slip out of the house without her noticing). And here we are back to dangerous, subversive, and challenging. The challenge, of course, is how can I help them to find that shade of red as they approach the Bible?
Thanks for your vivid words that sent me off on this exploration of what it means to red the Bible.
Gill Rowell, The (Spiritual) @dventures of CyberCindy, Carlisle, Cumbria UK: Paternoster Press, 2003, p. 94.
That last post by anon, by the way, was from Ian. Can I also say, as a postscript, how impressive it was to see your commitment to this subject in making your post at 1:05AM!
Blessings,
Ian
How to integrate imagination into teaching practice?
Bob Rognlien has some ideas about how to develop creativity. He suggests collaboration with colleagues as a key method of increasing the creative quotient in worship. Whilst teaching is different, I suspect that collaboration with some of your education colleagues would yield exciting results. As Rognlien says,
There is something about being together that stimulates creativity. While creative ideas can come to us in isolation, we are limited to our own set of experiences, insights, ideas and perspectives. When we come together in an environment of openness and acceptance, our creative palette is dramatically enlarged and we imagine things otherwise beyond our reach.
His idea is to bring together people from a range of disciplines and have them all consider what could enhance a particular theme. That sort of idea might be possible in education.
Another idea would be to share resources with colleagues who have strength in locating or developing images, and swap your pictures painted with words for their visual images.
A longer term view might be to ask students to bring you images captured on video and save them for the next time you teach that topic. I have taken to heart the comment Steve Taylor made in his lectures about not going home and mastering new technologies. Rather, go and find the ones who already have the technological skill and ask them to create the imagery and experiences you are after. I have found a young fellow who loves creating video images, and I am working with him to source visuals. He, by the way, often goes beyond my widest imaginings to come up with something fresh and effective.
Perhaps the best place would be to explore the interfaces between word and images. Theatre, cinema, picture books and comics might be a good place to start.
Ian
Bob Rognlien, Experiential worship, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2005, p. 183-4.
Hi Lesley
Thank you for your statement. I really appreciated the honesty that you reflected. You included your voice from the ‘margins’ (misfit), which was certainly an important contribution. How far do we only hear the dominant, often white middle-class educated, male voice – ‘the professional theologians’ - in the interpretation of the text? Listening for the voices from the margins seems to me to be the unique gift you bring to the community’s interpretation of the text. Your reflection also led me to think more about the voices from the ‘edge’.
Your recognition that the Bible is ‘dangerous, subversive and challenging’ is a crucial insight into letting the marginalised speak. McSpadden acknowledges this in her insistence to stand under scripture, despite the difficulties this sometimes poses; to highlight the way the ‘text confronts and criticizes behaviour, values, priorities, and choices (our own and those of the larger society) 1).
Chris McLeod
1) McSpadden, C 2003, ‘Preaching Scripture Faithfully in a Postmodern Age’. The Art of reading Scripture, Davis, E.F & Hays R.B eds, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, P. 136
Hey Lesley,
How are you going with applying the course to your classroom activities? I really enjoyed your reflections. You really do paint ‘pictures with words” which is distinctly part of who you are. What you wrote got me thinking about your students, who though English is not their first language, persevere with something foreign to become fluent in a language that is not their mother tongue. In this I see a distinct parallel with you (and all of us) moving into areas of unchartered territory to find ways of communicating God’s living (and loving) word.
Are you familiar with Chapman’s (2002) concepts of love languages? Chapman’s premise is that people give and receive love in one of five primary ways (affirming words, quality time, gifts, acts of service and physical touch). However, the way they give love may not be the way the one(s) they love receives love, so people need to learn (through practice) to communicate love in specific ways to meet the emotional needs of those around them.
In the same way, we need to develop new skills and abilities in communicating God’s love to the community around us (both inside and outside the church) in an effort to bring understanding. According to Anselm’s classical statement, theology is about “faith seeking understanding”(Migliore 1991:2). How are those around us going to come to faith if they do not understand and how can they understand if we are not willing to change our approach to connect with the context in which we find ourselves? I guess the issue is how motivated we are to make the change, to learn a new language, in an endeavour to communicate God’s love.
Bless you,
Tim Winslade
References
Chapman, G “The Love Languages of God,” Northfield Publishing, Chicago, Ill, 2002.
Migliore, D. “Faith Seeking Understanding – An introduction to Christian Faith” Eerdman’s Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich, 1991.
Hi again Lesley,
I was reflecting on your circumstances, being one of the few who was not applying Steve’s input directly into a preaching or pastoral situation. Something of what said reminded me of the ‘secular versus sacred’ dichotomy and I thought I might add some of my thoughts on the subject based on some of the things I have been reading recently.
As I read your reflection I noted you desire to apply the living word to your classroom context, but felt somewhat constrained by your job description as a language teacher of people, some of whom would not be Christians. You identify the challenge of living the text in your occupation a challenge that many unlike you have felt overwhelmed by. However, many Christians do not realise that Christian living is not just an activity that happens inside the church building but as Buxton (2007:9) states, but to be “involved in the world not separate from it.”It is so easy for us to have this dualistic mentality, the sacred and the secular, when God’s desire for us is to integrate our faith into all aspects of our lives. However, to do this we need to been understand and appreciate the context in which we live.
Your reflection showed a great awareness of not only yourself, but the context that you operate in. Therefore, you re-invigorated to teaching with the living text as the foundation is a perfect example of practical theology, that begins with the context, connects with faith and then leads to new mission insights and applications back to the context (Ammerman 1998:25). In this way, as practitioners of practical theology, we all have an important part to play as god’s community, living God’s word in whatever context that we find ourselves.
Keep up the good work.
Blessings,
Tim Winslade
References
Ammerman, NT., Jackson, WC., Dudley, CS., McKinney, W., “Studying Congregations – A new handbook”, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Ten, 1998.
Buxton, G “Celebrating Life – Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide”, Paternoster, London, 2007.
Lesley!
Thank you for your reflection! I appreciate your appreciation of the idea that a multiplicity of voices exist in our world... and not just in the postmodern sense.
In fact, we've recognised (mostly) that this multiplicity exists in terms of cross-cultural mission initiatives and so on. There has been significant work done on the part of many churches regarding effective communication of the gospel to those of various ethnic backgrounds with differing cultural contexts. My question is why haven't we applied ourselves with equal vigour into the enterprise of effective gospel communication to a postmodern context? As with ethnic differences, there is much to be sensitive towards and aware of with this new philosophical paradigm, but it is not given quite the same level of interest in terms of productively and concertedly engaging with for the purposes of the gospel.
I've been reading the story of Bruce Bawer, who has a particular interest in the gospel being afforded to the gay community. He believes that "some of us are self-conscious about discussing God even in church" (1), yet alone finding culturally relevant ideas for discussing him amongst the contemporary culture!
The metaphor of homesickness that you allude to helps here. Everyone is homesick for the place we've never known. Can we take God off the pedestal of untouchability and accept that he is here for you, for me, and for the postmodern culture which surrounds us? Then perhaps we may meaningfully communicate the fullness of our experience of his love for us and plan for our lives. But first WE, in the church, need to have the fullness of that experience.
God Bless you Leslie.
Josh
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1. Bawer, Bruce 1997. Stealing Jesus: How fundamentalism betrays Christianity, p3, Zondervan
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