More Than a Circus Act
As we started this class, one of the videos that Steve Taylor introduced to us was a commercial about training circus fleas. The message that I received while watching this video as it related to our Christian faith and how we participated in ministry was that we are all trained in a manner that conforms us to the norm. However when the norm, which in the video is represented by the jar, is displaced, we still continue and proceed in order to maintain the norm when the boundaries no longer exist. I reflected on this analogy, as to how it related to a society that is fragmented, and discovered that its perspective was quite relative and accurate. I tend to live as though the jar continues to exist, when the jar has been displaced. Do I, as a Christian, continue to do church in the same manner as it has been done over the past century, and promote its traditional customs to a modern society that was once solid and structured? The questions that I ask myself include, "Am I willing to break out of the norm to escape the manner of how I minister to people in a fragmented society? How do I reach, as well as minister, to people whose lives are now fragmented, fluid and flexible?" As I do so, what are some limits that I should put upon myself that will enable me to preserve the integrity of the gospel message?" I am concerned about the dangers of applying modern thinking, only to result in faulty interpretations of the ancient text. I do not want to compromise the integrity of the bible.
Crafty Art
I found myself immensely intrigued with the subject matter and concept of living the text in a postmodern context. My theology in the area of the arts was challenged when we discussed how we should live the text with creativity. I had many preconceived biases about churches that strongly emphasize the arts, some of which were positive as well as negative. My interest in the arts and its potential to communicate sparked my interest in learning more about the emergent church. There were also concerns about the catering to the people through entertainment and compromising with the biblical text. I agreed with the theology that we are created in the image of God, thus making us creative beings. It strengthened my belief in the arts and confirmed that they can be effective tools to communicate the gospel through means other than words. However I still ruminate upon a few questions pertaining to the use of art. Are the arts to be used towards the members, by the members, or for the members? How are the arts utilized in missions and outreach to the poor, the hungry and the homeless? Would these specific populations appreciate all types of art, or would they ever feel offended by them? Does this method of using art target the demographics of the middle to the upper class while alienating the lower class whose concern is based more on survival rather than aesthetics? As I reflected more deeply upon this issue, I also needed to remind myself that the arts are just one mean to provoking interest into understanding the bible more. Through the arts we might be able to come to an understanding of the text so that we might live the text in the context of which we are a part of. I found it helpful, understanding that people learn thought their five senses and through different methods; visually, orally, intellectually through reading and writing, and kinesthetically. The arts, depending on how you use it, can provide a means of educating one about the bible through audio and visual. I assume that the arts could be used to nurture and develop compassion for the poor, hungry, and homeless; making the bible come alive in the lives of people with the means to make an impact as well as those who receive those means. My fear of using the arts is that people within the congregation may get the wrong idea of the purpose of its utilization. The temptation to use the arts for one’s own personal gain and agenda can distract him/her from the purpose of the arts as a tool to communicate and educate the message of the gospel. On the positive side, the arts, while being entertaining, can provide an environment that can make a church feel alive, exciting, educational, interactive and engaging. The arts can provide a non-threatening environment for people to develop experiences through engagement, as well as promote thinking and allow one to become interactive with the text that may never have presented itself in a standard sermon.
Are You Talking to Me?
I appreciated the teachings that Steve Taylor presented in the area of communications. Like the example of the fleas, the church has used the deductive approach in communicating the gospel to others. Taylor introduced to us to other ways of communicating the gospel that has the potential to be more effective when presented in the correct context. The approaches that Taylor introduced were the inductive, dialogical, abductive and multiple voice approach. Each view has it strengths and weaknesses. As a former teacher I can appreciate these diverse approaches. People learn differently according to the content that is presented. Providing people the opportunity to gain substantial experiences plays a vital role in effective learning. Learning also derives from making sense out of personal experiences through the application of theories. Through this class I have gained tools in effective communication. Depending on the outcome that is desired in communicating the gospel depends on what tools I use to convey the message. The effectiveness of communicating is also determined upon how well I have learned to use each specific tool of communication. The lecture on effective storytelling and story-boarding has been extremely beneficial in helping me become a more effective communicator.
What Affects You, Affects Me
Through this class, I have learned that it is acceptable to allow people to struggle through their personal thought processes, and to come up with their own perspectives rather than provide them with answers. Since perspectives vary from one generation to the next, I also need to be aware of the questions that the generations are asking in order to make the bible relevant to their lives. There are also areas were I need to develop more of my perspectives on. The idea of is DJing is one of them. This is an area that I found difficult to comprehend. It is one area where I need to reflect upon, learn and practice. Relating the gospel to culture can be a difficult balancing act. I don’t want to be so immersed in the gospel that it turns people off. I also don’t want to be so immersed in the culture that people cannot recognize the gospel. I need to work on finding a medium in which both the gospel and culture are equally relevant. I also need to work on developing the different approaches to presenting the gospel that will be engaging with whom I am attempting to communicate with. As a minister, I would like to offer new perspectives that others may not have thought about or perceived. This will require greater exegesis of the text by probing through the possible perspectives of the differing characters involved within the narrative in order to help me to understand the text better.
One of my desires as a minister is to help bring about reconciliation with the generations. I hope to use the different tools of communication and arts to bring awareness and bridge the differences in culture that have separated families, churches and society. In bring reconciliation amongst generations we can learn to appreciate one another and be the community that the Kingdom of God represents, as we live the text and become witnesses with an impacting force to the community around us.
