A very intensive week began very intensely with the Gen-X video clip. Sound, light, colour, images, movement, speed, technology, energy, involvement. It was mind-blowing. I never did have that much energy, and I am now long past it anyway! What were we in for? It certainly was a very graphic way to introduce the new culture of the Gen-Xers. If that is where life is at, and it is for many, it is not much wonder we do not have many of them in church. Church is just so boring and irrelevant to their lives. My pre-boomer world is light years away. How can I begin to appreciate where they are coming from? But I must try.
Today’s media-driven culture is present tense and draws us into it to live intensively. For many of us in the church, especially my generation that was brought up ‘to save for a rainy day’ and always looked to the future, this is a scary difference.
A sharp contrast to the life of the video clip was the interview with the Gen-X young woman. What a heartfelt cry for help and understanding! What pathos and emptiness! But who would guess it under all that energy? Perhaps the energy is a cover-up for the emptiness and lostness. O for ears and eyes to hear and see the real truth which underlies so much of life, for it is not only Gen-Xers who are lost and hurting, but also many of an earlier generation who are more likely to come across my path.
I have long known and advocated the deliberate combining of Bible and contemporary cultures. However, the use of the concept of the DJ and the deliberate use of community sources of authority for feed-back took this further than before. The fact that it is a learned skill, and that the spin must be an honest representation, added a new dimension, as did the deliberate use of juxtaposition, subversion and amplification. Finding gospel examples of these in Jesus’ teaching was inspirational, and the putting of names to vague ideas I already had has been helpful.
Living for many years in a premodern culture added a new dimension to Bible life and stories that I have been using in ministry. I have learnt to tell stories as an effective means of communication, but the new dimensions I discovered this week are exciting. Using mystery and images draws the group into the story even more than just telling it. I very much liked the almost iconic figure drawings that were used, as they are timeless and virtually cultureless so all can relate to them. In their simplest form they are not so difficult to do either! And I shall certainly be using the concepts of Godly Play, for that was so graphic and enabled us to enter into the story and than let it enter into our lives.
The texts Steve used to enlarge the Biblical text validated to me this appraoch to scripture which I have been trying to use for many years. The Biblical basis is still central but it is enlarged to enable less cognitive thinkers participate more freely in the life of the Bible and in the community life of the church. Thak you Steve for the encouragement that I have been on the right track.
The sheer beauty of the Book of Kells and of the work being done at St. John’s was breathtaking. What commitment to perfection! What time, skill, patience, and care are involved! And what a result! What polish! What reverential awe it inspires. One reads with new eyes and understanding when looking at such a manuscript. This is something I must rediscover in my life of plainness and practicality. It also says something about the beauty of our places of worship, especially for those who find such beauty helpful to lead into the worship of the God of beauty and commitment. This is something I must also explore further. I was also intrigued by some of the images Steve had on the screen during these sessions, and noted how casual and unmentioned, but I am sure intentional, they were, and how quiet beauty and colour can be helpful in setting a scene. I made a note that I must get to know the Internet and explore the potential of images which are there. I also noted that I must learn to use images to bring stories to life in addition to using carefully chosen words and body language..
That story of finding Piglet was soooooo telling! O to be able to see such parables in life around me as well as in the Bible. Mind you, the way it is used must be well thought out if it is to be readily applied by hearers.
I discovered anew the role of the environment for those who live life experientially rather than only cognitively. And then there are the take-aways to enable the experience to be remembered, or to enable those not present to participate in activities. Just one way to enlarge the environment in both space and time.
The preparing and presentation of the projects proved to be an interesting exercise. With its ‘give and take’ it probably took longer than it would have if an individual had done it. But there were insights contributed by each member of the team so the result was so much richer, and hopefully it appealed to a larger cross-section of the community for which it was intended. I was excited by the possibility our café service opened in my mind.
Stories are relational, and stories never end. The ability this opens for enriching the lives of our highly individualised society that is longing for community is endless. And there is so much more …
How will it impact on my ministry? I am no longer responsible for organising programmes as I have been However, new inisghts I have gained will be shared with our leadership team as I have opportunity, and my preaching and teaching appointments will be the richer for our experience in class. And I hope that it will also enrich both my individual mentoring opportunities and my relationships with friends over cups of coffee.
6 comments:
I grew up in a small market-gardening community north of Adelaide. Many of our neighbours were migrants from southern Europe and I shall always be grateful that as children we were taught to value people for who are rather than despising those who are different. After leaving school at fourteen I worked with my father on the property for several years before going to Teachers College and then teaching in South Australia for several year. I then attended the Adelaide Bible College before going to the Solomon Islands to teach in South Sea Evangelical Church schools. Returning to Australia after twenty-0ne years I developed and taught Diploma and Advanced Diploma studies in intercultural studies and other related subjects in New South Wales. When I retired in 2001 I returned to South Australia and have settled down not far from where I grew up and am appreciating the depth of my roots as well as gaining many new friends while involved in my church in the town.
Hi Dorothea,
I really enjoyed reading your reflection, and will respond more fully when I get to it, but i just wanted you to know I appreciate your heart for the crys of young people. And yes, whilst many young people are happy winners, I suspect the vast majority are bewildered losers: damaged hearts laid bare before the world. As a contemporary song writter, Jewel says its not what "I" can do for anybody anymore, but what their body can do for me. I will respond more fully later.
Still getting organized on this assignment. I'll blog ya soon
Dear Dorathea
I want to pick up on your comment about Jesus being a DJ in the sense that we talked about in class. Actually pretty much everything Jesus said about his own self-understanding he said by "DJing"- motifs from the Old Testament, and everyday life in his social geographical context. He put together Son of David and the Suffering Servant, Son of Man and Messiah; he viewed everything in the Writings and the Prophets in terms of Himself as the fulfilment. And his teaching to the crowds was also in parables so th at they may be "ever seeing but not perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding" (Mark 4:12a), although he did explain things more explicitly to those who enquired of him (Mark 4: 13-20).
Often one of the preachers I hear talks about the "Bible's Big Story" and he sums it up in the broadest of terms as Creation, Fall, and Redemption. (I understand what he is saying, and these broad terms do form a framework for me to understand history and the purpose of God, but I must admit I often feel like I'd like to engage with some of the finer detail in the picture during church times.) What he calls the Big Story, my lecturers call the Grand or Meta-Narrative of Scripture. It strikes me that when reading the Bible; it takes some time and much sincerity of heart before this Meta-Narrative becomes apparent in all the cross-pollinated "samples" and allusions that link the texts of the Bible together. (cf Jermeiah 29:13). Meta- Narratives were made popular by structuralism (of linguistics), which having recognized the lack of contact we have with individual authors' intentions (if not yet having deconstructed the author), sought to locate essential meaning inherent in the structures of language (cf. Cotterell & Turner, 1989:30). Sounds good but the field that gave it rise thinks it has moved beyond it now and post-structuralism, its successor deconstructs the power relationships of Meta-Narratives and focuses instead on 'reader response' and a multiplicity of meanings (Beardslee, 1999:253). Post-structuralist would pick up on my observation that the "Meta-Narrative of the Bible is arrived at only through interpreting the "samples" or allusions and use it to persuade me that the Meta-Narrative only exits in the interpretive community.
I wonder if our own generation sometimes falls into the trap Jesus identifies above (Mark 4:12a).
Beardslee, W.A. 1999, 'Poststructuralist Criticism', in McKenzie (ed) To Each His Own
Cotterell, P. & Turner, M. 1989, Linguistics & Biblical interpretation, SPCK, London
Hi Dorathea
This is a comment on the comment you made on my blog.
I agree that we need to not ignore the paradigm shifts associated with what we call postmodernism; and I agree with you that since we live in an age of powerful communication tools we should use them- or at least some of us should. However, I don't think we should sware by them. It strikes me as interesting that as culture has placed more and more confidence in the means of communication, (you allude to this in your Bolg calling it a media- driven culture) we have become more and more sceptical of the content of communication. An angle on this can be seen in the progression of the "New Hermeneutic" which in broad terms (lets call them meta-terms and pick up on the meta- narrative 'sample' later) has seen a shift in the locus of meaning from the author, to the text, to the reader and for some has already gone off the end of that continuum into the abyss where not only valid epistemology is denied, but all knowledge. Kevin Vanhoozer wrote a brilliant book called "Is There a Meaning in this Text?" exploring these trends (in more than 200 words). We should not ignore the trends, but we should not be blind guides about where some of all this leads either.
Vanhoozer, K.J. 1998, Is There a Meaning in This Text?, Apolos, Leicester.
I also discovered anew the role of the environment for those who live life experientially rather than only cognitively.
As Steve (2005) points out, culture today has moved from an economic focus that not only considers goods and services, but also the experience they provide. Culture today is also characterised by people on a spiritual journey of discovery. It is the Church’s role to respect this and guide them toward God. The ‘mission of the church is to act as a resource for spiritual tourists’ (p85). This is a wonderful opportunity for the church to discover new and creative ways to use multi-sensory environments, inside and outside the church building walls, ‘that encourage lingering, provide ways for guests to participate, and encourage the attainment of skills and knowledge through exploration’ (p89). Take-aways, as either a memorable, spiritually significant experience or some memento to take home is also an important consideration in helping people work through their God experiences through the days that follow. In all this, it is encouraging to be reminded that ‘the church is a participator with the unseen wind of the Spirit of God, (and) there is a trust that people have an innate spirituality that moves them on a quest for God’ (p88).
References:
Taylor, S 2005, 'Postcard 5: Spiritual Tourism', in The Out of Bounds Church - Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 80-99.
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