You can read part 1 of this post here.
“Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.” (2 Cor 5:14-20, MSG)
I’ve been reflecting on Yascha Mounk’s recent interview with sociologist Arlie Hochschild. Researching for her latest project, Stolen Pride, Hochschild spent much of her time in rural areas across the deep south and Appalachia. She concluded, regarding people across the political spectrum,
“I think people feel afraid of empathy. Empathy is a dangerous thing, actually. Not only is it not of interest, but people are scared of it. If you empathize with the “enemy,” you’re complicit. That tells you how fragile actually people feel in their membership…. [ I hope] to invite people to not be alarmed at making room in their hearts for people who are very different. Making room doesn’t mean you’re any less who you are.”
Hearing this, I was reminded of Willie Jennings’ frequent reminder that
hope is a place not of toleration or assimilation, but of celebrating difference. In an interview with Pete Enns, Jennings says, “Throughout the Book of Acts, the one thing you know about the coming of the Spirit is somebody has been asked to do what they don’t want to do. And what is it that the Spirit wants you to do? It wants you to be with those who you prefer not to be with.”
With this in view, let’s consider 9 more ways congregations can demolish echo chambers:
7. Avoid ministry echo chambers. This includes staff, board, committee, other church meetings, any other spaces where “Our language has become too untethered from lived experience, too focused on insiders…”
8. Instead, pay attention to the daily experiences of people in your community. Take your cues for preaching, disciple-making, and justice-making from what you observe and discern. Faithful ministry doesn’t start from a meeting in a windowless basement of a church; it starts with noticing what the Spirit is up to “out there.”
9. Therefore, stop hosting every church-related meeting at the church. Insist that ministry leaders meet in various public places around town. Occupying alternate spaces, and encountering the people in those spaces, will be more instructive than any agenda item.
10. Similarly, explore opportunities for your board or groups of lay leaders to interact with lay leaders of local congregations from different social locations or theological perspectives.
11. Cultivate alternative, informal avenues of connection among people in the congregation. Committee meetings, Bible studies, and mission projects are insufficient for building trust across difference. Just as important is for leaders to invite others to get a cup of coffee, share a meal, go to a ballgame, etc.
12. Engage in what I’ve sometimes called “Mapping our Shared Life” This map includes not only geographic features and infrastructure, but places of joining, influence, neglect, hope. This exercise always prompts deep discussion.
13. Stop giving lip service to “unity” without nudging followers of Jesus to do things that move toward unity. Consider carefully addressing the sources or expressions of polarization, and provide avenues for faithful engagement and trust building. It’s risky, but not as great as the risk of not doing so. To this end….
14. Learn to facilitate complex conversations. Having this capacity and ability makes a tremendous difference. Ask me about TMC’s model of facilitating diverse groups, check out Allen Hilton’s House United, or explore other organizations like World Café or Solution Journalism.
15. Get local. Too many of us are consumed by national headlines while neglecting local challenges that would elicit broad support across a diversity of political and cultural dispositions. Meet with local people of influence: sheriff, school superintendent, city council members, business owners, city planners, et al. Learn their perspectives, priorities, and ways they might benefit from your congregation’s engagement.
Discussion Prompts:
- Which of these bullet points stands out to you, and why is that?
- What could you add to this list, based on your immediate ministry context?
- What are some next steps you or your congregation need to take toward demolishing echo chambers?
- What do you need to ask the Holy Spirit to do in your congregation?
David Shelor
Posted at 12:46h, 28 MarchThanks, Adam. Good stuff.
I don’t know that I would add to the list as much as I might sharpen #2 – “Preach the Gospel.” I appreciate Capon centering grace in Jesus’ message, but love among enemies, justice for the oppressed, and peace for creation are also central. In fact, they were key factors that led the state to execute him, necessitating grace. If we are to pierce our echo chambers, and listen to those outside them, we also must be able to bring our authentic, counter-cultural, Gospel selves clearly to the conversation. In my opinion, some of the errors Old Line Protestants have made in the past have been to misunderstand and discount the nature and power of sin and evil in the world.