|
|
I have an odd hobby – I am a collector of words. While others collect stamps or coins, I gather words and tell stories with them.
Words can be beautiful, strange, melodic, clever, or exotic. My current favourites? Ameliorate (to make or become better), mellifluous (smooth, flowing), and tintinnabulation (the ringing of bells).
My love for words and language means that I literally jump for joy when I receive a card in the mail. I never throw away Christmas greetings, knowing that someone has carved out time in a busy schedule to record their thoughts, wishes, and words.
Like many, I lament the demise of personal mail and letter writing. With the popularity of immediate and disposable communication, such as email or IMing, we’ve become shallow and frivolous communicators. There’s a casualness about the written word in our culture. We throw around phrases as if they had no weight or importance. If we don’t like what we’ve written or read, we simply press delete.
Thanks to technology such as Facebook, I now have access to millions of trivial bits of information. I know when my friends are doctoring a cold, watching a hockey game, or sleeping in late. But do I really know how their souls are doing?
It seems we’ve forgotten the power of carefully considered, honest words. We’ve lost our ability (or the time) to write beautifully descriptive passages. Such words and phrases, often found in handwritten correspondence, can document history, build relationships, encourage others, and testify to God’s grace (see “Letters from behind the iron curtain”, and “A traditional Christmas”).
Perhaps I’m nostalgic and old-fashioned. But, this year, I hope to receive many cards and letters in my Christmas mail – written, not just with ink, but with a true and transparent spirit. And in turn, I hope to share some carefully crafted words as a gift of my true self.
Sorry is a good place to start
The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry (Proverbs 25:11, Message). The right word for some 200 people who attended the BFL’s Culture, Gospel, and Church study conference might very well be “sorry.”
Attendees came eager to dig in, but many felt a sense of missed opportunity. What were the missing pieces?
-
Past study conferences – on women in ministry leadership, spiritual warfare, and baptism – set the bar high in terms of process. Presenters published their papers in advance, while formal written responses were also prepared, providing a good balance of thought and theological perspective. Attendees dialogued around tables with open Bibles. Large group sessions provided an opportunity for everyone to speak at the microphone, putting our MB theology of community hermeneutic into practice.
Sadly, none of this happened at the Culture, Gospel, and Church conference. Where was the spectrum of opinion? Where was the opportunity to dialogue and debate? Where was the centrality of God’s Word? In the future, let’s return to the excellent (and biblical) process introduced at past study conferences. -
In advertising for the conference, the Board of Faith and Life promised to address the question of culture: is it a gift of God, or a tool of Satan? Is it a blessing, a curse or both?
However, these questions weren’t thoroughly explored. The focus of the event remained on the church. Attendees were hoping for some practical engagement on how to deal with culture and how to develop discernment. They wanted to discuss the challenges of Canadian society – such as materialism, individualism, First Nations issues – but were left wanting. In the future, let’s cast our gaze outside our church walls and truly grapple with the practical questions of culture. -
George Hunsberger, an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian church, was the conference’s main speaker. To his credit, George made his theological biases known at the beginning of the event. He’s an expert on the topic of gospel and culture, so asking him to speak seemed reasonable. But after the evaluation forms were filled out, attendees commented that much of what George had said was redundant, dated, and poorly presented.
Perhaps this is a cry to look within our own circles before contracting outside speakers. Many evangelical Anabaptist writers, thinkers, or scholars would be well-qualified and gifted to speak to us. Why do we pass them by? In the future – without devaluing the lessons that come to us from others – let’s trust that God may have a word to speak to us from within our own family. Who knows what jewels lie waiting to be uncovered?
—LK |
|
