| Jason Interview (3) | | Date Created: Oct 19, 2006, 11:35 AM |
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JASON: In your book Jesus Asked you looked at how Jesus did most of his teaching in dialogue. He often used stories to answer and ask questions. Should teaching in the church today be more dialogue-based. For instance, one church I know finishes every sermon with a chance to ask questions or make comments. Should every church adopt that approach?
Every church should be have places for teaching and for the type of learning that includes asking questions and making comments. Every church should be encouraging that kind of interaction. But that's not what I think preaching or the worship service are about. More about that later in the interview.
We Lutherans make a huge (pre-modern?) distinction between preaching and teaching that's hard for church traditions based in modernism to understand. So, even with a PhD in New Testament, I would not be asked -- almost but not quite not allowed -- to preach in one of my denominational churches. That's not them dissing "book learning," au contrar, they'd want me at special teaching events or have me teach adult Sunday School where the point is the kind of learning that you're talking about.
But preaching, well, that's a calling and a gift -- almost the church's equivalent of the role of Old Testament prophecy: recognizing and bringing the word of the Lord for a particular group of people.
My book looked at Jesus' method of telling stories and asking questions. But look at this: when it's time for Jesus' disciples to go out and do their thing, they -- the first church -- neither preach nor teach with parables and questions as their characteristic features, but instead point plainly and unambiguously to Jesus' death and resurrection in a way that Jesus hardly ever did. Interesting, eh?
So anyway, yeah, I think it's important for every church to provide a regular venue for discussion and interaction. But I don't think the worship service is it. |
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