Last night during our church gathering, we began going through John Piper's Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die. We decided in advance that we would all read one chapter per week ahead of time, and then discuss that chapter when we get together.Last night we discussed Jesus' coming to absorb the wrath of God. As we talked, we focused on the justice of God, the mercy of God, the sacrifice and suffering of Christ, the meaning and significance of "propitiation," sin as treason, and the love of God.
Going into this, my desire was that our time would be a real discussion and not a lecture. I think we all know that much more learning and life change comes from group communication than one-way communication. Therefore, right at the outset last night I told our church family that we were going to have a group discussion.
I said simply, "What did you think of chapter 1?" Then I waited. I must say that I was thrilled that discussion began almost right away. Lots of people participated. It was wonderful.
I do not write this post to commend this particular book. It's a fine book, but many others would do just as well (one good thing about this particular book is that the chapters are very short, thus encouraging more people to actually read it).
The point was that we discussed it as a group. As we talked, there was a spirit of community, togetherness, and mutual edification. I know I gained a lot from it and I think everyone else did as well.
As I think about this, I have to say that I'm beginning to seriously doubt the effectiveness of what is known as "the sermon." One-way communication is just not that effective. Might there be a way to take the existing sermon and transform it into more of a group discussion? I'm pondering this.
Anyway, this post is just a little reminder of the joy of group discussion and edification. We learn better when we learn together.
10 comments:
Interesting... so do you have any ideas for moving away from a monologue style of teaching (i.e. "the sermon") and toward a dialog/discussion style of teaching? I think steps you take to change will be different for each context.
-Alan
Alan,
This is a massive paradigm shift. Any movement will be slow - at least at first. It may begin by simply asking one question at the end of a sermon. I'm interested to see what happens.
Yes, it will be a massive paradigm shift. So many people have been taught (or have learned by example) that God primarily speaks to them through the sermon... or at least that the sermon is more authoritative that any other type of speech or teaching method.
-Alan
Alan,
It is dangerous for any of us to look to any one person for authority. We fall into the trap of acting like the person who is preaching is a priest we have to go through to get to God.
Eric,
The one phrase that I have never heard after a sermon is "are there any questions?". That is unfortunate, because I frequently have questions - and I doubt I am alone in this position.
Even a single question at the end of a sermon is a step in the right direction. I believe research will bear out the fact that lecture/monologue is towards the bottom of the list in effective teaching techniques, at least among the educators I have spoken with.
Jeff,
I took your advice tonight. At the conclusion of my sermon, I asked if there were any questions. I had prepped the folks at the beginning of the sermon that I was going to do it. After I asked, one man made a good comment. There were no questions; that's O.K. It was a good start.
Eric,
A good comment is a good start - Amen. The paradigm has shifted radically, perhaps more than we realize. Prepping folks at the beginning is a great idea.
I was just considering that perhaps folks do not even think in terms of "I have a question" because they know they will not have an opportunity to ask. Just a thought...
Jeff,
I think this will just be a series of small steps. I've got to be patient and see what the Lord does with it.
Eric,
Does it bother you that some people may have learned more from that one man's good comment than from your entire sermon?
-Alan
Alan,
Not at all. I want much MORE discussion because it does so much more for the body. The focus ought to be Christ, not the one man preaching.
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