Learning To Dialogue And Discern: Conversations That Matter In The Local Church

Abstract

“How now shall we live?�? “What is right under these circumstances?�? “What has character and morality to do with decision-making and ethical living for Christians?�? These questions and many more feel harder and harder to address in a culture so politicized and polarized that the very consideration of ethical conversation evokes considerable anxiety in individuals and communities. Learning how to navigate the dual enterprises of exploring politicized moral issues in a church community setting and fundamentally changing how a group dialogues requires deep examination of Christian morality, the ethical methodologies to assess it and make moral recommendations in group settings, and the group dynamics and dialogue / discernment models. With the deep social and political divide in the United States today, politically diverse churches like River Road Church, Baptist in Richmond, Virginia have often become silent on issues of moral importance that have become politicized, or have even split along secular political party lines, instead of seeking to find a Christian response to contemporary political and social issues through productive dialogue. This project sought to create a covenantal ethical discerning dialogue that produces a way of having a productive dialogue within church leadership that is theologically rich, intellectually serious, genuinely illuminating about moral issues, and that leaves the community intact. Ultimately, the project results seemed to indicate that such a model for discerning dialogue was necessary and helpful for church leaders, while also providing some insight to needed changes to the dialogue process.