“I Refuse:” author as conversation partner
Back in my college days I used to think that every textbook reflected a professor’s personal belief structure. Because in my eighteen year old mind the books assigned were reflective of the opinions of the one giving me my grade I felt it was unwise to argue with any of the material being presented. Only later in seminary did I realize that professors often assign books with contrarian views simply to make their students think about issues from a different point of view.
One of my mentors taught me to think of authors as conversation partners instead of authorities to be obeyed. This is was a liberating change of mindset for me. Suddenly I was freed to virtually interact with the author. It was no longer all or nothing. It became possible to learn from someone else’s point of view without having to accept everything that was being said. I gave the writer the chance to be heard, but after doing so I could take the best from what was being said, and let the rest go.
This is the way that I hope the leadership of our congregation approaches I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church. Paul Nixon has a lot to say in these few short chapters. He has a great deal of experience and his approach has much to be said for it. However, you will not agree with everything he says. I am not asking you to. His book is not infallible Scripture. All I am asking you to do is to prayerfully consider his ideas and see what we have to learn from them. We will take the best of what he has to offer, combine it with what we learn from the wider congregational conversation, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us into the future God has in store for us.
This blog is one more avenue for that conversation to occur. Periodically throughout the year I will post some reader response articles as I re-read Nixon’s book with you. Sometimes I will commend what he has to say. Sometimes I will argue. Sometimes I will do both simultaneously. Whether you are a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or not please feel free to virtually join in on the conversation.
Disclaimer: All I ask is that we remember our holy purpose and conduct ourselves online in a way that reflects the love that Christ has for each one of us. (In other words, I reserve the right to moderate and/or delete comments as necessary.)
