Every now and then, seasons change.
And new ways of living and being and creating emerge.
We are excited about a new season for the blog here at Missio Alliance, one that will entail a new way of creating and curating engaging content each and every day. This new way will include a greater diversity of voices and perspectives on our core team of contributors, all passionate about moving the church further into God’s mission. And this new way also entails seeking out voices from our readership each month to feature here on the blog.
And one of those voices could be yours.
See, each month we will be calling for submissions from you, our readers, on a particular theme.
So, let’s talk about a conversation for May.
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Some topics have been surfacing recently about how we see and interpret the Bible. So our conversation this month is exactly that: “How We See the Bible.”
This audio from Scot McKnight at the Ecclesia National Gathering on “How the Bible Works” sets the stage well.
And this post from Brian Zahnd called “My Problem With the Bible” adds an important challenge.
So, now the question is, what do you want to add to the conversation?
To contribute a post, simply contact us with your pitch.
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Every now and then, seasons change.
We look forward to a vibrant conversation about the church and mission here on the blog in the days ahead.
— [Image, CC]
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.