Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations  with Humility and Curiosity in the Church

Rev. Dr. Kathryn Rascoe

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Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations with Humility and Curiosity in the Church

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Rev. Dr. Kathryn Rascoe. Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations with Humility and Curiosity In the Church. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f3ca4bcb-800d-4cde-be16-dac2a01c0913.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

R. D. K. Rascoe. Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations with Humility and Curiosity in the Church. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f3ca4bcb-800d-4cde-be16-dac2a01c0913

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Rev. Dr. Kathryn Rascoe. Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations with Humility and Curiosity In the Church. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f3ca4bcb-800d-4cde-be16-dac2a01c0913.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Rev. Dr. Kathryn Rascoe

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No Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Only

Abstract

This paper, and the project on which it is based, proposes that the Church, unified as the body of Christ, is called to learn from its differences, requiring authenticity of its parts and conversation between them. Beginning with the assumption that the core issue preventing authentic conversation is a lack of a framework and basic tools that provide purpose and comfort in the interaction, the proposed solution for fostering authenticity in communication is to implement basic "ground rules" for small group discussions based on the principles of humility and curiosity, rooted in the theological concepts of forbearance and a scriptural understanding of the body of Christ found in 1 Corinthians 12. The project investigates how setting a common goal (intentionally living into/as the diverse “body of Christ”) and ground rules (forbearance, humility, curiosity) at the outset of group interaction could lead to more authentic individual contributions to conversations in a faith setting. Concepts were presented in a series of four discussion forums and relevant conversation skills were practiced in pairs or small groups. Data collected from observations of the forums, responses of participant surveys and follow up questions, indicate that participants did increase in their comfort with difficult conversation settings and topics after being introduced to a theological framework and the concepts of humility and curiosity, supporting the hypothesis. It is hoped that practice of this intentional engagement will build a more authentic representation of the body of Christ within the Church and model respectful disagreement within a diverse community for the wider world.

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