August 26, 2024 | Drs. Mark Young and Patty Pell
“Having difficult conversations about the social issues around us is part of the bigger conversation of the mission of the Church connected to the mission of God. And if we’re a part of that, part of the mission of God and the flourishing of others, then we have to be involved in the conversations about how to make that possible for more people.”
How can Christians engage in conversations about challenging topics in ways that are compassionate, compelling, and credible? Drs. Patty Pell – assistant professor of Theology, Justice, and Social Advocacy and executive director of The Gospel Initiative – and Mark Young – president of Denver Seminary – discuss the importance of listening to and learning from those with differing views, emphasizing the need to let go of certainty as we engage in these conversations. They also highlight the The Gospel Initiative and the resources it provides for those navigating these complex topics.
"It's important to be in the conversation because these conversations are about our common life together. And even though we are people of faith, that doesn't mean that we don't participate in the common life. And so engaging… Share on X "We often hear distinctions made between stance and posture. The idea is if you take a stance, you have a position, you have a truth that you're going to voice, and sometimes you're going to voice it, you're going to state it,… Share on X "We want our posture to be one that says, "I want to hear your point of view while I continue to explain my point of view so that we can understand each other." One of the challenges is that we tend to dehumanize issues. We want to… Share on X "What I think we want to do is first understand what different the points of view in these divisive issues actually mean and how they are being framed. But the end of it all is that we as a community of Jesus testifiers create the… Share on X