The Listening Congregation
A review of Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World
Alan J. Roxburgh, Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our Time, (New York: Morehouse Publishing, 2015), 111 pages.
Alan Roxburgh’s book is based on a simple premise: God is already in the neighborhoods where our churches are located. It is up to us to discover what God is doing and join God in our neighborhoods. Of course he points out all the reasons why this is not so simple. An entire chapter is dedicated to the roadblocks we encounter, and for Roxburgh all of these relate to the human tendency to return to our “default” behaviors rather than embracing change.
One of the keys to joining God in changing the word, according to Roxburgh, is listening. He identifies this as listening to each other, listening to God, and ultimately listening to our neighborhood. Listening to one another involves sharing our stories and listening to each other’s stories. This will be the easiest form of listening and perhaps feel the most comfortable. Sharing our testimony is a time-honored practice in the church. But as Roxburgh points out, sharing our testimony in church really is just practice for the main even, sharing with our neighborhood. And we are out of practice. Most congregations stopped having prayer and testimony service long ago. And most of our sharing is one way: from the pulpit to the congregation. Listening helps us to create connections that will aid us in our mission following the Way of Jesus.
A practice that Roxburgh recommends for listening to God is Dwelling in the Word. He even provides a practice guide that involves two readings of a passage. He recommends Luke 10:1-12 for congregations that are trying to reconnect with their neighborhoods. After the first reading, he suggests asking people to consider these questions as it is read for the second time. “Where do you stop? Are there words, phrases, or ideas that grasp you? Is there a question you’d like to ask…?”
Finally, Roxburgh recommends listening to our neighborhoods. For this practice, he suggests getting down on ground level by walking through the neighborhood three or four times a week and varying the times when we walk so that we see and hear different things. Say hello to people on the street and engage them in conversation. How long have they lived in the area? What do they like about living there? What are the needs in the neighborhood? Notice the “third places” where people gather such as coffee shops, salons, gyms, and community centers. Spend time in these places and engage in conversation.
These ideas are just a small part of the congregational journey that Roxburgh recommends. He suggests all congregations develop practices for listening, discerning, testing / experimenting, reflecting, and deciding. Joining God is well worth the read.