growth by imagination

leighton tebay at the heresy asked this question of church in one of his recent blog entries (First church plant meeting): "Do we rely on God to change people or do we convince them by challenging them rationally or stimulating them emotionally?"

i've been thinking a bit about this issue myself recently. the problems of the rational and emotional are well-documented, the former being either too abstract and cut off from reality or too prescriptive and legalistic, the latter being too fickle and short-lived, while both are in danger of promoting a hypocritical life, dividing the mind and emotions, suppressing the one at the expense of the other. i think, though, that the best and most productive way to encourage change in others is neither of these, but a third option, which is by stimulating the imagination.

i read something to this effect a while back in one of george macdonald's 'unspoken sermons' and didn't really get it at the time, but i noticed recently when listening to a sermon that where it really grabbed me was when a point or comment or phrase sparked my imagination, sending my mind off on a 'wander' about how the point connected with my life. its a bit ironic (but no less funny ;^) that the one thing most preachers dread (their 'audience' daydreaming) might in fact be the most productive thing that happens during the sermon!

it is at the level of imagination, i think, that we know and relate to god - we can't see him or pin him down rationally, so we imagine him as best we can. this is not a bad thing, and is definitely not saying that god doesn't really exist or that our relationship to him is not absolute fact, its just a fact of our limited lives on this earth. it is also in our imagination that we connect what we read and hear with our lives - when reading a good book, for example, we imagine ourselves in the story, or when we're listening to someone, we're almost always thinking about how the same thing happened to us.

i think the gospel becomes real to us in a similar way, firstly by imagining ourselves into the kingdom story (which is not an exercise in fiction because we really are part of the story - see my post living the story), and secondly by imagining the truth into our lives. by this latter i mean something like i mentioned above about what happened to me while listening to a sermon recently: we hear a point of truth and it makes a connection in our minds with our own lives and we imagine what it would mean to put it into practice. of course, this doesn't always end up as changed behaviour (is that really the point anyway?), but i think it results in more authentic change because each person is applying the truth creatively in their own situations, giving them a sense of involvement and ownership in the process which is impossible to achieve by only appealing to the rational or emotional.

naturally, it is far easier to impart truth in this way when it is contained in a story, so it's not surprising that jesus often taught in parables, which were simple stories to which his listeners could connect their lives, containing enough familiar to pull them in, then imparting the truth by an unexpected twist which subverted their expectations and challenged their understanding of god and his dealings with them. it's a pretty tall ask, though, to expect pastors and bible teachers to come up with modern parables which function in the same way for their congregations, but that's not necessary because in each gathering of believers there is a veritable treasure trove of stories from the lives of those present waiting to be told. by hearing each other's different stories, we discover the many ways in which the truth of the gospel can take form in daily life, and our imaginations are stimulated to consider how to apply it in our own unique situations.

i've said this before, but i think 'church' would feel much more interesting and relevant if it was based around conversations, each one learning from the others, not to mention the respect and dignity it would impart to each one instead of all the focus being on one person. maybe its a bit harder to see, but i believe such a model would also be far more effective (though maybe less manageable) in bringing about true christian growth and maturity in people's lives.

imagine that!