In January, I wrote an article for The Unbroken Cord about the need for more extended discussions and long-term conversation partners especially in a time of large-scale, intentional misunderstanding and political tribalism. You can find it here: https://www.theunbrokencord.com/writings/talking-theology

The more people get to know each-other’s stories, the easier it is to interact with them as real individuals rather than write them off because of group identity. Further, we grow as people when we have real, open conversations. Often it takes us time to work out ideas and give real attention to what others are saying. This kind of discovery is a life-long process. Recently I’ve begun to sit down with different people willing to talk about their stories in ministry. The first two are district presidents in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. One was published last month and the other will be put out soon with more on the docket and many more to come.