Most of you are probably familiar with the writings of Os Guinness, and some of you may be aware of his work with The Trinity Forum. If not, you can read more about The Trinity Forum here.
All that to say, there is a young lady who I went to college with and whose parents are members of our church that works for The Trinity Forum, and thus I receive email updates from them. In the most recent email update, there was a fascinating little blurb from the President, Cherie Harder, on the power of conversation.
Here is what it said (chew on her second paragraph for a while):
If, as Richard Weaver famously stated, ideas have consequences, it is because conversations have power. Ideas do not exist in isolation; their consequences flow from their transmission and integration.
Thus it is not enough just to study a good book. The best books and ideas need to be shared—not only because doing so benefits others, but because the discussion enriches us. In conversation, our assumptions, motivations, and character can be challenged in ways that deepen our understanding, integrity, and imagination. Moreover, in conversation with others, we can find perspectives to question and clarify the ideas of a text, to see how it relates to the wider world, and to help us see its implications for the way we live and lead.
This is why the Trinity Forum takes a conversational approach with our programs, and why we include discussion guides in our materials. We take conversation seriously in the conviction that, at its core, reality is relational.
