at the practical level

I've been reflecting some more on my time here, especially the mistakes I've made and how I might act differently if I could do it again (in Champaign, for instance). One thing I recognize is that here I initially focused on theology/beliefs rather than practical issues. That was a mistake. I mean, I think I did correctly identify theological differences and recognize the sources of some of the problems here (like what I posted as "parting thoughts" a few days ago), but it didn't work too well to try to directly address and change the underlying beliefs. They were too deep-seated and too fundamental. Lately, I've been addressing specific behaviors instead, and this seems to be more promising.

The deep-seated theology and convictions of our lives are still what I'm most interested in, because that's where the roots of our problems lie. But these usually cannot be addressed directly. Normally, they need to be addressed through the actions and choices that spring from them. Our core beliefs are what shape our actions, our practical decisions. What we really believe in is seen in what we do. And it's these actions that most impact other people; this is where we can really rub up against one another and have to struggle together. So this is the best place to test and challenge the underlying beliefs.

In other words, our beliefs and convictions best connect with (and challenge) others at the practical level, not the theoretical level.

I've thought that struggling with particular behaviors was almost futile, like treating many small symptoms when the real problem was much deeper. But these particular behaviors offer both the opportunity and also good practical examples for addressing the deeper issues. So I need to pay attention to them and use the opportunities they offer.

For example, for a long time I've disliked the rule in my household requiring everyone to be at dinner (most days) and to stay for an hour of community time. I could see how the rule evolved, to encourage interaction among the people living here. But it seemed to have become a rigid structure without much meaning anymore. We were all sitting there for an hour, but our engagement with one another was pretty superficial, sometimes just listening to a book being read. This seemed like a minor thing, so I didn't complain about it. But now I see it's a very good opportunity to challenge the tendency to fall into communal structures rather than continually engaging and struggling with one another to make community real. That's a much bigger issue and especially important in a place like this. We're going to talk some more about it tonight.