This week-long digital storytelling class helped me realize that I am a theologian, specifically, a communicative theologian. I didn’t know such a label existed, and now, this language has helped me recognize and affirm the attributes I bring to the ministry field within a theological context. It’s not the same identity as a systematic or historical theologian. That’s okay. The practice of storying faith cultivates space for people to be vulnerable with each other. So I don’t understand what Karl Rahner’s talking about. Great! Uncertainty opens the door to ask questions, which elicits dialogue, which necessitates sharing, which fosters learning on both sides. And from that, we grow together. As a storied and storying faith, Christianity is relational. Like Pope Francis said in a recent homily, “no one becomes a Christian on their own.”

So how can ministers create the space for people to story their faith, both individually and communally? The answer has always lied in communication. Now, we add digital communication to the mix. Here are a few ideas derived from themes and processes discussed in class:

Listen. Social media is a great platform for listening. It seems counter intuitive, as many (myself included) often use social networking sites to share and comment. But by taking the time to read the facebook profiles and tweets of others, we can get a glimpse into the thoughts and lives of our community members. Patterns of behavior emerge. Nuggets are shared that might not be shared verbally.

Invite invoking. Ministers should tread the line between illustrating the “answer” to a theological matter and letting people invoke their own meaning. We experienced this in class, when an assignment asked us to work with a favorite Bible verse. The story of Moses and the Burning Bush from Exodus 3 was one of the passages chosen. The professor could have drawn from scholarly exigencies to discuss the passage (which certainly have value.) But instead, she asked us to create an Animoto video that visually depicted our interpretation of the text. An assignment like this provided the space to invoke our own meaning.

Be aware. In all this digital talk, I think it’s really important to keep in mind people who are not at the “digital Table.” They have faith to story, too. Accessibility to digital resources is a luxury that not everyone has. Globalization brings many, many incredible opportunities for connection and collaboration. It’s also creating an even larger divide between those who have and those who don’t have. We have to be creative in ways we reach out to those in our community who are not able to be in the digital realm.

Play. Poke around with secular themes and find ways to connect them to theology. That will help make faith even more relevant, especially to the people who might be receptive to religion but have a low hunger for God and to those who are not receptive but have a low hunger for God. Many in society today fall into one of these categories. There is some sort of engagement which we can tap into.

Trust God. Above all, we need to trust that God is in the middle of this process. We don’t give faith. God gives faith. We accompany people, and we do it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

There’s no doubt that digital technology will continue to advance and leave us with even more ways to story our faith. For a communicative theologian, this couldn’t be more exciting.

Thanks to Dr. Mary Hess for introducing much of this content!