At a Glance
Theme:
Life in the Spirit: The Church as a Witness
Faculty Speaker:
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rower Professor of Theological Ethics
Lectionary Texts:
Deuteronomy 6; Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 84; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Acts 1:1-8
Brad Baten helps
lead evening worship. |
Emily Childress reflects on some of Duke Chapel’s art during the arts village. |
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas shows the students the Mennonite “modest proposal for peace” during plenary lecture. |
Reflections on the Lecture
We opened Dr. Stanley Hauerwas' lecture this morning by singing "Happy Birthday" to celebrate his 67th birthday. Dr. Hauerwas challenged our community to consider that the church’s task is not to make the world more just, but to make the world the world. The church is constituted by the people who gather to worship the Triune God of Scripture. As the church, we are called to a level of ethical reflection and action that permeates every phase of the Christian life.
Dr. Hauerwas emphasized the true nature of the church not as a gathering of like-minded people interested in impacting the world positively, but rather as the Body of Christ on earth that gathers around the eucharistic table to find its constitutive ethic for life. It is vitally important, he argued, for the church to regain a full understanding of what it means to know Jesus Christ in corporate worship, not simply as a God of personal salvation. Dr. Hauerwas challenged the presumptions of students about what it means to be called a Christian, particularly as we discussed issues of war and pacifism.
Quotable Quotes
“Jesus is not a truth you can know without someone telling you that truth.”
— Dr. Hauerwas, during plenary lecture
“The Church, through baptism, literally becomes Christ’s body for the world.”
— Dr. Hauerwas, during plenary lecture
(alluding to The Lone Ranger) “I often say that I’m the Tonto of Christian Ethics.”
— Dr. Hauerwas, during plenary lecture
“Put as offensively as possible, ‘Outside the Church there is no salvation.’ Less offensively, ‘Without the Church, there is no salvation.’”
— Dr. Hauerwas, during plenary lecture
“If baptism is Our Story, do we still have a personal testimony?”
— A student during plenary lecture
“He’s got our Messed Up Lives in His hands…He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
— Fred Edie leading our community in a song following plenary lecture
Other Activities
We experienced our fourth arts village workshop this afternoon before enjoying some free time for fellowship. We enjoyed a Southern-style hospitality meal of fried chicken, green beans and corn from Mt. Level Baptist Church, an annual DYA favorite. The second group of students led worship last night in a service of contemplation and reflection. We welcomed Rev. Margot Hausmann as our preacher and one of our own mentors, Rev. Melanie Hughes, presiding at table. We celebrated the birthdays of two members of our community, chaplain Brian Hardesty Crouch and student David Horton.
What’s Ahead...
Tomorrow we continue our three-part exploration of Life in the Spirit. Dr. Tammy Williams will lecture on “Life in the Spirit: The Church as a Community of Reconciliation.” In the afternoon, students will disperse throughout the Durham and Raleigh areas visiting and working at various service sites, including Anathoth Community Garden, which will provide our final hospitality meal on Thursday evening. We will celebrate two more birthdays: Alex Tompkins and William Lennon-Scott.
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