Revive the old and wonderful art of IRL discussion

When was the last time you had an enjoyable and invigorating discussion with someone? Sadly, the idea of “discussion” conjures images of:

• the crazy uncle monologue about conspiracy theories at Thanksgiving
• a friend’s coward-bombing their social media with a link or meme
• the hushed conversation with a friend at a coffee shop about politics because you don’t want anyone to know you support “that guy”

You, and our culture, are poorer for the lack of in-person, in-real-life discussion and dialogue. We’ve dined so much on what “influencers” are saying on Reels and Tik Tok that we can no longer evaluate what’s being said and seen from a truth perspective. This is true for the products we are influenced to buy, the politician we’re influenced to vote for, and the religious mantras we’re influenced to believe.

Start a discussion group

Book clubs may be the best example of what I’m recommending. These organized groups read and discuss books together on a scheduled, regular basis. Let’s expand this concept.

It’s past time for you to get out of your social media doomscrolling or fire posting. It’s high time to start a “discussion group.” You’ll be able to engage with friends in real life about interesting, controversial, and thoughtful topics.

Here’s what I’ll be doing this fall, and I want to encourage you to consider doing something similar:

1. Gather a group of friends or purposeful connections. If you’re local and interested in being a part of a trial run, get in touch!
2. Set the ground rules.
   1. Everyone submit one article at least two weeks before the next meeting. Encourage news articles and posts about current events.
   2. Set your limits on topics (I’d encourage you to allow discussion about anything the group votes to talk about.)
   3. Have the group “vote” on the articles for discussion at the next meeting.
3. Meet.
   1. Begin with prayer.
   2. Give each voted article 15-20 minutes of free discussion and feedback.
   3. End with a reading from scripture, and ask each person to provide reflection on how the scripture encourages them toward intimacy with God, fellowship with others, and obedience in life.

A great example

What prompted this post and commitment to begin a discussion group was an excellent article by James Hodges, on Sacramental Thinking, titled “Who Says?”: On Self-Authenticating Authority and the Death Spiral of Infinite Regress.

I posted the following note after reading it:

Whether you are Catholic or Protestant (or Orthodox), this is worth grappling with. Prepare to highlight/underline. For maximum benefit, print it off and/or share it with friends and schedule a discussion IRL over coffee.

When I left a comment, I couldn’t help but see the accumulating comments James was receiving on his post. Some of them were really substantive and thoughtful. It was in the moment of wanting to respond to a comment here and there that I remembered, “do this in real life.”

And there you have it. I’ll update you on how the discussion group goes! (James’ article will be one of my recommended reads to begin with!)