진정한 대화 Dialogue는 쌍방의 변화 (transformation)를 불러일으킨다. Suresh Canagarajah는 이렇게 표현한다.

“We should consider dialogue as a collective achievement, enabling both parties to help each other progress further in their thinking and values. Besides, it is not just “ideas and views” that we are concerned about, in a product-oriented sense. The dialogue should enrich participants in a holistic manner, not just contribute to exchanging ideas. We should accommodate changes in one’s orientation to self, relationships, feelings, and values. We should therefore consider moving from conciliatory dialogue, and exploratory dialogue, to transformative dialogue to accommodate such possibilities. The latter term conveys the need for both parties to contribute to each other’s transformation as persons, in a rounded and holistic manner…”

Christian and Critical English Language Educators in Dialogue (2009) p. 76.

Dear my beloved brother in Christ,

I pray that God of all creation who is the King of the kings and the Lord of the lords may strengthen you as you struggle to stay in balance in the service of the Lord as well as His people.

It was my privilege that I was able to spend some of my given time today to pray for my brother in Christ.

Let me tell you a short story of what Lord did in my life. As a young scholar I struggled and often criticized myself for not being smart enough to excel in the doctoral seminars and publish my papers in the prestigious journals. After 3 semesters of study at Indiana University, my soul became a dry bone. You may remember that I was at the Urbana Student Mission Conference last month. One unforgettable lesson I learn there was that I am called to the obedience to Christ, not success. Suddenly I realized that the problem did not lie on my inability to excel but on my misunderstanding as to what is the most important goal of my life. In the past, I thought about how to succeed in my life as a scholar in Engilsh education, but I no longer worry about my success. Rather I think about what it means to be obedient to Christ in what I do.

I will continue to pray for you that God may continue to strengthen you as you seek to obey Christ in your life as well as in your ministry.

in Christ,
Jaehan Park

인종과 성 등 다양한 사람들을 이해하고 사랑하기 위해서는 그들을 이해해야 하는데, 기독교인으로써 성경적인 이해를 하고 싶은 사람이 있다면 아래에 나온 책들을 권한다. 특히 David Smith의 Learning from Stranger는 이해를 많이 도울 것이다.

http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/books_on_multicultural_reconci/