OralityTalks

Orality in Theological Education: Addressing 21st-Century Challenges

Laurence Gatawa and Larry W. Caldwell — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 02:56:43 +0000

Our speakers, Larry Caldwell, and Laurence Gatawa, made a compelling case for the use of orality in theological education. Laurence focused on the need to teach oral hermeneutics, while Larry emphasized the need for Bible schools and seminaries to adopt competency-based curricula that focus on transforming lives and serving the church.

Check out further resources about orality in theological education at OralityResources.International.

Resources

Intro to Orality in Digital Media and Arts

Danyal Qalb — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:37:37 +0000

Orality, digital media, and the arts are vital for sharing the Good News, echoing how God uses artistic expressions. Digital media empowers oral-preference communicators to engage without relying on text-based learning. This OTJ issue highlights insights from media and art experts, with practical examples from Southeast Asia and Africa, and concludes with interviews showcasing the transformative power of orality.

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Orality and the Impact of Media

William Snider — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:55 +0000

Orality and media intersect as digital media reshapes oral traditions and communication practices, extending reach and creating new forms of engagement. Drawing from 30 years in Asia and experience in digital ministry, this article highlights how media amplifies the Gospel by addressing orality, particularly among audiences resistant to text-based methods. Using Paul’s strategy of cultural adaptation, digital platforms emerge as “common ground” for evangelism. Media allows preservation and contextualization, enhancing storytelling and connecting to cultural practices. Practical approaches, such as local leadership training, empower communities and create lasting digital ministries adaptable to diverse cultural needs.

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Orality and Religious Media in the Digital Age

Joshua Adebayo Adesina — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:43 +0000

This study explores the intersection of orality and religious media in the digital landscape, focusing on how oral traditions adapt to digital platforms, the influence of digital media on religious communities, and the ethical challenges and prospects of this digital transformation. Utilizing a methodology that combines secondary data analysis of existing literature, including books, journals, and magazines, with observational research, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state and trajectory of religious expression in the digital age. It reveals that while digital media offers new avenues for disseminating and preserving oral traditions, it also poses significant challenges to the authenticity and integrity of these practices. The impact on religious communities is profound, with digital media acting both as a tool for enhanced engagement and as a potential source of fragmentation. Ethical considerations arise from the digital divide and the commodification of sacred oral content. The paper identifies key trends that will shape the future of orality in religious media, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that honors tradition while embracing innovation. The findings of this study contribute to the broader discourse on digital media’s role in cultural preservation and community dynamics, offering insights for scholars, religious leaders, and media practitioners alike.

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More Local Ways for Praise: Local Arts for Mission & Ministry

Younhee Deborah Kim — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:31 +0000

The Gospel is a message that must be delivered in ways that resonate with diverse cultural backgrounds. This article explores how local arts provide a powerful and beautiful medium for conveying the Gospel across varied cultures, reaching people’s hearts through familiar expressions. It also introduces the role of ethnodoxology, which aids in understanding how Christians engage with God through their own cultural expressions. Ethnodoxologists encourage the use of local arts as a language of worship that aligns with biblical principles and deepens cultural connections. Through case studies from Africa, Asia, and Europe, this article demonstrates how Christians can foster unique local artistic expressions to enrich worship and encourage people to see their cultural heritage as a means of connecting with the gospel message.

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The Transformative Power of Orality in Campus Ministry

Jaycel Sumayog Andong — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:20 +0000

This interview with Jaycel explores her role and the transformative impact of orality on her ministry. Jaycel highlights her use of orality techniques in Bible studies and retreats, which made sessions more engaging for students, fostering creativity and a deeper connection with the Gospel. She notes that orality principles have encouraged students to be more active and share their thoughts more freely during Bible studies. Jaycel envisions applying orality principles more broadly and recommends the training, which equips ministry leaders to communicate the Word of God creatively.

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The Transformative Power of Storytelling

Nerimil Ella Saguin — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:09 +0000

Discover how a coach with Spoken Worldwide uses storytelling to share the Bible in a way that engages listeners deeply. Through the “Spoken methodology,” she asks questions that invite people to explore God’s Word themselves, connecting with it personally. “I’m not the ‘teacher’ but a storyteller and facilitator,” she explains, emphasizing that storytelling fosters discovery and transformation. By using questions, images, and role-playing, Ella empowers her audiences to experience and share the Gospel naturally.

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Engeging Oral People with Digital Media

William Snider and Jonah Jala — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:16:41 +0000

Digital media and orality go hand in hand. In this talk, Bill Snider explains how social media affects orality, using two interesting examples. Jonah Jala, in her presentation, shows how disciple-making can happen in a digital world, offering practical insights on how it works today.

Read the related journal article.

Check out further resources about orality and digital media at OralityResources.International.

Resources

More Local Ways for Praise: Arts for Mission & Ministry

Younhee Deborah Kim and Oluseyi David Ige — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 04:13:57 +0000

What are local arts? Why should we consider them for praise and mission? How does one effectively utilize them to proclaim God’s truth and communicate His love to others? Deborah and David, artists and ethnodoxologists, share their stories and insights of how they weave music and songs, movement and dances, color and fabric, and other artistic forms in their ministry and worship. The discussion of this webinar demonstrates that using our God-given creativity through the arts multiplies the impact of the kingdom message.

Read the related journal article.

Check out further resources about this topic at OralityResources.International.

Resources

More research on Arts on GOMAP and corresponding training materials on the I-OS website.

The OralityTalks Journal: Orality as Holistic Communication

Charles Madinger — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 07:38:56 +0000

Orality reflects how God designed us to communicate, using all five senses and engaging the whole person within a cultural context. The term often focuses on hearing and speaking, which can exclude some groups. A holistic approach sees orality as expressing thoughts and emotions through various means. By identifying orality traits across people groups, we can create effective communication strategies. This issue of Orality Talks Journal explores these insights and methods.

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Discipleship in Oral Preference Cultures

W. Jay Moon — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 07:37:04 +0000

There are many indigenous genres available that are often overlooked for discipleship in oral preference cultures. This article explores both the Sicangu Lakota Native American culture as well as the Builsa culture in Ghana, West Africa to demonstrate the value and use of indigenous symbols, rituals, dance, proverbs, songs and stories for contextualized approaches to discipleship. Drawing from various anthropological theories, examples are provided to demonstrate how these oral genres can address excluded middle issues in order to create missiological transformation. Since these indigenous genres are embedded in culture, wise disciple makers can apply this discipleship approach for the formation of cultural and biblical identity. In the process, this can help disciples overcome the common dangers of both syncretism and split-level Christianity.

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The Iron Law of Communication

Wayne Dye — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 07:36:38 +0000

Miscommunication is a common problem in human interaction; tragically, sometimes even the Gospel is misunderstood. The root cause of most interpersonal misunderstandings is not failure to hear words that are said but differences in the cognitive environments of the speaker and hearer. Their cognitive environments are made up of their language, culture, personal histories, and their evaluation of the immediate situation between speaker and hearer. How this happens is made clear through an example of miscommunication between two people with broadly the same background. The problem is ubiquitous; without exception, every conversation depends on an adequate match between the cognitive environments of speakers and hearers. The problem can be overcome by a combination of learning about the cognitive environment of the hearer before a conversation, two-way communication, and thoughtful listening to the hearer’s responses. It also requires building on common human experiences. Because the process of learning from stories is built on common human experiences, stories are a significant way to overcome the problem of the iron law of communication.

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