C. Christopher Smith (MA, Indiana University) is a writer, community developer, and founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is coauthor of the award-winning book Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus and the author of Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Indianapolis Star, HuffPost, Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Relevant, and Sojourners. Smith lives on the urban Near Eastside of Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is a longtime member of Englewood Christian Church, a congregation that has been learning to talk together for over two decades.

• ContentsIntroduction: We Are Conversational Bodies1. Orienting Ourselves for the Journey: Theological Roots of Conversation Part 1: Setting Out on the Journey2. Learning the Dynamics of Conversation3. What Will We Talk About?4. The Healing Potential of Conversational MethodsPart 2: A Spirituality for the Journey5. Conversation as a Prayerful Way of Being6. Abiding in the Messiness of Life7. Preparing Our Whole Selves for ConversationPart 3: Sustaining the Journey8. Cultivating a Sense of Mission and Identity9. Sustaining Conversation through Conflict10. Enmeshing Ourselves in the Dance of CommunityConclusion: Conversational Bodies Bearing WitnessAppendix A: Sample Conversational Ground RulesAppendix B: Additional Resources on Conversational MethodsAppendix C: Finding Common Ground in Conversations on Sexuality

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C. Christopher Smith (MA, Indiana University) is a writer, community developer, and founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is coauthor of the award-winning book Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus and the author of Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Indianapolis Star, HuffPost, Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Relevant, and Sojourners. Smith lives on the urban Near Eastside of Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is a longtime member of Englewood Christian Church, a congregation that has been learning to talk together for over two decades.

• ContentsIntroduction: We Are Conversational Bodies1. Orienting Ourselves for the Journey: Theological Roots of Conversation Part 1: Setting Out on the Journey2. Learning the Dynamics of Conversation3. What Will We Talk About?4. The Healing Potential of Conversational MethodsPart 2: A Spirituality for the Journey5. Conversation as a Prayerful Way of Being6. Abiding in the Messiness of Life7. Preparing Our Whole Selves for ConversationPart 3: Sustaining the Journey8. Cultivating a Sense of Mission and Identity9. Sustaining Conversation through Conflict10. Enmeshing Ourselves in the Dance of CommunityConclusion: Conversational Bodies Bearing WitnessAppendix A: Sample Conversational Ground RulesAppendix B: Additional Resources on Conversational MethodsAppendix C: Finding Common Ground in Conversations on Sexuality

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C. Christopher Smith (MA, Indiana University) is a writer, community developer, and founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is coauthor of the award-winning book Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus and the author of Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Indianapolis Star, HuffPost, Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Relevant, and Sojourners. Smith lives on the urban Near Eastside of Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is a longtime member of Englewood Christian Church, a congregation that has been learning to talk together for over two decades.

• ContentsIntroduction: We Are Conversational Bodies1. Orienting Ourselves for the Journey: Theological Roots of Conversation Part 1: Setting Out on the Journey2. Learning the Dynamics of Conversation3. What Will We Talk About?4. The Healing Potential of Conversational MethodsPart 2: A Spirituality for the Journey5. Conversation as a Prayerful Way of Being6. Abiding in the Messiness of Life7. Preparing Our Whole Selves for ConversationPart 3: Sustaining the Journey8. Cultivating a Sense of Mission and Identity9. Sustaining Conversation through Conflict10. Enmeshing Ourselves in the Dance of CommunityConclusion: Conversational Bodies Bearing WitnessAppendix A: Sample Conversational Ground RulesAppendix B: Additional Resources on Conversational MethodsAppendix C: Finding Common Ground in Conversations on Sexuality

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