1. Invitation to the Dialogue

1. “If Church Doesn’t Work For You and You Desire to Dialogue about the Spiritual Themes in this Movie Meet in Coffee Shop”
2. Build partnership with theater & coffee shop management – try to make this a win-win for everyone
3. Reduce as much anxiety as possible

2. Creating a Safe Place for Spiritual Dialogue

1. Assess group’s spiritual appetite – based on group number you might invite them into small groups for this dialogue but sometime this doesn’t seem to be appropriate or safe for some. Have to follow intuition and discernment at this point.
   1. “What brings you to this dialogue?
   2. “What would make this a meaningful experience for you?”
   3. “What would reduce the meaningfulness of this experience for you?
2. If introductions seem appropriate introduce by first names – no church affiliation mentioned unless basically a churched crowd
3. Don’t set anyone up as ‘spiritual authority’ – provide open questions to discern what phase of discipleship they are in and where they may be interested in moving? (Come & See, Come & Follow Me, Come & Be With Me, Abide in Me)

3. Provide each participant 2 blank 3X5 cards for them to use as they choose. Write questions for the group, notes from the dialogue they want to recall, place to write their contact info, email etc. Two cards are in case they want to keep one and give you one. Provide them some contact info for you – email usually best.

4. Review and suggest websites that might help connect faith and media for them. (See my suggested list of resources)

5. Coaching Questions that facilitate a non-threatening but meaningful spiritual formation dialogue for the spiritually thirsty unchurched persons.

1. What was most meaningful for you in the film?
2. Can you help us understand how this was meaningful for you?
3. What questions did the film leave you pondering?
4. How do you plan to find answers to these questions?
5. Could this group or someone in this group possibly help with this search for deeper meaning?
6. What feelings did the movie create for you?
7. What memories were called to mind from viewing the movie?
8. What questions did the movie create for you? Your belief system?
9. What was missing for you in the movie?
10. What gaps did the movie create for your belief system?
11. What life experiences have you had that mirror in some way the movie themes?
12. If you could rewrite the ending how would you rewrite it?
13. What character in the movie did you relate to the most? (the least?)
14. What are you taking away from the movie viewing or this group dialogue?
15. What might be some next steps for you as you move forward in your spiritual journey?
16. What narrative from your belief system informs or is challenged by the movie?
17. How are you encountering truth in the movie and how does it intersect with your belief system?
18. What are the stories and principles for living from your belief system that are magnified or challenged in the movie?
19. How do you plan to deal with these realities or challenges?

© Held by Eddie Hammett www.transformingsolutions.org Author of Reframing Spiritual Formation: Discipleship for an Unchurched Culture

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