Dialogical preaching is a practice in which the preacher invites everyone present to participate throughout the sermon by asking questions and weaving invitations for discussion throughout the sermon. At Refuge, this looks like the preacher sitting down on level ground with the congregation, in the round, rather than in rows facing an elevated pulpit, platform or stage. Since we gather in living rooms and park shelters, this practice makes sense for our space(s), but its significance extends far beyond necessity.

In dialogical sermons, people are encouraged to wrestle with the Scripture, the world as it is, and the world as it could be. We shape the sermon together, as the Spirit works in and through us. This practice invites everyone present to bring their entire selves to the gathering — their emotions, struggles, hopes, experiences, and doubts. There is room for questions and interruptions in this non-hierarchical form. We’ve found that this vulnerable practice opens us to other perspectives beyond one person’s voice and helps form us into a community where all are welcomed, nurtured, and known.

Can I listen to a recording of a sermon from Refuge?

The short answer is “no.” We don’t record our sermons at Refuge with any regularity. Our space changes frequently, typically with less-than-ideal recording conditions (imagine the quiet hum of a dishwasher, toddler babble, and a neighbor mowing a lawn two doors down). In addition, with dialogical preaching, the entire community participates and shapes the sermon. People engage and share, often quite vulnerably from their own stories, experiences, even struggles. Fostering an environment that encourages this kind of deep community and spiritual formation requires trust and risk. It’s a lot easier to share when you only have to consider the bodies in the room you’re in at that moment, instead of the wide world of the internet.