The Virtue of Dialogue: Becoming a Thriving Church through Conversation

by C Christopher Smith

Overview

A moving account of how one church learned to center their life together around the practice of conversation and became a beacon of hope along the way.

Englewood Christian Church was once a thriving megachurch, but as its surrounding urban neighborhood declined, so did the church.

Today, both the church and neighborhood are thriving, and ECC's impact far outweighs the size of its congregation. The ECC story upends the common wisdom about "best practices" for churches that want to participate in cultivating God's kingdom.

How did they do it? Through conversation.

The Virtue of Dialogue tells that story. You'll come away with a renewed vision for how the practice of conversation-though never easy-is essential for both congregational formation and deeper rootedness in your place.

"This little book could be revolutionary for your own faith community." -Scot McKnight, author of A Church Called Tov

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781934406199
Publisher:	Englewood Press
Publication date:	03/25/2025
Series:	Cultivating Communities , #2
Pages:	82
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

C. Christopher Smith is a member of the Englewood Christian Church community and editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He and his wife Jeni have three adult children and live in a house across the parking lot from the Englewood church building, which they have shared with a number of church members over the years. In addition to editing The Englewood Review of Books, Chris is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Slow Church (2014, co-authored with John Pattison) and his most recent, How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (2019). All of his work-reading, writing, speaking-focuses on helping congregations cultivate a deeper life together by reading, thinking, imagining, and most importantly, by talking together. He regularly teaches these interwoven practices in congregational, academic, denominational, and ecumenical settings.