In a fantastic essay delivered after September 11 to an
American audience, Katongole explores the tragedies faced by communities
throughout the world and shows that tragedies are daily occurrences worldwide.
He states that “all I intend to do is
locate September 11^th within a global context of suffering.”

Earlier he stated that, “there
is perhaps no greater ethical and theological challenge than the cultivation of
a global imagination.”

I won’t aim to follow his whole discussion but I do want to
quote a passage that resonated with me – and it pertains to the language of
conversation.

Katangole writes that,

“ … I realize that the
notion of ‘conversation’ just as of ‘dialogue’ can be very fashionable, and in
our entertainment-centered world might simply lead to an ‘abundance of
irrelevant information.’ That is why, for it not to be trivial, but ethically
constructive, the conversation must be grounded in and sustained by concrete
practices that both sustain and embody a substantive global imagination.”p.64

Now in these words of Katongole I find a lot of food for
thought that can lead to action. 
What does conferences really do? 
What does worship experiences and preaching (now called conversations)
really do?  What would happen if we
allowed ourselves to converse about those things that we’re involved with where
our feet touches the actual ground and where we’re engaged in actual practices.

I propose … conversa©tions … conversations that
lead to actions and actions that leads to conversations.