The Cost of Discipleship

In the introduction of The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes about denominationalism saying: "Behind all the slogans and catchwords of ecclesiastical controversy, necessary though they are, there arises a more determined quest for him who is the sole object of it all, for Jesus Christ himself. What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? How can he help us to be good Christians in the modern world? In the last resort, what we want to know is not, what would this or that man, or this or that church, have of us but what Jesus Christ himself wants of us"

As Presbyterian Theologians I believe that we value ecclesiastical conversations because by engaging other views we are forced to examine our own beliefs and ultimately coming to the same conclusion that Bonhoeffer himself came to in that the ecclesiastical conversation itself hones our focus on our own relationship with Christ and how that relationship is realized every day.

The Questions for Good Hope Dead Theologians are how do we engage in ecclesiastical conversations and should we?