0:00:10.567,0:00:13.901 What I want to talk about this morning [br]is remarkable phenomenon 0:00:14.031,0:00:16.833 that people not only talk to God 0:00:16.853,0:00:20.553 but they learn to experience[br]God is talking back 0:00:22.012,0:00:25.862 Many many Americans are involved,[br]and many other people 0:00:25.884,0:00:29.334 are involved, as you may call, [br]in a renewalist spirituality - 0:00:29.866,0:00:33.187 a kind of spirituality[br]which they want to experience God 0:00:33.187,0:00:36.497 intimately, personally and interactively; 0:00:36.781,0:00:40.151 they want to reach out, [br]touch the Divine here on earth 0:00:40.566,0:00:43.186 I want to find out how they did that. 0:00:44.368,0:00:45.688 I am anthropologist, 0:00:46.368,0:00:49.788 my job is to immerse myself in[br]the world I come to study, 0:00:50.168,0:00:51.938 and to keep observing 0:00:52.105,0:00:55.557 so that at some degree,[br]I got a sense of what it take to 0:00:55.557,0:00:57.407 become a Native in that world. 0:00:57.937,0:01:00.127 Unlike Margret Mead &[br]Rev. Gregory Bateson 0:01:00.127,0:01:02.276 were pictured here in Papua New Guinea. 0:01:02.366,0:01:03.976 I did this work in America. 0:01:04.383,0:01:07.673 I spent two years [br]in the renewalist church in Chicago, 0:01:07.985,0:01:11.265 another two years[br]in one of the Bay area. 0:01:11.387,0:01:13.119 I went to Sunday Morning services. 0:01:13.119,0:01:16.292 I was a member of House Group.[br]I was in the prayer's circle. 0:01:16.292,0:01:17.622 I hang out with people. 0:01:17.622,0:01:18.812 I prayed with people. 0:01:18.812,0:01:22.272 I really want to know how[br]their God became real to them. 0:01:23.472,0:01:25.502 So let me begin by asking, 0:01:25.502,0:01:27.812 who is the God in the church like this? 0:01:27.832,0:01:31.332 God is God, God is big, [br]God is mighty, and holy and beyond, 0:01:32.532,0:01:34.572 but God is also a person among people, 0:01:35.252,0:01:39.222 The Pastor in this kind of church [br]want you to experience God 0:01:39.222,0:01:42.072 the way the earliest cycle of experience Jesus, 0:01:42.154,0:01:43.454 They walked with Jesus. 0:01:43.454,0:01:44.644 They ate with Jesus. 0:01:44.644,0:01:46.024 They talked with Jesus, 0:01:46.024,0:01:47.104 He was their friend, 0:01:47.766,0:01:50.296 And these pastors will tell you that 0:01:51.456,0:01:53.816 You should put out [br]a cup of coffee for God, 0:01:53.967,0:01:55.787 You should have a beer with God 0:01:55.787,0:01:57.697 Go for a walk with God, hang out. 0:01:57.697,0:01:59.397 Do the kind of thing with God 0:01:59.397,0:02:03.207 that you get do with anyone who [br]you want to know as a person. 0:02:03.226,0:02:05.746 He cares about all the stuff [br]in your life. 0:02:06.113,0:02:08.953 the little stuff, where you want to go [br]in your summer vacation; 0:02:08.953,0:02:11.067 what shirt you want to wear [br]tomorrow morning; 0:02:11.067,0:02:12.907 you can talk to him about that. 0:02:14.573,0:02:18.403 So I wanted to know how people[br]learn to interact with God 0:02:18.403,0:02:20.223 and how they felt God [br]speaking back. 0:02:20.223,0:02:23.803 I knew they have learnt because[br]the newcomers came to this church, 0:02:23.803,0:02:25.653 and they would say things like: 0:02:25.653,0:02:27.133 "God does talk to me." 0:02:27.193,0:02:29.723 and then six or eight months later[br]they would say : 0:02:29.793,0:02:34.393 "I recognize God's voice the way I [br]recognize my mum's voice on the phone . " 0:02:36.078,0:02:37.918 But I thought the church teach 0:02:38.368,0:02:40.523 what you should think about your mind 0:02:40.523,0:02:42.933 is not a fortress full of your own [br]self-generated 0:02:42.933,0:02:45.341 thoughts, feelings and images; 0:02:45.361,0:02:49.001 you should think your mind is the place [br]where you will be going to meet the God. 0:02:49.001,0:02:52.681 and then some of thoughts[br]you might think that was yours, 0:02:52.690,0:02:56.280 They were really God's thoughts being given to you 0:02:56.280,0:02:59.760 and your job is to figure out[br]who is God. 0:02:59.782,0:03:04.722 And in fact, people did talk in the way[br]suggested they would have 0:03:06.276,0:03:09.766 as they had experiences [br]that weren't their own. 0:03:09.766,0:03:12.736 A woman said to me as [br]I start to pray in this church: 0:03:12.789,0:03:17.569 "I feels like my mind is a screen that images were projected on. 0:03:18.079,0:03:20.859 Somebody else is controlling[br]that clicker." 0:03:20.972,0:03:25.661 And of course, not all the thoughts[br]would be good candidate 0:03:25.661,0:03:27.501 for the kind of things God would say. 0:03:28.381,0:03:30.840 People would look for thoughts [br]that stood out, 0:03:30.970,0:03:33.370 that was more spontaneous [br]than another thoughts; 0:03:33.370,0:03:36.270 thoughts were louder and[br]captured your attention. 0:03:37.470,0:03:42.380 one women was explaining to me how she learnt to discern God's speaking, 0:03:42.816,0:03:45.476 so the people were praying over her one day, 0:03:45.476,0:03:49.226 and the phrase "go to Kansas" flashed into her mind. 0:03:50.143,0:03:54.143 her parents was living in Kansas, so she was kind of idly thinking about visiting them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but when this thought captured her attention, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it made her say ,you know, made her want to say, where that come from. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so you could imagine there will be risks for this style of discerning God's voice.