All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. . . each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. (Acts 2:4-6)

 

It was the summer of 1961 and during the entire off-season the Green Bay Packers had been brooding about losing the NFL Championship game.  Now, they were back at practice and their coach, Vince Lombardi famously began with the basics:  "Gentlemen, this is a football." 

 

Part of sabbatical this summer for me was visiting England.  There, where the "going to church era" has been over for far longer than in the United States, congregations are starting with the basics in order to communicate with those who now claim no religious affiliation.  As Ron and I toured cathedrals and worshipped in parish churches, we witnessed the interpretation of Christian theology for those who had no clue what it meant to follow Jesus.

 

When tourists put on headsets that interpreted artwork in the Cathedrals, they also got lessons about what happens at the lectern and what the scriptures mean to the worshipping community.  They heard about the significance of the pulpit and listened to explanations about why Christians gather around the Lord's Table.