Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

invitation to start thinking creatively on how the Bible can be brought into the life of every Christian, how the narratives that we find in the Scripture can become life stories of the church members. Such an objective, to develop a church into a community of interpreters, may seem a scary proposition for some pastors, since it involves taking a risk of losing control over various matters of congregational life.’ Thus, what is required is something that Sharon Welch defines as ethics of risk, instead of ethics of control, ”* where ‘ethical actions are not primarily those that control outcomes and successfully transform the world. Rather, ethical actions are those acts that make possible further 275 resistance.’’> Obviously, | am not comparing members of Russian Baptist churches to the oppressed groups that need liberation, which is the focus of Welch’s work. However, the process of transforming the passive listeners into the community of interpreters requires a sequence of steps, which may bring unexpected results. In addition, it must be emphasised that regardless of the challenges posed by such an unpredictable and open-ended venture, stimulating individual and communal 73 | can illustrate this by sharing a conversation that | had with a pastor of a large Baptist church in Russia few years ago. The conversation took place after their members meeting where the congregation had “appointed” the Church council (or the “Brothers council” as it is traditionally called in Russian Baptist churches). In that process, the church members were not even given an opportunity to nominate their candidates, instead for their affirmation they were presented with a list, drafted by the pastor himself and few of his closest colleagues from the existing “Brothers council” (most of the elders were re-elected at that voting). | asked why they did not trust the church in nominating and voting for potential candidates, thus making this election a truly communal experience guided by the Holy Spirit. The pastor honestly answered, ‘If we do that, they [the members of the church] will certainly vote brother Victor and brother Alexander in, which we [the pastor and the existing members of the council] do not want.’ 74 Sharon D. Welch, A Feminist Ethics of Risk (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1990). ” Campbell develops a notion of ethics of risk in relation to the subject of integrity of preaching, which he presents as an instrument of bringing the message of peace and nonviolent action into the church. (The Word Before the Powers, pp 89-90). 212 engagement with the Scripture is a necessary work of allowing the Holy Spirit to play a greater role in the lives of the church members. Studying the Bible in small groups, Bible classes, creating opportunities for lay members to be involved in preaching and teaching, various activities that both make people interested in reading the Scripture, as well as engaging them