A healthy congregation is one whose members cultivate a culture of direct communication while practicing deep listening and loving speech. In this way, language is used to open-up meaning rather than used to demean an idea or a person. It is not only about the words we use but who we address. Indirect communication, for example, can foster a culture of gossip, secrecy and suspicion, which prevents us from achieving the goal of transparency. Direct communication will be one of the spiritual practices Rev. Nate explores in the sermon entitled, "Language as a Generative Act," a term used in the Newfeld communication model. For a sample "Communication Toolkit" please visit http://philauu.org/page/communication-toolkit