After five years of bad attitude and an ear-splitting squawk, our Senegal parrot named Aquinas hasn't yet learned any words or cute whistles. In fact, he has managed to mimic only one distinct sound: he can beep just like the microwave. Sadly, this may say more about the frequency of microwaved meals coming out of the Sweet kitchen than it does about his ability to learn the precise frequency of the microwave beeper. But at least Aquinas did listen and learn something.

The big thing today in seminary is learning to become active listeners. Active listening is a technique used by the listener that enables the talker to reveal more or say what they really need to say, without cutting off any directions the dialogue may take. The listener learns to make comments back to the speaker that conf…