When the disciples began to follow Jesus, they seemed to experience a life that was not exactly what they were looking for. In fact, in Matthew 8 Jesus talks about how difficult following will be. They should not expect even shelter or food. This is the cost of discipleship, and it is pretty steep. Perhaps part of the problem with our confusion about what a life of faith will entail is that we hav...  Read More

Some fear deconstruction because they are afraid they might lose their faith. However, we are confronted with a much greater issue; the fact that the faith of many people is simply slipping away. Without delving into the deeper questions that we might have, faith becomes more and more irrelevant to our lives and then we simply move on from a very frustrating relationship with faith, church, and so...  Read More

When we deconstruct our faith, it is certainly not always a loss of faith. Rather, it is a reconfiguring and reworking of some of those universal understandings. It is also an opportunity to look at the bigger picture, where God resides, and see if our worldview matches with that of God’s as far as we can know it. It is also an opportunity to take a look at your faith and the assumptions that have...  Read More

INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENThink about and share a time when you were incredibly blessed by the reading of God’s Word and then share a time when you found it to be challenging.HEADThis week we invite you to Read, Re-Read, or Review the...  Read More

I was recently watching the movie Silence, about 17th-century priests and their journeys to Japan. It is a difficult movie and quite brutal. It is not a simple watch and the book by Shūsaku Endō i is just as fascinating and compelling. But there was one scene where a former priest who had apostatized and a current priest were speaking. The former priest was making the case that the Japanese Christ...  Read More

Once you have sorted out what you believe scripture to be in your life, then it is time to come up with a plan on how you are going to approach this confusing and creative, and calculating series of books. Without a plan, you will probably flounder rather than flourish in your study. Here are a few practical ways that you can begin to make a plan. Find space. If you are anything like me, I love ha...  Read More