Great question. I have felt like in this series and in this discussion we sort of have to figure out why and how we ask the questions first before we jump into the scriptures. You see, it is too easy for a pastor/teacher to set up a scenario where we simply set up a question and then show you the solution. It is clean, it is nice, and we all go home feeling like there are no loose ends. But is tha...  Read More

Do you follow the Bible? I think we all want to. There was a journalist by the name of A.J. Jacobs, who wrote a book called; “The Year of Living Biblically.” and I got a chance to hear him speak after I read the book. It was fascinating. He was an interesting guy and had written articles about outsourcing his life for a month and other interesting experiences. But on this one, he decided that he w...  Read More

INTROThe 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.OPENWhen you were a child, was there something you believed in with all your heart that you later learned wasn’t real?  If so, share what it was and how you felt when you found out the truth?HEADRead John 20: 24-29 and ...  Read More

As we finish this first week of dipping our toes into the deconstruction pool, I want you to understand a bottom line that I think is important: “I can choose to trust God with a childlike trust regardless of how certain I feel.” (Peter Enns, The Sin of Certainty).Quite a while ago, Rob Bell wrote a book called The Velvet Elvis. It was pretty widely acclaimed and seemed to bring in a new era of Ch...  Read More

Orthodoxy, in its simplest definition, is right thinking. And we were taught to think rightly, or correctly, or whatever. From my first memory of church, we were taught to think about God correctly. Who he was, what he wanted, how he wanted it, and how I fit into his plan, that was definitely for me in particular. All of these things were what we were taught. And that is okay, I mean, maybe that i...  Read More

Thus far, we haven’t encountered much scripture. I hope that is okay. Through the Elemental series, we have to set the background for what we are attempting to take on. The growth that is needed is not simply coming from Scripture, but it is also coming from the community of Christ, it is coming from those who have wrestled with many of these ideas before you, and it is coming from our shared expe...  Read More