Thursday, July 17, 2008

tangible kingdom. week one.

thoughts. opinions. ah-hah's. things you already know but agree or don't agree with...


as you ponder the metaphor of the sailor, the village, the wreckage, and the people, reflect on your own experience from the church. What aspects have been meaningful, and which experiences do you hope to put behind you?

describe some times in your life when you've wanted to tap out on God and the activities of the church.

describe the last time your heart broke for someone.

Matthew 5:13 - what are some ways you believe we're losing our saltiness?

what do you think the increasing disinterest of the culture toward church means for the future of the church?

do you feel tensions about your faith?

have you noticed the Jerusalem and Galilean distinctions in your own church experience? How?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey. what's the deal? are we reading this?

i get the book today...according to amazon. i plan on readying it when i get back from the john mayer concert!

Josh, what are your thoughts on the first few chaps?

_Ben

yesh said...

i don't think everyone has their book yet.

how was the concert? you should check out Josh Ritter, you'd like him.

So how I stumbled upon this book was checking out Rick McKinley's blog. How I stumbled upon Rick McKinley's blog was from reading his book "This beautiful Mess." How I stumbled upon "this Beautiful Mess" was from reading "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller who attends Rick McKinley's church in Oregon. And all this began when someone was moved by the writings and words of Donald Miller. Thank you Ben!

One of the very first things that I want to say is that I do by no means think there is one right way for God's body to gather together. So with anything that is said, it's not personal nor is suggested that I'm bashing God's body or how God's body is gathered. I want to be honest with the way I feel and I hope everyone else will do the same. So please forgive me if I step on some toes.

this book has made me question my role in the church. it moved me to desire the Kingdom of God here and now. Applying this to the boat metaphor I see soo many people shipwrecked from past church experiences and I want to help change that for them. For some Christians I don't think they even have a clue. I know what it looks like for me personally but what does the Kingdom of God look like in community? I want to seek this out and live in it.