This Is My Beloved Community/Where Is The Justice? (Week 4)

(Make sure that you’re caught up with prior week’s questions & conversations before posting here!)

Because we read Chapter 4 together and had some good discussion I would like to focus mainly on Chapter 5.  However, I think there are some things that we can still keep in mind from Chapter 4.

To begin with, the very first story in chapter four is a great example of people learning from one another.  This is a huge part of community…people learning from you and you learning from others.  Having a mentor, such as Amy and Duffy in this story is a way for this to be accomplished.  Do you have a mentor in your life?  If not, I would encourage you to think about who you could ask to walk with you and challenge you and you could ask questions of.  Your small group leader or even your C2 leader could be good places to start.

In Chapter 5, what story most stuck out to you?  Why did this story stick out to you?

Justice is a central theme in the Bible.  The basic principle of justice is pursuing things to be as God designed them to be.  Where there is inequality, God desires equality.  Where there is brokenness, God desires healing and wholeness.  Where there is discrimination, God desires unity.  Throughout the Scriptures, God says that more important than the worship rituals we perform is the way we live our life by coming alongside the poor, the broken, the immigrant, the orphan (Proverbs 21:13, 29:7, Isaiah 1:17, 58:10, Psalm 82:3-4, Deuteronomy 10:18, Luke 4:18, Matthew 25:35 and I John 3:17-18 just to name a few). 

As I read through this book, I can see, especially in this chapter, these principles coming to life through the stories.  And each chapter has a way of challenging me each week.  I hope that you are also having this experience as you continue to read.

Read a few (2-3) of the verses listed above.  What do they seem to say about God’s heart?

From these two chapters, can you think of some ways that our team could model or become a ‘beloved community?’

What’s So Beloved About Community (Week 3)

(Make sure that you’ve posted and responded to the first two weeks posts before continuing with this week.)

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your comments and thoughts the past couple weeks.  Thank you for being honest with your responses and dialoguing with each other. 

Here are the questions for this week:

What is something that stuck with you from the reading this week? Or something that grabbed your attention and made you think?  What are some ideas from this chapter that we should consider as we live in community this summer in Downtown Canton?

What’s a community that you feel connected to and loved by?  How do you feel connected to this community?  What are the things that make this community good?  What are things that could be done (either by yourself or by others) to make the community even better?

My favorite story out of this chapter is Anne’s story.  She makes some really great observations about what other people are teaching her through the way that they live.  What is something that you have learned recently from someone through the way that they live? 

For this Sunday, we will be reading Chapter 4 together so make sure that you have your book with you Sunday morning!  Looking forward to more discussion…hope you are having a wonderful week

This is My Neighbor (week 2)

If you’re reading this & you have not blogged about the first chapter (Who Is My Neighbor?) yet, please go do that first!  Also, don’t forget to participate in the discussion on last week’s questions.  You need to comment on at least 2 teammates posts.

I hope you are all having a fantastic week and found the reading this week to be interesting and thought provoking.  Here are the questions for this week…

Why do you think the one story (‘Towel Dry Conversations’) says “I am also aware that to Jesus I probably look a lot like Bobby, and He still takes time to listen.”?  How does this statement make you feel?

The overall question of last week’s reading was “Who Is My Neighbor?”  In this week’s reading we read several stories about who Leroy (and his friends) have as neighbors.  Short stories of how they embraced individuals as neighbors in their lives by loving, caring, listening, and being with them.  So how about you?  Tell us a story of someone who has been your neighbor…either that you cared for like William & the guys that threw the party for Fernando or someone like Mrs. Bishop who cared for and listened to Claire.

See you all on Sunday! (if not before…if you are joining us at The Gathering on Friday night)  Come Sunday ready to discuss our reading and have some more fun as a team!

Who Is My Neighbor? (week 1, 2011)

So…Here we go, our first official blog post for the Canton Trip!

I am thrilled that each one of you is coming on the trip this summer.  I know that Canton may not be the first place that pops into your minds when you think of a missions trip, but I think that God has a lot in store for us this summer and the fact that we are staying in close to home only adds to what God can teach us and how He can use us!  And it all begins with us reading our book and meeting on Sunday mornings.

So let’s begin…Each week I will have a couple questions on here for you.  Please take a few moments and respond to them below by leaving a comment (so that I can know who is posting please include your first name and last initial on the comment).  Along with answering the question posed here take a few moments to also go back to the previous week’s blog and read what other’s have written and respond/interact with them.  Be honest when you are responding to your teammates thoughts…and take your time.  This time should allow us to build relationships and trust in each other.  There is no limit in how much you have to write (so write lots!) but please take your time …the more you think through it, the more it will help you be prepared!

For this week’s reading…Think of a time in your life when you were suprised by someone like Matthew Fowler was (pg 29).  What was your initial reaction?  And how did you leave the situation feeling?

Take some time to think about how you respond to people who live in poverty and to homeless people in light of what you read this week.  What do you think the 6 stories this week tell us about who our neighbors are?  What is something that stuck out to you?

Canton 2011

So here it is…the place where we will be meeting throughout the week to share our ideas, thoughts, questions and so on about our book and our upcoming trip!  Glad you found it and so excited for us to get started.