Impacting Our Community

FRIDAY

Main Session 1 - Getting Our Story Straight (The Why) - Matt 28:19-20

  • Getting our STORY (the Gospel) Straight and Why it Matters

  • Telling a Different Story: Sharing the "Good News”

  • Calling People to Follow Jesus as His Apprentices in the Kingdom of God

SATURDAY 

Main Session 2 - Living in Babylon… We're NOT in Jerusalem anymore Toto (The Who) - I Peter 2:9, 11-12

Main Session 3 - Walking through Thresholds (The How) - John 4:4-42

    • Building Trust (Thresholds 1-2) Listening to Their Stories

    • Opening Doors (Thresholds 3-4) Sharing Your Story

    • Inviting Others to be a part of the Storyline of Jesus (Threshold 5) Telling His Story

  • SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

    • In what ways do you demonstrate wisdom in relating to outsiders (nonbelievers)?

    • Since your walk talks louder than your talk talks, what messages would preChristian people get from your “walk”?

    • How willing are you to “pour the gospel” into containers that you wouldn’t be willing to drink from?

    • How can you better build trust buckets with neighbors, work associates, and other unbelieving people?

    • How often do you pop other’s balloons?

    • Write out your story of your faith journey.

    • What 3 questions might you ask to get to know another person on a human level?

  • FOR FURTHER STUDY *

Main Session 4 - Being Wise as Serpents and Innocent as Doves (The Now What) - Colossians  4:2-6

    • Being Wise as Serpents: Engaging in ALL Arenas of Culture with Grace

    • Being Innocent as Doves: Engaging Others with Love, Compassion, and Service.

    • Practical action steps for engaging our community

  • SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

    • In what ways do you notice people being inoculated against Christianity? What can you do?

    • Identify 3 cultural texts, like Paul, that you, being wise as a serpent, could use to

      • Spark curiosity in things that matter to life

      • Ignite conversations about God

      • Kindle deeper thought about Kingdom issues

      • Fan the flame of an engaging conversation

    • Which boat best describes your relationship with culture?

    • Develop a list of “innocent as doves” practices or ideas that you, personally, and y’all, as a church community, need to

      • Keep doing (that are working)

      • Improve actions that aren’t working but need to

      • Stop doing (that are not helping or working)

      • Start doing? Brainstorm this list. Come up with at least 5 ideas.

    • HOMEWORK:

      • Identify a cultural text (It could be a movie, song, piece of art, social media practice or platform, a national pastime, or common American activity). Work through the process with the cultural text using:

      • Chan’s Model

        • Read/engage the text on its own terms and describe it

        • Understand it

        • Empathize with it

        • Deconstruct it

        • Answer: How does the Gospel answer this existential cry and storyline?

        • Speak the gospel

      • Mueller’s Model

        • Discover - Discovery is the process of thoughtfully and carefully listening/ watching to hear/see the underlying worldview of the music, movie, or media source

        • Discern -Discernment is the practice of looking more closely at what you discovered, and distinguishing those things God says are good [and] true… from those things God says are…false, dangerous, and wrong

        • Decide -Decide is the stage where students determine if they are going watch/listen to the media and how, if any, ministry value it may have that will help them to reach their friends in the culture. (Mueller, 3D Guide).

      • How would being wise as a serpent be helpful here?

  • FOR FURTHER STUDY *

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About me

NOTE: * I don’t agree with everything in these resources. They are to spur your thinking deeper in these subjects.