Way of Life Leader Guide: A Study Based on the The Great Spiritual Migration - Softcover

Mclaren, Brian D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501847716 ISBN 13: 9781501847714

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

The study Way of Life will help groups approach and engage the spiritual, theological, and missional proposals in Brian McLaren's book The Great Spiritual Migration. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the four-week study including session plans and discussion questions, scripture, prayer, opening activities as well as multiple format options.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for "a new kind of Christianity" - just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow, a contributor to We Stand With Love, and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors and church planters.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Way of Life Leader Guide

A Study Based on The Great Spiritual Migration

By Brian D. McLaren, Lori Jones

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-4771-4

Contents

To the Leader, 
Session 1: A Better Way to Be Christian, 
Session 2: From a System of Beliefs to a Way of Life, 
Session 3: Toward a Loving God of Liberation, 
Session 4: For the Common Good, 

CHAPTER 1

Session 1

A Better Way to Be Christian

Planning the Session

Session Goals

Through this session's discussion and activities, participants will be encouraged to

• consider the need for Christianity to migrate spiritually, theologically, and missionally;

• think about how God is calling them to migrate in their spiritual lives;

• discover what it means to fight for our faith, not just for a system of beliefs;

• realize how the Lord has equipped us in this fight; and

• receive the call to move forward to transform our faith into one that mirrors the life and teachings of Jesus.

Preparation

• Read and reflect on the Preface and Introduction in The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World's Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian by Brian McLaren.

• Read through this session outline in its entirety to familiarize yourself with the material being covered. Be aware that there is a lot of material that can be covered within this session, so try to balance your discussion and group activity times. Choose the session elements you will use during the group session, including the specific discussion questions you plan to cover. Be prepared, however, to adjust the session as group members interact and as questions arise. Prepare carefully, but allow space for the Holy Spirit to move in and through the group members and through you as facilitator.

• Read and reflect on the following Scriptures:

Genesis 12:1-9

2 Corinthians 5:7

2 Timothy 1:14

1 Timothy 6:12

Jude 1:3

Matthew 23:25-28

Ephesians 6:10-18

Matthew 13:1-3, 45-46

• Have a markerboard or large sheet of paper available for recording group members' ideas.

• Have a Bible, paper for taking notes, and a pen or pencil available for every participant.

Opening Activity and Prayer (5–10 MINUTES)

As participants arrive, welcome them to this study. Depending on how familiar participants are with each other, you might want to spend a few minutes introducing yourselves and sharing why you were interested in doing this study.

Read aloud or summarize:

As we begin this study, we are going to start by talking about change, and the way humans have changed and adapted throughout the history of humanity.

For discussion (ask one or more of the following questions, depending on time):

• If you have studied your family's genealogy, what have you discovered about how your family got from one place to another? Do you have any insight into why they decided to move where they did? What did it mean for them to uproot and then put down new roots?

• What has been the physical migration of your life? If you were to track your physical migration from place to place, how would you describe your movement? Why did you move, or why did you stay?

• How would you describe your religious migration?

Opening Prayer

Lord, we are here today because we want more of you in our lives and in our religion. As we meet together today, guide our conversation, open our hearts, and give us ears to hear what you have for us to hear today. Speak to us, Lord. Move in us, and draw us closer to your heart every day. Amen.

DVD Segment (15 MINUTES)

Study and Discussion (35–40 MINUTES)

The Great Migration

Read aloud or summarize:

Brian McLaren's book The Great Spiritual Migration begins, "The human story is a tale of people in motion."

From the very beginning, humans have always been on the move, searching for the best places for them to be nourished and safe, living in the tension of when to settle down and when to move on. As they moved from location to location, and with each season, the people had to ask, "Do we stay, or do we go?"

Given our nomadic roots, McLaren turns the discussion in the DVD segment from physical migration to what it might mean to migrate spiritually. When do we stay, and when do we go? McLaren says he finds it strange how religious people tend to settle down and stop moving, stop dreaming, stop questioning, stop exploring. We tend to trade the adventurous pathway of following Jesus for the heavy architecture of the religious industrial complex.

In the introduction, McLaren makes a bold claim: Christianity is in need of change. It needs a migration from a system of beliefs to a way of life based on love.

For discussion:

• Imagine that two men move onto neighboring lands. One builds a castle to live in, while the other pitches a tent and settles in. What do you imagine is each man's philosophy or outlook on his life? What do you think each man thinks of the other and his choices?

• McLaren asserts that, when it comes to matters of faith, religious people tend to settle down and stop questioning and exploring. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

• What do you think is the status of the modern church — does it seem to be static or fluid? How would you describe it?

• Do you think a spiritual migration is needed in Christianity? Why or why not?

Read aloud Genesis 12:1-9:

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your land, your family, and your father's household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, those who curse you I will curse; all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you."

Abram left just as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions, and those who became members of their household in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites lived in the land at that time. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I give this land to your descendants," so Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. From there he traveled toward the mountains east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshipped in the Lord's name. Then Abram set out toward the arid southern plain, making and breaking camp as he went.

Genesis 12:1-9

For discussion:

• In Genesis 12:1-9, God says to Abraham, go to the place "I will show you." Abraham packed up his family and their home and set off, not knowing where he was going or what he would even do when he got there. He was told to simply go, in faith that God had a path for him. And he went. What does it typically take for you to make a move? If you were Abraham, how do you think you would have responded? What would have to motivate you to go?

• When the Lord tells you to move, but doesn't reveal how things will turn...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1501847716
• ISBN 13: 9781501847714
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 64
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar