Bible Doing

Mrs O and I are excited about February 3.  What a kickoff this is going to be. . . and I'm not talking about professional sports!  On Super Bowl Sunday we're kicking off a new community group for our church, and it's going to have a bit of a different focus.

Well, it's not so much the focus that will be different, but the format.  Every group we've ever attended, including one that we hosted for three years in Maine, was focused on group discussion.  We would meet and study. . . some would call it a Bible Study.  We also had a focus on building community between members, so it had a major social component as well.

Some time ago, I began to think a little bit differently about church.  You can read some background here in a post called "Getting out of church!"  Basically, I began to feel like I was just talking and not doing anything about all the stuff I was talking about.  I was feeling like my week was so full of church events that I didn't have time for anyone outside of my church.  I didn't know how to justify or reconcile my schedule with what I was reading in the Bible.

Then I read some stuff: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus, and Love Does by Bob Goff.  All of these books increased my sense that something about my priorities had gone awry.

So, as suggested by Bob Goff in Love Does, we're starting a Bible Doing.  We're getting folk together with the intention of serving our community on a regular basis.  These opportunities to serve will take the place of some of our discussions.  Our discussions will then be focused on new opportunities and the experiences we have serving.

We're going to start by looking for some 'plug and play' service opportunities where we don't have to re-invent the wheel, but rather plug into organizations that are already going.  We're going to focus on the passions and talents of the group members.  We're going to turn everyday life into a mission trip!

We're not pros yet, but practice makes perfect!

"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the Lord."  Jeremiah 22:10 NIV

Soul Cravings . . . In Review



image courtesy of http://www.erwinmcmanus.com/

Soul Cravings
An Exploration of the Human Spirit
by Erwin Raphael McManus

Must Read: Very thought provoking.  As I read the title in the bookstore amongst the myriad non-fiction books available, I am sure this will be an interesting read.  It turns out, however, to be far more than that.  Every essay, every page, every statement resonates with me in some way.  I like when a book does more than deliver information.  This one inspires profound thought.

This book is a collection of short essays divided up into three sections: Intimacy, Destiny, and Meaning.  As I settle into the comfy bookstore chair with my bride beside me and my decaf in my hand, I start with the introduction.  Right from the beginning I connect with everything McManus is saying.  I don't even feel like I'm reading a book; I feel like I'm writing it myself.  It's like a guided tour of my own thoughts and emotions.   

McManus distinguishes between religion and God.  He also articulates the difference between religion and spirituality.  He addresses our need to be loved for an endless list of 'good reasons' and our seeming discomfort with the concept of unconditional love.  He has an artful way of separating and defining things that are intuitively indistinct.   

As the book progresses, McManus explores the need in every human being to be and feel significant.  He explores the effect of our relationships on our belief system and the effect of our belief system on our view of life.  He quotes psychologist Thane Pittman as inadvertently saying, "I'll see it when I believe it."  Overall, a fascinating investigation into the core of humanity.

The best part, though, is that this book does far more than disseminate information.  Instead of pouring new information into who I am, I would rather say that something was drawn out from within me.  Instead of gaining information that I didn't have before, I gained an awareness of the person I've always been.  I just didn't know me before, like I do now.

See all Must Read books I've reviewed.

*I purchased this book and have not received any compensation from anyone whatsoever for reading or reviewing it.  The thoughts expressed above are my own.