What kind of a community is this?  Why is it necessary?

 

There are countless self-help books, with very different types of advice.   This begs the question… What, if anything, actually transforms a human being from the inside out?  Jesus had an answer for that.  A three-fold answer. 

 

First, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the miracle of the second birth discussed throughout the New Testament.  However, the Biblical teaching is that this birth is…well, just a birth!  It is only the start of a new life, the beginning of a journey.  It is not the end of one.  We are taught that from the point of the new birth on, we need to “keep in step with the Spirit,” and to “not quench the Spirit.”  But how, practically speaking, do we do that?  What form does that take in our everyday lives?  In this community, you will be given detailed practical instruction, guidance, and feedback in this area.

 

Second, specific practices facilitate the ongoing entry of God’s activity into our lives.  Do you remember what Jesus warned His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane?   That they should watch and pray, “so that you will not fall into temptation.”  This was one of many times that He taught His disciples that there were necessary practices, necessary preparatory work, that needed to be done before the critical moment of testing arrived.  Prayer, fasting, worship, study, celebration, mutual accountability, and confession are core biblical practices.  Without them, we will be ineffective and inconsistent in our life and Christian walk.  As a group, we will be committing to, and accountable to, these practices.  In short, we will adopt the overall style of life that Jesus lived. 

 

One of these spiritual practices is study.  Study is crucial because the Bible teaches that it is possible for a human being to be “transformed by the renewing of the mind.”   This means that, when, for example, we come to understand and believe that sin is like eating pig slop, or drinking poison, it will not look so appealing anymore.  That is why Jesus said, “The truth will set you free”.  In this community, you will learn how to study, and therefore how to come into such truths.  We will do this by working through a comprehensive curriculum on the Kingdom of God.  We will be looking very carefully, and scripturally, at the many hang-ups, misconceptions, and out-right lies that float about without our knowing it in the backs of our minds, and are often so terribly effective in cutting us off from the life God wants for us.  Specifically, we are going to be studying the teachers Dallas Willard and N.T. Wright, among others.  Our teaching curriculum deals with the following topics:  What did Jesus teach, what did He believe, and how did He live?  And how do we participate in the reality that Jesus talked so much about, the reality of the Kingdom of God?  What are the spiritual practices?  How do we do them in a healthy and balanced way?  How should we understand the Great Story from Genesis to Revelation, the story of God working out His plan to set everything right…His goal being the marriage of Heaven and Earth with humanity in the Divine likeness, serving as His delegated rulers of creation?

 

The third necessary part for our renovation into the likeness of Christ is the patient acceptance and endurance of trials and difficulties (for example, James chapter 1).  The Bible teaches that enduring the hard things of life with the right attitude is a necessary component of our spiritual transformation.  But how do we move from our trials causing us resentment, frustration, boredom, anger, or despair and into deep and abiding feelings of joy and peace as we walk through the painful difficulties of our lives?  It requires a unique approach.  We will be discussing and practicing this approach in great detail.

 

We have now sketched the threefold answer of Jesus on how to take off the old self and be made new, from the inside out…what He calls “washing the inside of the cup.”  This possibility is the greatest opportunity in your life.  This is not behavior management or a superficial treatment of any sort.  It is a radical transformation of the way you think, act, and feel.  This means, that under the direction of Jesus, we must come to the place where we know what the right thing to do is, we are the kind of person that wants to do the right thing, and we are the kind of person that is able to do the right thing.  After all, we are supposed to be, we can be, the light of the world. 

 

If you are interested in joining the community, there is a ninety-day initial commitment.  After that, we would love and prefer if you stayed on indefinitely.  However, you are welcome to leave if you do not find it to be a good fit.  The reason for the ninety-day commitment is that during the ninety days, you will have made it through the Kingdom of God study series, and also will have had a real taste of a life lived in the context of these spiritual practices.

 

Why not go on an adventure?  Something different.  Take a chance.