1. The chapter opens with Dan asking himself, “What have I gotten myself into?” He likens his decision and the way he feels about it to his decision to marry Carol. How does a marriage commitment mirror Dan and Carol’s decision to stay connected to Potomac Community Church in a new way? How does commitment change the nature of relationship with another human being as well as with a community of people?
2. For the first fifteen chapters of the book, we eavesdrop on a conversation between Neo and a white, middle-aged male pastor form a modern, evangelical Protestant church. Casey is a young, female African American youth pastor from a high church tradition. Does the nature of this conversation change at all when the person is of a different gender, age, race and tradition? Why or why not? Respond to Neo’s description to Casey of Dan’s meltdown. Did you perspective change when hearing it related from a different point of view?
3. Casey wants to move on from youth ministry into ministry to adults. Neo says “. . . working with teenagers is generally more important and more strategic than working with adults.” What would lead Neo to say this? Do you agree or disagree? What is appealing about working with adults?
4. As she considers changing the focus of her ministry, Casey is compelled to continue her education. Neo is tentative about recommending seminaries, however. Neo believes that most seminaries work on a modern model and are more able to prepare students for ministry in the 1940s, not 2040. List the reasons seminaries are ill-equipped to deal with the kind of education needed to train leaders for ministry in 2040 (p. 145, 156, 150). Describe Neo’s vision for a new kind of seminary.
5. Describing the difficulty of transitioning a church from a traditional, modern framework to a postmodern, missional framework, Neo employs some pretty sobering statistics (p. 147). Have you ever been a part of an organization that has undergone significant change? What was that experience like? Did the organization survive the transition? Is it easier to start over from scratch?
6. Neo lists several options leaders have when facing change. First, he says, you can scare people or inspire them. Second you can move incrementally or innovatively. Third, you can seek to minimize or maximize discontinuity. Explain what Neo means by each of these distinctions. Are these options mutually exclusive or is there a third, higher way of operating “above the line”?
7. Reread Neo’s quote about “Nobodies” who change the world (pp. 149-150). Do you agree that those on the margins initiate the leap into terra nova? Does his thesis about “Somebodies” and “Nobodies” inspire or frighten you? As it relates to the subject of this book, are you a “Somebody” or a “Nobody”?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Chapter 15 – Beginning the Journey into Terra Nova
1. Neo discovers, with amazing force and clarity, that he is being pulled back into the pastorate. Throughout A New Kind of Christian, Neo has been a blessing and a benefit for Dan in his struggles. How has Dan played that same role for Neo?
2. Besides Dan’s influence, what else contributes to Neo’s desire to return to pastoral ministry?
3. What is it about the work of pioneering that makes it so demanding, and as a result, so exhausting? Is pioneering necessarily a solitary task? If so, why? If not, how might communities of people pioneer into this new territory? What qualities would such a community have to possess to go on this journey together?
4. After Dan speaks to a group of young adults, one woman confesses that hearing him speak was a very emotional experience for her: “. . . whenever I get to know individual non-Christians—I mean really get to know them—I am completely convinced that I find God already there and at work in their lives.” Is she right that Christianity doesn’t own God? Compare what she says to Dan with Jesus’ description to Nicodemus of the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). Are there any similarities? Have you ever had an experience like that of this young woman?
5. Reread Dan’s description of his two alternatives as he looks to his future and his decision to take a riskier third option (p. 142). Where are you on this journey? Do you have any sense of being called to explore terra nova? How might Dan’s three alternatives be expressed in your life?
2. Besides Dan’s influence, what else contributes to Neo’s desire to return to pastoral ministry?
3. What is it about the work of pioneering that makes it so demanding, and as a result, so exhausting? Is pioneering necessarily a solitary task? If so, why? If not, how might communities of people pioneer into this new territory? What qualities would such a community have to possess to go on this journey together?
4. After Dan speaks to a group of young adults, one woman confesses that hearing him speak was a very emotional experience for her: “. . . whenever I get to know individual non-Christians—I mean really get to know them—I am completely convinced that I find God already there and at work in their lives.” Is she right that Christianity doesn’t own God? Compare what she says to Dan with Jesus’ description to Nicodemus of the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). Are there any similarities? Have you ever had an experience like that of this young woman?
5. Reread Dan’s description of his two alternatives as he looks to his future and his decision to take a riskier third option (p. 142). Where are you on this journey? Do you have any sense of being called to explore terra nova? How might Dan’s three alternatives be expressed in your life?
Chapter 13 – Spiritual Practices: Secret and Shared
1. Dan notes that when he and Neo are forced to communicate via e-mail it changes their relationship in a surprising way: “as soon as he was so physically distant, we seemed to get closer.” Have you ever experienced this? In Chapter Four, Neo lists how major changes in technology, specifically in communications technology, alter the nature of the world in which we live. Do you see the interconnectedness of the world changing our perceptions of reality? How are developments in communications technology changing the nature of our relationships?
2. According to Neo, for any kind of Christianity to be valuable, it must engage the financial realities of our lives: “if we can’t discipline ourselves to learn the joys of generous living, I think we’re an embarrassment to the gospel.” In a culture that is awash in individualism and consumerism, why is generosity so radical and necessary? Why does Dan continue to push aside the issue of money? Is Neo right to be concerned?
3. Neo writes about Christian institutions and media ministries being captive to money. What does he mean by this? Do you agree? If so, where have you seen examples of this captivity? Is Neo right when he asserts that this captivity keeps these Christian organizations from being able to respond to the reality of our world? Why do appeals to fear generate revenue for ministries?
4. Neo asks Dan a series of direct questions that are worth considering. Do you think that God would want a heaven filled with people who care more about being saved from hell than being saved from sin? Who care more about getting into heaven than being good? Who care more about having their sins forgiven than being good neighbors? How does Neo’ description of this active, engaged, and “worldly” faith mirror the description of faith found in James 2:14-19?
5. What does Dan mean when he states that heaven is a by-product, not the main point (p. 131)? Reread Neo’s technology metaphor that compares how a computer “saves” data with what it might mean for people to be saved (p. 19-30). How effective is this analogy?
6. Compare and contrast what it means to be “saved for privilege” versus being “saved for service.” Dan describes his dream for his church: “. . . that it would increasingly become a community of communities, a place full of little ‘villages of Christ’ where people really connect, really care, really make their faith visible through love. A place where we help people believe and become by helping them belong.” Have you ever experienced a church community like the one Dan describes? How does such a community cut across the grain of an individual-centered faith?
2. According to Neo, for any kind of Christianity to be valuable, it must engage the financial realities of our lives: “if we can’t discipline ourselves to learn the joys of generous living, I think we’re an embarrassment to the gospel.” In a culture that is awash in individualism and consumerism, why is generosity so radical and necessary? Why does Dan continue to push aside the issue of money? Is Neo right to be concerned?
3. Neo writes about Christian institutions and media ministries being captive to money. What does he mean by this? Do you agree? If so, where have you seen examples of this captivity? Is Neo right when he asserts that this captivity keeps these Christian organizations from being able to respond to the reality of our world? Why do appeals to fear generate revenue for ministries?
4. Neo asks Dan a series of direct questions that are worth considering. Do you think that God would want a heaven filled with people who care more about being saved from hell than being saved from sin? Who care more about getting into heaven than being good? Who care more about having their sins forgiven than being good neighbors? How does Neo’ description of this active, engaged, and “worldly” faith mirror the description of faith found in James 2:14-19?
5. What does Dan mean when he states that heaven is a by-product, not the main point (p. 131)? Reread Neo’s technology metaphor that compares how a computer “saves” data with what it might mean for people to be saved (p. 19-30). How effective is this analogy?
6. Compare and contrast what it means to be “saved for privilege” versus being “saved for service.” Dan describes his dream for his church: “. . . that it would increasingly become a community of communities, a place full of little ‘villages of Christ’ where people really connect, really care, really make their faith visible through love. A place where we help people believe and become by helping them belong.” Have you ever experienced a church community like the one Dan describes? How does such a community cut across the grain of an individual-centered faith?
Chapter 12 – French Fries and the Kingdom of God
1. At the bar, in the parking lot, and at the soccer game, Dan is amazed at the ease with which Neo engages people who are not Christians. Neo admits that at an earlier time in his life, whenever he was with people from outside the church he was tense. “There was always this threat in the air—either I was going to be pulled down by their bad behavior, or else I was going to judge them and preach to them.” Have you felt this tension? How have you resolved it? Is there any irony in the contrast between Jesus’ apparent comfort among those his culture labeled “unclean” and the difficulty his followers seem to have around “sinners”?
2. Compare and contrast the way the phrase born-again is understood and used today with how Neo describes its meaning in the context of a first century conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Do you agree that the term born-again Christian has an overwhelmingly negative connotation to people who aren’t Christians? If so, why do you think this is the case?
3. In contrast to modernity, which stresses abstract principles and universal concepts, Neo talks about the need for postmodern theology to reincarnate (that is, to rediscover) the importance of language, setting and context in conveying meaning. Describe the context and setting of the first century, according to Neo, and why the language of the “kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of heaven” was so explosive. What kinds of images and creative language might be used to describe God’s work in the world today? Would such language be as potent for Christians today as it was for first-century religious people? If not, why not?
4. When asked to summarize how he would describe the gospel to someone, Neo emphasizes the importance of introducing a person to the church so that they can experience Christian community. Have you ever thought of this as an integral part of the gospel? Do you agree that it is? Why or why not? Is integration with a local church an essential part of becoming a Christian?
5. Why does Dan react so strongly to Neo’s presentation of “the kingdom of God”?
6. What is the difference between counting conversions and counting conversation? Do you agree that people are sick of Christian sales pitches and formulas? Neo believes that “friendship evangelism” is just another version of these manipulative strategies. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. Compare and contrast the way the phrase born-again is understood and used today with how Neo describes its meaning in the context of a first century conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Do you agree that the term born-again Christian has an overwhelmingly negative connotation to people who aren’t Christians? If so, why do you think this is the case?
3. In contrast to modernity, which stresses abstract principles and universal concepts, Neo talks about the need for postmodern theology to reincarnate (that is, to rediscover) the importance of language, setting and context in conveying meaning. Describe the context and setting of the first century, according to Neo, and why the language of the “kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of heaven” was so explosive. What kinds of images and creative language might be used to describe God’s work in the world today? Would such language be as potent for Christians today as it was for first-century religious people? If not, why not?
4. When asked to summarize how he would describe the gospel to someone, Neo emphasizes the importance of introducing a person to the church so that they can experience Christian community. Have you ever thought of this as an integral part of the gospel? Do you agree that it is? Why or why not? Is integration with a local church an essential part of becoming a Christian?
5. Why does Dan react so strongly to Neo’s presentation of “the kingdom of God”?
6. What is the difference between counting conversions and counting conversation? Do you agree that people are sick of Christian sales pitches and formulas? Neo believes that “friendship evangelism” is just another version of these manipulative strategies. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Chapter 11 – Getting Beyond Righteousness
1. When Neo rants that the Bible is not “biblical” in the way that Dan’s critics are using it (p. 95), what does he mean? Do you agree? Do you agree that evocative language must be used to discuss spiritual realities? Why or why not? Can you think of examples of evocative language (or behavior) in the Bible that would be scandalous to Christians today? How has modernity limited the kind of language available for spiritual conversations?
2. Dan likes Neo’s sermon on death but can’t imagine preaching it himself. He makes the observation that people are comfortable reading C.S. Lewis in their homes but are less comfortable when his ideas and approach are taken into the pulpit. Why do you think this is the case? Does Lewis’s use of story make hard ideas more palatable? Why might this be so? How does this parallel Jesus’ approach?
3. “Why do you think that church people get so tense, so inflexible?” Dan asks Neo. Is this a true or fair description of “church people” in your experience? Why or why not?
4. What is lost when certainty and safety become the chief concerns for Christians and churches? What happens when faith is sanitized? Do you agree with Dan that fear of “heresy and sin creeping into the camp” is a legitimate concern? Why or why not?
5. How would you answer Dan’s question: “How do we remain open and accepting of people without compromising and condoning sin?” How does the messiness of people playing by different sets of rules (p. 97) mirror, in Neo’s opinion, the first century church?
6. Neo says the contemporary understanding of sin is truncated (p. 99). What does he mean by this? According to Neo, what is dangerous about a modern understanding of sin (pp. 99-101)? Do you agree? How do you respond to Neo’s desire to include the social, or systemic, nature of sin in the discussion?
7. Neo distinguishes righteousness from goodness. What do you make of this distinction? How does the righteousness Neo describes as modern differ form the righteousness described by Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan?
2. Dan likes Neo’s sermon on death but can’t imagine preaching it himself. He makes the observation that people are comfortable reading C.S. Lewis in their homes but are less comfortable when his ideas and approach are taken into the pulpit. Why do you think this is the case? Does Lewis’s use of story make hard ideas more palatable? Why might this be so? How does this parallel Jesus’ approach?
3. “Why do you think that church people get so tense, so inflexible?” Dan asks Neo. Is this a true or fair description of “church people” in your experience? Why or why not?
4. What is lost when certainty and safety become the chief concerns for Christians and churches? What happens when faith is sanitized? Do you agree with Dan that fear of “heresy and sin creeping into the camp” is a legitimate concern? Why or why not?
5. How would you answer Dan’s question: “How do we remain open and accepting of people without compromising and condoning sin?” How does the messiness of people playing by different sets of rules (p. 97) mirror, in Neo’s opinion, the first century church?
6. Neo says the contemporary understanding of sin is truncated (p. 99). What does he mean by this? According to Neo, what is dangerous about a modern understanding of sin (pp. 99-101)? Do you agree? How do you respond to Neo’s desire to include the social, or systemic, nature of sin in the discussion?
7. Neo distinguishes righteousness from goodness. What do you make of this distinction? How does the righteousness Neo describes as modern differ form the righteousness described by Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan?
Chapter 10 – C.S. Lewis in the Pulpit, or, What is Heaven About Anyway?
1. Discussing the nature of the Bible in Chapter 7, Neo distinguishes between the Bible as a book of answers and the Bible as the story of God and his people. In this chapter he clarifies further, stating that he was raised to believe that the central story of the Bible is the saving of individual souls. What does he mean by that? Is your experience similar to Neo’s? Is there an alternative story in the Bible, or even a different understanding of what salvation is? If so, what might it be?
2. Neo identifies several issues that are problematic for the view of salvation he was raised under: it is too selfish, it is too preoccupied with the individual, and its scope is all too otherworldy. What is missing, according to Neo, in this view of salvation? Do you agree or disagree? How might the modern culture of the West, with all that it emphasizes, produce such a view of salvation?
3. Neo articulates a more holistic and encompassing view of salvation: while affirming the spiritual and eternal aspects of salvation, he proposes that it has physical and temporal dimensions as well. Is there a danger associated with a view of salvation that emphasizes only the spiritual and eternal? What about the opposite extreme? Can you think of examples of these views in different theological traditions? Do you agree that the Biblical view of salvation is comprehensive of both?
4. If we are to have a different, more holistic, and comprehensive view of salvation, Neo asserts that we must have a better understanding of the kingdom of God and how the church relates to the kingdom. What is the kingdom of God? Is it different than the church? What are some of the metaphors Jesus used to describe the kingdom?
5. Some Christians believe the church equals the kingdom. Others disassociate the two completely. Neo again proposes a third option, an alternative to what he sees as two unacceptable choices. What is Neo’s third version? How is it consonant or dissonant with some of the metaphors Jesus uses to describe the kingdom?
6. Dan has to know: “Do you believe that people of other religions will go to heaven?” Neo responds by giving Dan a tape of a sermon he preached, called “Death.” Do you think Neo is proposing that heaven and hell are the same place? Why or why not? What would be the effect of believing that God is like Aslan as pictured in the C.S. Lewis story at the end of Neo’s sermon?
2. Neo identifies several issues that are problematic for the view of salvation he was raised under: it is too selfish, it is too preoccupied with the individual, and its scope is all too otherworldy. What is missing, according to Neo, in this view of salvation? Do you agree or disagree? How might the modern culture of the West, with all that it emphasizes, produce such a view of salvation?
3. Neo articulates a more holistic and encompassing view of salvation: while affirming the spiritual and eternal aspects of salvation, he proposes that it has physical and temporal dimensions as well. Is there a danger associated with a view of salvation that emphasizes only the spiritual and eternal? What about the opposite extreme? Can you think of examples of these views in different theological traditions? Do you agree that the Biblical view of salvation is comprehensive of both?
4. If we are to have a different, more holistic, and comprehensive view of salvation, Neo asserts that we must have a better understanding of the kingdom of God and how the church relates to the kingdom. What is the kingdom of God? Is it different than the church? What are some of the metaphors Jesus used to describe the kingdom?
5. Some Christians believe the church equals the kingdom. Others disassociate the two completely. Neo again proposes a third option, an alternative to what he sees as two unacceptable choices. What is Neo’s third version? How is it consonant or dissonant with some of the metaphors Jesus uses to describe the kingdom?
6. Dan has to know: “Do you believe that people of other religions will go to heaven?” Neo responds by giving Dan a tape of a sermon he preached, called “Death.” Do you think Neo is proposing that heaven and hell are the same place? Why or why not? What would be the effect of believing that God is like Aslan as pictured in the C.S. Lewis story at the end of Neo’s sermon?
Chapter 9 – Redeeming Our Culture Over Dinner
1. Carol confesses to Dan that she has been praying for him, telling God that Dan’s questing for truth is a function of his love for God. She says to God, “If he didn’t love you, if he didn’t love the truth so much, he would just play the game, just fulfill the role . . . he is suffering because he really wants the truth.” Carol suggests that Dan could actually be “falling into God,” not falling away. Do you think Carol’s assessment of the source of Dan’s struggles is accurate? How might a time of doubt and intense questioning result in a person’s “falling into God”?
2. Part of Dan’s suffering comes from the real-life implications attached to his role as a pastor, where changes in theology have serious ramifications. What are some of the ramifications pastors and other leaders face when they begin to engage in dialogues about changes in theology? Should these concerns overshadow (in this instance) Dan’s search for truth? How difficult might it be to live in this tension?
3. As Dan, Carol, and Neo discuss “organized religion” the topic naturally shifts to culture. On each end of the religious spectrum are ways of engaging with culture. One way is to accommodate or serve the culture on its own terms; the other way is to completely disengage from the dominant culture and set up a subculture. Neo says that religion, Christianity specifically, is not a matter of “. . . private comfort or political power. It’s a matter of revolutionary mission” (p. 73). What does Neo mean by that? Can you think of examples of Christianity as private comfort and political power? Have you ever experienced Christianity as revolutionary mission?
4. How do you respond to the story of the Ugandan dancers and the Native American pastors? Has exposure to another culture ever caused you to question some of your underlying assumptions about what is essential and what is cultural?
5. Reread the story (pp. 76-77) that leads up to Dan’s statement: “Wouldn’t it be ironic if, in the name of Christ, we try to conserve and preserve the very same native cultures in the 21st century that we tried to wipe out in the 19th and 20th centuries? How do you respond to this idea?
6. Neo says that Buddhism is more than a culte; Buddhism is also a culture. He goes on to suggest that Jesus can invade a culture (Buddhist, for example) and spark a new and authentic expression of Christianity. How might an expression of Christianity from a Buddhist or Islamic culture challenge a Western European version of Christianity? Is this already happening?
7. Carol and Dan worry about syncretism, that is, blending pure Christianity with pagan elements. Neo replies that “. . . syncretism is usually what Christians who are thoroughly immersed in one culture talk about when Christianity is being influenced by other cultures.” Is there such a thing as “pure Christianity”? How does Neo suggest that the church can engage culture and avoid losing its identity through syncretism? Do you think he is being overly optimistic? Do you see other ways the church can both maintain its identity and engage in mission in the midst of conforming cultural forces?
2. Part of Dan’s suffering comes from the real-life implications attached to his role as a pastor, where changes in theology have serious ramifications. What are some of the ramifications pastors and other leaders face when they begin to engage in dialogues about changes in theology? Should these concerns overshadow (in this instance) Dan’s search for truth? How difficult might it be to live in this tension?
3. As Dan, Carol, and Neo discuss “organized religion” the topic naturally shifts to culture. On each end of the religious spectrum are ways of engaging with culture. One way is to accommodate or serve the culture on its own terms; the other way is to completely disengage from the dominant culture and set up a subculture. Neo says that religion, Christianity specifically, is not a matter of “. . . private comfort or political power. It’s a matter of revolutionary mission” (p. 73). What does Neo mean by that? Can you think of examples of Christianity as private comfort and political power? Have you ever experienced Christianity as revolutionary mission?
4. How do you respond to the story of the Ugandan dancers and the Native American pastors? Has exposure to another culture ever caused you to question some of your underlying assumptions about what is essential and what is cultural?
5. Reread the story (pp. 76-77) that leads up to Dan’s statement: “Wouldn’t it be ironic if, in the name of Christ, we try to conserve and preserve the very same native cultures in the 21st century that we tried to wipe out in the 19th and 20th centuries? How do you respond to this idea?
6. Neo says that Buddhism is more than a culte; Buddhism is also a culture. He goes on to suggest that Jesus can invade a culture (Buddhist, for example) and spark a new and authentic expression of Christianity. How might an expression of Christianity from a Buddhist or Islamic culture challenge a Western European version of Christianity? Is this already happening?
7. Carol and Dan worry about syncretism, that is, blending pure Christianity with pagan elements. Neo replies that “. . . syncretism is usually what Christians who are thoroughly immersed in one culture talk about when Christianity is being influenced by other cultures.” Is there such a thing as “pure Christianity”? How does Neo suggest that the church can engage culture and avoid losing its identity through syncretism? Do you think he is being overly optimistic? Do you see other ways the church can both maintain its identity and engage in mission in the midst of conforming cultural forces?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
