"Restoration" Small Group Weekly Bulletin

[Brian Swarts]

Hi "Restoration" community,

I hope you all had a good week and enjoying your weekends.  It was wonderful to have each of you (all 24 of you!) join us last Tuesday  I think we should thank Jeff again for allowing all of us to pack into his home.  For this coming Tuesday we are going to arrange things a bit differently so it is not quite so crowded and there will be more time for good interaction and discussion.  For those who could not join us last week we look forward to seeing you this coming Tuesday.

In preparation for this Tuesday's meeting I wanted to send out some prompts and materials for reflection.  As we discussed, we are going to kick-off our group discussions by exploring how we will approach the topics of culture, creativity and community in the context of "restoration."  So this week's reading prompts are two short excerpts from "The Next Christians" by Gabe Lyons.  Gabe's book focuses on ways that Christians can "live the gospel and restore the world."  The first excerpt for this week (attached here as "The Next Christians") provides a framework for the different ways that most American Christians have traditionally lived out their faith and what it means for us to live as "restorers."  The second excerpt ("Restoration") shares a very brief illustration of what we mean by restoration and how it connects to the message of the Gospel.  

As you read these two excerpts I would like you to reflect on the following:

1) How would you describe your own Christian life (past and present) in light of the terms that Gabe uses?  How would you describe the different Christian communities you have been part of in light of these terms?

2) In your own words, what does it mean to live as "restorers"?  

3) Do you think that Gabe is correct in stating that, as Christians, we need to have a greater focus on restoration?  (Be prepared to discuss two things: a) What do you think might be missing from his analysis? and b) What are some tangible steps that Christians can take to live out the goal of restoration?)

 

4) Can you think of some illustrations from scripture that help us better understand a Christian vision for "restoration"?  (For example, the story of Nehemiah and the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem)

5) Try to come up with a current example of how Christians living as "restorers" that you find interesting and would like to share with others in our group (Hint: Some good resources exist at qideas.org, relevantmagazine.com, plywoodpeople.com, culture-making.com, sojo.net and bittersweetzine.com... among many other places)

Feel free to write if you have any questions and we can't wait to see all of you next week.  

Prayer Requests: We always welcome you to send any requests that we can pray for during the week (and at meetings) -- always let us know if you want anything to be kept confidential.

Meeting Details:  Tuesday / 7:30pm / 1729 Q Street, NW, Apt. B 

Blessings,

Brian, Lindsey and Jeff