July 15, 2010

Dignity Serves

Posted by Garry

Last night I was asked the question – “What is the thing that defines you most?”

I was then asked how it would feel if that thing was taken away. Who would I be then?

I was asked these questions because last night I began the Dignity Serves curriculum with my Summit Connect group. Now, nearly a day later, I can’t shake these questions and those that are created as a result of entertaining them. Questions like…

Who am I? What does it mean to be fully what I was created to be? Fully human? Do I look at those who have less as ‘them’ and those that are like me as ‘us’?

If we believe the Bible when it says that all of humanity is imprinted with the image of God (Genesis 1), if we believe that because of God’s intense love for humanity there is no real division or classification between people (Galatians 3), if we believe that Jesus came to seek and save all that was lost (Luke 19), if we take seriously the call to love others even if it means getting our hands dirty (Mark 12), then it changes how we look at people. It changes how we see other people. It changes who we are in a world full of people whom have the lovely image of God in them even if it has been marred by circumstances.

Jesus says simply, “follow me” in being fully what you were made to be – in being fully human. Follow me in a love that results in seeing the potential in people. I hope at the end of this six-week study I can be more like Jesus. I hope that I can be more compassionate in a world that needs. I hope I can be bolder. I hope I can see the world more like Jesus and be willing to serve, because that is what being fully human looks like.

May 25, 2010

Personal Holiness + Maximizing Potential + Focused Priorities = Good Stuff

Posted by Will

We started a new sermon series this Sunday on the book of Haggai. Some of the themes we will be discussing as we continue the series are our call to personal holiness so that we are able to serve God and others better; maximizing our God-given potential to have an impact on the world around us; and getting our priorities in order.

Here are a few resources that will help you engage further with these themes:

HOLY DISCONTENT: Have you ever been really upset by an injustice you’ve witnessed or heard about? Does your heart beat faster or your blood boil when you hear about a particular disease or the sufferings of a specific population? As Bill Hybels discusses in this book, these feelings are there because part of being created in God’s image is that we reflect His character, and His character is rooted in justice. So instead of feeling helpless about the scope of some of the things that bother us the most, Hybels challenges us to lean in, know that God cares about them too, and calls us to participate with Him in making them right.

INNERSTATE 80: This is a compilation of some of Joel Hunter’s (senior pastor at Northland: A Church Distributed) teachings on the spiritual journey. The purpose of these lessons is to nudge us further along in our spiritual journey regardless of where we are currently at so that we are able to experience more of what God intends for us and are in tune with His purposes.

The following InterActions study guides would be great for your Summit Connect group to dive into:

Significance: Understanding God’s Purpose for Your Life

Transformation: Letting God Change You from the Inside Out

Excellent Living: Giving God Your Best

Living In God’s Power: Finding God’s Strength for Life’s Challenges

May 18, 2010

Group Studies for everyone

Posted by Will

Since Group Night coming up this Sunday, we are highlighting some popular group studies.

The first is N.T. Wright’s For Everyone series. These are studies of New Testament books that provide the author’s own translation and commentary. They are written in a way to be accessible to all readers, not just biblical scholars and theologians. There are accompanying Bible Study Guides that help groups engage with the material contained in the text and commentary. These guides can also be used on their own.

These studies are not limited to the New Testament books. John Goldingay has begun to undertake the same task with the books of the Old Testament. Genesis for Everyone is the first in this series and is a two-volume study of the book of Genesis.

We also have a DVD Study that is designed to help readers understand the Old Testament better. It is Philip Yancey’s The Bible Jesus Read. In this 8-week study, participants will learn to understand the story God is telling through the Old Testament; understand the struggles of the people in the Old Testament; and see how it all anticipates the coming of Jesus.

Don’t forget that when you order materials through the Resource Center you get a 20% discount!

Questions? Contact me

May 11, 2010

Marriage Resources

Posted by Will

This edition of the Summit Connect Blog features resources we offer in our Resource Center that are designed for married couples. Also, don’t forget, The Marriage Show is this Friday, May 14 at the Herndon Campus.

iMarriage

You might be looking at the title of this study and wondering, “What does the “i” stand for?” It’s not an attempt to be trendy by author Andy Stanley. As he explains at the beginning of the 6-week video study, the “i” refers to the expectations individuals bring into marriage, how these quickly get placed on the other spouse, and the marriage becomes all about those expectations being met for one person. Stanley guides participants through the journey of how to recognize the roots of these expectations as natural, God-given desires. He explains how to change the focus of a marriage from individual needs being met by the other spouse into a reliance on God to meet the desires he placed in our hearts, and how he designed marriage as a big part of how that happens.

Marriage: Building Real Intimacy

This InterActions study takes married couples on a journey of how to fine tune a marriage or rebuild a shaky one. Like the iMarriage study, Bill Hybels stresses the importance of recognizing the different expectations each spouse walks into a marriage with, and understanding where they came from. He guides couples on how to build on common ground and how to celebrate the differences that are inevitable. He provides practical advice and principles for conflict resolution and for romance building. In the last session, he challenges each spouse to not let an ever-increasing pace of life drain them of the energy they need to maintain a healthy marriage.

Weekend to Remember presented by Family Life

This 3-day conference is held all over the country (including several Florida locations) and throughout the year with guest speakers and events that are designed to energize and strengthen your marriage. Visit Family Life to find out more details.

January 26, 2010

Searching for God Knows What

Posted by Katie

How do we avoid simply going through the motions of Christianity with no heart? How can we achieve a life filled with a passionate spirituality? Donald Miller, in Searching For God Knows What, argues against the temptation to seek a boxed-in, formulaic approach to Christ and instead emphasizes the importance of a meaningful relationship with our Creator. Like reading a note from your best friend, Miller honestly shares anecdotes from his own walk with Christ and reveals instances when he’s stumbled and fallen. Miller utilizes Scriptural evidence to describe the Jesus of the Bible- who was willing to dine with prostitutes and befriend the outcasts- rather than the one depicted in American society to meet our culture’s do’s and don’ts. He questions the rules, regulations, and the religious and political traditions that hinder us from knowing the real heart of Jesus and suggests the importance of seeking Him in a relational manner. Refuting that true meaningful spirituality can be accessed through set instructions, Miller claims, “[I]t made me wonder, honestly, if such a complex existence as the one you and I are living can really be broken down into a few steps. It seems if there were a formula to fix life, Jesus would have told us what it was.” Miller counters the idea that the essence of God’s message to mankind is a series of hoops we have to jump through to achieve salvation and instead he depicts the Gospel as an invitation to know and love the One who created us.

Miller’s call to a relational approach to The Bible has affected my time spent in The Word considerably. Rather than reading it as an instruction manual, I can now appreciate Scripture as an offer of Christ’s love and proof that He desires a deep and personal relationship with me.