Session 1

GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to:

• Consider the eternal nature of our relationship with God.

• Understand the role of the five I's — inspiration, integration, isolation, independence, and invitation — in the vitality of the faith community.

• Explore the relationship of their individual stories with the larger story of faith.

Biblical Foundation

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 The Message)

Special Preparation

• In advance of the first session, ask participants to bring either a notebook or an electronic means of journaling, such as a tablet, to each group session. Provide writing paper and pens for those who may need them. Also have Bibles available for those who do not bring one.

• Make sure all participants have a copy of the book What Are We Fighting For? Invite them to read the Introduction and Chapter 1 in advance of the first session.

• Have available large sheets of blank paper (newsprint) or construction paper and colored markers for group activity.

• Make copies of Handout 1: The Roots of Our Faith for the group (see page 56 for a preview; for a printable PDF, see Abingdonpress.com/WhatAreWeFightingFor).

• As leader, go over the session in advance and select or adapt the activities you think will work best for your group in the time allotted. Consider your own responses to questions you will pose to the group.

• Make nametags available if desired.

Getting Started

Welcome and Opening Prayer (3 minutes)

As participants arrive, welcome them to the study and invite them to make use of one of the available Bibles, if they did not bring one. Offer the following prayer, pray one of your own, or invite a group member to pray.

Gracious and loving God, as we begin this study, open us to your presence and fill us — our time, our conversations, our reflections, our doubts, and our fears — with the joy of exploration and the wisdom of your love. We gather together in Jesus' name. Amen.

Connecting the Dots

Video (15 minutes)

Play the video for Session 1. This segment suggests that the problem in the church today is a spiritual issue. We have relied too much on our own solutions and not enough on the presence of God to inform, bless, and equip us for the journey that is before us. We are encouraged to push off and let go, which means finding the faith once again to trust in the power of God's presence to safely guide us back to solid ground. With God's help, a calming presence of assurance is possible.

Choose from the following for a brief discussion:

• Do you agree that the problem we face in the church today is largely a spiritual issue? Why or why not? If you agree, how would you describe this spiritual problem?

• In what ways are we, the church, stuck on the side of a cliff? What emotions and anxieties is this producing, and how is this affecting our public witness?

• What would it mean for us to "push off and let go," relying on God's direction rather than our own efforts? How willing are we to put our opinions aside for a while and put our lives into the hands of the One who can see us through?

Biblical Foundation (5 minutes)

The book's introduction ends with a quotation from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 as interpreted in The Message. Read the passage aloud and discuss:

• What does the passage teach about our relationship with God? About faith?

Book Study (20 minutes)

Chapter 1 of the book begins with a story about a bishop identifying an issue as a "spiritual problem" rather than a problem of "morale." Invite a volunteer to read the opening paragraphs of Chapter 1. Ask the group members to share the ways they see the difficulties facing the church — both the local congregation and the larger connection — as being rooted in a spiritual problem.

Explore the chapter's content together with the following exercise:

The Five I's

The author explores five aspects of community life — inspiration, integration, isolation, independence, invitation — that help us understand the root cause of our spiritual problem.

Break the group into five small groups (or pairs, depending on the size of the group) and assign one "I" to each group. Each group will explore these questions:

• How does the author define this "I"?

• In what ways does this "I" help us understand our relationship with God?

• Where do we see this "I" expressed in our faith community? In the larger connection?

Ask the groups to record their responses on newsprint and choose a reporter. When the groups have completed their work, ask the reporter from each group to post the newsprint and share their findings.

Invite the entire group to share the ways in which the five "I's" can help us focus attention on our eternal relationship with God, rather than the day-to-day issues of the faith community.

For Deeper Discernment (Additional 30 minutes — Extended Format Only)

Post the following questions on newsprint or whiteboard:

• When was the first time Jesus became more than just a name to you?

• When was the last time Jesus was more than just a name to you?

Invite participants into conversation in small groups of three or four. The questions are designed to help people think about how their relationship with God has evolved over time. This process helps us learn how to tell our faith stories and how to actively listen to and learn from the stories of others as all of our stories continue.

Give the small groups 15 minutes to share their responses with one another. Remind them that as each person shares, the task of the listeners is to attend to and receive the story in prayerful silence. Remind them that each person should have opportunity to share, and that persons may choose not to share.

At the end of the 15 minutes of small-group time, invite the groups back together. Ask them to share insights gained from hearing one another's stories and from sharing their own. How has their faith changed and grown over time? What do the variety of...