From the Book - So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobsen & Dave Coleman...
John keeps presenting
himself to Jake when Jake is at his most vulnerable. Why do you think
that is happening? Do you think he is John from the Bible?
Discussion: Could
possibly be a figment of Jake’s imagination, similar to the experience in The
Shack. Although the possibility of his being real was also talked about
as it said in the beginning of the book that God said that John was his
decision to live or die.
Is John a messenger from
God to Jake to help him through his confusion?
Just expanded on the first
question of God’s role in our lives to bring about change and direction.
Is the book really saying
that we don’t need an actual church?
Discussion was that some
people of faith actually do not need the structure. At the same time a
lot of us do to keep us focused and part of a community that we can relate to.
How are faith and religion
related?
Discussion was both that they
are and they are not. Religion is a definition, an organization, a
structure, an identity where faith was defined differently as a belief system
that exists with or without an organization.
Has anyone experienced
membership in a congregation that had as much dissension as the one that Jake
describes?
Discussion was absolutely
citing several examples of past experiences as well as knowing those who are
experiencing it currently.
We are all human with
different ideas and needs. How does that fit with an organized
congregation for fulfilling our needs?
Discussion was that we all
bring something to the table so to speak. We find our niche that
addresses our needs and ideally we can discuss differences with open minds and
hearts and find the community within our differences as well as our oneness.
Last question was:
Why do you go to church?
Discussion: each of us
had different answers that included social, structure, family, faith,
tradition, among lots of other input.
