Reading With Friends

 We have come so far as a society.  We can play games like Words With Friends with people all around the country, even all over the world.  We can post pictures and party invites and even what we ate for lunch instantly on Twitter and Facebook for all our friends and family to see.  But, many people choose to read and study the Bible in solitude.

Is this how we are supposed to study the Bible?  How do we get the most out of God's Word and what it means for our life?

Prior to the invention of the printing press, it was rare for people to own books, including the Bible.  This meant that people read and studied the Bible as a community.  Once books became affordable, more and more people could own their own Bible. This also began to change the way we read and studied the Bible.  We began to read the Bible on our own in a quite corner of our home.  There were no other people their to discuss and share with as we read.

How does this change our understanding of the Bible?  How does this affect our accountability to continue studying God's Word?

As society has continued to change and we move more and more from printed material to digital, how do we use new technologies to become a more connected community of believers?  Can we once again read and study the Bible together, but with and even larger community?  Can this ever replace a face to face community?

Here are some thoughts from Bobby Gruenewald, the Innovation Leader for the YouVersion online Bible...

http://qideas.org/video/the-bible-in-a-technological-age.aspx

Exiled

This week, read this article.  It's a little long, but it is very good.

The Rise of Exiles by David Kinnaman

Read the comments too...

There is evil in this world... What can I do?

There is evil in this world. We must admit that. So what do we do about it? Well, here is what a few friends are doing about one of the worlds worst criminals.

You may have seen this since it has been passed around the internet quite a bit this week.  But not all evil is as big and bad as Joseph Kony.  Most of us don't know war criminals and terrorists, but we do still come face to face with evil.

Sometimes, we probably don't even notice it. Sometimes it is small things, comments that eat at us, things in our past, looks from people that make us uneasy...

What kinds of evil do you struggle to face in your life?
Are there bigger evils in the world that you want to fight against?

Engage!

How do we engage with the world around us?

This year I am all about challenges.  So far the family's goal for the year of not eating out is going great.  Jodi and I don't even want to eat out right now.  So, it seems like a great time for another challenge.

How do we engage with the world around us?  How do you engage with friends, family, coworkers, strangers...?

Our church's vision is to impact and influence our community and world with the love of God.  So in order to do this we have to engage and interact with people.  We have to talk to people that are outside of our church.

So here is the challenge part.

How do you do this now?  How can you do better?  What seems to work well?