DISRUPTIVE DISCIPLESHIP:
Part 1: OUR STORY
The Story We Didn’t Know We Were Living
“The experience of wrestling with our faith is profoundly personal. Often, we carry our pain and uncertainty with fears that create isolation. The end result is a sense that something personal is happening to us that is unique and disconnected from others. But no matter what it feels like, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The tension we feel bears witness to a greater crisis, and our story cannot be understood without seeing the cataclysmic rejection of faith that is occurring around us” (You Are Not Alone, p15)
FRONTIER COMMUNITY GUIDES
Follow along with each part of this Frontier Community Series. We recommend you work through it with your community, a small group triad, a weekly meal with friends or neighbors, your roommates, whatever works. Get a group of people, set a time each week to share a meal, then talk and pray for about an hour. Transformation happens in community.
The Story We Didn’t Know We Were Living: Understanding Our Faith Struggle
Have you ever experienced a challenging moment in your faith that you felt uncertain other people could honor or understand?
Herod, Pharisees, & Jesus: The Collapse of Western Christianity
When you think about what are the most significant things that have shaped your convictions, what are they?
When we look at the bigger story, we see that the challenges are widespread.
In 2023 a study revealed only 4% of American adults held to a biblical worldview, with 14% having a somewhat biblical worldview.
False Allegiances: Jesus as the Mascot of Our Own Cause
What was the faith you were raised in? If you were raised in a Christian home did it carry any elements of the yeasts of Herod (assimilation) or Pharisees (separation)?
PRACTICES
In your daily time with Jesus & in your daily life rhythms, follow along & implement these practices. Some Communities may wish to spend some time processing these together in your weekly gatherings, but the goal is to put these to practice in your walk with Jesus.
SPIRITUAL HEALTH REFLECTION: It’s designed to help you reflect on the health of your soul, in order to better name Jesus’ invitations to you as you follow the Way.
PRAYER
SPIRITUAL FORMATION AUDIT: Our exercise for this practice is to take an inventory of all the forces that are currently forming you.
HOW TO HAVE A “QUIET TIME”
SCRIPTURE
FASTING + OTHER PRACTICES
01 LEARN: Gather together as a community for an interactive experience of learning about the Way of Jesus through teaching, storytelling, and discussion. Bring your Guide to the session and follow along.
02 PRACTICE: On your own, before the next session, go and “put it into practice,” as Jesus himself said. We will provide weekly spiritual disciplines and spiritual exercises, as well as recommended resources to go deeper.
03 REFLECT: Reflection is key to spiritual formation. After your practice and before the next session, set aside 10 to 15 minutes to reflect on your experience. Reflection questions are included in this Guide at the end of each session.
04 PROCESS TOGETHER: When you come back together, begin by sharing your reflections with your group. This moment is crucial, because we need each other to process our life before God and make sense of our stories. If you are meeting in a larger group, you will need to break into smaller sub-groups for this conversation so everyone has a chance to share.