Breaking Ground:
Are you more “right-brained” with creative words and artistry, or “left-brained” with logic and math as your dominant brain? Do these two spheres conflict with each other at times in your life? When do they work in concert?
The Dig:
This week we spent a great deal of time during our NEW VISION series at E3 sifting through how to measure success in our new vision: E3 will live as a Centered Set Church that fosters transformative growth towards Christlikeness through WORSHIP, CONNECTION, and SERVICE.
As your group hears this vision again, what ways are measurable from a math perspective?
As your group hears this vision again, what ways are measurable from a “right brain/ creative” perspective?
Do one of these have to be the “right way”? Can they live in concert?
On Sunday we spent quite a bit of time discerning between cultural hopes of success and prosperity, specifically in a verse in Jeremiah used outside of context (Feel free to read Jeremiah 29:11…but don’t get stuck there). Our brains—both right and left side—have been fundamentally changed by the American cultural drone of success, prosperity, and growth for the sake of growth. Do our individual lives mirror this? Where in your testimony has a time in the desert been a time of ALSO growth and change?
What areas of Scripture and the stories of Scripture echo a mentality of growth through challenge, transformation through suffering, and seeking God to mold us through change instead of what our culture promotes?
Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. What imagery does Paul use here that may echo some of your answers to the prior question?
The Christian ethic of transformation is rooted in a surrendered heart, in change through suffering, and in growth through giving. How does this mentality change your heart and your brain’s thinking?
How does this mentality change how we view success through our New Vision?
Getting out of the Hole:
- What areas of my life do I need to redefine in a new way through a different metric?
- How might I change how I view a successful church?
- Consider where our values might aid in pursuing this New Vision, especially in a metric that is so counter cultural.
Additional Resources*
Centered Set Church by Mark D. Baker
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday May 3: Join us for Panel Sunday as we celebrate both Jadah and Pastor Mike for very different reasons!