Breaking Ground
Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued our series Boundless Church, where we’re exploring what it means for Element3 to become a centered-set community. As a reminder:
- Bounded-set churches define who’s included by whether or not they share a set, clearly defined, & strict list of similarities (the same doctrinal beliefs, race, cultural background, socioeconomic status, political views, etc); while excluding those who deviate from these shared characteristics.
- Centered-set churches define who’s included solely by their relationship to Jesus Christ as our shared center. Moreover, they direct members to focus less on assimilating to shared characteristics & more on whether they’re moving towards their shared center.
This week, reflect upon how this centered-set vision should impact our engagement with politics.
In your experience, what is the relationship between Christianity, the Church, & politics? Where have you seen Christians engage politics in a healthy way? How about an unhealthy or even destructive way?
Read Matthew 11:20-24. Here, as Pastor Mike taught on Sunday, Jesus confronts three Jewish towns that comprised the heart of the Israelite Zealot movement (Israel’s militant resistance movement that believed God wanted them to build His Kingdom by shedding Roman blood). Specifically, Jesus challenges these towns to realize that their current political path isn’t leading them to destruction, not divine exaltation like they believe. In doing so, Jesus reminds his disciples of all generations that they’re called to embrace his vision of being human; which fundamentally rejects violence & retaliation in favor of grace, mercy, self-sacrifice, non-retaliation, & love.
Why do you think Jesus takes such a harsh stance against the Zealot movement? How does he see their vision & engagement of political power as antithetical to the ethic & worldview he calls his disciples to embrace?
Do you see zealotry in our engagement of politics today? How about within the Church specifically? If so, how this kind of engagement with politics impacted the Church’s witness within our culture?
What alternative to Zealotry might Jesus offer us in our engagement of politics? How might this other path produce more fruit in our world?
What boundaries do you currently have when it comes to politics? How is that impacting you holistically (physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, & relationally)?
How might a Centered Set vision on politics be both helpful & challenging for our church?
Coming Out of the Hole
During each week of this series, set aside time to reflect on your own struggles with creating boundaries & excluding people from Jesus & his community.
- What’s your history with this week’s topic? In your experience, has this been used as a boundary of exclusion in the Church?
- Where do you struggle to fully embrace those who differ from you when it comes to this topic? Do your attitudes & treatment of them reflect Christ or our world more?
- How can you humbly adjust your posture towards this topic over the course of this coming season in order to embrace a more Christlike one towards it? How can this help E3 further live into its vision of being a centered-set church?
Journal, reflect, & pray on how God might be speaking to you through each week’s teaching. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
TheBibleProject.com
Centered-Set Church: Discipleship & Community Without Judgmentalism by Mark D. Baker
To Change the World by James Hunter
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, August 11th: Join us next Sunday as we continue our series Boundless Church!
* Please see mye3.org for details.