Tag Archives: open

A Preview of Addiction & Grace

Addiction & Grace by Gerald May

Our new Wholeness Group meets again tomorrow evening at the church, 6:30 PM. It is a group that is open to everyone. The book we are reading is Addiction & Grace by Gerald May, and it has tons of good stuff for our conversation. Here is one of my favorite few sentences from the first few chapters:

Grace is the most powerful force in the universe. It can transcend repression, addiction, and every other internal or external power that seeks to oppress the freedom of the human heart. Grace is where our hope lies.

Our wholeness group is not about fixing anyone. I don’t think any of us have any answers in the first place. Addiction itself is a disease/process that all human beings are afflicted with. Some of us are addicted to chemical substances, and others are addicted to work, family, gossip, computers, information, power, and so on. And so while the book will help us understand the processes behind our addictions, the hope is that we will discover more about grace – why it is such a gift and how it can help us in our struggle to be loved and deal with our addictions.

Gerald May describes sin as anything that gets in the way of us being able to fully love ourselves, one another, and God. I like that definition a lot. One of our key directions of our group is that we will explore that in deeper detail but also practice some ways of finding balance in our lives, balance in our relationships with God and one another.

Join us – it’s an open invitation. I will have some extra books on hand if you are joining us for the first time.


Being Open

Open Door

What does it mean to be open?

I’m reflecting well in advance of my sermon this Sunday, looking at Luke 24:26-48, another post-Resurrection story about the fearful disciples encountering Jesus in the midst of their wonder, confusion, and isolation. The key verse for me says that Jesus “opened” their minds to understanding and goes on to try to help them make sense of what just happened to their beloved teacher, now back from the dead. For whatever reason, that is resonating with me, so I’m starting there.

The word open is a friendly word to me, just because of my personality. I am a creative guy – I love art and new experiences. I like to explore possibilities, no matter what I do. So, being open means welcoming fresh energy and perspectives.

For the disciples post-Easter, they were likely not open. If anything, they might have been stuck between grief and hope. Their beloved teacher had just been put to death, but rumors were circulating that he was actually alive. They gathered back up and retreated to a locked room, perhaps to get their facts straight and try to figure out what was going on. The word “opened” thus is a stark contrast from their environment – an isolated, dark, secretive room away from prying eyes and outside forces.

It’s easy to assume that Jesus is just explaining everything for the disciples in plain fashion, but if you go on further in the scripture passage, he tells the disciples to wait and pray. So, Jesus isn’t doing the big reveal and wrapping up the story. The resurrection appears to be just the beginning – there is more to come. In a sense, Jesus is preparing the disciple for that next journey or possibility that was about to come. Maybe this is what it means that Jesus “opened” their minds.

I suppose my question for you all is this:

  • Do you see faith as an open or closed structure, flexible or rigid? Why?
  • Has there been any time in your life when you felt closed off from the outside world but then someone or something came in and opened you up to new possibilities? What was that like?
  • Does the resurrection make sense to you? How do you understand it today? Has that changed?

I welcome your responses below. Let’s think and reflect together.


Holy Week Pub!

Faith in the City is a cool pub ministry in East Dallas!

Holy Week is like the central week of the Christian year (next to Christmas). We worship in different ways, beginning with palm branches being waved in an ad hoc parade, reflecting on the final teaching of the prophet Jesus, sharing something a little bit like the Passover meal (or remembrance of), reflect on the deep darkness of the cross on Friday, and then celebrate new life breaking into our world on Easter morn. It’s a dizzying week. Some folks just go from palms to Easter, but that seems a little too easy when you recognize how Jesus got an up close picture of humanity’s own tendency towards cruelty and hate in those days in between. It wasn’t like the whole week was just an extended drum roll to the big reveal on Sunday morning. Jesus confronted the powers of domination and oppression of his day and seemed to lose, scattering his most trusted followers in defeat. And yet, at the last minute, Something Extraordinary Happened.

Maybe those different kinds of worship opportunities aren’t your thing. Maybe beer and conversation is. That’s why we’ll be hosting a special Holy Week Pub at Bryan Street Tavern on Tuesday evening, 7:30-9:30 PM, discussing whether or not Jesus knew he was going to be crucified. Did God want Jesus to be crucified? Did he have to die in such a way? Why did Jesus ask God in the hours before his death, “God, please take this cup from me”? Heavy questions. Was Jesus on a direct path of confrontation to the powers who were willing to crush him like they did to so many other rebels before? Or was this some divinely ordered, cosmic event? Or both? Or neither?

The conversation should be great. The cold beverages will be great. The pizza will be delicious. We even have free childcare at the church, so you will know your kids are having a good time while you are too. Register on our little Facebook event page to let us know you are coming.


Conversation Instead of a Sermon?

The latest Table video dispatch, produced quickly, efficiently, and cheaply:


mega pub night!

Pub Night with Steve Knight - Feb. 7, Flying Saucer, Ft Worth, TX

I’m excited to share about our big pub night with the Search and the Euc on February 7, 8:30-10:30 PM, over in Ft Worth. We’ll hear from a friend and fellow missional church guy, Steve Knight, enjoy some great food and beverages, and have a fun time. Steve just did a whole series on Participatory church, using some of the lingo from social networking to wonder how our faith communities might change and adapt to use these kinds of ways of thinking in our worship and work. He’ll share some of that and then open up the conversation for questions and ideas from the crowd. As always, the event is going to be informal and open to people from all varieties of spirituality.

You can RSVP on Facebook today.

BTW, the Search will be hosting worship that evening as part of the Wells Lecture series, so you can head over for worship at 7 PM and then join us for the pub night at the Flying Saucer.


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