Blue Like Jazz

So the Blue Like Jazz books came in from Amazon and they got passed out last night. We are going to read through the first chapter this week and then next Monday, Dec. 1st, we will base our Monday gatherings on discussion of the preceding chapter. We are really looking forward to reading this book with all of you.
If you were not there last night but still want to join us for this study and purchase a book, let us know.

Here is a cool write up From Don:
When I started writing this book I just wanted to end up with something like Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, because in Traveling Mercies it felt like she was free, free to be herself, to tell her story, to just vent, to rant, to speak as if she were talking to a friend. Traveling Mercies helped me write this book, and in a way, for a while, Anne will be "The Beatles" of spiritual writers, because she has influenced so many of us. I definitely feel as though I got permission from Anne Lamott, permission to be human and to interact with God without all of the mind-melt that comes with growing up in a religious family. I never believed it would be published, and so I was pretty open in this book. My career was dead when I started this thing, so I felt like I was just talking to myself, or to the little reading group that met at my house.

Sting has this song where he says that he is alone on an island and puts a message in a bottle and throws it into the ocean, only to wake the next morning and have a hundred million bottles washed upon his shore. He sings "I guess I'm not alone at being alone," and I think that sums up how I feel about Blue Like Jazz. It feels like I thought I was alone but woke up one morning to discover nothing could be further from the truth. And people have been incredibly kind.
--Donald Miller

Doing what you believe

Donald miller writes:
"But the trouble with deep belief is that it costs something. And there is something inside me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn't like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things I have to do something about them.

Even our beliefs have become trend statements. We don't even believe things because we believe them anymore. We only believe things because they are cool things to believe.

The problem with Christian belief--I mean real Christian belief, the belief that there is a God and a devil and a heaven and a hell--is that it is not a fashionable thing to believe.

If you believe something, passionately, people will follow you because they thing you know something they don't, some clue to the meaning of the universe. Passion is tricky, though, because it can point to nothing just as easily as it points to something

Passion about nothing is like pouring gasoline into a car without wheels.

What I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do."


This video is called "Sunday"

Here are the questions we discussed Monday after watching this video:

• What are you passionate about?
• Do you find yourself going through the motions?
• Is your level of involvement to the same level of your belief?
  Are your beliefs supported by action? James 2:14-26
  
• Is God asking you to trust him in a new area? Proverbs 3:5-6
• Does what we do show what we are passionate about or what we value?
• What are some things we do that show or support what we believe about God?

Our response to death and loss...

Last night we watched a video called Matthew, by Rob Bell. The video centers on his reflection and on the feelings and emotions he experienced after losing a close friend. It is a rather dark video in comparison to the climate we are commonly used to from his videos. He quickly draws you into his story, experiance, and the emotions he felt at the time. It is almost impossible to not feel, to a certain level, what he went through. You will definitely identify with this video if you have experienced a similar loss.

• Why do you think people become bitter after the loss of someone?
• If you have lost someone, have you grieved completely?
• How should we respond to someone who is dealing with the loss of a friend/relative?

We now have a blog

The Stuart Initiative has been in full swing for a little over 4 months. We are a discussion based connection group which is part of The Quest Church. Up to this point, we have gotten most of our discussion material from various videos.
We have established this blog as a way to recap what we do each week and to keep people informed as the group develops.
Currently, at the time of this post, we have around 10-12 people who would be considered regulars and we anticipate more people to become involved as time goes on.
Periodically we hold Kicking Stuart events. The focus of these events are for people to get to know each other and develop friendships. They often include having dinner together, playing games (board games, group games, Wii, etc.), and hanging out with each other. The next Kicking Stuart will probably play host to a Rock Band or Guitar Hero competition.
If you are a young adult, young couple, or a college age person we would love for you to join us Monday nights.
Please email us and we will give you all the details. thestuartinitiative@gmail.com