'Everything Good about God is True...Choosing Faith" by Bruce-Reyes Chow, Chapters 1-5

Pastor’s Blog Week 1 entry for July Book Study:

“Everything Good About God is True…Choosing Faith” by Bruce Reyes-Chow

Chapters 1 -5

Sometimes we make having faith, sharing faith, and living faith much more complicated than it needs to be. Why is that?

Our analytical, data-absorbing minds want to quantify everything, explain everything to the Nth degree. But then faith loses something. People who say they can’t believe in what they do not see or can’t quantify eradicate all wonder and mystery and have a need to quantify everything. But these same folks can believe in gravity. Yes – you see the effects of gravity and we have seen the effects of being in a gravity free environment as well but we can not “see” gravity. Yet we know that it exists and to live together on earth, we rely on the “goodness” of gravity.

In the first 5 chapters of our book study, Bruce Reyes-Chow (hereby known as Bruce) breaks down the very essence of faith in God into very simple bites to digest and chew on. I really like when people do this for me. I have long been a Christian leader of children and youth. For more than 30 years, I have regularly (weekly for the most part) taken a scripture reading and translated it for the children of the church into what some call “The Children’s Moment”. About 8 years ago, I began calling it “Wondering in the Word”. Why? Because I would often hear from adults, more times than I can even count, that they really got something out of the “Children’s” moment. It wasn’t that the message was “FOR” children. It was that God and faith were finally explained in a way that was so simple and relatable that they caught a glimmer of the Light that had eluded them before amidst the “churchy” words and high theological speak.

God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. This simple call and response says it so clearly but then what, we wonder. This is what prompted me to change the name to “Wondering in the Word”. Adults, youth AND children start to put a “but” after the call in response. There is no “but”. What there is, is wonder, exploration, discovery, questions, experiences and so much more. We just need to start at the very beginning – I hear, it is a very fine place to start! God is good!

As we explore together the ways that Bruce helps us to relate to God’s goodness, I will pull out a few things that popped out to me in the readings. I will note them here and allow for you to comment or dialogue back and forth on them. Remember, these are what popped out to me, you may have had other things pop out to you. None of us are in the exact same spot of knowing God for ourselves and that is what makes the dialogue here amazing. It opens our eyes to wondering about God but also opens our eyes to how we each are moving from where we are now to the next place with God in our relationship.

I will ask you some questions too or ask about your experience with Bruce’s questions. Please add responses or insights below in the comments. You may comment on the posts of others as well to continue a discussion. All respectful posting courtesies are expected, with non-judgment and respectful acknowledgment of differing opinions and views at all times.

Comment on any of the following:

Chapter Quotes:

1.1 At the end of the day, through God and with God, we are more than we could be without God. Pg. 25

2.1 Sometimes when people say “ God is everywhere” they actually mean “God is in most places.” Pg. 32

3.1 Church is simply a place where we learn and grow and stretch and act and move and do all the things that people do together to grow into who God hopes us to be. Pg. 37

4.1 Sin is, put quite simply, any act or thought that turns us away from God’s intentions. Sin encompasses all the ways we intentionally turn away from God’s purposes for humanity. Pg. 52.

5.1 Healing is difficult to describe, but we know it when we feel it. Pg. 62

Reflect and Share questions by chapter :

1a. What have you been taught about God in the past?

2a. How has God reminded you that you are known and seen by God?

3a. How do you embody and express…invitation…welcome …belonging?

4a. In what ways are you individually or corporately reinforcing hurt in the world?

5a. Where in our communities is healing most needed?

Pick one or two to comment on, come back another day and comment again or comment on a response. You can reference the number/letter if you like.