::Agora:: the marketplace

Personal Growth

Keith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:24:27 +0000

Everyone who has ever lived has encountered a particular problem: being born a little person in a big person’s world and being given the task of becoming a big person over time. [We all deal with] the problem of coming out from under a one-down relationship to the adult world and assuming one’s role as an adult equal with other adults… Becoming an adult is assuming the authority position of life, an important part of the image of God.

Contextualize It:
-Why do you think entry into adulthood, as described by Henry, is being delayed in the U.S.?
-How does knowing that self-esteem comes from gaining expertise in an area change the way we look at gifts and talents? Parenting?
-How do you intentionally put yourself out of your “comfort zone” in order to grow?

The Way In A Manger

Keith — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:48:18 +0000

There were two main ways in which the early Church erred in their thinking about Jesus. There were those who tended to see him only as this guy, this great guy mind you, but just a guy, with a special message and work that should inspire us.
On the other side, there were those who really emphasized the fact that Jesus was God, of the conceptions of God being what they were they couldn’t see how this Jesus was really a real human.
However, we confess Jesus was both this guy and this god, and would heartily argue with someone who suggested anything different. And yet, like with this Carol, our worship and liturgy is much better about emphasizing the glory of Christ divinity than the earthiness of Christ’s humanity.

Join the conversation:
-What is your favorite Christmas Carol?
-Do you have problems picturing the filthy reality of Jesus’ birth? Explain.
-Which part of the incarnation means the most to you, the guy or the god?

Prepare The Way: Luke 1

Keith — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:44:28 +0000

The births of both Jesus and John the Baptist were foretold and then came about just as it had been believed. They were both destined to bring about repentance, salvation, and change for the better.
John would prepare the way for the light and message of Jesus. He would baptize Jesus and declare: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Today we continue our “fireside” reading of the Christmas Story from the Bible. Prescription today is taken from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1.

Join the conversation:
-What’s your favorite or least favorite commercial?
-Why was John the Baptist’s birth and ministry so important?
-Why would Mary’s words be banned in certain countries?

Daniel: Gratitude

Keith — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:23:03 +0000

The fate of Nebuchadnezzar is one of the most tragic in a long list of calamities that have overtaken the great and powerful of the earth. According to Daniel, it was just after the king have spoken those words of exulting pride as he walked in the palace of the Kingdom of Babylon: “Is not this great Babylon that I have built,” when he was attacked by that dreadful form of madness, called by the Greeks, lycanthropy (wolf-man), in which the victim fancies himself a beast.
Nebuchadnezzar’s madness became so violent that for four years he was exiled from his throne & from the company of men, and wandered in the fields, eating grass like oxen, “and his body was wet with the dead of heaven, and his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.”
What would drive a king to such madness? And how did he recover? Today’s Old Testament Story is from the 4th chapter o the loo of Daniel.

Join the conversation:
-What do you think led to Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity?
-What is the opposite of Gratitude?
-For what or who are you grateful today?

Daniel: Dreams

Keith — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:20:06 +0000

It has been said that dreams are the garbage of the mind. But what happens when dreams are conduits of the supernatural?
Today we continue in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. But he refused to tell the dream to anyone. However, he threatened his wise men with death if they couldn’t tell him the dream and interpret it.
Included in that death threat were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. How would God respond to their prayers and reveal the dream to Daniel?

Contextualize It:
-Have you had a dream that you remembered or was meaningful to you? Explain.
-Has God ever spoken to you through a dream? Tell us about it.
-Does God know the future? How do you know?

Esther, The Reluctant Queen

Keith — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:54:22 +0000

In our ongoing series based on the great Old Testament Stories, we bring you one of the most intriguing and universal stories ever told. It also has the unique quality of being the only book in the Bible which does not mention God directly.
But as a story, it has so much more to offer: a drunken king in Xerxes, a disobedient queen in Vashti, a beautiful virgin in Esther, an evil villain in Haman, an everyman hero in Mordecai, and the imminent threat of a horrible genocide against the Jewish people. But, just as wonderful as the characters, are the many plot twists and ironies found in this novella.
This is the story of the Reluctant Queen: Esther.

Join The Conversation:
-What occasion(s) do you celebrate with a family or “tribal” feast?
-Do you “step up” or is it easier for you to “let someone else do it?” Explain
-What cause is worth risking your life for?

Are We There Yet?

Keith — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:26:45 +0000

Last week, I promised you that today would be an Old Testament story that none f you have ever heard. You’ve never heard this story because it is more about what the Bible doesn’t say that what it does.
Terah, Abraham, Sarah, Lot, and his family left Ur of the Chaldees in order to go to Canaan. But as a family, they never made it. Abraham certainly took his family and his nephew lot to Canaan in later years.
Why would Terah leave his home and take his family with him? Did God ask him to? And of He did, why would they stop halfway?
Today our subject is Abraham’s father Terah. Perhaps he grew tired of everyone saying, “Are We There Yet?”

Contextualize It:
-Tell us about a long ride you’ve been on where you wanted to ask, “Are we there yet?”
-Has God ever asked you to do something big or small? Elaborate.
-What happens when we say no to God?

September 11

Keith — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:22:39 +0000

Ten years ago we lived in a different country. It was the land before 9/11. Since September 11, 2001 our lives, our country, and our world have changed.
On that day, thousands of innocent people died. Unfortunately for many of us, so did our hope.
Today we reflect upon the events of that day and discuss the possibility of renewing our hope. It is not our desire to be political nor outrageous. Instead, we want to remember what we will never forget.

Contextualize It:
-Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 attack?
-Tell us about an experience you have had in air travel since 9/11.
-Is optimism just hope in hope or trust in God?

AgoraCast :: Argyris’ Ladder of Inference

Keith — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:06:53 +0000

Argyris’ Ladder of Inference

Keith — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:30:32 +0000

Today we will be sharing the concept developed by former Harvard Business School professor and theorist Chris Argyris. It is what he called the Ladder of Inference.
The Ladder of Inference is a common mental pathway of increasing abstraction, often leading to misguided beliefs.
In his book: The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge says, “…[A]ll the rungs of the ladder take place in my head. The only parts visible to anyone else are the directly observable data at the bottom and my own decision to take action at the top. The rest of the trip…is unseen…and enormously abstract.”

Contextualize It:
-Do you always believe what you see? Explain.
-What do you assume that gets you into trouble?
-How do we break the cycle of erroneous assumptions?

“One on One”

Keith — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:50:14 +0000

Today is an entire day of question and answers. We are wrapping up our conversation with Donald Miller and his guests. We will be joining Drs. Allender and Longman in answering some of these questions:

Contextualize It:
-How does the idol of power affect our lives?
-Which idols do Christians take for granted?
-Which idols do Americans take for granted?
-In what ways is the church being attacked?
-How do you experience God’s goodness?
-How can small groups live out the Gospel?
-Have you ever doubted that God is good?
-What did the Gospel mean to you when you first came to believe it?

The Gospel In A Fallen World

Keith — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:20:58 +0000

In our conversation today Dr. Tremper Longman explains that Jesus experienced the ultimate consequences of the fallen world when He died on the cross. This realization radically reorients the way we enter into suffering and grief in this life.
Then Dr. Dan Allender discusses how the Gospel calls us to enter into the fallen world and the brokenness of others. And he says that if we think of the darkest places in our world, then we find God there.
How do we put the Gospel on display in the world that surrounds us?

Contextualize It:
-What’s the darkest place you can think of?
-What gives you hope?
-What do you see as the universal purpose of the church? Agora?