Slow Church Study Guide

High-speed internet. Rapid rewards. Quick thinking. Fast food. Fast . . . church? Slow Church by Chris Smith and John Pattison has been eagerly received by a people who are ready to be invited out of franchise faith and back into the kingdom of God. This eleven-session study guide provides an opportunity to reflect on the message of this groundbreaking book both individually and in community. Each session features A guide to lectio divina Suggested videos that can be watched online A series of in-depth questions expanded from what is currently in the book A quote for reflection Here is an opportunity to begin to develop a deeper and richer community where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loved the church.

In today's fast-food world, Christianity can seem outdated or archaic. The temptation becomes to pick up the pace and play the game. But Chris Smith and John Pattison invites us to leave franchise faith behind and enter the kingdom of God, where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loves the church.

Readers' Choice Award Winner Best Books About the Church from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore Fast food. Fast cars. Fast and furious. Fast forward. Fast . . . church? The church is often idealized (or demonized) as the last bastion of a bygone era, dragging our feet as we're pulled into new moralities and new spiritualities. We guard our doctrine and our piety with great vigilance. But we often fail to notice how quickly we're capitulating, in the structures and practices of our churches, to a culture of unreflective speed, dehumanizing efficiency and dis-integrating isolationism. In the beginning, the church ate together, traveled together and shared in all facets of life. Centered as they were on Jesus, these seemingly mundane activities took on their own significance in the mission of God. In Slow Church, Chris Smith and John Pattison invite us to leave franchise faith behind and enter into the ecology, economy and ethics of the kingdom of God, where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loved the church.

Headlines rage with big stories about big churches. But tucked away in neighborhoods throughout North America is a profound work of hope quietly unfolding as the gospel takes root in the context of a place. The future of the church is local, connected to the struggles of the people and even to the land itself.

We want to believe that a slower life is possible, but we're afraid of what we'll miss if we don't keep up the pace. So we bend to the pressure and miss the gift of rest and slowness. What if we could move from a place of depleting hurry to grasp the high reward of good things grown slowly? In this Bible study, which accompanies a trade book by the same name, Jennifer Dukes Lee helps readers dig deep into Scripture to reveal how land is a picture of our slow growth into claiming the promises of God. The land is more than a backdrop for the Bible. It is a central part of the magnificent narrative, from the very beginning when Creator God used dirt to make life on a farm called Eden. Jennifer weaves these biblical lessons into her own experience of the importance of land, gleaned from her fifth-generation farm. The land--both then and now--teaches us how to un-hurry our hurry-sick hearts.

The urgent need for prayer in today’s broken world is clear, but busyness still keeps many of us from finding time to pray. So Bill Hybels offers us his practical, time-tested ideas on slowing down to pray. In this four-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately) based on Hybels’s classic book on prayer, Too Busy Not to Pray calls both young and old to make prayer a priority, broadening the vision for what our eternal, powerful God does when his people slow down to pray. In Too Busy Not to Pray, you and your small group will learn: The importance of a consistent time and place for prayer How to organize prayers according to tried-and-true frameworks How to hear the Spirit’s promptings To love prayer time Hybels helps you slow down, listen to God, and learn how to respond. As a result, you will grow closer to God and experience the benefits of spending time with him. Sessions include: Why Pray? (15:00) Our Part of the Deal (20:00) When Prayer Feels Hard (19:00) People of Prayer (20:00) Designed for use with the Too Busy Not to Pray Video Study (sold separately).

This is a book for pacesetters -- church leaders who desire to help their churches break free of the things that turn them in on themselves. It is a masterly mix of biblical principle, objective analysis, and personal experience.

Sometimes pastors fear that if people knew who we really are, we'd be disqualified from ministry. Not so, says pastor Mandy Smith. Transparently describing her pastoral journey, Smith shows how vulnerability shapes ministry, unpacking the biblical paradox that God's strength is revealed in our weakness. God has called you to lead just as the human you are.