It is easy to get stuck in a rut sometimes. Sometimes it's the way you think, the way you act, the way you talk, what you talk about, a kind of book you're reading, a kind of food you're eating... All of these can constitute "a rut."

At first the rut is a comfortable place to be. It's nice to know what it is that you can depend on. Before a rut is a rut it is a source of comfort and peace -- a place you go to feel safe. To often, however, we don't see the rut for what it is until it's too late. And at that point, we've committed so much to the effort, and are so deeply entrenched, that the thought alone of shaking ourselves out of it makes us tired and overwhelmed.

This was the case in the church during the time surrounding the Reformation. The church was in a rut and there were a few folks that were challenging some of the long held assumptions in an attempt to make sure that the church was fulfilling its call to be the salt and light of the earth. The church had fallen into a time of insular thinking, and the Reformers wanted to help it break out its rut.

A "battle cry" of sorts developed in support of this project: Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda! which means "the church reformed and always to be reformed!" The idea was that God has been working on us, not in order to turn us into something "new", but in order to return us to the way God originally intended it. The Reformers claimed (And the church still claims) that God has intentions for the world that humanity has perverted. As a result, God is continually working on us and "reforming" us in to who it was that we were created to be. It is a never ending job. We have been reformed -- God will always be reforming us.

In an attempt to participate in this act of reformation, we are going to launch a pilot program throughout this next year called "The Reform(ed) School."

The idea behind The Reform(ed) School is we have been stuck in our own ways of thinking, doing, and being, and we need to be shaken out of them. The best way to do that is to introduce a little bit of difference and dissonance into our lives in a safe space -- a place where we can honestly and openly engage thoughts and ideas that might be different from our own.

To that end, I will be leading four book discussion class this year on Tuesdays. There will be one session in the morning and another in the evening. Childcare will be provided at evening session.

Sept 18 - Oct 23
Dear Kim, This is what I believe... by William Loader
"I wrote this book because people in my family and among my friends have often asked me: "Bill, what do you believe?" about so many aspects of Christian faith. My niece, Kim, now a woman in her 30's was one of many of all ages. As a biblical scholar and theologian it would have been easy for me to take a deep breath, survey all the complexities and begin a long explanation which would have covered all the bases, shown fine academic balance, earned respect as profound exposition from my peers, but which would have left Kim and others yawning. So I decided it would be a good idea if I wrote simply what I believed about some of the key aspects of Christian belief without trying to meet all those other worthy goals. Can I say it plainly and simply? I have tried in this book to do so."

Nov 6 - Dec 11 (No class during Thanksgiving week)
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
"Challenging our submersion into individualism ans social isolation, Thurman suggests a reading of the Gospel that recovers a manual of resistance for the poor ans disenfranchised. He argues that within Jesus' life of suffering, pain, and overwhelming love is a solution that will prevent our descent into moral nihilism. For al though scorned ans forced to live outside of society, Jesus advocated a love of self and others that defeats fear and the hatred that decays our souls and the world around us."

Jan 8 - Feb 19
Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: a Christina perspective edited Micheal Schut
"Simpler Living, Compassionate Life explores voluntary simplicity as a path to wholeness and abundance. The writers encourage you to listen to your own story, and to respond in a dialogue about the fundamental issues of life: time, money, food, spirituality, heritage and community."

Mar 11 - Apr 22
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus J. Borg
"Borg provides an account of contemporary Jesus scholarship--told in simple language for lay readers--and of his personal struggle to find authentic, mature faith. Here, the historical pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Jesus (whom other writers have referred to as the Christ of faith)...are brought together as Borg articulates his own struggle from doubt to faith. His struggle is grounded in contemporary scholarship, personal experience, and 'an understanding of the Christian life as a relationship to the Spirit of God--a relationship that involves one in a journey of transformation.'"

I hope that you make plans to join us!

Looking forward,
Landon