Diane Jacobson Sessions 1-4

Diane Jacobson (Director of the Book of Faith Initiative) Sessions 1-4


Alive in Our Congregations: Living Into and Out of Our Book of Faith

Overview: One of the deep challenges we face is how to help Scripture come alive in our congregations, not just for ourselves, but also for the sake of God’s world.  Many folks engaged in the Book of Faith Initiative have been meeting this challenge in creative ways that might help others do the same.  In our time together we will explore both the depth of the challenge we face and some of the many opportunities for deeper and broader engagement that lie before us.

Session One: Formed By the Word: Challenges and Promise of Congregational Engagement with the Bible

We will explore together some of the current challenges we face as a church committed to being deeply and continually formed by God’s Word in Scripture.  We will think particularly about the presuppositions and needs that everyday folk bring to Bible study and ask questions like: What would it look like in our place if Scripture really was our primary language of faith, and how might we get there?  What obstacles do we face?  What insights from our tradition might help guide us?  Then we will consider some opportunities and promise of renewed biblical engagement. What activities might we take up, and how can we join together and learn from others?

Session Two: Engaging the Book of Faith and Asking Questions: A Biblical Conversation with Lydia and Paul

How one engages Scripture is central to both deepening our own engagement and moving that engagement outside the doors of the church.  In this session we will explore different sorts of questions we might ask any biblical text through delving into the richly missional text from Acts 16:13-15.



Session Three: Story Matters: One Proposal for Congregational Engagement 
This morning we will spend time with one newly emerging proposal for congregational engagement with the Bible, Story Matters: Claiming our Biblical Identity for the Sake of the World.  This is a proposal from folks working with the Faith Practices Initiative, the Book of Faith Initiative, and Mission Development of the ELCA to help congregations discover and articulate, in a deep and biblically based conversation, their common identity and mission.  Congregations are invited to name their story, explore their story, and live into and out of their story.



Session Four: Story Matters: A Hands-On Engagement: Discovering Our Own Biblical Story 
Having been introduced to Story Matters, in this final session we will try our hand at discovering the biblical story at the heart of our own congregations.  We will explore the stories of our congregations and communities and begin the process of discernment about how discovering our defining biblical stories can help to create us as communities in mission.