The Dead Sect
THE INVITATION:
We invite you to gather with friends and people you trust. Spend some time together to help each other make it through life. Be courageous in sharing, compassionate in responding, and creative in your resilience together for the good of all.
CHECK IN:
How is going?
How can we help?
Who else do we need to think and pray about today?
CONSIDER THIS:
The founders of Methodism always feared that a future church would have none of the spirit of a faith community, only empty activities of one. They worried that we’d opt for the enticing death that comes from “us vs. them” thinking. They called for the church, like Lazarus, to leave that death behind and claim a relational, loving, and other-oriented Christian body. Check out the song “The Dead Sect” from Carl Thomas Gladstone, and listen for language that encourages you “come out” of empty practices and binaries and into the full life lived in beloved community.
DISCUSS:
What is a practice in your life that actually leads to emptiness?
Who is a person in your life that gives you hope and joy when you spend time with them?
In John 11 we see Jesus respond to the calls of his friends. And, even though he was delayed, he still brings healing and new life. When have you felt the arrival of new possibilities when a friend finally showed up?
How could you organize your friend group, church, dorm hall residents, neighborhood to be a life-giving community for each other? What empty practices and divisive binaries would you have to give up or push back against?
SENDING:
Check out some of the context of John 11 at The Bible Project. How can you put yourself in helpful proximity to a friend this week? Even though it may cause you some trouble, and may even be dangerous - how can we follow Jesus and choose connection and healing over disconnection and sickness?
