Makes me respect teachers who do this every week a lot more.\u00a0I\u2019ve got more insecurity popping up than a furry head in Whack-a-Mole.<\/p>\n
Feel free to pray for us about all that, but enough external processing for now.<\/p>\n
What I wanted to do is share some of the resources I\u2019ve found to be extremely valuable surrounding the story of God.<\/p>\n
Interested?<\/p>\n
#1 ADAM COX\u2019S \u201cTHE GOD STORY\u201d<\/h3>\n
Adam was one of our pastors while going through The Vision Course in Kansas City, MO. He is one of the most passionate and gifted teachers I know.<\/p>\n I listened to this series for the first time shortly after Lauren and I got married in 2012. We lived in a POS apartment about 2.5 miles from my office. I would ride my bike to and from work as Adam made emphatic point after point in my earbuds.<\/p>\n He has devoted countless hours to studying the story of God from Genesis to Revelation, and it shows. With Adam\u2019s teaching you don\u2019t just get a Biblical survey, you get the heart of the Father who wants a family of sons and daughters woven throughout the story.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why I appreciate it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a free download.\u00a0Here\u2019s the link.<\/a><\/p>\n I picked up The Explicit Gospel shortly after it first came out in 2011. My boss at the time, Josh, was a huge Mark Driscoll\/Acts 29 fan, and he may have even bought the book for me. I didn\u2019t have much context for who Chandler was before reading it, and still don\u2019t, if I\u2019m honest, but it impacted me.<\/p>\n I think I brought it with me on a flight to Kansas City. I was flying out to help Lauren pack up her car and move home (that was a happy day for me!) It\u2019s a little blurry, but I think I read it cover to cover between takeoff and landing.<\/p>\n He brought an emphasis on the greatness of God that moved\u00a0me. I remember driving with Lauren somewhere in-between KC and PHX, and getting blown away by how God knew every rock we passed, and had watched it be formed over the years.<\/p>\n Also, I think it was this book that made me first realize that I am not the main character of God\u2019s story. I mean, I probably knew that before reading it, but it became so clear that I lived as if I were in the center of this story. Nope. God is the main character. He\u2019s the \u201cbig enchilada,\u201d as my mom would say. I get to play a role\u2014an important role nonetheless\u2014but God remains firmly at the center of this story.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the Amazon link.<\/a><\/p>\n I read this book for the first time just a couple months ago. It was my first McLaren book, and I loved it.<\/p>\n The Story We Find Ourselves In challenged me in a lot of ways. It forced me to reconsider some assumptions I\u2019ve had for a long time. I particularly appreciated the conversation it started in my own heart around evolution, creation, the atonement, and sin.<\/p>\n I\u2019m still wrestling through most of that, and overall having a blast doing it.<\/p>\n I guess McLaren has pissed off a certain subsection of Evangelical Christianity, but I\u2019m alright with that. I think he\u2019s asking good\u00a0questions and sparking good conversations.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the link.<\/a><\/p>\n *Side note*<\/em><\/p>\n I doubt TSWFOI and TEG have shared real estate on many blog posts in the past. The entire Creation chapter of TEF is a defense of historical creationism over evolution. Meanwhile, TSWFOI spends a significant chunk of energy dealing with that topic from the other side.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NT Wright deserves a quick shoutout. I read\u00a0Simply Jesus<\/a>\u00a0several years ago and am reading\u00a0Surprised By Hope<\/a>\u00a0now, and have watched some videos and listened to podcasts he was on promoting\u00a0The Day The Revolution Began<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wright has helped me piece together different parts of the story and turn it into a cohesive meta narrative that everything fits into. His work on helping us understand the Jewish worldview is invaluable. Although every page he writes takes me about 6 months to comprehend, I\u2019m grateful for his voice.<\/p>\n The final honorable mention is my friend, Dayne Lukes. He helped lead the Vision Course discipleship school that I mentioned before. Every Friday for 9 months, Dayne would teach for 1.5-2 hours from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. His poetic heart brought a profound perspective to the story for me.<\/p>\n What resources have been helpful for you in falling in love with God\u2019s story?[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is a big week for our budding community. We are kicking off our 12 months set aside for the purpose of laying foundations. We\u2019ll begin teaching for the first time as a community. And the very first topic we\u2019re tackling is\u2026 the Gospel! And in true AZ summer fashion we\u2019ll be kicking it off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"This is a big week for our budding community.\r\n\r\nWe are kicking off our 12 months set aside for the purpose of laying foundations. We\u2019ll begin teaching for the first time as a community. And the very first topic we\u2019re tackling is\u2026 the Gospel! And in true AZ summer fashion we\u2019ll be kicking it off with a pool party.\r\n\r\nThe Gospel is the story of God and humanity, and it\u2019s one of my favorite things. In the God Story we discover who God is, who we are, and what he\u2019s all about.\r\n\r\nI\u2019m excited and I\u2019m nervous.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019ll be great\u00a0because I love the topic, and I love engaging in these kinds of conversations with these people. They have such beautiful hearts!\r\n\r\nBut I\u2019m wary as I feel the weight of responsibility to:\r\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.anewkindofcommunity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/grey-square.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n#2 THE EXPLICIT GOSPEL<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.anewkindofcommunity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/12915261._UY400_SS400_.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n#3 THE STORY WE FIND OURSELVES IN<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.anewkindofcommunity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/dscf4274.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHONORABLE MENTION<\/h3>\n
WHAT ABOUT YOU?<\/h3>\n
\r\n \t
#1 ADAM COX\u2019S \u201cTHE GOD STORY\u201d<\/h3>\r\n
<\/a>\r\n\r\nAdam was one of our pastors while going through The Vision Course in Kansas City, MO. He is one of the most passionate and gifted teachers I know.\r\n\r\nI listened to this series for the first time shortly after Lauren and I got married in 2012. We lived in a POS apartment about 2.5 miles from my office. I would ride my bike to and from work as Adam made emphatic point after point in my earbuds.\r\n\r\nHe has devoted countless hours to studying the story of God from Genesis to Revelation, and it shows. With Adam\u2019s teaching you don\u2019t just get a Biblical survey, you get the heart of the Father who wants a family of sons and daughters woven throughout the story.\r\n\r\nAnd that\u2019s why I appreciate it.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s a free download.\u00a0Here\u2019s the link.<\/a>\r\n#2 THE EXPLICIT GOSPEL<\/h3>\r\n
<\/a>\r\n\r\nI picked up The Explicit Gospel shortly after it first came out in 2011. My boss at the time, Josh, was a huge Mark Driscoll\/Acts 29 fan, and he may have even bought the book for me. I didn\u2019t have much context for who Chandler was before reading it, and still don\u2019t, if I\u2019m honest, but it impacted me.\r\n\r\nI think I brought it with me on a flight to Kansas City. I was flying out to help Lauren pack up her car and move home (that was a happy day for me!) It\u2019s a little blurry, but I think I read it cover to cover between takeoff and landing.\r\n\r\nHe brought an emphasis on the greatness of God that moved\u00a0me. I remember driving with Lauren somewhere in-between KC and PHX, and getting blown away by how God knew every rock we passed, and had watched it be formed over the years.\r\n\r\nAlso, I think it was this book that made me first realize that I am not the main character of God\u2019s story. I mean, I probably knew that before reading it, but it became so clear that I lived as if I were in the center of this story. Nope. God is the main character. He\u2019s the \u201cbig enchilada,\u201d as my mom would say. I get to play a role\u2014an important role nonetheless\u2014but God remains firmly at the center of this story.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s the Amazon link.<\/a>\r\n#3 THE STORY WE FIND OURSELVES IN<\/h3>\r\n
<\/a>\r\n\r\nI read this book for the first time just a couple months ago. It was my first McLaren book, and I loved it.\r\n\r\nThe Story We Find Ourselves In challenged me in a lot of ways. It forced me to reconsider some assumptions I\u2019ve had for a long time. I particularly appreciated the conversation it started in my own heart around evolution, creation, the atonement, and sin.\r\n\r\nI\u2019m still wrestling through most of that, and overall having a blast doing it.\r\n\r\nI guess McLaren has pissed off a certain subsection of Evangelical Christianity, but I\u2019m alright with that. I think he\u2019s asking good\u00a0questions and sparking good conversations.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s the link.<\/a>\r\n\r\n*Side note*<\/em>\r\n\r\nI doubt TSWFOI and TEG have shared real estate on many blog posts in the past. The entire Creation chapter of TEF is a defense of historical creationism over evolution. Meanwhile, TSWFOI spends a significant chunk of energy dealing with that topic from the other side.\u00a0<\/em>\r\nHONORABLE MENTION<\/h3>\r\nNT Wright deserves a quick shoutout. I read\u00a0Simply Jesus<\/a>\u00a0several years ago and am reading\u00a0Surprised By Hope<\/a>\u00a0now, and have watched some videos and listened to podcasts he was on promoting\u00a0The Day The Revolution Began<\/a>.\r\n\r\nWright has helped me piece together different parts of the story and turn it into a cohesive meta narrative that everything fits into. His work on helping us understand the Jewish worldview is invaluable. Although every page he writes takes me about 6 months to comprehend, I\u2019m grateful for his voice.\r\n\r\nThe final honorable mention is my friend, Dayne Lukes. He helped lead the Vision Course discipleship school that I mentioned before. Every Friday for 9 months, Dayne would teach for 1.5-2 hours from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. His poetic heart brought a profound perspective to the story for me.\r\n
WHAT ABOUT YOU?<\/h3>\r\nWhat resources have been helpful for you in falling in love with God\u2019s story?","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n