Christians at Our Best: A Six-Week Guide to Living in the Age of Outrage - Softcover

Ed Stetzer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1496436385 ISBN 13: 9781496436382

Publisher: Tyndale Momentum, 2019

Synopsis

Are you tired of reading yet another news story about Christians acting their worst?
Today there are too many examples of those claiming to follow Christ being caustic, divisive, and irrational, contributing to dismissals of the Christian faith as hypocritical, self-interested, and politically co-opted. What has happened in our society? It seems one short outrageous video or pithy post can trigger an avalanche of comments on social media.

Welcome to the new age of outrage.
In this guide, Ed Stetzer--respected columnist and popular Bible teacher--leads small groups through a deep conversation of what it would look like if Christians were at their best. How might our world and our communities be different?

Spend the next six weeks discussing what it means to represent the love of Jesus Christ in this new polarized age.

This discussion guide for small groups is designed to be used with the teaching videos featuring Ed Stetzer (available for purchase at edstetzer.com).

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Christians at Our Best

A Six-Week Guide to Living in the Age of Outrage

By Ed Stetzer, Andrew MacDonald

Tyndale House Publishers

Copyright © 2019 Ed Stetzer
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4964-3638-2

Contents

Introduction: Bringing Our Best to a World Engulfed in Outrage, vii, 
SESSION 1 What Do We Believe? Understanding How and Why We Forge Our Worldviews, 1, 
SESSION 2 What Is Our Purpose? Embracing Our Identity as Kingdom Ambassadors, 13, 
SESSION 3 How Do We See Others? Developing a Winsome Love for People, 25, 
SESSION 4 How Do We Respond to Wrongs? Separating Righteous Anger from Worldly Outrage, 39, 
SESSION 5 How Do We Engage the World? Aligning Our Online Life with Gospel Mission, 53, 
SESSION 6 How Do We Engage Our Community? Recognizing the Power of Thinking Locally, 65, 
Community Map and List Templates, 79, 
Facilitator's Guide, 81, 
Notes, 89, 
About the Authors, 91, 

CHAPTER 1

What Do We Believe?

Understanding How and Why We Forge Our Worldviews

• For a deeper understanding of living with a biblical worldview, read chapter 7 of Christians in the Age of Outrage.

• The teaching video for this week's session is available for purchase at https://edstetzer.com/christians-at-our-best.

Every Christian is called to live in the tension of being in the world yet not of it (John 17:14-16). We are to resist the temptation to believe and live as those who do not know God while also engaging culture rather than isolating ourselves or retreating from it. We are called to be both set apart (1 Peter 2:9) and lights in the darkness (Matthew 5:13-16). The primary way we live out this calling is by ensuring that our worldview is shaped by the gospel even as we speak into a hostile and selfish world.

In this session, we will examine how our habits, our daily routines, and the voices we allow to influence us shape our worldviews for either godliness or worldliness. These same forces also prepare us to either engage with or succumb to the age of outrage.

RECAP AND RESTATE

Use the space below for notes on the key takeaways from the teaching video.

A worldview is a set of __________________ __________________ that inform the way we ________________ and ________________ the world. It is the __________________ through which we interpret ________________ ________________ and _________________.

A worldview can be deformed or worldly if it is influenced by ...

Four categories of gospel-tempered voices that can shape our thinking according to God's truth are

1. __________________________

2. __________________________

3. __________________________

4. __________________________

The three "ancient paths" or spiritual disciplines that help forge a gospel worldview are

1. __________________________

2. __________________________

3. __________________________

CONSIDER

What is one practice you have adopted over the past few years that has affected your daily routine or outlook on life?

REFLECT

In his letter to the Romans, Paul encourages believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God. One practical way we do this is by ensuring that our worldview, the lens through which we see and interpret the world, is shaped by God rather than the culture around us.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

ROMANS 12:1-2, ESV

1. Paul mentions two qualities of our living sacrifice: "holy and acceptable to God." How can we ensure that our worldview is holy and acceptable?

2. Paul calls this act of living sacrifice our "spiritual worship." In what ways does shaping our worldview constitute worship? How can seeing it as worship motivate us to be obedient and faithful?

3. Why is Paul's contrast between conformed to and transformed by important in understanding the difference between worldly and gospel-shaped worldviews?

One way we conform to the world rather than being transformed by God's Spirit is by following worldly leaders. Scripture repeatedly warns against emulating leaders who serve some other agenda or purpose than God's Kingdom. These voices hold immense power in influencing our worldview, distracting us from the mission God has given to us. This is one of the major themes of the Old Testament prophets, who rebuked Israel for listening to foolish and worldly leaders:

This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says to his people:

"Do not listen to these prophets when they
prophesy to you,
filling you with futile hopes.
They are making up everything they say.
They do not speak for the Lord!
They keep saying to those who despise my word,
'Don't worry! The Lord says you will have peace!'
And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires,
they say, 'No harm will come your way!'

"Have any of these prophets been in the Lord's
presence
to hear what he is really saying?
Has even one of them cared enough to listen?"

JEREMIAH 23:16-18

4. How does this passage define false teaching? What common characteristics are there that can help us spot it today? How does worldly teaching differ from godly teaching? (For further background, see Ezekiel 13:4-7.)

5. How did this false teaching affect Israel's worldview? How did it shape the people's relationship to God?

6. This passage tells us the false teachers claimed to speak for God. How can Christians discern whether a leader is honestly speaking for God? What role can family, church, and small groups play in helping believers navigate this challenge?

7. In Luke 6:26, Jesus points back to these Old Testament rebukes to judge the Pharisees: "What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets." Why does Jesus focus on the popularity of false teachers? Why are we tempted to listen to popular leaders?

Our habits also influence our thinking and perspective. Where we spend our time and energy will either lead us deeper into a knowledge and love for God or conform our minds and behavior to the culture around us. In the video, I single out Scripture reading, prayer, and fasting as three crucial spiritual disciplines needed to combat the encroaching influence of outrage today. These help Christians ensure that their inputs and outputs are oriented toward God rather than this world, while also reminding us that we truly need God's presence and provision. Read through the following verses to discover more about each spiritual discipline. Then answer the two questions that follow:

Scripture: Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 15:16; Romans 10:17

Prayer: Ephesians 3:14-17; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 John 5:14-15

Fasting: Joel 2:12-14; Matthew 6:16-18

8. What do these passages teach us about the disciplines and how God uses them in our lives?

DIG DEEPER

The apostle Paul exhorts believers "to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life ... and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self" (Ephesians 4:22?24, esv). In other words, more than simply removing the voices of outrage from our lives, we who are believers need to replace them with leaders who are mature in their faith and devoted to building God's Kingdom. I call these "gospel-tempered" voices, leaders in our lives who have chosen to refine their thinking and behavior by the gospel, just as fire tempers metal. In the video, I suggest that Christians need to find four kinds of leaders to follow: cultural, pastoral, theological, and local. Such leaders help us understand the world, respond to the challenges of life, deepen our faith, and pursue life-on-life discipleship with others.

1. Who are these gospel-tempered voices in your life? Share examples of the ways God has used these leaders (whether through their writing or speaking, or in real-life interactions) to help shape your worldview.

a. Cultural: How have they challenged you to see and engage the world in ways that are in line with the gospel?

b. Pastoral: How have they encouraged you to respond to specific trials and challenges in your spiritual walk?

c. Theological: How have they deepened your knowledge of God and his Word?

d. Local: How have they walked through seasons of life with you and your family? What lessons have you learned from their discipleship?

2. If listening to false teachers is easy and appealing, how can listening to gospel-tempered voices be difficult? What are some ways we can persist in listening to convicting teaching?

In Christians in the Age of Outrage, I explore how our daily habits and routines have been profoundly reshaped by technological advances. Most startling, we often don't notice how much of our lives we give to these new habits.

The entertainment industry is always studying ways to hold our attention for the longest stretch of time. Whether companies are trying to entice us to go from one show to the next, one article to the next, or one blog post to the next, they will not let our attention go without a fight. The root of the issue is this: They are fighting for our discipleship, for our love. ...

In a new reality where there is more content than we can possibly consume, we need to develop the necessary discipline to recognize the danger in drinking from a bottomless mug. There is always another podcast, always another Instagram post, always another television series.

Pages 142–143

In his well-known 1978 book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster noted, "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem." If anything, the "doctrine of instant satisfaction" has become more of an idol than it was when Foster penned those words. Christians need to consider how our media habits are discipling us and shaping our thinking and engagement with the world in ways we may not even notice.

3. Why is it important to think critically about our habits? How can being ambivalent or uncritical hurt our worldview in the long run?

4. What does it mean that everyone is "fighting for our discipleship, for our love"? How can we form habits and behaviors that protect us from adopting unhealthy thoughts and actions?

5. What are some ways that Christians can use technology and media (shows, podcasts, social media) to help shape a gospel worldview? What practices and resources do you use that contribute to this worldview?

RESPOND AND ENGAGE

One of the most frustrating realities of ministry is how Christians treat spiritual disciplines. When pastors talk about the value of prayer, Bible study, and fasting, the majority of believers agree. Yet when we look at how frequently these are practiced by people within the church, we see that only a fraction of believers engage in them. A recent study found that just 45 percent of people who attend church regularly read the Bible more than once a week. More than 40 percent of church attenders read their Bibles occasionally, about once or twice a month. Almost one in five churchgoers say they never read the Bible, which is about the same number as those who read it every day.

In other words, even though many Christians acknowledge that spiritual disciplines are essential to their spiritual walk, they don't practice them.

Like the person who wants muscles without working out, we want the fruit of spiritual maturity without the discipline of submitting our thinking and habits to the gospel. But the truth is, if we want a worldview shaped by the gospel, we must incorporate spiritual disciplines into our lives.

1. Why do you think Christians acknowledge the importance of spiritual disciplines but struggle to practice them? What major obstacles have prevented you from practicing one or more of these disciplines?

2. Reflect on a time when you were able to incorporate a spiritual discipline into your life. How did it affect your spiritual walk? How did that difference shape how you saw and engaged the world?

3. Take a moment to think through the habits, disciplines, and influences in your life right now. Then answer the questions below.

a. What worldly or unthinking habits have you developed? What spiritual disciplines have you developed? How do you think these have shaped or continue to shape your worldview?

b. Who are some of the voices of outrage that you've followed? How have the gospel-tempered voices you identified on pages 7–8 helped counteract these voices of outrage?

PRAYER PROMPT

Before ending, spend time praying about your worldview as well as the habits and influences that have shaped the way you see and engage the world. Ask God to bring conviction about areas that need to change and for his Spirit to bless your efforts to incorporate new spiritual disciplines and gospel-tempered voices into your life.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Christians at Our Best by Ed Stetzer, Andrew MacDonald. Copyright © 2019 Ed Stetzer. Excerpted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tyndale Momentum
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1496436385
• ISBN 13: 9781496436382
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112