The Maturity Pathway
A Narrative Journey is not just a study. It is an experience! As a whole, the journey is a four part series that seeks to establish believers in the essentials of the faith. It seeks to build on of a long tradition of catechism in the history of the church which taught the essentials of the faith through four key summaries: Apostle’s Creed, Ten Commandments, Lord’s Prayer, and Sacraments/Ordinances. Each of these summaries focuses on a key aspect of the Christian life. The Apostle’s Creed sums up the essence of Christian belief. The Ten Commandments o er a summary of godly living. The Lord’s Prayer guides believers into the habits and rhythms in relating to God. The sacraments of baptism and communion instruct us on Christian fellowship.
This series is a modern-day attempt at such a catechism. First, it bases each core teaching o of a key biblical story. It implements a narrative approach that introduces key aspects of the faith with relevant stories and encourages believers to learn to retell these stories in their own words. Second, it curates a context for community and fellowship. While these studies can be completed individually, they are best experienced in the context of fellowship with other believers.
Third, since these summaries of the faith are meant to provide a complete (though not exhaustive) outline of the faith, they are designed to have a journal-feel to them. They are meant to enable believers to track their progress and development in their own spiritual journey. Fourth, it seeks to integrate the various aspects of the Christian life. For instance, a believer should understand the commandments of God in relationship to the gospel. Or, Christian formation must be integrated with the life of the Christian community. And, Christian morality must be supported with habits, rhythms, and practices of Christian formation. In other words, belief in the gospel, obedience of God’s commandments, habits of Christian formation, and participation in meaningful community are not isolated silos of Christian experience but the integrated core to the faith.
The STory behind it all
This study seeks to tell the entire narrative of Scripture through twelve key Bible stories. Each of these stories represents a key moment in God’s unfolding plan and strives to capture the major movement of what God has been doing, is doing, and plans to do in all of human history. Similarly, each of these stories is connected with a key doctrine of the Christian faith. Therefore, this series is designed with a few purposes in mind: 1) for those exploring what the Bible is all about, to ponder the main claims of Christianity, 2) for those new or young to the Christian faith, to ground believers in the essence of Christianity, and 3) for emerging church leaders, to form a narrative framework whereby to view all of reality and ministry within Christian mission.
The best possible life
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The open invitation (January 2019)
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