Chapter 15 Discussion Questions

Chapter 15:  Finding a Holy Self

Barnes says that it is God’s goal for us that, as we learn to delight in God, we are able to delight in our own lives (p. 208). 

How does deeply loving God free us from the obligation of trying to live up to what we feel are God’s expectations for us and for our lives?  How can it change our relationships with other people in our lives?

On page 215, Barnes says, “(God’s) invitation to us is to spend a lot more time praying to know his heart than his will.”  What does this mean?

On page 216, Barnes asks, “Have you embraced your identity as the beloved – the Father’s gift to you?”

And then, “It is the only thing that will satisfy your thirst.”  This identity, that we are God’s beloved, is the only thing that will satisfy our thirst.  Contemplate this.  Pray for this.  Know this.  Experience the freedom that this gift provides.

Chapter 14 Discussion Questions

Chapter 14:  Finding a Holy Joy

Read the first paragraph of the chapter, regarding “falling in love with God,” together.  Do you feel that, at this stage of your spiritual journey, you are overwhelmed with the joy of loving God? Have you replaced the possibility for joy with spiritual development?

Has the message of the Gospels, that God loved you so much that he sent his only begotten Son, transformed your life?  If not, how have you responded to this message? 

What does being in love with God look like?

On pages 198-199, Barnes says, “God has always reserved his greatest judgment for those who remain indifferent – and who think God is indifferent.”  Barnes refers to Revelation 3:16, in which God tells the Laodiceans, “So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  And, he says on page 200, “Spiritual apathy leaves the worst lukewarm taste in the mouth of a passionate God.”  Are we guilty of indifference, apathy, and “lukewarm-ness” as a response to the incredible message of the Gospels?

Barnes proposes three ways of finding a Holy Joy:

1)  Living with Gratitude

2)  Loving God with reckless abandon

(p. 202):  When it comes to things such as health and morality, being careful is pretty important, but there are other times when it is not as wise – like when we are trying to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

3)  Having Hope

(p. 206):  Of course we do not always get what we really want – but that does not mean that we dare give up the joy of having hope.  We are a people who must have hope.  Not just because it makes us feel good, but, more profoundly, because God is involved in this world.  The most powerful illustration of this truth can be seen in his coming to be with us in Jesus Christ.”

What do you think? If you haven’t already found a Holy Joy, can you make some changes to live this life?

Chapter 13 Discussion Questions

Chapter 13:  Finding a Holy Purpose

Read Luke 4:18 – 19 (also on p. 182 of “Sacred Thirst”), in which Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-2.  What does this tell us about Jesus’ own holy purpose?  Barnes says (p. 183) “The purpose of our insatiable thirst is not only to have it satisfied by worshiping in spirit and truth, but to restore our lives as a blessing for the families of the earth.  Or, like Jesus, to pray that we too may be anointed by the Spirit to bring good news to the poor.” 

Do you ever find yourself turning off the news or putting the newspaper down because it is just too much bad news?  Too much pain and too much hurt?  Barnes says (p. 184) “if we close our eyes and stop up our ears to the injustice in the world, it will be impossible to see any visions from God.” Consider worship in this context.  Should our worship be a sanctuary, shielding us from “the world?”  Barnes asks, “how is this worship helping to transform the world?”  How can glorifying God, the true purpose of worship, help to transform the world?

In the section “Spirituality Creates Leaders,” Barnes says that leaders are not born. “They are created and shaped by worshiping communities who instill their great visions into young lives.”  (p. 188) How do you think we are doing at this task with our youth?  Are they “being confronted with a holy purpose for their lives?”

In the last chapter we read that Jesus asked a big question: “What are you looking for?”  Here’s another BIG QUESTION:  Is your faith making a difference?  Are you leading other people to holiness?  Leading them to Jesus?

On page 192, Barnes says, “If you want to avoid being hurt or ever having to experience failure, avoid at all costs any attempts to make a difference.”  Does this challenge you?  Are you ready to take on the challenge?  Have you “done your time in the wilderness,” thirsting for God, so you are ready?

Chapter 12 Discussion Questions

Chapter 12:  Finding a Holy Place

In this chapter, Barnes continues with the theme that neither “the church, the small group, one’s parent, pastor, mentor, or spiritual director” can be the living water.  “At their best, at their very best, these teachers of spirituality are only preparing the way for another.” (p. 168)

In your conversations with God, do you tend to skirt the “real questions,” (What are you looking for?) that may be too powerful or painful to tackle?  Barnes says that “Jesus will put up with our petitions about relationships, health, work, and the many concerns of our daily life, but only in order that he might reveal more of himself to us through them.”  (p. 169) Do you agree?

What are some things you, personally, need to let go of in order to slip through the narrow door to enter the holy place?

What is the meaning of a “holy place?”  Is it a place at all?  Is it a building, or a sanctuary or a room that has been set apart so that we can feel closer to God there?  Or does it reside within us?  Or does it reside in community?  Barnes seems to say that we take the holy place with us, wherever we are in our daily lives.  It is “where we do all the ordinary things as extraordinary acts of faithfulness to the God who led us there.” (p. 176) Can this outlook change our everyday interactions and mindset?

Do you know people who have incorporated this outlook into their lives, who you can use as examples for this way of living?

Barnes points out that when the Gospel writers were telling stories about Jesus, they frequently begin with “as Jesus was walking along, something happened…” Barnes uses this as a metaphor for our lives – we can’t stay in one place, spiritually, mentally, or emotionally, even when that place is very comfortable.  The way of faith means that we should be “on the move,” constantly growing.  What do you think of this challenge?

Chapter 11 Discussion Questions

Chapter 11:  Finding a Holy People

This chapter begins Part 3 of the book.  We have examined “The Thirsty Christian” (Chapters 1 – 5) and “The Living Water (Chapters 6 – 10), and we now move to “Satisfying the Thirst” (Chapters 11 – 15).

Chapter 11 proposes that our spiritual community, while it is not the well of living water itself, can help us “shape our identity closer and closer to the image of Jesus Christ.”

Barnes begins by discussing our “true” identity (who God created us to be in Christ), our story, and our “family” (both biological and our faith family).  Thoughts?

On page 160, Barnes says, “So, while the church can never satisfy our thirst to encounter God, it can nurture the thirst, point us to the thin stream that flows from heaven, and even remind us of who we are in Christ.”  Have you ever considered that the purpose of the church is to “remind us of who we are in Christ?”  How does that alter your vision of the “business” of the church?  Could this vision also “free us to finally enjoy the community for what it is rather than to despair over what it is not?”  (p. 160).

Despair over what the church is not can sometimes lead to “rabble-rousing.”  What do you think of Barnes’ point that God had a role for the rabble-rousers in scripture.  “He had a role even for them, which was ultimately to present his people with a choice – whether to trust God, or to listen to the voices that were making them anxious.”  (p. 161).

Barnes describes communion as a feast that unites all believers – a multicultural language.  And, he defines the community of believers (the neighborhood of God) as those in need of mercy, in essence, all of us.  What do these interpretations imply about our search for a holy community, a “Holy People?”

Chapter 10 Discussion Questions

Chapter 10: The Courage to Believe

Barnes begins this chapter by stating that believing is not complicated, but it is hard.  As humans, we struggle with questioning, with doubt, with wanting more from our faith while at the same time not being willing to “settle down next to the small stream we have been given.”  How are you doing with “settling down next to the small stream?”  Do you find that you are not content to sit by the stream, using the excuse that you are trying to find a raging river?

Read together the middle passage on page 138 that begins with “What we need…. and ends with “The real question is, will we do it?” 

Discuss Barnes’ thought that it is not by our longing and working to “climb up the ladder” that we quench our spiritual thirst, but that “by believing that these God-given disciplines can become the channel through which the waters flow down.  Only the Spirit can control the flow.” (p. 140) How are you doing on practicing the disciplines that will allow the waters to flow down?

Talk about the “Jesus is in your boat” metaphor.  How would your behavior change, at home, in the workplace, around town, if you lived as if Jesus were in your boat?

On page 145, Barnes says, “Salvation comes, then, not through resolve, but through surrender.”  And, he continues on page 146:  “It isn’t terribly complicated, but it is so very hard because it requires that we believe the Holy Spirit will do what we cannot do.”   Surrender (along with other Christian values such as humility) seems so contrary to human nature and to our cultural norms.  How do we do it? Is this truly what sets a believer apart?

Barnes defines faith as a “courageous choice to believe.” (p. 149). Discuss this in light of the resurrection story.  “If we were convinced that the grave was not able to hold Jesus, we would not be surprised to discover that he is still at work in our lives and in the world.”

Relate the following passage from http://www.ignatianspirituality.com to Barnes’ discussion of believing before the crisis hits:

Spiritual consolation is an experience of being so on fire with God’s love that we feel impelled to praise, love, and serve God and help others as best as we can. Spiritual consolation encourages and facilitates a deep sense of gratitude for God’s faithfulness, mercy, and companionship in our life. In consolation, we feel more alive and connected to others.

Spiritual desolation, in contrast, is an experience of the soul in heavy darkness or turmoil. We are assaulted by all sorts of doubts, bombarded by temptations, and mired in self-preoccupations. We are excessively restless and anxious and feel cut off from others. Such feelings, in Ignatius’s words, “move one toward lack of faith and leave one without hope and without love.”

The key question in interpreting consolation and desolation is:  where is the movement coming from and where is it leading me? Spiritual consolation does not always mean happiness. Spiritual desolation does not always mean sadness. Sometimes an experience of sadness is a moment of conversion and intimacy with God. Times of human suffering can be moments of great grace. Similarly, peace or happiness can be illusory if these feelings are helping us avoid changes we need to make.

Chapter 9 Discussion Questions

Chapter 9:  The Longing to Confess

Think about, or actually take a moment to draw, the pie chart of how you spend your time.  What does this reveal about your heart?  Is it divided/compartmentalized?

What do you think of Barnes’ idea that “compartmentalization” doesn’t work; that we are fooling ourselves if we believe that we can live by compartmentalizing our lives? 

On page 125, Barnes offers the OED’s definition of integrity:  “undivided, unbroken, unmixed, structurally pure; and one who possesses sound moral virtue.”  Think of some people you know who you believe are examples of integrity.  What is it about the example they provide that leads you to respect them?

So, why is living with integrity so hard?  Barnes offers three problems:

1)  The judgmental problem.  We KNOW we are sinners!  We know we should do  what’s right, and we want to do what is right, but it is so hard!

2)  The devil problem.  We are tempted.  On page 131, Barnes says, “Satan does not tempt us to self-destruct because we are weak.  Generally speaking, he is not worried about weak people.  Rather, he tempts us because we are strong and full of resolve to do the right thing."

3)  The despair problem. “We despair of ever being able to change.”

What is the solution to all of these problems?  “The Power of the Savior.”  And where do we meet the savior?  In worship.

At the bottom of page 135, Barnes says, “The way we experience this union with Christ in worship is simply through confession.”  Do you think that, particularly in contemporary/non-liturgical worship, we have gotten away from the act of confession? Barnes says, “it is always as we confess our own inability (to live righteously) that we discover the ability of Spirit and Truth (in Christ).”  What do you think about confession as a way of meeting God?