Book Club
Many people are frustrated by the inability to get together in person for spiritual growth.
I have written several books with study guides, and my church is currently doing a virtual study group through Zoom based on The Face of Jesus.
If you’d like to do something similar for your church, it’s pretty easy. Just secure a coordinator to take registrations and facilitate discussion each week. The books are available on Amazon, but if some of your people do not use online purchasing services, the church could buy them and make them available at your office or after church services. Each study guide is designed for an eight-week session. I suggest allowing 60 to 90 minutes, and if you have a large group, you can set up break out rooms on Zoom, or run several groups on different days, each with a different facilitator.
If you are not part of a church that is interested in participating as a group, I will be running groups from time to time with anywhere from six to ten people in a group. If you are interested, drop me an email with the best days and times for you (be sure you include your time zone), and I’ll let you know when I am starting a group.
Following is a description of each book.
The Face of Jesus
What do you see when you see the face of Jesus? Some see the historical Semitic Jesus, other perhaps a Jesus with blond hair and blue eyes, or a Jesus with skin that is black, brown, red, white, or yellow. We see Jesus in our own cultural context because he speaks to all languages, all cultures, all times. Beyond the cultural context, we, at different times, see the happy Jesus, the sad Jesus, the angry Jesus, the disappointed Jesus, the suffering Jesus, the triumphant Jesus, because he is all these things. I invite you to enter this book from the eyes of those who encountered the historical Jesus up close and personal, and to let it guide you into your own encounter with the face of Jesus.
The Face of Jesus Study Guide
This Study Guide is meant to be used along with the book, The Face of Jesus. This study guide is for churches, book clubs, a nd others who want to study and discuss the encounters in The Face of Jesus, and more deeply understand their own personal encounters with Jesus. The book is written, more or less, in chronological order. This guide has broken down the chapters by category; therefore, does not follow the book, chapter by chapter. It’s meant to help readers put themselves in various roles when encountering Jesus. Whether you are male or female, I ask you to put yourself in the position of the disciples and of the women who encountered Jesus. Whether you consider yourself rich and powerful, or one of the marginalized, or perhaps even both, I ask you to consider what those who saw the Face of Jesus felt. To get the most out of this study guide, I suggest you read the entire book first, and then go back and read the chapters in the groups shown in the study guide. Answer the questions on your own, and then discuss in a group your answers. And listen with an open heart to the views of the others in your group.
See This Christ
A thoughtful read of a Christ who is present and approachable in our daily lives. It's easy to read with a pondering and deliberate style of drawing forth images to aid in our reflection on the Laughing Christ, the Teaching Christ, The Angry Christ, the Healing Christ, the Servant Christ, the Dying Christ, the Risen Christ, and the Loving Christ.
It's the perfect book for churches, Christian book clubs, ministries, schools, and all who wish to better understand Jesus.
See This Christ Study Guide
This study guide is for churches, book clubs, and others who want to study and discuss the author's book, See This Christ, and more deeply understand their own personal encounters with Christ and his people. Be sure to pick up the book, since this study guide is intended to supplement it.
The main book consists of eight chapters. This study guide is likewise organized for an eight-week discussion group, following the book, chapter by chapter. It’s meant to help readers understand the role of Christ in today’s world and in their daily lives. It looks at the many sides of Jesus and helps us relate his life to our own.
To get the most out of this study guide, the author suggests you read the entire book first, and then go back and read each chapter, as you work through this study guide. Answer the questions on your own, and then discuss in a group your answers. And listen with an open heart to the views of the others in your group.
Discussion at this level is best held in groups of from four to eight, so if you have a large group, you may want to form breakout groups and then have each group summarize their discussions for the entire group. You can switch the breakout groups for each lesson, affording each member of the larger group a wide array of thoughts and insights.
You can also use this guide for your own personal study.