We’ve been working on this for a while, and it’s finally here! Now fully able to be used by individuals, churches, small groups, or groups of friends—our course “Essential Christianity” is now completely available online in video or audio formats (on Teachable.com), printable as a PDF, downloadable on your Kindle, or published as an actual book (from Amazon) to hold in your hands, with a website full of accompanying resources. The book itself has been substantially amplified with added personal and group discussion questions specific to each short paragraph, guidance on how to do the course in group settings over 8 or 15 weeks, and suggested simple spiritual practices to engage God along the way alone or together.
In other words, anyone, anywhere, anytime can learn, encounter God, and be inspired by “the main points and many integrations, implications, and invitations of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God” (from the Intro). This is really exciting, especially in a time when the beauty of Jesus and the Christian faith can be hard even for Christians to see because of personal circumstances, global or national events, and the exposure of many failures of the church. There are lots of legitimate reasons for how beautiful Christianity gets obscured. “Essential Christianity” is one of our joyful responses, and we’re really glad that now it’s widely available for anyone who is wondering what Christianity is actually about, or any person or group who might find it useful to refresh their vision of God and be in awe of Jesus once again. One participant wrote, “Everything is so good, so true – it’s like returning to my first love.”
Friends, especially now we think “Essential Christianity” is a really helpful course for so many folks who feel let down by the church, are painfully disillusioned or disoriented or deconstructing, are holding on to God by their fingernails, or who hold a caricature of what Christianity is all about, or who simply want to go deeper into the great God we serve. We want to see many people use it, so please share this new resource far and wide, with friends of faith, weakened faith, or no faith, with your pastors and small group leaders, or do it yourself or with a small group of friends. We’d love to hear how you experience it.
Two final things: While there is a small fee for the course, we can also make discounts available if cost is an issue; email us to learn more. And, thanks to the great team who has made this possible! May God use “Essential Christianity” to bolster the faith of many and lead all of us into wonder, awe, most importantly, Love.
Testimonials for Essential Christianity:
We have been so looking forward to being a part of the Essential Christianity gatherings. We both believed we would really like it, but I don’t think either one of us knew that we would love it right out of the gate. We were encouraged and refreshed in a meaningful way. As for many, these past couple of years have been so disorienting as it relates to our cultural evangelical Christianity and the church.
Each session is like a breath of fresh air, and I am so grateful for the perspective this course is giving me.
It is so refreshing to review the basics of our ‘mere Christianity’ with other followers of Jesus, to remind ourselves of the essential points of agreement of our faith. Many of the other disagreements and contentious issues can be worked out, as long as we agree on the essentials.
I usually hate an evening class after a full work day but find myself energized and refreshed after each of the Essential Christianity” classes. Everything is so good, so true – it’s like returning to my first love.
In my experience as a Christian, this is the first time I have been in a group where these vital questions about the Church are discussed so lovingly and openly without any apparent human ‘agenda’ other than to glorify the Trinity.
A return to the core things, the first love and truest parts of Christian faith.
It’s been a challenging season at our church for a variety of reasons and your course has been a breath a fresh air & much-needed perspective.
I found it to be so rich and encouraging to examine the truths and essential story of our faith… I feel invited by God to go deeper into the reality of His love, his calling, his vision for my life and for this world.
Encouraging and insightful. A helpful gathering place for those looking for rest on the long faith journey.