May / Jun 2015

The Areopagus Calendar

— Beginning in September —

What Every Christian ShouldKnow About Apologetics

A course for those who want to broadenand deepen their understanding of theChristian faith so as to more effectivelyexplain and defend what they believe

and why they believe it

Tuesdays, 7 PMPerimeter Church

andWednesdays, 7 PM

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

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Christianity Thru the Centuries:From Constantine to Augustine

c. 300-450 A.D.A systematic, in-depth study of early

Christian history

Dr. Jefrey BreshearsSundays – 11:15 AM(Beginning August 16)

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

Upcoming Seminars

Excerpts from...

The Celebration of DisciplineThe Path to Spiritual Growth

by Richard Foster(HarperSanFrancisco, 1978)

[NOTE: For many Americans, summertime is all about vacations, outdooractivities and (perhaps) a more relaxed schedule. Many students look at it asa time to turn off their mind for eight or ten weeks and disconnect from therelentless pressures and regimented schedule of normal academic life. Churchattendance tends to drop precipitously during the summer months, and manypeople, if they read at all, gravitate toward something light and breezy. Thisis a shame, because summer can also be an opportune time for spiritualgrowth. A suggestion: If you’ve never read Richard Foster’s modern classic,Celebration of Discipline, or conscientiously sought to incorporate thetraditional spiritual disciplines into your lifestyle, dedicate this summer toexploring the rich heritage of contemplative Christian spirituality. By thearrival of fall, you might find that God has used these practices tosignificantly enlighten, enrich, and transform your life. — Jefrey Breshears]

“Fresh out of seminary, I was ready toconquer the world.... After three monthsor so I had given my first congregationeverything I knew, and it had done themno good. I had nothing left to give. I wasspiritually bankrupt and I knew it.

“My problem was more than havingsomething to say from Sunday toSunday. My problem was that what I didsay had no power to help people. I hadno substance, no depth....

“This lack of any real spiritual densityled me, almost instinctively, to theDevotional Masters of the Christian faith– Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Julian ofNorwich, and many others.... I hadencountered many of these writers inacademic settings. But that was adetached, cerebral kind of reading. NowI read with different eyes.... These‘saints,’ as we sometimes call them,knew God in a way that I clearly did not.They experienced Jesus as the definingreality of their lives. They possessed aflaming vision of God that blinded themto all competing loyalties. Theyexperienced life built on the Rock....

“The second influence came from anindividual in our congregation, DallasWillard. A philosopher by profession,Dallas was well versed in the classics,and, at the same time, had an uncannyperception into contemporary life....Dallas taught us right in the midst of ourstruggles, our hurts, our fears. He haddescended with the mind into the heartand taught out of that deep center....

“Superficiality is the curse of our age.The obsession with instant gratificationis primarily a spiritual problem. Thedesperate need today is not for moreintelligent people, or gifted people, butfor deep people. The classical disciplinesof the spiritual life call us to movebeyond surface living into the depths.They invite us to explore the innercaverns of the spiritual realm. They urgeus to be the answer to a hollow world....

“God has given us the spiritualdisciplines as a means of receiving hisgrace. The disciplines allow us to placeourselves before God so that he cantransform us.... The purpose of thesedisciplines is spiritual growth.”

UPDATE

— Thursday, June 4 — th

COLD-CASE CHRISTIANITYHow a Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospel

by J. Warner Wallace

A review and discussion by Eric Smith

Frontline ApologeticsResponding to Honest

Questions by Spiritual Seekers,Critical Challenges by

Religious Skeptics, and AbsurdComments by Argumentative

Contrarians

“I’m spiritual but not religious”On airplanes, I dread the conversation with

the person who finds out I am a minister andwants to use the flight time to explain to methat he is “spiritual but not religious.” Such aperson will always share this as if it is some kindof daring insight, unique to him, bold in itsrebellion against the religious status quo.

Next thing you know, he’s telling me that hefinds God in the sunsets. These people alwaysfind God in the sunsets. And in walks on thebeach. Sometimes I think these people neverleave the beach or the mountains, what with allthe communing with God they do on hilltops,hiking trails and... did I mention the beach atsunset yet?

Like people who go to church don’t see Godin the sunset! Like we are these monastic littlehermits who never leave the church building.How lucky we are to have these geniusesinform us that God is in nature. As if we don'thear that in the psalms, the creation stories andthroughout our deep tradition.

Being privately spiritual but not religiousjust doesn't interest me. There is nothingchallenging about having deep thoughts allby oneself. What is interesting is doing thiswork in community, where other people mightcall you on stuff, or heaven forbid, disagreewith you. Where life with God gets rich andprovocative is when you dig deeply into atradition that you did not invent all for yourself.

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Spiritual-But-Not-Religious sunset person. You are nowcomfortably in the norm for self-centeredAmerican culture, right smack in the blandmajority of people who find ancient religionsdull but find themselves uniquely fascinating.Can I switch seats now and sit next to someonewho has been shaped by a mighty cloud ofwitnesses instead? Can I spend my time talkingto someone brave enough to encounter God ina real human community? Because when thisflight gets choppy, that’s who I want by myside, holding my hand, saying a prayer andsimply putting up with me, just like we try to doin church.

You can’t make this stuff up. There are limitsto self-made religion.

— Lillian Daniel, author of When Spiritual butNot Religious Is Not Enough: Seeing God inSurprising Places – Even the Church!

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www. TheAreopagus.org

— A new Areopagus series beginning in June —

Written by a homicide detective and a formeratheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claimsof the New Testament using the techniques andskills of a skeptical criminal investigator. “Cold-Case Christianity is simply the most cleverand compelling defense I’ve ever read for thereliability of the New Testament. Case closed.” – Gregory Koukle, author of Tactics

— Thursday, July 9 — th

THE SIGNIFICANT LIFEOvercoming Your Fear of Being Unnoticed and Forgotten

by George M. Weaver

A review and discussion by George Weaver

Mt. Bethel Community Center4608 Lower Roswell Rd. / Marietta

7:30 PM

“Everyone of us wants to believe that we matter insome way, that we are important to someone, that ourlives count somehow. This quite natural desire canwork itself out in self-centered and destructive ways.George Weaver argues persuasively that our truesignificance lies in the fact that whoever we are... we are important to God.” – William Lane Craig