The end of the year and entrance into another is the perfect time to consider our spiritual journey. So I thought I would offer a space to do that here with Book 2 of my spiritual coming-of-age series, Faith Reimagined. A Rediscovered Faith follows the spiritual journey of Peter Daniel Young as he considers deep questions of faith, life, and everything in between.
Whether you are facing your own faith crisis and wonder if Christianity is still relevant to your world, or you know someone who is struggling themselves, discover with Peter why the story of Jesus and his love still matters. For him, his family and friends, the Church — and for you.
Join the journey now to get ready for the final book in the trilogy coming next month: A Refined Faith. I’m launching a Kickstarter hootenanny, with self-study and reflection workbooks and video studies to go along with the series, so GO HERE to follow and get notified.
The book club runs through January 24, 2024, with a week break for Christmas. Each episode will discuss 8 chapters with some questions to consider.
👉 Most other online retailers are HERE.
🗓️ Here are the dates and deets:
January 24 | Chapters 32–39
The tension ratchets this week for Peter — both with his own faith and with a number of people close to him. He begins to think differently about the newfound faith that had saved his Christianity.
After you have a listen, here are some questions to guide your reading, with more inside the episode:
This is a book primarily about relationships, the people walking with us through our faith journey. Who has been that for you? Who has walked with you through your spiritual journey? How has it made the difference?
What is theology, doctrine? What’s the point of studying it? Peter says the point is to continue to paint the faith, joining in with others searching and forming what we believe. His professor says the point is to preserve and contend for it (Jude 3). Where do you land?
Peter is encouraged at various points to rediscover, not reimagine, his faith. How have you yourself rediscovered
What do you make of Doc VanDyke’s encouragement for Peter to hold to a regressive (rather than progressive) Christian faith — to go backward in order to go forward in his faith? What does it mean to hold to the fundamentals of Christianity without jumping into fundamentalism? Do you think that’s even possible? Explain.
One major theme is the fact that ideas have consequences. How have you seen the truth of this statement, in a variety of ways?
Peter finds himself caught between the tension of progressive Christianity and a traditional Christian faith. Have you similarly felt such tension? If so, how?
Peter dreams a dream I myself received twenty years ago, a word from the Lord: “I’ve revealed, therefore you can know.” What does that mean that God has revealed? What has he revealed? Why does it make all the difference to our journey of faith to know that our confidence is rooted in God’s own revelation?
There’s a shift that begins to happen in chapter 13, where Peter begins to change in his perception of the reimagined faith he had embraced. What is that shift, and why does he seem to start to make it?
Again, this book is about relationships, and how they affect Peter’s spiritual journey. Two of those reveal themselves at the end of the week’s reading: Lexi and Pastor Dave. Both seem to have been burned by the Church. How has it affected them, so far as you can tell? Have you yourself been burned by the Church? If so, what was that like?
This book club is meant to be a self-study exploration rediscovering faith. Feel free to read and listen along, then come back to offer your comments and discussion below!
J. A. Bouma believes nobody should have to read bad religious fiction—whether it’s cheesy plots with pat answers or misrepresentations of the Christian faith and the Bible. So he tells compelling, propulsive stories that thrill as much as inspire, while offering a dose of insight along the way. Available at most online retailers and direct: shop.jabouma.com.
Religion & Fiction Podcast Ep. 026 | RFBC Week 2: Chapters 9–16