DTS Schedule into the Fall

As you may or may not know, I'm leading a group from New Life to Kenya in September (prayers appreciated!). As I've been juggling everything going on, I've realized that I'm not able to devote the time I'd like to everything I'd like to. SO, from now until I get back, the DTS schedule will be a bit lighter. It's not that I don't love you, don't worry. Knowing you DTS faithfuls, I know you'll fill the time with plenty of great opportunities.

Aug. 7 - DTS
Aug. 14 - No group
Aug. 21 - DTS
Aug. 28 - No group
Sept. 4 - Cancelled
Sept. 11, 18, 25 - No group
Oct. 2 - DTS

If you haven't checked out DTS, we've been enjoying a smorgasbord this summer...a Flannery O'Connor short story and excerpts from Soren Kierkegaard, Lewis' Screwtape Letters, Luther's Table Talk and Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Good stuff...

DTS update, 5/27--Input welcome!

This Thursday, May 29th, we'll be at New Life Lincoln Park instead of my place. We just wrapped up the 40 day Experiencing God study and will be joining the other small groups from Lincoln Park and Lakeview for a night of worship and testimonies. Come at 6pm for pizza. At 7pm, we'll meet as a small group for roughly a half hour then go right into worship.

Next week, we'll be mixing up the format a bit for our group. Throughout the summer we'll be foregoing lengthy theological books for shorter works that folks can more easily fit into summer schedules. We may read an essay one week, a short story another and maybe even dabble in some poetry. It's all going to be within the genre of "works by dead theologians." Or, at least "theologically thought-provoking works by dead believers." I will aim to post a schedule in the very near future, once some of the works have been nailed down. If you have suggestions, let's have 'em!

Experience God with Us - Study Starts 4/10

We've just finished Wilberforce's A Practical View of Christianity and are jumping right into Reality: 7 Truths from Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby starting Thursday, April 10th.

This study is a departure for us. You see, this group, as part of its foundational format, studies only the works of deceased authors. Both Blackabys are very much alive, though, and we wish them both well. Our impetus to do this study is to be in solidarity with our church body as a whole, most of whom are also doing this study (or a variation) during this season. We look forward to what God has in store for us, both individually and collectively.

The schedule for this study will be fairly straightforward. The book has seven DVD segments, a weekly group discussion and daily reading for forty days. We'll come together, enjoy some fellowship, eat some snacks, then catch up on how everyone's doing. We'll then dive into the discussion and end with prayer time together.

Please purchase the book prior to group if possible. They should be available for purchase at New Life Lakeview this Sunday, and I will have an extra copy or two. Christian bookstores and online book sellers should also have them available. They're only $4.

If you'd like to join us, you are welcome. We meet Thursdays from 7-9pm at our place near Montrose and Ashland. Parking is usually not difficult, and we are close to the Montrose Brown Line stop. Contact me for directions. We are a mixed group (men, women, married and single) and both my wife Jen and I are involved in the group.

A Practical View of Christianity - Reading Schedule

Better late than never...here's our reading schedule for the Wilberforce book study. We are biting off slightly larger chunks than we started with in an effort to join the rest of the small groups in doing Experiencing God starting in April. Details to follow as we get closer.

• February 28 - pg. 83-115
• March 6 - pg. 116-137
• March 13 - pg. 138-175
• March 20 - pg. 176-205
• March 27 - pg. 207-240
• April 3 - pg. 241-278

Wilberforce Study Starts Thu., Jan. 17

Apropos of this political season, our next DTS study will be William Wilberforce's work, A Practical View of Christianity. Wilberforce, a member of British parliament, put his faith in action and was instrumental in abolishing the slave trade in Great Britain. If his name rings a bell, the fairly recent movie Amazing Grace was about Wilberforce and his efforts.

If you are a DTS regular, I enjoyed partying with you twice over the past month and look forward to jumping back into a book study with you. The Pilgrim's Progress made for some great discussion, and I'm eager to see how God will challenge us in this new year and season.

If you're new to DTS or thinking about checking us out, Welcome! We are a mixed group (men and women, married and single) that began as a short-term focus group studying Francis Schaeffer and grew into the Dead Theologians Society. We are not theologians by profession, just people who enjoy being stretched and challenged.

On a "practical" note, we will no longer be meeting in the church cafe. We are now going to be meeting at my apartment, though our time remains the same: 7-9pm. (Contact me for directions.)

Also, the books for the new study will be available to purchase from me. Please order through me for the $6 deal or order the edition linked to above so that we can be sure to all be literally "on the same page" in our discussions. Thanks!

The Pilgrim's Progress Reading Schedule-Revised 12/3

The following is the reading schedule. Please read the scheduled passage prior to coming to group.

Oct. 24 - through pg. 39
Nov. 1 - pg. 39 - 80
Nov. 8 - NO GROUP
Nov. 15 - pg. 80 - 120
Nov. 22 - THANKSGIVING - NO GROUP
Nov. 29 - 120 - 160
Dec. 6 - 160-191
Dec. 13 - CHRISTMAS PARTY @ PATTY'S
Dec. 20 - 191 - end

The Pilgrimage Begins Oct. 18th

As you may or may not know, the next DTS study will be The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. (No, not the guy with the blue ox. That's Paul, his brother.)

This will be a bit of a departure for us. Thus far we've studied Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory and Dorothy Sayers' The Mind of the Maker. Unlike these, The Pilgrim's Progress is not strictly a theological work. It is a story, an allegory of the Christian life. Though we are bound to have good discussion and some deep questions, my hope is that this will give us an opportunity to share our own journeys and spur one another on. That is my prayer.

If you'd like to join us, we will have our first meeting on Thursday, October 18 at 7p.m. in the cafe upstairs at New Life. From that point we may well meet in coffee shops and other places in the community. Notices of a change in location will be emailed or posted here.

We have a great deal on the book for this series--$4, half off the retail price. I encourage you to order the version the rest of the group is using so that we can literally be on the same page in our discussions. If you'd like to order a copy, let me know.