Talking Faith: An Eight Part Study On Growing & Sharing Your Faith

Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking and Very Helpful
Review: As someone who had moved away from the faith in which I was raised, I found this book to be a wonderful resource for examining my relationship with God and for developing spiritually.

I highly recommend Talking Faith to those searching for the "right" place for living their spiritual lives.

Hoping to see more from Mss. Kirk-Davidoff and Wood Lyczak...


Rating:
Summary: An Authentic Mainline Evangelism Resource
Review: For the last two years, I have directed a major Lilly Endowment funded study into the motivations and most effective practices of authentic Mainline Evanglism. We are finding many things: (1) the mainline churches are generally not having to deal with all those pesky problems created by being overwhelmed with massive numbers of new Christians. There simply isn't much effective evangelism (particularly of unchurched people) going on. (2) mainline church people DO have authentic faith, but they are hesitant to seem pushy or risk friendships. The most frequently mentioned barrier to doing evangelism is "I have faith, but I don't know how to talk about it."

This 8 week study, Talking Faith, fills what I perceive to be the greatest gap in mainline evangelism. It helps people identify areas where God is in their lives. It helps them learn to articulate that faith to others. This study whould help United Methodists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ and UCCs, Repormed Church, American Baptists, Moravians, Episcopalians, Lutherans and others of similar theology deepen their faith. And then it will help them to talk about faith to their friends in an authentic, relational way.

If the many wonderful faith sharing (evangelism) resources written by more conservative, Biblically literal Christians do not fit your congregation or your theology, I urge you to look at Talking Faith.

Martha Grace Reese, JD, MDiv.
President, GraceNet
Director, Mainline Evangelism Study

Rating:
Summary: Help is on the way for Mainline (Oldline) Congregations
Review: I was so struck by the Words of Introduction describing this curriculum. Who is it for?

I have been serving as Pastor of the same church for ten years. Our journey from a "membership" to a "discipleship" church is underway, although it is challenging inspiring congregants to speak about matters of faith in a refreshing, tolerant and open-minded way. Thanks to Heather and Lisa's work, there is a cirriculum that dignifies the faith formation process for pastors and churches who believe "God is Still Speaking" in our post-modern world.

Talking Faith is for us! I highly recommend that the "unchurched" or "seeker" be invited to attend these sessions along with members of the local church.
It's working well in MA

Rev. Dr. Peter Lovett
































Rating:
Summary: The resource you must not pass up...
Review: Many of us who attend churches think "church growth" is about numbers. If our worship attendance is up 20, then we've had a good year. Maybe we have.

But what if church growth wasn't only about numbers? What if it was about going deeper? What if each of us braved the edges of our limits to share more of who we are with other people? What if we could open up and explore our faith with members of our community?

It's a beautiful idea, but who isn't scared about that? Who isn't reluctant about opening up? Who feels equipped and prepared to risk intimacy?

Kirk-Davidoff and Wood-Lyczak have put together and invaluable resource for communities of faith. Don't miss this opportunity. The techniques and conversations that they set up help participants and leaders share powerful moments of the Spirit's work in their lives. Together, the group can discover and discern how God is speaking to us.

More than a class. Deeper than a lecture. I can't say enough about this resource. This resource isn't liberal or conservative, it's about relationships, connecting with your brothers and sisters in Christ. This resource helps even the most timid to share their experience and learn from their peers.

I'm very excited about this resource. It's as if it was written for my community of faith, and every community of faith I've ever been in.

It's evangelism in the best sense of the word--sharing the gospels. "So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves because you have become very dear to us." 1 Thess. 2:8

Rev. Gregory Morisse
The Plymouth Church in Framingham, MA
United Church of Christ