Though bringing people to new birth in Christ through evangelism is essential, says Peterson, isn't it obvious that growth in Christ is equally essential? Yet the American church does not treat Christian growth and character formation with equivalent urgency. We are generally uneasy with the quiet, obscure conditions in which growth takes place, and building maturity in Christ too often gets relegated to footnote status in the text of our lives. In Practice Resurrection Peterson brings the voice of Scripture -- especially Paul's letter to the Ephesians -- and the voice of the contemporary Christian congregation together to unpack what it means to fully grow up "to the stature of Christ." Peterson's robust discussion will move readers to restore transformed Christian character to the center of their lives. This helpful study guide is designed to enable small groups in schools or churches -- or even individuals -- to delve deeper into the timely wisdom of Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ. Peter Santucci here breaks up Peterson's book into thirteen "sessions," each of which contains a summary, select quotes to consider, questions for interaction, and a prayer drawn from the text of Ephesians that is covered in the corresponding book chapter.
Practice Resurrection
STUDY GUIDEBy Eugene H. Peterson Peter SantucciWilliam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Copyright © 2010 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-0-8028-6552-6Contents
Preface....................................................................................viiiSession 1. The Church of Ephesus (Eph. 1:1-2)..............................................1Session 2. The Message to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:1, 7)......................................6Session 3. God and His Glory (Eph. 1:3-14).................................................11Session 4. Paul and the Saints (Eph. 1:15-23)..............................................16Session 5. Grace and Good Works (Eph. 2:1-10)..............................................20Session 6. Peace and the Broken Wall (Eph. 2:11-22)........................................24Session 7. Church and God's Manifold Wisdom (Eph. 3:1-13)..................................29Session 8. Prayer and All the Fullness (Eph. 3:14-21)......................................33Session 9. One and All (Eph. 4:1-16).......................................................39Session 10. Holiness and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:17-32)....................................44Session 11. Love and Worship (Eph. 5:1-20).................................................49Session 12. Household and Workplace (Eph. 5:21–6:9)..................................55Session 13. The Wiles of the Devil and the Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-17).....................60
Chapter One
SESSION 1 The Church of Ephesus (Eph. 1:1-2)
(pp. 1-29)
Summary
Birth is simple; growth is complex. Introducing people to Jesus, birthing new Christians, is fairly simple. But growing them up into mature Jesus followers? This harder task is woefully neglected. But Scripture is clear — God wants us to grow up. That's where Ephesians comes in. It is our primary text for maturing into a healthy, robust faith.
But before looking at Ephesians, we need to understand the term that gives Peterson's book its title: practice resurrection. Resurrection is not what we do; it's what God has done in Jesus. Jesus is powerfully alive and present with us as we go about this growing up in Christ. To practice resurrection, then, is to keep company with the resurrected Jesus as he leads us into maturity. This is essential: The same one who was in control of Jesus' resurrection is in control of our maturing. And that's not us. We don't get saved and then take over. From start to finish, it's God's work in us.
If practicing resurrection is the what of maturing in Christ, church is the where. Church is the context, but it's not an easy one and many drop out. It is easy to become disillusioned with church and to dismiss it as irrelevant and condescend to its unimpressive members. But church was not meant to be a utopian community, nor was it meant to be the answer to all the world's problems. Rather, Peterson states, "church as we have it provides the very conditions and proper company congenial for growing up in Christ, for becoming mature, for arriving at the measure of the stature of Christ" (p. 14). God intends the church to be as it is. On purpose. Yes, on purpose. To help us get in on that purpose, Paul in Ephesians shows us what otherwise can't be seen: God's will, Christ's presence, the Spirit's work.
Ephesians is unique among the letters attributed to Paul. It's the one letter not written in response to a specific situation or set of problems. Instead of fixing something wrong, it sets out to establish something right. As such, it gives us not an image of a perfect church, but an image of what is actually going on under the hood of every messed-up but Jesus-following church. (It would be a mistake to read Ephesians in order to see what a perfect church would look like, because a perfect church has never existed. Ephesians isn't a how-to model for perfection, but a window into what the Trinity is doing in every church.)
If we see the church as a neglected structure, we'll try to renovate it. If the renovation doesn't meet our lofty romantic ideal, we'll move on and dismiss it. If we see the church as a business opportunity, we'll market it to targeted consumers to make them happy. But neither romantic images or pragmatic business strategies have an adequate imagination for church.
Church is a miracle, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the same miraculous way Jesus was conceived in his mother Mary. Just as surprising. Just as overlooked. Just as scandalous. Just as absurd. The elite and talented aren't the Holy Spirit's choice for forming congregations. The church, Peterson writes, "is the same Jesus story that is presently lived out in congregations ..." (pp. 26-27). The same story. The same conditions.
We don't get to choose the members of our congregations. The Holy Spirit does. It's not obvious at first, but with a long, persistent, and loving look, the body of Christ can be seen in any congregation. Every outsider and even most insiders miss this. If we persist, as outsiders do, to try to see the church through romantic, crusader, or consumer lenses, we never like what we see. Rather, echoing Bonhoeffer's discussion of our wish-dreams of church in his book Life Together, Peterson writes, "The church we want becomes the enemy of the church we have" (p. 29). That is why we have Ephesians, correcting our view of church and restoring its place in God's work of growing us up in Christ.
Quotes to Consider
"Is it an exaggeration to say that birth has received far more attention in the American church than growth?" (p. 3)
"By delegating character formation, the life of prayer, the beauty of holiness — growing up in Christ — to specialized ministries or groups, we remove it from the center of the church's life." (p. 6)
"For far too long now, with full backing from our culture, we have let the vagaries of our emotional needs call the shots. For too long we have let ecclesiastical market analysts set the church's agenda." (p. 7)
"We live our lives in the practice of what we do not originate and cannot anticipate." (p. 8)
"Many Christians find church to be the most difficult aspect of being a Christian." (p. 11)
"Church is the core element in the strategy of the Holy Spirit for providing human witness and physical presence to the Jesus-inaugurated kingdom of God in this world." (p. 12)
"Church is the appointed gathering of named people in particular places who practice a life of resurrection in a world in which death gets the biggest headlines...." (p. 12)
The practice of resurrection is an intentional, deliberate decision to believe and participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death, life that is the last word, Jesus life." (p. 12)
"Church is not what we do; it is what God does, although we participate in it." (p. 17)
"None of us ever sees the church whole and complete. We have access only to something partial, sometimes distorted, always incomplete." (p. 17)
"Without Ephesians we would be left to guesswork, making up 'church' as we went along, and we'd be easy prey to every church fad that comes along." (p. 17)
"The first conception [by the Holy Spirit] gave us Jesus; the second conception gave us church." (p. 25)
"Paul's metaphor of the church as members of Christ's body is not a mere metaphor. Metaphors have teeth. They keep us grounded to what we see right before us." (p. 28)
"God does not work apart from sinful and flawed (forgiven, to be sure) men and women who are mostly without credentials." (p. 28)
"Romantic, crusader, and consumer representations of the church get in the way of recognizing the church for what it actually is." (p. 28)
"There are no 'successful' congregations in Scripture or in the history of the church." (p. 29)
Questions for Interaction
1. God wants us to grow up, to mature in Christ. Do you notice growth taking place in yourself over the years? How is such growth measured?
2. What does "practice resurrection" mean? How can we practice something only God can do?
3. Disillusionment with church is common. What things are you and others commonly disillusioned with about church?
4. Church is neither a utopian community nor the answer to all the world's problems, but a Holy Spirit-shaped context for growing us up. How does this change the way you think about church? How is the seemingly hodgepodge group of people the Spirit has placed you in essential to your practicing resurrection, growing up in Christ?
5. Many see the church as a neglected structure in need of renovation. Where do you see this attitude — yourself, others, books? In what ways might this be true? In what ways is it false?
6. Many see the church as a tool to target spiritual consumers. Where do you see this attitude at play? How does this twist the church's core identity and mission?
7. Peterson calls the church a miracle, conceived of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was — both unexpected, marginalized, and scandalous to outside observers. How is this direct continuity of the life, message, and mission of Jesus evident in the church? How is the rejection of Jesus by both secular and religious types evident in the church?
8. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit form congregations out of the elite? How would that miss the whole point of church?
9. What wish-dreams for the church do you have which make you an enemy of the church you deal with on an ongoing basis?
Praying from Ephesians 1:1-2
Lord, you have made us what we are, not by our own effort or will, but by your own will and the efforts of Jesus Christ. Saints! It's not a word we would have chosen for ourselves. It seems too grand, too holy, too perfect. But if that's what we are, what you're making of us, then give us eyes to see it, to see this holiness in us and in your people, both the ones we like and the ones we don't. In the company of your saints throughout time and right here in our own church, amen.
Chapter Two
SESSION 2 The Message to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:1, 7)
(pp. 30-49)
Summary
A set of balancing scales is the image behind the Greek word axios, which is translated as worthy in "live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1). A balancing scale takes two different things — a lead weight and the item to be purchased — and matches them. They fit each other. God's calling and our lives are the two sides of the scale. Different but fitting. Peterson writes, "When our walking and God's calling are in balance, we are whole; we are living maturely, living responsively to God's calling, living congruent with the way God calls us into being" (p. 32). Chapters 1–3 of Ephesians deal with God's call and chapters 4–6 with our walking, our living in response.
We cannot weigh ourselves against ourselves; only in relation to God's calling.
God doesn't inform us. He calls us. The match to God's call is our personal, dynamic response. Abraham, Moses, the disciples, us — God calls and we respond. The Bible doesn't give us information about God to be discussed. It is God's word to us "to be listened to and obeyed, a word that gets us going. Fundamentally, it is a call: God calls us" (p. 34).
The scales aren't welded into place, but are dynamic, moving up and down according to the weight of our response to God's call.
This call and response is inherently personal, resolutely relational. And the more personal we become in our response to God in his call, the more personal we become with others. Rather than a simple one-on-one call and response, we enter into conversation with the community of those who are also personally responding to God. The primary place where this takes place isn't in small group meetings, but in regular worship gatherings.
Peterson uses Wallace Stevens's "Anecdote of the Jar" as a metaphor for worship. By simply being there, unexciting as it is, it reorients our world toward God. Things fall apart in our world and in our own lives, and we do all sorts of things to try to bring order to the mess. Worship brings order to our lives and world in ways that our efforts can't. But it does so as the jar does, from the center, not as a fence does, from the perimeter — centered order, not contained order.
In Ephesians, Paul pulls from Psalm 68, in which worship is an act of paying attention to God's word and action in the world which leads to human participation in that word and action. Worship as call and response. Paul also uses the psalm to point to the heavenly exchange, where Jesus ascends and give gifts as the Spirit descends, birthing the church. Jesus ascended is where we start when thinking of church and our lives of following him. Jesus ascended means Jesus is King. His rule extends not only over us, but over all. Worshiping Jesus the ascended King enables us to live a robust, wide-open life — the conditions necessary for practicing resurrection — instead of a timid, cautious life, intimidated by the powers around us. Though as King, he receives gifts from us, mostly he is the one doing the giving and we the receiving.
Everything we are and have is gift. We don't birth ourselves; we don't baptize ourselves. It's all gift, rising from the gift of the Spirit. As those who have received gifts, we become those who give gifts in community. As we grow up and into what we have been given, we become gifted givers. Peterson writes, "Implicit in each gift is an assignment. And we share the work with one another" (p. 47). Just as Jesus, in giving us gifts, invites us to work alongside him, we are inviting and being invited by the community formed by the Spirit to work alongside one another. As we do this together, there can be no rivalry or ownership, since it is all gift and none of what we do is done by our own power. We have work to do, but it is all gift-work. And as we do it, we grow up in Christ.
Quotes to Consider
"The Bible is not a book to carry around and read for information on God, but a voice to listen to." (p. 33)
"Call comes into our ears, beckoning us into the future, bringing us into a way of life that has never been experienced in just this way before: a promise, a new thing, a blessing, our place in the new creation, a resurrection life." (p. 34)
"We often start out looking for information about God, but we soon find ourselves developing the language of intimacy with God...." (p. 34)
"Words, lively verbs and luminous nouns, severed from the living voice soon become dead leaves blown around by the wind." (p. 35)
"The life into which we grow to maturity in Christ is a life formed in community." (p. 35)
"Private worship while alone in semi-paralysis before a TV screen is not mature worship." (p. 36)
"What we must not do is deliberately exclude others from our worship or worship selectively with like-minded friends.... Maturity develops in worship as we develop in friendship with the friends of God, not just our preferred friends." (p. 36)
"One of the common dismissals of worship is that it is, well, so common. It is boring, nothing happens — 'I don't get anything out of it.' And so well-meaning people decide to put adrenaline in it." (p. 37)
"[Worship] isn't intended to make anything happen. Worship brings us into a presence in which God makes something happen." (p. 37)
"The order of worship works its way into the disorder almost imperceptibly as we sing and pray together, listen and obey and are blessed." (p. 38)
"Sanctuary is a set-apart place consecrated for worship, paying reverent attention to who God reveals himself to be and how he reveals himself in our history. The sanctuary is also a theater in which we find our place and our part for participating in the wide-ranging salvation drama." (p. 40)
"Maturity is not a patchwork affair assembled out of bits and pieces of disciplines and devotions, doctrines and causes. It is all the operations of the Trinity in the practice of resurrection." (p. 41)
"This kingdom life is a life of entering more and more into a world of gifts, and then, as we are able, using them in a working relationship with our Lord." (p. 46)
"We begin as gift. We don't make ourselves. We don't birth ourselves." (p. 46)
"If we are to become mature, we must gradually but surely realize ourselves as gift from first to last." (p. 46)
"Christ exercises his rule most conspicuously by giving gifts. The nature of Christ's sovereignty is not to lord it over his people, but to invite them into the exercise of his self-giving." (p. 49)
Questions for Interaction
1. We are to weigh our lives against God's call. What are other measures that people often weigh their lives against? What is the attraction of these other measures? What problems arise from them?
2. How does reading the Bible for information seem like obedience when it's really a means of distancing ourselves from the call of God to us in the scriptures?
3. If God's call is personal, why can't it be lived out apart from community? Why is conversation with the community of the called essential to living our calling?
4. Worship, like Stevens's jar, gives order to the world by giving it a new center. How does it do so? How is this redefining the center of the world as Jesus ultimately more effective and more important than bringing order by erecting fences (e.g., rules and other boundary markers?
5. How does the ascension of Jesus to his rule over every power help us live a life worthy of our calling?
6. Though he's worthy to receive every gift from us, Jesus' rule is characterized by his giving of gifts to us. Why is it essential to live all of life as a gift? How does living and working as a gift take the air out of our self-importance and our rivalries?
7. Even the work Jesus gives us to do is a gift. Why is it important to do the work of ministry as a gift of participation in what God is doing as opposed to a job that our skills have earned us?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Practice Resurrectionby Eugene H. Peterson Peter Santucci Copyright © 2010 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Excerpted by permission of William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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