EXPLORATION

In the Exploration Phase, we will build upon what we learned in the Foundation Phase (2). We’ll grow in our understanding of God and who He has called us to be, as we discuss important theological topics and the implications they have for our lives.

Desired Outcomes

• That we would have a shift in our heart posture regarding sexuality: a shift from the shame-based, behavior modification of purity culture towards the grace-based, loving wisdom of sexual wholeness.

• That we would take active steps towards growth in wholeness (as opposed to: steps towards perfection) and active steps toward removal of shame

Guiding Questions

• What has your journey of sexuality been like?

• Do you struggle with sexual wholeness?

• How can we move away from being shamed into sexual purity and instead move toward being loved into sexual wholeness?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

• Four Corners of Sexual Wholeness → shorter article w/ some practical application 

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

•  Walk your disciple through the intimacy chart. Talk with them about relationships they may have had in the past, currently have, or might hope to have in the future. If your disciple has never been in a relationship or perhaps doesn’t see themself ever getting married, you can still use this chart to talk about friendship (and otherwise platonic) relationships as well.

• If your disciple is struggling with sexual wholeness, perhaps encourage them to share this struggle with peers of the same gender. Usually there are men’s and women’s groups for sexual wholeness in Cru that you can direct them to.

• Commit to checking in with your disciple once a month about how sexual wholeness is going and pray with them if that is a major need for them.

Additional Resources

• LGBTQ+ Resources

  • As the topic of sexuality comes up, there is a chance your disciple will confide in you about being a sexual or gender minority. This is by no means the majority of cases, but it’s not necessarily uncommon either.

  • One of the best resources for LGBTQ+ people is community. If your disciple experiences same-sex attraction or any form of gender questioning, invite them to talk to Cru staff for help finding community.

  • The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender: This is an organization founded by Preston Sprinkle, who has generated excellent content, trainings, and books regarding the intersection of faith and LGBTQ+ people. The Center will host conferences, post research articles, and occasionally host seminars (some free, some paid) over Zoom about various specific topics in this area. There is also a podcast Preston Sprinkle has called "Theology in the Raw," where there are many episodes about LGBTQ+ related things.

  • Revoice: This is another non-profit that hosts a conference once a year, specifically for sexual and gender minorities, and secondarily for pastors and ministers who want to learn more about this topic. They also have a chapter that meets for a discussion once a 

A core doctrine (belief) of our Christian faith is the triune nature of God, meaning He is one in essence, yet three in person. Let’s dig into what that means.

Desired Outcomes

• To understand that our God is one, who eternally exists in three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is one in essence, yet three in person, with each member of the Trinity possessing equally all of the divine characteristics. 

• To think through the implications of ourselves as relational beings by understanding that God as relational within Himself (the Father, Son, and Spirit all relate and interact with one another) and that we are made in His image.

Guiding Questions

• What do you think it means that God is three in one? 

• What is your understanding of the role/s that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have within the Trinity?

Go through the following resource together.

Resource

• Understanding the Trinity

  • This is a Cru article explaining how God is three distinct persons, yet one in essence.

  • Read through a section at a time, stopping to discuss with one another what you learn, and any questions that surface.

Practical Steps

•  Look up some passages together where the members of the Trinity are mentioned and make some observations. 

  • How are the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit described? 

  • What role do they each play? (Refer to the article above for Scripture references)

• Take a moment to practice describing the Trinity with someone.

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Additional Resources

• • Video: Nabeel Qureshi explains the Trinity (8 min) (A former Muslim gives a helpful explanation of how God is three in one)

  • Video: Bible Project Video (8min) “How God is Both One and Three At the Same Time”

Desired Outcomes

• That we would grow both in our desire to pray and our confidence in knowing how to pray. 

Resources

• God’s Wonderful Plan for prayer
  (Short article that gives a cosmic picture of how prayer works, and how it allows us to participate in God’s will)

Guiding Questions

• How did the article change your perspective on how prayer actually works?

• What is the relationship between God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and us in the arena of prayer?

• What mindset, habits, or unnecessary distractions could be holding you back from a richer prayer life? 

  • What might be your first step in overcoming these? (Deleting a social media app? Making a standing appointment with God? etc) 

Practical Steps

• Choose 3 of the 7 Tips at the bottom of the Daily Prayer Guide to enrich your prayer life 

Additional Resources

• Daily Prayer Guide
  Great resource to use in thinking through how and when to pray. 

• Tim Keller Sermon on the Psalms as a guide for how to pray
  Focusing on the idea that we can be friends with God, and friendship must be a two-way street of dialogue.

As a follower of Christ, the Bible is our foundation for understanding God and His purpose for us. We trust that the Scriptures are without error and have the authority to speak into and transform our lives.

Desired Outcomes

• To grow in our confidence that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God, and that it has ultimate authority to speak into our lives.

Guiding Questions

• Why we can trust the Bible to be the Word of God?

• What does it mean that the Bible is inspired? 

• As believers, why are we called to submit our lives to what the Scriptures say?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

• Why should I trust the Bible?

  • A brief article that talks through the reasons why we can trust the Bible, and its authority as the guidebook for our lives.

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

•  Ask a friend who is not a believer if they have ever read the Bible, and what their thoughts on it are. Discuss together what you learn. 

• Brainstorm together what are some areas of our lives that the Scripture should speak into? (i.e. how we handle conflict, dating and marriage, how we spend our $). Think through some practical examples of how God’s wisdom informs how we live in these areas. 

Additional Resources

• Video: Talk on why you can believe the Bible (57 min- worth it!) As homework, individually watch this talk and discuss why we can have confidence that the Bible is the Word of God and trust its authority in our lives. 

Then [Jesus] said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Mark 2:27

Sabbath rest is a gift that God invites us into as we seek to know Him more deeply and dwell in His presence. Observing Sabbath rest invites us to trust God with our time, recognize our own limitations, and know that our ultimate rest is found in Him. 

Desired Outcomes

• To grow in our understanding of the Biblical principle of rest and Sabbath

• To walk away with practical steps on how to implement a regular Sabbath rhythm into our faith walk

Guiding Questions

• Do you currently have a rhythm of Sabbath/rest during your week? If so, what does it look like? 

• Ruth Haley Barton, in her book Sacred Rhythms, writes, “The heart of sabbath is that we cease our work so that we can rest and delight in God and God's good gifts.” 

  • What are things that bring you rest/delight that you can incorporate into your week?

• Why do you think we should take part in Sabbath rest?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

• Video: "Explaining Where the Sabbath Day Came From in the Bible (and Why)" by the Bible Project. (5m 27s)

  • Watch this video

  • Discuss the 5 questions below in the "Reflect" section

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

• Write down some practical ways you can practice Sabbath.

  • For this, you might find it helpful to read the article, Six Ways to Practice Sabbath, by Tim Keller.

  • Though there is not one formulaic way to practice Sabbath rest, this provides some hopefully helpful ideas that will help us integrate rest and dwelling with God into our weeks

• Commit to spending a month practicing Sabbath using The Sabbath Practice material by "Practicing the Way."

  • This is designed to be practiced over a one-month period. If you are in a discipleship pairing or group, it may be helpful to go through this material together throughout the month.

• Consider taking a day to just be with the Lord.

  • Article/Template: Day with the Lord 

    • It’s good to get away for an unhurried day with the Lord. Here is a helpful resource for thinking through how you might spend an extended period of time away with Him.

Additional Resources

• Article: What Is the Sabbath in the Bible and Should Christians Observe It? An Invitation to Holy Rest

  • Here is a good follow-up article from the Bible Project to discuss the idea of Sabbath further. While reading through it, consider the implications for your life as a follower of Jesus. Discuss what it looks like to “stop” and “dwell” with the Lord one day a week for you personally. What things might you stop doing, and what might you do?

• Article: Rest

  • This is an article from Cru outlining some foundations for Sabbath as well as helpful tools for planning and support as you pursue a habit of rest.

• Article/Template: Day with the Lord 

  • It’s good to get away for an unhurried day with the Lord. Here is a helpful resource for thinking through how you might spend an extended period of time away with Him.

• Book: The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan:

  • “Stillness as a virtue is a foreign concept in our society, but there is wisdom in God's own rhythm of work and rest. Jesus practiced sabbath among those who had turned it into a dismal thing, a day for murmuring and finger-wagging, and he reminded them of the day's true purpose: liberation - to heal, to feed, to rescue, to celebrate, to lavish and relish life abundant”

“Imagine a a deck of playing cards is an evangelism tool. It addresses the issue of worldview, turning this obstacle into an open door for the gospel! That is the beauty of Perspective, which provides a disarming approach to a spiritual conversation.” - crustore.org

Desired Outcomes

• To feel ready to try using the Perspective Cards tool to engage in meaningful conversations about life & God with students around us.

Guiding Questions

• After each video, discuss for a few minutes. Maybe ask questions like these:

  • How would you explain this to a friend?

  • How do you see being a helpful tool?

  • What initial issues or questions come up?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

• Perspective Cards Cru Video Training site
  On this site, you will find 4 videos (also listed below). Watch these videos together and discuss.

  • Video: Getting Started with Perspective (3:09)

  • Video: Perspective & the Gospel: Sharing Effectively (3:15)

  • Video: Perspective & the Gospel: The Heart (4:14)

  • Video: How Can I Use Perspective to Illustrate Biblical Truths? (3:26)

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

•  Watch each video together. After each video, take only a few minutes to discuss what you have learned. Then, move on to the next. Repeat this until you have watched all of the videos. This process should take around 20-25 minutes total.

• After watching the videos and learning about the Perspective Cards tool, go through the questions with the cards together during your discipleship time. 

• Schedule a time to go sharing together with the Perspective Cards tool.

Additional Resources

• • Purchase Perspective Cards here or ask Cru staff if they have any extra.