This weekend we shall be spending time with a group of young people talking about the demands and choices involved in being a Christian in the 21st century. As part of our preparation, we’ve made a long list of questions that seem to come up in previous work with similar groups.
Here are some of them:
What does it mean to be loved by God?
How can I be the same person in church and on a Saturday night out?
How can I handle the mismatch between my beliefs and the church’s positions?
Is there such a thing as an ‘ordinary’ Christian?
Does God always speak in words?
How can I find my place in the church…the family…the world?
Are feelings and emotions a threat? an asset?
How can I be comfortable with being single in the church?
How can I deal with expectations? My own, other people’s? God’s?
How can I find the balance between loving God, other people and myself?
We have no doubt that there will be others. We are not expecting to come up with any dazzling answers. It’s all work in progress for us as much as anyone else. We’re just grateful for the chance to be in a group who are alive to these sorts of explorations and asking honest questions. If you have responses to any of these we shall be glad to hear them!