As promised, I am beginning the G2 summer reading posts on Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. I've started this week at chapter 1 (you should start there too), and I already know this is going to be a great book. If you haven't purchased it yet--we'll have copies in the bookstore on Sunday or you can get it anywhere online.
In the first chapter, Josh remembers his own journey as a teenager through the "youth group" motions of external Christianity. All of us who have grown up in the church can identify. As he says, church is often more a social group than a context for expressing passion for Jesus. He talks about how all of us are theologians--all us live our lives based on our conception of God--but we need to ask whether our views of God are actually true and Biblical.
The last paragraph is worth quoting entirely.
"The irony of my story--and I suppose it often works this way--is that the very things I needed, even longed for in my relationship with God, were wrapped up in the very things I was so sure could do me no good. I didn't understand that such seemingly worn-out words as theology, doctrine, and orthodoxy were the pathway to the mysterious, awe-filled experience of truly knowing the living Jesus Christ."
For anyone who has read the first chapter, feel free to comment. What stood out to you? Ever feel like doctrine is more boring than relevant? Ever feel like Christianity is more moral do's and dont's than a passionate relationship with Jesus?
