Reclaiming Christianity

So much of what is sold as “traditional” Christianity can become toxic: guilt and shame, harsh literalism, and a wrathful deity. What may come as a surprise is that many of these are recent developments in the scale of historical Christianity. Exploring and embracing a more open, fruitful, and spiritually fulfilling practice will require us to reclaim our story from those who have co-opted it and distorted it.

Message line-up:

9/12

Reclaiming the Cross

Pastor Scott Austin

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At the very center of the Christian story is the cross: a beautiful symbol of the surrender of power, of sacrifice, and of love. Yet the cross has come to symbolize a violent, angry, abusive god who looks nothing like the God who Jesus revealed in his teaching, death, and resurrection.

1 John 4:7–12, Philippians 2:5–9

9/19

Reclaiming the Bible

Pastor Scott Austin

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The Bible is often treated like a rule book, an instruction manual, or the answer sheet for a spiritual test. But it was never intended to be read in these ways. Reclaiming the Bible means finding inspiration and deep meaning in our sacred text without resorting to easy literalism or simplistic interpretations.

9/26

Debriefing Q&R

Pastor Scott Austin

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It’s been a heavy couple of weeks to start out this series! Let’s pause and debrief with a question and response session.

10/3

Reclaiming Confession

Pastor Scott Austin

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The act of confessing one’s sins has a long history within the Church. And the requirement to confess has also been part of many acts of spiritual manipulation and abuse. Let’s look for a way to reclaim this ancient discipline without all the painful baggage it carries with it in the modern era.

10/10

Reclaiming Salvation

Pastor Scott Austin

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The words saved and salvation are used so often in the vocabulary of Christianity that they may have lost some meaning for us. What are we saved from? And perhaps more importantly, what are we saved for?

10/17

Debriefing Q&R

Pastor Scott Austin

We conclude the series with another chance to hear from each other. Some of the answers we may have relied on in the past are no longer feeling true for us, so let's replace them with good questions!

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