Chapter 5: Faith - Penguin Sex

Mark here. As I read the chapter for this week (How could you not read a chapter with a title like that?), there are several questions that emerge regarding the meaning of faith.

Miller tells the story of his conversation with his friend Laura, who talked about feeling like God was "after her". We often talk about conversion as "coming to Jesus". Does conversion also involve God chasing after us? What do you think this pursuit feels like?

Laura said that she is resisting God because "... it is all so stupid, so completely stupid." Miller explains her comments about faith by saying, "Laura was looking for something rational, because she believed that all things that were true were rational." Is reason a part of faith, or do you have to suspend reason to have faith?

Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Mark 12:28-30 - "One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'"

Are there things about faith that confuse you? Do these things make faith difficult?

Miller talks about having a "radar" inside him that says to believe in Jesus. Though he can't explain it, this radar always leads him right. How does your "radar" work? What aspects of Christian spirituality help fine tune your radar?

Chapter 4: Shifts - Find a Penny

David here. The fourth week's reading in Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz takes us through a story about Miller's experience at Reed College, recently voted as "the college where students are most likely to ignore God". Miller was attracted to the openess of the enivronment and the story he shares about people he encountered. specifically Laura and Penny, helped define his faith and bring up some interesting questions for discussion.

1. In a discussion with Laura about racism in America, Miller makes the comment, "I told her how frustrating it is to be a Christian in America, and how frustrated I am with not only the church's failures concerning human rights, but also my personal failure to contribute to the solution." Have you ever felt frustrated about being a Christian in America - whether it was the way you have been treated or the way the church handles things or issues? Share any thoughts and what role you played (or should have played) to help contribute to the solution.

2. Commenting on the things he learned from the few number of Christians at Reed, Miller states, "I learned that true love turns the other cheek, does not take a wrong into account, loves all people regardless of their indifference or hostility. The Christians at Reed seemed to me, well, revolutionary." Have you ever encountered anyone with this "revolutionary" Christian character? Share.

3. Towards the end of the chapter, Miller recounts the faith story of Penny, the desperate-to-know-God atheist, who encountered God in the strangest way. Her conversion story starts on page 46 and continues through the end of the chapter. Each of our conversion stories plays an extremely important role in who we are as a Christian, as is evident in Penny's story. The stories also draw us together as Christians. If you are willing, let's share our conversion stories with one another so we can draw closer as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Some Scripture to chew on as you consider these questions...

• The Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5 - 7 (The "Revolutionary Jesus")
• Saul's (Paul) Conversion Story - Acts 9:1-19