What Starting Point Is and Is Not

In brief, Starting Point is a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community. But what does that mean?

A CONVERSATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: It’s a place where discussion happens around issues of faith, God, the Bible, Doubt, Wondering. Deep discussion really is the point. And though a little background and contextual teaching does occur, Starting Point is NOT a didactic religous teaching forum (Lord help us if it is)...No lecturing allowed!

EXPLORE FAITH: It’s a place for people to honestly and openly explore, investigate, survey, discuss, experiment with, and examine issues of faith, particularly, the Christian faith. While everyone is invited to share their particular story, spiritual journey and what that has meant to them, Starting Point is NOT a place where people will pressure you to convert you. Period.

EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY: It’s a place for people to get a taste of community. This is a huge piece…And you might be surprised how this happens over the course of 10 weeks. We strongly believe that community is a vital part of an individual's spiritual journey and growth. But this does NOT mean faith/belief is simply a form of "groupthink"--everyone espousing mantra like thoughts. We believe that each person is uniquely designed in every way, and therefore, we all have important and varied ways of seeing things. That is a very good thing.


So, if you're a person who is curious about God, Jesus, the Bible....

Or, a person who grew up in a church, seemed to move away from it over time but are now "wandering back" and wondering if the stuff you heard growing up is what it's all about or not...And if you can really believe any of it.

Or, if you're a person who has recently come to explicitly believe in Jesus and are wondering, "Wow! Ok...So now what does this all mean?"

We'd love to have you join us!

The Power of Vulnerability

Do you feel like there is even a safe place for vulnerability and honesty to occur? We would like to invite you to Starting Point where we seek to create that type of space...For you to be open, honest, and uncertain with all of who you are. This talk explains a little of why that is so very vital for all of us.

Ever troubled by the fact that...

...this kind of logic is what seems to mark certain Christians?



Us too...

That's why we have Starting Point. So we can actually discuss honestly, openly, humbly and logically about issues of faith, Jesus, the Bible and life in general. Come join us...For the discussion and the laugther.

The Gift of Finding God in Everything...

“You will find the living God in the pages of the Bible. You will find him also just exactly where you are…He leads through all events, all the circumstances of your life. Nothing in your life is so insignificant, so small, that God cannot be found at its center. We think of God in the dramatic things, the glorious sunsets, the majestic mountains, the tempestuous seas; but he in is the little things too, in the smile of a passer-by or the gnarled hands of an old man, in a daisy, a tiny insect, falling leaves. God is in the music, in the laughter and in sorrow too." -Mother Francis Dominica

We'd love to hear about and explore the places you sense you've seen God in and around the things/places of your own life...Come join us!

Simply Offering New Ideas and "Right" Words Doesn't Change Any of Us...

“We’ve largely operated…with the assumption that merely giving people new ideas to agree with or disagree with changes people…It doesn’t…at any deep level…Especially if you feel you can argue about those ideas…Religion has had a huge love affair with words. We’ve burned people at the stake because they didn’t have the right words. And if you have the right words, they will call you orthodox…[And yet] We who are Christian are the very people who believe that the ‘word became flesh,’…[which] forever makes that argument impossible for us. To hide behind words; to fall in love with words; to think that because you have the right words, you’ve changed or you believe the idea. It seems to me it’s on the level of embodiment that change happens. Until it gets to embodiment…I don’t believe it has changed you. If it doesn’t allow you to see what’s happening on this planet in very different ways and allow you and call you to use your money, to use your time, to use your gifts in very different ways, I don’t think the Word has become flesh [in you]…And the message of the cross teaches us that real change always comes at a cost.”

-Father Richard Rohr

Come be a part of a community and see what happens...Ideas, words, questions discussed; stories told and heard and lives experienced in the midst of grappling with who God is and why that matters. You're invited...

Faith: Rational and Deeply Mysterious, Paradoxical, Supernatural

"...since the message of faith is rational, it can be understood. The revelation in the Bible throws light not only upon the purpose of God but also upon the human situation…

“At the same time the truth of faith cannot be translated into a finalized, coherent system which denies the mystery and paradox in faith. This is because the truth is supernatural as well as rational.” -Donald Bloesch

What Faith is Marked by Matters...

"Christian humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less, as C. S. Lewis so memorably said...In [the chapter],‘The Great Sin’ in Mere Christianity, Lewis writes, ‘If we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good—above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the Devil.’
-Tim Keller in his article, "The Advent of Humility"

(You can read the whole article here:)

"Americans: Undecided About God?"

“It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” G.K. Chesterton (quoted in article)

http://nyti.ms/rIhiBi
(copy and paste this link...Can't seem to get the direct link to work)

Very interesting New York Times article about where many folks are in the United States when it comes to belief, faith, and God. Feeling stuck between "true believers" and "angry atheists," neither of which knows how to laugh while both know very well how to shout. Think you might find yourself stuck in the middle of those two polarities as well? Join us at a place where you can have adult discussions, ask honest questions, and laugh-even in the midst of serious wonderings about God, faith, Jesus, and life in general.

Don't you wish conversations about faith could be this honest?

I love the honesty of this commercial-not to mention the humor. I just wish conversations about faith-both the public side and the private side-were more often this type of honest. Unfortunately, most of the time and in most places, it just doesn't happen like that. We invite you to a place where it does...Starting Point at Cedar Springs. Come join us.

Classic Question : Different Type of Answer : All the Difference

A different take on the "classic" end-of-life question by Brennan Manning. Give a viewing to the whole thing (only 4 minutes long), and see if it connects with you in some way. This video is a beautiful, vital invitation to ongoing discussion if there ever was one...We'd love to be part of the conversation with you.

We Invite you to "Find your place in the story."

By grappling with our deepest, most mysterious and troubling quesitons we might begin to recognize how our personal stories connect to one another's and the larger story of life, of God. Answers to the big, existential questions of life are almost never obvious or easy; in some cases we may never get them. Grappling with the questions as we journey with small communities of others though, might offer, in and of itself, some the most important "answers" we could hope for. We invite you to join us.

Questions That Deserve More Than Answers

Join us for the discussion...

Not sure what you believe about God? Start here...

Ever wrestle with any good questions like these?

* If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?
* Hasn't science basically discredited the Bible?
* Who was Jesus...Really?
* Hasn't Christianity been a huge source of oppression throughout history?
* Aren't all religions basically the same?

Well, if you're at all like us, you've wrestled with these and many more!

That's why we invite you to join us at Starting Point


So what exactly is it?
Starting Point is a gathering that offers a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community. It is an ideal setting for people with questions about faith as well as those who want to generally learn more about Christianity and the Bible. It is a non-threatening small group where your opinions and beliefs will be valued.

Who is it for?
Starting Point is a place for people who are curious about God, Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, or even how our lives fit into the "story of the world" - but aren’t sure where to begin. It is a place for people who may have just begun a relationship with God-but might be wondering, “O.k... So where do I go from here?” It is a place for people who might be seeking to reconnect with God after a season away - but aren’t sure if what they understood before is what is really true about God.

So, wherever you are on your journey, we would consider it a privilege to join you!

Starting Point Is For You : Two Voices

Two voices:

Diane:
“What came out of Starting Point for me was that other people also have doubts but also a strong desire to believe. I realized I was on a journey and that I didn’t have to have it all ‘figured out.’”

April:
"…while I had a long background of Church I felt like I was “starting” over and learning.  I wanted to give myself the opportunity to go back as someone that didn’t have a background and evaluate things.  It was meaningful because you see intimately where other people are too.  Where they have been and the journey they are on."