Social Media Responses to Big Questions

For a recent professional development task, I was asked to reflect on some questions, giving answers that could catch people's attention on social media.  Super fun activity.  Thought I'd share.

 1. How do you know God is real? If I knew God was real, I don't think I would need faith.

2. What does it mean to be made in the Image of God? You are valuable and worthy beyond your wildest imagination simply because you exist.

3. Is God in charge? Not in charge, but awfully persuasive. Theodicy... God is radically loving, powerfully persuasive, and persistently present. I can't ask for more than that.

4. What is the Trinity? A three-fer explanation of how humans explain their experience with God.

5. What is wrong with us? Nothing. Shame is the problem, not sin.

6. What is the Gospel? A living message (like a reef): Belonging, healing, reconciliation, liberation, and social justice.

7. How do we know what is true? The quad is cool. And it's best when applied in community... rolling contextual hermeneutic.

8. What does the Holy Spirit do in our lives? Convinces us of grace and the limitless love of God.

9. What are the characteristics of a disciple? Disrupter of the status quo.

10. Why bother with church? Like wine, faith is best enjoyed in community.

11. Why do we baptize? 12. Why do we take communion? Sacraments represent humans' creative power to find a way to connect with God. It's all about constructing/creating/making ritual. We are creative creatures--I'm convinced our spirituality rests in that creativity. All meaning-making is sacramental.

13. What happens after we die? At the end of the world? We all go to some kind of heaven. I prefer Christians stop worrying about that though. It's done--love wins.

14. Are there any other important categories of theology that we didn’t address?    I would love to hear what others think it means to be a UMC church.  What is it that actually is holding us together at this point? Polity, a commitment to unity, grace, something else?

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