Mean Christianity: Finding Our Way Back to Christ s Likeness Study Guide by Billy T. Ogletree & Sarah E. Ogletree Chapter 1 Who am I? Why this book? Why Now? Centering Bible Verse: As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him. ~Matthew 4: 18-20 Lesson 1 Chapter Summary: The author shares his call to faith-based writing through responses to the questions: Who am I?; Why this book?; and Why now? He describes a risk-free privileged early life in which a narrowly defined faith and loving family framed his existence. The author conveys a lifelong series of personal and spiritual epiphanies that led to his current core belief Christians need to live like Jesus. He expresses frustration with the absence of compassion, kindness, and humility in the Christian faith and introduces a call for all followers to emulate Christ. Finally, the author conveys a personal mantra play your position and describes the game of baseball as a metaphor for the individual and corporate Christian life. 1. How can one s life story inform their understanding of, and personal experience with, Christianity? How has your own story and upbringing contributed to how you view and understand Jesus? To how you view and understand faith? 2. The author shares a spiritual epiphany he experienced at age 50. This led to his effort to live more intentionally as a Christian. Have you had a similar experience? Can you share it? 3. The author describes this book as the result of a spiritual call. How have you acted in response to calls in your life? 4. How does the comparison of baseball and Christianity work for you? Are there other comparisons that come to mind?
5. What are your everyday challenges when playing your position? Can an intentional focus on being Christ to the person in front of you free you from doctrinal quarrels? Or other things that divide the body of Christ? 6. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: Loving God, we have all come to this place of faith through different doors. Our upbringings differ from the childhoods of others. Our strengths, weaknesses, dreams, and fears differ from that of our neighbor, coworker, and from those who sit with us in this room. And yet, we are all your children. All of our vastly different, beautifully vibrant, and sometimes painful stories, are stories that you know intimately. Help us, God, to see those around us as beloved by you. Help us to follow the calls that you are putting on our lives. Help us to play our position. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 2 What is Christianity? *Note divided for two study sessions Centering Bible Verse: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12: 28-31 Chapter Summary: The author suggests that we must understand the essence of Christianity to grasp the idea of mean Christianity. He defines Christianity based upon the primacy of Christ and suggests that both individually and corporately, Christians should emulate Jesus. To operationalize Jesus likeness, the author conducts a qualitative study of the canonical gospels identifying seven themes characterizing the life and ministry of Christ. These are described, with accompanying Bible citations, in an effort to provide a window into an aspirational Christian life. The chapter concludes with two examples of Christian lives well-lived. Lesson 1 Themes 1 through 3 1. Theme 1 is that Jesus has authority. What does this mean to you? Do you believe it? If so, how does this belief influence your faith? How can this belief be transformative? 2. Do Christians live like Jesus has authority? If yes, why? If not, why not? 3. Theme 2 is Jesus cares, Jesus responds. How does Jesus caring and responsive nature differ from ours? What examples come to mind? What does it cost us to care and respond in today s world? Is caring and responding valued by the world? Explain your thoughts. 4. Theme 3 says Jesus is authentic. The author suggests a vulnerability inherent in being authentic. What does authenticity mean to you as a Christian? What keeps you from being authentic? Are there benefits to authenticity? 5. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: Loving God, we are grateful to know people who love as Christ loved. We are grateful to know more of you, and more of Jesus, by knowing and calling them friend. We are grateful for those who care for those the world does not care for. We are grateful for those who respond to needs even when they present themselves at inconvenient and difficult times. We are grateful for those who choose to live authentic lives marked by vulnerability. Help us, God, to be more like them. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen.
Lesson 2 Themes 4 through 7 Centering Bible Verse: Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 5: 1-10 1. Jesus values are not the values of this world (Theme 4). What is your reaction to this statement? Do you find yourself conflicted by the world s values? Are you challenged by the values of Christ mentioned in this chapter? How hard is this message for you? 2. Theme 5 says Jesus sets a high bar for living. What do you think of the high bar set by the Sermon on the Mount? How about the command to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself? The author suggests high bars can be aspirational. They can also be discouraging. What do you think? Does embracing Theme 1, that Jesus has authority, help here? 3. The sixth theme sounds so appealing Jesus shows indignation. With a clear and consistent call from Christ to be loving, where does indignation fit in? Is your indignation righteous? Is it rooted in love for the least of these? What are your thoughts about the author s description of a slippery slope from righteous indignation to just plain anger and meanness? 4. Theme seven is Jesus said follow me. Most Christians have heard this throughout their lives. Were you surprised at how often the phrase appears in the scriptures? What does the call to follow Jesus mean to you? How does this call work with both the author s mantra Play your position and his call to be Jesus to the person in front of you? 5. Have you had the great joy of knowing and learning from Elaines and Jacks? What have they taught you? What can they teach us as people of faith? 6. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God of the Poor, God of Love, God of Hope, help us to recognize that Your values are not the values of this world. Help us to align our values with those of Christ. Help us to love our neighbor, to love the least of these. Help us to try harder than we have in the past to show Your love. Help us to lay down our idols in favor of something more. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 3 What is Mean Christianity? Centering Bible Verse: Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, Stand up in front of everyone. Then Jesus asked them, Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ~Mark 3: 1-5 Lesson 4 Chapter Summary: A mean Christian is suggested to be someone who claims Christ yet, at least some of
the time treats others in petty, offensive, or despicable ways. Selfishness is also suggested to motivate mean Christianity, and meanness is described as often emanating from what believers may describe as righteous indignation. Mean Christianity is noted to occur at corporate and individual levels. Examples of corporate and individual mean Christianity are offered. 1. The author begins the chapter with a discussion of branding. What is today s Christian brand the lived or perceived experiences of those encountering Christians? Does it reflect the themes of Christ presented in Chapter 2? 2. Were you surprised by the author s Google search results around meanness and Christianity? 3. React to the definition of mean Christianity provided in the chapter and the chapter summary above. Does this resonate with your experiences? Do you think it might resonate with the experiences of others? 4. The author suggests that meanness has taken on new life in a world where anything goes and meanness is modeled from prominent figures. What is your reaction to this? How can Christians respond in a world where this happens so frequently? 5. Several examples of Christian meanness are provided. React to a few. Can you add others? 6. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: Merciful God, forgive us for the ways we have strayed from your message of Love. Forgive us for the ways we have embodied meanness instead of mercy, gossip instead of grace, efficiency instead of justice. God, be with us, and be with those whose hearts have been shattered by the words of people who claim Christ. Be with those whose bodies have been broken by bigotry. Be with those who have wielded their words like weapons. Be with those who fear the Church because of the real pain they have known. Be with those who have caused that pain. Transform Your people, God. Help us awaken to Love. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 4 What Causes Mean Christianity? Centering Bible Verse: Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. It is written, he said to them, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ~Matthew 21: 12-14 Lesson 5 Chapter Summary: The author begins by suggesting that only through understanding the causes of meanness, can Christians begin to address this problem in their lives. The following causes are proposed: Personal history, lack of knowledge, fear, obsession with self, judgment, and hatred. The relationships between these causes and Christian meanness are explored. 1. Personal history is noted as a cause of Christian meanness. What has been your personal history in terms of Christianity? Have prominent life models been positive or negative in this regard? What about the author s contention that the church s influence can contribute negatively to one s history? Have any of you experienced a faith community that stressed what you considered to be mean dogma? 2. The author ties fear to a lack of knowledge. How are these related? How does fear fuel meanness?
3. Selfishness may seem (to some) to be less than a primary cause of Christian meanness. What are your thoughts? 4. Judgment and hatred appear at the very core of meanness. The author suggests these behaviors can be learned. If so, how can Christians respond? Does the author s call to play your position provide direction? 5. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God of Night and Day, God of Winter and Spring, God of Transformation, help us to know that hearts can be changed. Help us remember that fear can become courage That ignorance is the starting place for wisdom. Help us facilitate that change in ourselves, and in the hearts of those we know. God, help meanness transform into Love. Help selfishness become selflessness. Help pride become humility. Help greed become generosity. Help us change. Help us be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 5 What are the Costs of Mean Christianity? Centering Bible Verse: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ~Matthew 23: 13-14 Lesson 6 Chapter Summary: Costs are described as what we offer or give up in pursuit of something (p. 55)? This chapter presents the costs of Christian meanness. Specifically, the costs of petty, offensive, and despicable behaviors are considered, as are the costs of selfishness. Costs are examined with respect to both perpetrators and victims of Christian meanness. Overall costs to the Christian faith are also explored. Finally, the author asks if the costs of meanness can motivate change in the lives of Christians. 1. The author suggests that meanness, in all its forms, causes perpetrators to take their eyes off the ball when it comes to pursuing a Christlike life. Have you seen Christians derailed by meanness? What did this look like? What were the costs to these individuals or corporate bodies? 2. What about the costs of meanness to victims? Have you experienced meanness? How did it feel? Was the perpetrator a Christian? Did this alter your experience? Can one cost of meanness be the perpetuation of a cycle of meanness over multiple generations? That is, can meanness be handed down? 3. Discuss the costs of meanness to the Christian faith, what the author refers to as the big Picture. 4. There is a discussion of benefits of meanness as a lead-up to a call for change. What is appealing about being mean? Is it worth the costs? 5. Discuss how a careful consideration of meanness may motivate a call to change. 6. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God who hears us when we cry, hear us when we say that we have hurt each other. We have cut each other with our words, and we have swung hard with our fists. We have caused pain purposefully and unintentionally. We have watched and done nothing. We have been hurt as well God, forgive us for the times when we have broken each other s hearts, and in turn, broken your heart. Forgive us for our estrangement from each other. Forgive us God, and make us whole again. Change us.
Wrap us up in your love and warm us until we cannot help but emerge from our pain. Heal us, God. Help us be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 6 Contemplating Change Centering Bible Verse: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. ~Acts 9: 1-6 Lesson 7 Chapter Summary: The author suggests the need for change in the lives of Christians struggling with meanness. He suggests that change in his life has started with an epiphany, moved to action, built strength with personal determination, coexisted with failure, and required lifelong commitment (p.67). These steps to change are explored with respect to addressing meanness in our lives. 1. Change is described as an uncomfortable word. What makes it so? A mean Christian may feel that behaviors others perceive as mean (exclusivity for example) are, for them, God inspired. Change, in this case, may alter a belief system. Is change in one s beliefs or faith path more difficult than other life changes? Explain your thoughts. 2. Have you experienced epiphanies about the need for change in your life in general? How about your life as a follower of Jesus? Can you share such an epiphany? The author speaks of the Holy Spirit as an agent of change a source of nudging. What are your thoughts? 3. Why is that first action step toward change hard? How can it become easier? 4. How would others describe your level of personal determination? How would you describe it? What can motivate a Christian s determination to change? How does Theme 1, Jesus has authority, reassure you in a change process? 5. What about failure when trying to change? Is it to be expected? How can failure in a change process that eventually is successful make that success sweeter? 6. Can you share a lifelong commitment? What made this commitment possible? Can it teach us something about our personal-change journeys? 7. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God of Hope, help us change. Help us change, and help us not to be afraid. Transform your Church, and help us contribute to that work. Help us become a people rooted in love. Help us build your Kingdom here and now. Help us live in community. Help us soften hardened hearts. Create in us something new. Give us courage, and give us strength for the unknown. Help us be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 7 Forgiveness Centering Bible Verse: Then Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ~Matthew 18: 21-22
Lesson 8 Chapter Summary: Forgiveness is explained as the act of forgiving and forgetting. It is shared as a part of a broader process of reconciliation for Christians a step that follows our recognition of the need for change. Forgiveness is presented as something we seek from and offer to others. A challenging yet necessary act that reconciles us with both God and man. Ideas are presented about what makes forgiveness difficult and how it can be easier. Forgiveness is described as it can apply in the lives of mean Christians, and several What if scenarios are offered. 1. How have re-dos changed your life? What are the feelings associated with a do over? 2. Forgiving and forgetting? That s a tall order. What are your thoughts about the author s call to both forgive and forget? What about with respect to the most egregious offenses in one s life? 3. What are your thoughts about forgiveness as a part of a reconciliatory process? In a world where we are challenged to speak of sin, why do we need forgiveness? 4. The author mentions that pride and independence make forgiveness difficult. Do you have other thoughts here? Is forgiveness difficult for you? What can make it easier? 5. Can you take forgiveness too far? 6. What about the What ifs? Can you think of others? These sound impossible, but how would the world change if Christians embraced forgiveness? 7. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: Forgiving God, help us offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us. Help us allow ourselves to be forgiven for our own wrong doings. Help us forgive ourselves for the moments that cause us shame. Help us move through this world in radical mercy. Help us be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapter 8 Grace Centering Bible Verse: These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. ~Matthew 10: 5-8 Lesson 9 Chapter Summary: Grace is defined as unmerited favor, and its source is suggested to be love. The author argues that God s grace differs from His forgiveness in that it s a proactive act, it has and always will be free and available to us as believers. Though free, God s grace is not cheap. When truly embraced, it call us to a level of discipleship not experienced before. Evidence of grace is offered from the life of Jesus, and its potential impact on mean Christianity is explored. 1. What are your thoughts about grace as unmerited favor? 2. The author suggests we all experience God s common grace, and as believers, we experience God s saving grace. How are those things similar and different? 3. On page 91, the author says The more we love, the more we offer grace. The more we offer grace, the more we look like Jesus. If our call as Christians is to be Christlike, shouldn t we be offering grace at every turn? If so, why is it so hard to do so? 4. Discuss the relationship between grace and forgiveness. Did grace come first? Is it more proactive than forgiveness?
5. Discuss a few ways the life of Christ was grace-filled. 6. The author points to seeing God in everyone as a possible common ground from which grace can emerge (p 97). He also suggests that the common denominator of Jesus can be a starting point for grace when Christians seem divided (p. 98). What are your thoughts? 7. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God of Grace, at times we have fallen short. We have not loved each other. We have not called each other beloved. We have not seen your face in the face of our friend, our neighbor, our enemy... We have forgotten that we have all been made, beautifully and wonderfully, in your image. God of Grace, we are grateful that there is grace enough for us. Grace enough for all our faults, freely received, and freely given. But we know that grace is not cheap. Help us God, to do the work you have equipped us to do. Help us to follow in your way. Help us to love authentically and radically. Help us to live grace-filled lives. Help us to be more like Jesus. Amen. Chapters 9 and 10 Mercy and A New Life in Christ Centering Bible Verse: Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. Teacher, they said to Jesus, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say? They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone! Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, Where are your accusers? Didn t even one of them condemn you? No, Lord, she said. And Jesus said, Neither do I. Go and sin no more. ~John 8: 1-11 Lesson 10 Chapter Summaries: Chapter 9 presents mercy as an act of grace offered at a specific time when other alternatives are possible and may seem more appealing (p. 101). The receipt of mercy is noted to be the avoidance of a deserved fate. Like grace, God s mercy is said to be deeply rooted in His love for us. The author suggests that Jesus showed mercy throughout His life and that mercy can replace judgment in the lives of mature Christians. Flashpoint and preemptive mercy are described as tools for Christians facing opportunities for meanness. Chapter 10 concludes the book with a charge, from the world of baseball, to start afresh with Christ each day to commit to an ongoing process of reconciliation with our God that keeps us on a path to Christ s likeness. 1. What do you think of the author s use of grace and mercy? Have these terms been used synonymously in your experience? Are they different as suggested here? 2. As humans, do we have the potential to be merciful? Elaborate. What keeps us from a merciful response to others? 3. How is mercy related to an intentional calm in one s life? 4. Discuss some examples of mercy in the life of Jesus. Two are provided in the chapter. 5. Can mercy replace judgment in your life? Is mercy, as the author suggests, a quality of mature all in Christians? 6. Compare flashpoint and preemptive mercy.
7. How can mercy change the mean Christian? 8. The final brief chapter is a charge to a new life in Christ. How often do you take advantage of reconciliation with your God? 9. Share a few lesson takeaways. Closing Prayer: God of Mercy, God of Mended Hearts and Minds, God of Great Love and Hope, help us become the people you have created us to be. Help us love your children as Christ has loved them. Help us show mercy like Jesus has shown it. Help us forgive. Help us to live authentically. Help us share in our vulnerability. Help us remember to play our position. Help us let go of judgment... From the morning to the evening, help us look upon your world with fresh eyes. Help us be your hands and feet. Help us be more like Jesus. Always. Amen.