Join other believers on a deeper life journey of spiritual formation in Better Together Groups.
A Better Together Group is a 3+1 idea: Three Believers with the One True God at the center of a relationship built on going deeper with Jesus Christ.
Every semester there will be a series of book offered and you can choose the book you are interested in. After registration is complete believers will be partnered with two others who chose the same book to study.
Once you are in a group you will need to buy the book of choice (links to purchase each book are with the titles below)
This is a great way to not only grow deeper, but to develop relationships with new people in the Body of Christ.
Below you will find a synopsis of our current book offerings and a registration form to get involved in a group.
Better together Book Synopses
The Deeply Formed Life (Click Here to Order)
Most believers live in the state of “being a Christian” without ever being deeply formed by Christ. Our pace is too frenetic to be in union with God, and we don’t know how to quiet our hearts and minds to be present. Our emotions are unhealthy and compartmentalized. We feel unable to love well or live differently from the rest of the world—to live as people of the good news.
New York pastor Rich Villodas says we must restore balance, focus, and meaning for our souls. The Deeply Formed Life lays out a fresh vision for spiritual breakthrough following five key values:
• Contemplative Rhythms Value: slowing down our lives to be with God.
• Racial Justice Value: examining a multi-layered approach to pursuing racial justice and reconciliation.
• Interior Examination Value: looking beneath the surface of our lives to live free and love well.
• Sexual Wholeness Value: exploring how our sexuality connects with our spirituality.
• Missional Presence Value: living as the presence of Christ in a broken world.
Life with God (Click Here to ORder)
“If you want to discover new ways of entering the Bible, and letting it enter you, you will find no better guide than Richard Foster.”
— Lauren F. Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Girl Meets God
“Foster’s work is not for those readers who are seeking quick answers or a behavioral checklist of what the Bible says they should do. Rather, it is a deep reflective guide to spiritual rumination and growth.”
— Publishers Weekly
Richard Foster, the beloved, bestselling author of Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, and Prayer, shows the intimate connection between Scripture and spirituality, revealing the secrets to living the “with-God life.”
God in my Everything (Click Here to Order)
Ken Shigematsu shows that spiritual formation is more than just solitude and contemplative reflections. Spiritual formation happens in the everyday, in each and every moment of life. For those caught up in the busyness of work, family, and church, it often feels like time with God is just another thing on a crowded “to-do” list. Ken explains how the time-tested spiritual practice of the “rule of life” can help bring busy people into a closer relationship with God. He shows how a personal rule of life can fit almost any vocation or life situation.
In God in My Everything, you will discover how to create and practice a life-giving, sustainable rhythm in the midst of your demanding life. If you long for a deeper spirituality but often feel that the busyness of life makes a close relationship with God challenging – and, at times, seemingly impossible – this book is for you.
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Click Here to Order)
Since Eugene Peterson first wrote this spiritual formation classic nearly forty years ago, hundreds of thousands of Christians have been inspired by its call to deeper discipleship. As a society, we are still obsessed with the immediate; new technologies have only intensified our quest for the quick fix. But Peterson’s time-tested prescription for discipleship remains the same―a long obedience in the same direction.
Following Jesus in this way requires a deepening life of prayer, and throughout history Christians have learned to pray from the Psalms. Peterson finds encouragement for today’s pilgrims in the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134), sung by travelers on their way to worship in Jerusalem. With his prophetic and pastoral wisdom, Peterson shows how the psalms teach us to grow in worship, service, joy, work, happiness, humility, community, and blessing.
Sacred Rhythms (Click Here to ORder)
Do you long for a deep, fundamental change in your life with God? Do you desire a greater intimacy with God? Do you wonder how you might truly live your life as God created you to live it? Spiritual disciplines are activities that open us to God’s transforming love and the changes that only God can bring about in our lives. Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a “rule of life” that allows for regular space for the practice of the spiritual disciplines, this book takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life. Each chapter includes exercises to help you begin the practices – individually and in a group context. The final chapter puts it all together in a way that will help you arrange your life for spiritual transformation. The choice to establish your own sacred rhythm is the most important choice you can make with your life.