Formation in Practice

What does it mean to believe? Belief is not something we think, but something we do: it’s the ways we experience God’s presence in our life; it’s the ways we engage with the scriptures and other sacred stories; it’s even the ways we question our faith. 

We invite you to plunge deeper into your own assumptions about what it means to believe. Use these questions to spur your reflection & prayer, or in conversation with others.

• What other words are synonymous with “belief” for you?
• Who has inspired belief in your life? What did they do or say that inspired you?
• What actions engage or express your beliefs? How do you feel you are embodying belief?

We see in biblical stories that belief can look a lot like wrestling – as in the Genesis story of Jacob and the angel. 

• How might you practice the presence of God in times of pain, suffering, questioning, boredom, sadness, anger, uncertainty . . . as well as joy, excitement, passion?
• Do you experience God in your body, or at certain times and places? What does it feel like to have an embodied experience of belief?

Sometimes belief means leaning into mystery – that which we cannot know.

• How comfortable are you with mystery? 
• How does the presence of mystery deepen or challenge your journey of belief?
• Read Luke 24:13-35. Is this story true for you? What does it mean for this story to be “true” or not?
• Our founder Richard Meux Benson said: “They [the Magi] had come to Him who was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. None can come to Christ at Bethlehem and go away as they came.” How has your belief in Jesus placed you on a new route in your life and faith journey?