Hello, Asphalt Jesus readers!  This blog is intended to be a resource for small group participants and leaders who are making their way through Asphalt Jesus.  Here, you’ll find:

• Weekly information and/or reflections relating to each chapter that aren’t contained in the book.
• Extra ideas for discussion topics (Be sure to check out the book’s Study Guide as a primary resource for questions.)
• Posts and discussion from small group participants and leaders.
• Logistical information for leaders.

I am planning on posting at least once per week, usually by the Friday BEFORE the chapter comes up for discussion.  So check back regularly, and please know you are invited to POST QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.  I’d love this to be a place of active discussion and two-way communication.

Do note that on the Right Hand side of this blog there is a section called Categories.  Using Categories, you can isolate all material in the blog that has been tagged as engaging a particular chapter in Asphalt Jesus or Phoenix Affirmation.  Sometimes, for instance, I or someone else may post something we’ve found that pertains to an Affirmation that won’t be covered in the book for several weeks.  We’ll tag it accordingly so that when you want to find material on that Affirmation you can simply do a Category sort and find everything in one convenient place!

Now, on to Chapter 1 ….

I have thought long and hard about this particular chapter, and must confess to having some regret about how I started the book.  I think the opening story about how the walk came about works well enough and is important to include.  However, I think that I spring the topic of prayer/meditation on people a bit too quickly.  I’m afraid Chapter 1 might scare some people off who aren’t already comfortable with spiritual practices, or who think the whole book is going to be asking them to do stuff.  To be sure, I’m hoping people will do all kinds of things as a result of reading the book, but I think Chapter 1 is the most demanding in this sense.  So if you get scared, keep reading!

If you’re looking for something extra to ponder this week with respect to Chapter 1 (in addition to the Study Guide questions at the back of the book), here are a couple things that come to mind:

• One very brief quote that has had a major influence on my life is this one by Helen Keller:  ”Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”   To what extent have you found this to be true in your life?  To reservations do you have about embracing it, if any?  Where have you benefitted from risking yourself?  Where have you lost something?  What lessons did you learn?
• A poem by David Whyte comes to mind when I think back to that fraction of a second in 2004 when the vision of the walk came to me.  Perhaps it will resonate with you and your life:

Revelation Must Be Terrible – David Whyte

Revelation must be

   terrible with no time left

to say goodbye.

Imagine the moment

   staring at the still waters

with only the brief tremor

of your body to say

   you are leaving everything

and everyone you know behind.

Being far from home is hard, but you know,

   at least we are exiled together.

When you open your eyes to the world

you are on your own for

   the first time.  No one is

even interested in saving you now

and the world steps in

   to test the calm fluidity of your body

from moment to moment

as if it believed you could join

   its vibrant dance

of fire and calmness and final stillness.

As if you were meant to be exactly

   where you are, as if

like the dark branch of a desert river

you could flow on without a speck

   of guilt and everything

everywhere would still be just as it should be.

As if your place in the world mattered

  and the world could

neither speak nor hear the fullness of

its own bitter and beautify cry

   without the deep well

of your body resonating in the echo.

Knowing that it takes only

   that one, terrible

word to make the circle complete,

revelation must be terrible

   knowing you can

never hide your voice again.