Many of us that have grown up in the church probably cringe at (and agree with) the charge that we've lived sheltered lives, separated from the world to live the holy lives Christ has called us to live. It's time for us to reclaim the kind of holiness that Christ dreams for us: being purified to be used for the purpose for which God created us, a holiness that demands that we go into the world, rather that coming out of it. Just imagine the healing that God could bring, if we would stop just trying to keep our overalls clean and were willing to get our hands dirty bringing hope to the messiness of our world!

1. To what extent do you feel that the perception of the church as "sheltered" (out of touch, boring, and old-fashioned) is an accurate one?

• If you were raised religiously, or in the church, how much did your upbringing shelter you from the world? In what ways?
• If you were not raised religiously, or in the church, to what degree did you perceive Christians as being sheltered from the world? Why?
• Which do you think is the most true of our Christian subculture, that we are: 1) out of touch; 2) boring; or 3) old-fashioned? Why? What other words would you use?

2. How do you respond to redefining "holiness" to understand it not merely as "living without committing sins", but as "being purified to be used for its intended purpose"?

Disinfecting Christians from the world involves isolating followers of Christ in a spiritual safe-deposit box called the church building and teaching them to be good. In this strategy, success in the church is defined by how big a building you have to house all the Christians, and the goal is to gather as many people as possible for a couple of hours each week in that place where we are isolated and insulated from the realities of the world around us... When we gather at the building, we learn to be good. Being good is defined by what we avoid in the world. We are holy because of what we don’t participate in (and at this point we may be the only organization in the world defining success by what we don’t do). We live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens. We are decent church members with little... impact on the world... (David Platt, Radical)

• How would you respond to David Platt and his understanding of "disinfecting Christians"?
• How does defining holiness as "being purified to be used for its intended purpose" change how you think about being holy? Does holiness matter less or more in this view? Why?
• What is our "intended purpose"? How does holiness impact our ability to do this?

3. Read John 17:13-19. What does it mean to be "in the world but not of it"? In one sentence, what is Jesus' prayer for us?

• How does being sheltered (being "out" of the world) undermine Jesus vision? How does being "unholy" (being "of" it) undermine Jesus vision? How should we manage the tension?
• So much of our motivation to live sheltered lives is to try to protect ourselves from temptation and evil. Why are we so hesitant to simply trust the Holy Spirit to protect us in the world?
• What did Jesus mean when he said "I santify myself" in verse 19? How does this affect the way we understand what Jesus meant when he prayed, "sanctify them" (John 17:17) about us?
• Do you believe that being on mission is the key to experiencing the "full measure of [Jesus'] joy"? Why or why not?

4. Consider watching the bus tour video again as a group.

• What did you find most surprising about what you saw? What realities about the Niagara region, or the issues we face, were most striking and unexpected to you?
• How does a video like this change your perspective on the Niagara region and its needs? Why were you previously unaware of these needs? What lifestyle choices have you made that have helped shelter you from these realities?
• What would it look like to become a more engaged participant in the real issues of Niagara? What choices could you make to “unshelter” yourself to be used by God?