How can humans with diverse opinions about God discuss their beliefs without serious conflict or arguments? How can you find people who are safe ?  You will even have fun in our groups.

The short answer: Guidelines! Gotta Get Back to the Garden Q Place discussions work because everyone receives a Guidelines Card and agrees to the principles that set the tone for the group.

From the outset everyone in the group understands that they are there to wrestle with questions about God, the Bible, and what they believe, and discover answers for themselves. The Guidelines help everyone come into the discussion as equals; no matter where each person starts, everyone has more to learn. The Guidelines and Discussion Tips keep discussions respectful and productive.  We are especially looking for college students to host spiritual discussion groups with. These guidelines make it safe to explore God.

Q Place Guidelines have helped create safe places where people can discuss faith-related topics with friends.These guidelines, along with trained facilitators not experts,  help make Gotta Get Back to the Garden Q Place gatherings  a unique experience for exploring questions about God. We can address questions like Is there a God and if so How can you Know ?  We can look at how can so much Evil and Suffering happen in the world if there is a God ?  Many people in the hundreds of Q place groups in USA look at the Bible in an inductive study with safe boundaries to explore this book which is number one best seller in the world.

Another place you could go to check out some answers to the questions you have might be to the Billy Graham site. Now you might say if you are a spiritual seeker – are you kidding ?  Well no not really.  In the spiritual realm there is a reality called anointing.  You know how when  you listen to certain songwriters some just make your soul or spirit jump up and down.  They got something that really resonates with you.  Well for all areas of life some people got more oil to grease what they say than others.  Billy grew up like any boy with a family and friends and happiness and struggles. Somehow in his life when he went to the football stadiums not to play football but to have spiritual conversations with people…. they got up out of there chairs to meet the God that before that time was thought to be invisible, not existing, strange, ?  So why not check out what they have ?  It might help you ?  http://billygraham.org/   There materials can help you find a place where you can safely ask spiritual questions.

I might also recommend that you ask yourself this question ?  Is there anyone I now have in my life or did have in my life who seemed like they had some peace or joy that I want ?

When I was in a season of my life where I lost my $100,000 + job, salary and career – I was really hurting. It was like my bubble was burst. I had the Mercedes, country club and high power job but who was I besides that ?   Anyway I went to check out a pain reliever whose name is God.  Lets just say that it worked more than I could have thought of or imagined.

In the book written by Garry Poole and Judson Poling – Tough Questions – 42 questions about God and the Bible you can help people self discover what they really believe. You can buy this book at www.Qplace.com  .  During a time at a spiritual conversation group I was part of it became evident that the question all five people had was – How does anyone know God exists ?  There are six discussions outlined for a one hour time together.  People take turns facilitating the group because there is no leader per se.  We became closer as human beings together sitting around a table with snacks and drinks talking about How can anyone know God exists.   Each person on planet does believe in something.  If you just stick your finger in someone’s belief system you are rude !  How dare we think when we meet someone that they do not believe in anything. Worse yet you can dump your stuff on them which is abusive and again rude.  Fear and arrogance do not work well in spiritual conversation groups .  The inductive methods or Socratic method is so loving and effective.  Self discovery has been proven to be the very best learning model.  Use it and use it again I would recommend.

Lets take a look at one of the discussion sessions on How Does Anyone Know God Exists – C S Lewis the great English Scholar and Christian philosopher points out that even though someone’s hunger is not proof that food exists or that the person will get a meal anytime soon, hunger is a powerful indicator that a person has a capacity and basic need to eat. Spiritual hunger is a powerful indicator that we have the capacity and need to feed on something beyond ourselves to be sustained spiritually.  The universal quest for meaning outside ourselves is the most important journey a person can undertake.

Is anybody out there ?  Would not it be great to know for sure about the existence of GoD ? Why do people seem so certain , while others remain skeptical ? If you believe he exists how do you know ? And if he does not exists why do so many people seem convinced he does ?  { 2 billion people on planet today believe God of Bible exists }   Maybe he is the product of wishful thinking ?  Is there any evidence available that God exists ? Or maybe we should not look for evidence – is God offended by people who need reasons for believing ?  [page 27 of Tough Questions]   Discussion one ends with a question for people around the table to address together. Protocol is that people can chose to answer or not answer. No pressure.  “Think back to your childhood . What did you believe about God during those years ?  Describe a few ways your views have changed since then ? ” [page 28]    Hope this gives you a taste of the flavor of how to have spiritual conversations with people about God, life and even the Bible that can keep going and not shut down.  Christmas is coming and these books referenced are great pondering tools for something that could change your life as a follower of Jesus. You could get off the bleachers and into the playing field.

 

Check out a book by Gary Poole if you might be a person who is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth and might want to talk with people one on one or in a small gathering about spiritual matters relating to the God of the Bible and life.

 

 

I was pondering today that there are two gardens that people could live from. Now I am a greener and a Professor at Metro State Denver in Urban Agriculture.  I have spent the last nine years being a full time Urban Farmer and now getting to teach college students about Urban Agriculture, Food Fundamentals, Farm to Table Sustainability.  Before 2006 I loved dirt and had been a gardener with my family at our home in Long Island.  I found it hard to grow anything in Colorado.  The soil was so good in New York and lots of water. Here in Colorado it requires some unique ways to garden. Not all gardens are created equal.   The soil here can be so full of clay.  I had one home where I had to get a huge pick ax to plant a tree. It was shale land. Oh my back still hurts from that endeavor. It was worth it though because our landscaping looked so  nice. It is hard work building a garden. It is a lot easier just buying a ticket to the Denver Botanical Garden and enjoy the work of others. Experts design and build that place.

Well getting back to there are two gardens we could live from – I was thinking more about not Colorado gardens or community gardens or botanical gardens, but gardens with spiritual significance.  I walk around college campuses sometimes and ask students spiritual questions. I have no idea what they might say and that is what makes it most fun. So I spent a bit of time a few weeks ago asking this question: ” Hey I have a radio show called you GOTTA GET BACK TO THE GARDEN – what does that term mean to you ?  The responses were awesome.  One person said well getting back to basics. Another said well a place that would be good. Another said, well that is the Joni Mitchell song and I love Joni Mitchell.

For those students who had a few extra minutes I asked if I could ask them one more question .  I said have you heard of the Garden of Eden.  Most said yes. I said what does not garden mean to you.  Not sure were response of a few. Another guy said well I was Catholic I know that was in the Bible and where God created the world.

I love the words of Joni Mitchell’s song – I came upon a child of God that was walking along the road. I asked him where he was going and this is what he told me. He was going down to Jazguer’s farm and was going to join in a rock and roll band. He said he was gonna get his soul set free.   I went to Woodstock in 1969 and I will share more about that in this blog.  Many people still talk about Woodstock like it was the super bowl of all music events. I guess it was.  Many people feel there was love expressed there among the mainly young people.  To some I guess it would have been what they thought the Garden of Eden was like.

You will find if you chose to follow my blog postings that I am kinda crazy because I believe in God and that God speaks to people a lot.  I asked God one day – “Were you at Woodstock”.  He was I believe.

So was Woodstock like the garden of Eden ?  I guess since this is a site about spiritual conversations I would have to ask you what you think ?  I will be writing a book called Woodstock to the Cross about this very topic.

You can see the TAG line for our site is that there are two gardens you could live from. Well the other garden was called Gethsemane.  I will like to get feedback on the radio show we have on KLVZ 810 AM on Saturdays at 1:00 MST about peoples ideas about the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane.  http://www.810klvz.com/