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Book title: Brother Word
By Derek Jackson
Reading Group Questions:
- “Strong faith in the area of healing or not, his present
chest pains were real. Painfully real.” How does your
faith coexist with a painful reality? Does living or speaking in faith
mean denying a physical experience? Why or why not?
- “Ministry and emotional burnout mixed together like oil and
water.” How do you guard yourself against burnout in ministry—or
in life in general? How have you made time and space in your life for
Sabbaths such as vacation, recreation, and a day of rest?
- What do you think—what is the “fine line between
anger and stupidity in questioning the Almighty”?
- Many people share Travis’s awkwardness around people with
disabilities. What experience do you have relating to children or adults
who have special needs? How do you handle interactions with people
who have some kind of handicap?
- What is the worst possible handicap that you can imagine for yourself?
What physical (or mental) capacity would be most difficult for you
to lose (e.g., sight, hearing, voice, ability to walk or use hands,
etc.)? How do you think your faith would respond to such a loss?
- “It’s one thing to believe for someone else’s healing,” Lynn
realized. Why is it different—more difficult—to believe
for your own healing?
- What knowledge or experience do you have of divine healing? What
do you think or believe about such miracles?
- How would you minister to someone in Lynn’s situation after
the accident? Would you exhort her to greater faith, comfort her in
her mental and physical anguish, encourage her to trust, bear her company
in silence, or serve her needs in practical ways? Why?
- Prayer, familiar Scriptures, and recollections of her own faith
history—how
God had worked in and through her in the past—were an encouragement
to Lynn in her darkest hours. What encourages you in such times—and
how?
- Would you allow a stranger to pray over you or someone you loved?
Why or why not—or in what circumstances?
- After the accident, Lynn asked, “Why me, God?” At the
healing service, she wondered, “Why not me?” When have
you asked one of those questions? Did you feel like God answered you,
and if so, how? How did you ultimately handle the question
(and answer)?
- Many of us acknowledge a belief in healing and other
miracles—and
then we are amazed when we see one take place. Why is that? What does
it suggest about the nature of faith and belief?
- What role do divine miracles have in God’s work on earth today?
What purpose did they serve in Jesus’ ministry?
- Rev. Gentry regards the newspaper article as “spiritual warfare
101.” What does he mean by that?
- Chance tells Lynn that his healing ministry is “more a principle
of obedience than faith.” What does he mean by that? What does
that idea mean to you?
- Salvation is free, Chance notes, but everything else God gives
has a price. Our anointing is proportionate to our sacrifice. Do you
agree? Why or why not? What has your own experience taught you about
this aspect of God’s empowerment?
- Nina had thought it would show a lack of faith to go to a doctor
to have her healing confirmed. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Nina was convinced she would be healed at the conference; Floyd
Waters said Nina was healed; Nina herself experienced what she believed
was healing. Then she died—and an autopsy revealed the cancer had
killed her. How do you deal with such situations where you seem to hear
God say one thing—and time seems to prove you (or God) wrong?
- Chance experienced his calling and anointing as a burden. How
have you experienced the call of God on your life or the gifts of God
to be a burden? How have you responded to that experience?
- Have you ever met someone like Chance—someone with great gifts
who also had great needs? How can you—and the church at large—minister
to such a person?
- Most of us have a family member, friend, or coworker who is a
bit like Travis. How do you relate to that kind of “stubborn agnostic”?
What strategies have you employed to share God’s love and power
with him or her?
- What do you think about the follow-up strategies of Faith Community
Church—the prayer calls, the emphasis on continuing in divine health,
and on developing healthy living alternatives? Have you ever encountered
a church that balanced belief in divine healing with such practical or “earthy” follow-up?
What is the value—and biblical foundation—for such a holistic
approach?
- Chance had never felt led to lay hands on his own father to pray
for divine healing. Why might a family member not be the best candidate
for your ministry? What other reason(s) might Chance have for not sharing
his gift with Pop?
- What gift(s) has God given to you? How is it developing? What
are you doing to cultivate it? In what ways has that gift ever made
you feel like “some weird traveling sideshow”?
- Lynn reflects that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a faith
that would believe even if God did not deliver them. Many
people would think that foolish. Do you? Why or why not? What is significant
about that kind of faith?
- What do you think: Is it God’s will for all people
to be healed and live in divine health? Why or why not?
- As he sinks into the water, Chance figures he’s probably dying—and
he wonders, “This is my life?” If you were dying today,
how would you sum up your life? How would you feel about its conclusion
at this point in time?
- By virtue of being alive, Lynn asserts, we can assume we have
some unfinished Kingdom business. What is your part in God’s
unfinished business? What treasure is God unveiling in you?
- Chance is startled when Lynn talks about his ministry. He doesn’t
really think of his itinerant healings as ministry. What gifts are
you operating in that might be organized into a ministry?
- Family, love, money… What would it take to make you happy?
- Pastor Gentry’s Bible study (see chap. 53) deals with a
lot of issues related to healing. Which insights or arguments stood
out for you? Why?
- Compose your own litany of God’s goodness, based on your own
life. Allow that realization of God’s grace to bring you to your knees
in worship!
- What do you think Chance meant when he told Travis the greatest
healings are those in the heart?
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