Start here: how the 40 days work

First, congratulations. That may sound strange for a class about disappointment. But if you care enough about the church to be disappointed in it, and you are honest enough to say so, you are probably closer to God than you think. Indifferent people do not grieve.

This class will not ask you to defend the church or to pretend you feel something you do not. It will ask you to do something harder: put Jesus first, every day, for forty days, and see what He does.

What a day looks like

Every ordinary day is a short Discovery Bible Study you do on your own, about 15 to 20 minutes:

1. Check in. Look back at what you said you would do yesterday. Did you do it? What happened?
2. Pray. Every day has a short written prayer. If praying feels hard right now, or you cannot find the words, borrow these. Use your own if you prefer.
3. Read the passage. It is printed in full on the page. Read it twice.
4. Retell it. Put it in your own words, as if you were telling a friend. If you cannot retell it yet, read it again.
5. Ask three questions. What does this say about God? What does this say about people? If this is true, what would I do today?
6. Write one “I will”. One specific thing you will do today because of what you read, and one person you could tell about it.
7. Write one line. Where might God have been in my day?

There is one simple picture for this. You eat the passage: read it, read it again, and retell it. You digest it: ask the questions and decide what you will do. And then you leave the growth to God, because that part is His.

The six weeks

1. Honest about the problem. What you are feeling, and why it may be a good sign.
2. When God is silent. The quiet seasons, the disobedience we never counted, and why a new church will not fix it.
3. Rediscover the Word. Where faith comes from, and how to feed on the Bible for yourself.
4. Rediscover the Spirit. What the Holy Spirit does in people who seek and obey God on purpose.
5. Rediscover serving. Serving with your eyes open for people God is already drawing.
6. Jesus first. Making disciples, loving the church as Jesus does, and recommitting.

Once a week, talk it over

Days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 have no new reading. Instead you take the week to someone else: a small group doing the class together, or one friend you trust. Each of those days has a short guide. Day 40 has a reading, and it is also the day to finish together.

Where your answers go

Nowhere. Everything you type is saved in this browser on this device, and nothing is sent to anyone. On Day 40 you will be able to read back everything you wrote, print it or download it.

If your church has hurt you badly

Much of this class will encourage you to stay where you are and help others draw closer to God. That counsel is for the disappointed. If something is happening in your church that is not right, such as abuse, spiritual manipulation or false teaching, staying put and saying nothing is not what this class is asking of you. Talk about it with someone you trust. And if you have felt numb or hopeless for a long time, please talk to someone beyond this class as well.

If you are leading a group

Your part is to listen and to ask, not to explain. When people talk about the church, receive it without defending the church and without piling on. If someone’s answer to one of the questions drifts away from what the passage actually says, gently bring the group back by asking, “Where do you see that in the passage?” Each talk-it-over day ends with a short note for you.