Two weeks today (12th June at 12:00, easy to remember!) it’s the second Dock Book Group, looking at Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution. Thought I’d just post a quick blog to remind you – as there’s still just enough time to get hold of a copy and get started on it if you’re interested!

The idea for the book group really came from a specific conversation over coffee a couple of weeks ago – and from a lot of the conversations during the whole CoffeeStorming process over the last few months. It felt as if the same frustration, or question, or conversation kept echoing around the cafe – and it all keeps coming back to that pesky question: what is church? Some of us have rich, beautiful experiences to answer that question; some of us have negative memories, unfulfilled expectations or a shedload of emotional baggage.

The tagline Church in the Titanic Quarter is very deliberately included in the logo for The Dock – but what does that mean? Some of us wonder what the church will look like in the 21st Century; how (or if) it will adapt. Some of us wonder if there are things which need to be rediscovered, rather than invented, for the church to thrive. Some of us are simply looking for something which allows us to relate meaningfully to God and to other people, and we’re willing to try new ideas and investigate the journeys of people on the same quest.

Which brings me to Shane Claiborne – perhaps the ultimate example of “the itch”. When his conservative religious upbringing didn’t answer his questions or satisfy his soul, he plunged himself into a series of experiments – willing to try anything where he saw God at work. In one of my favourite bits of the book, he simply phones up Mother Teresa out of the blue, and invites himself to India for a few months to join in her work.  His adventures make challenging reading – whether or not you agree with his conclusions.

If you want a taster, here’s a video clip of the man himself reading out a portion of The Irresistible Revolution:

…but if you really want to get to grips with the book , make sure you keep lunchtime free on 12th June. There’s nothing like bouncing your ideas off other people, disagreeing, agreeing, challenging, encouraging…

The book group is open to absolutely anyone who wants to be part of the conversation. See you there!