What a joy it is to introduce you to Trinity Episcopal Church in Midtown, Houston! At Trinity you’ll find a message you can understand and people you can relate to. Our doors are wide open to everyone from all backgrounds, regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey.
We invite you to come as you are and start a new season of spiritual growth in your life. We believe church is more than just a building or organization; it is a community of people walking through life together, lending strength and support to one another in the good times and bad.
We invite you to join us for the Last Pub Theology of the year this Wednesday November 29th . We will resume gatherings on the last Wednesday of the month in January 2024. The Mucky Duck is located at 2425 Norfolk St. If you have wanted to come to a gathering but have not yet, we encourage you to come Wednesday night at 7 pm – it’s a great time to start!
Come and join us for a pint and some great discussion based on questions that are theologically, socially, and relationally relevant.
Here are the questions for this Month’s discussion.
The Week of November 27, 2023
THIS WEEK: TikTok Jesus, armed church members, and rules
ICE BREAKER: Share a highlight and a lowlight from your Thanksgiving weekend.
In the Gospel of John 15:7, Jesus says to his disciples: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” How do you interpret this?
The TikTok profile Daily Believer (@believerdaily) has 70 videos with computer-generated Jesuses looking directly at the viewer, beseeching them to stop scrolling and watch the next minute’s worth of content. All these Jesuses are long-haired and bearded. Some wear the crown of thorns, some look alarmingly like the actor Jared Leto. Nearly all promise a surprise or “good news soon” in exchange for the viewer liking, commenting “Amen” or sharing it with their friends and family. With this digital outreach, the Daily Believer has gained over 800,000 followers and over 9 million likes. Is this TikTok Jesus, an innocuous or even helpful religious use of social media, or an AI form of prosperity Gospel?
More than half of Protestant pastors claim to rely on armed congregants for security. Radio communications among security personnel and a no-firearms policy in church facilities were the next most popular security options, at 26% and 21%, respectively. Discuss the challenge of worrying about security while trying to hold a meaningful worship service. Is having firearms as part of a church security detail at odds with Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence, in your view?
“People are more important than rules.” Do you agree? Is that statement itself a rule? If so, how would one go about implementing it? Are there exceptions to this statement that you would support? Discuss.
