The message of Jesus was anything but safe. It was bold and filled with risks, not because Jesus was unsafe to others personally or physically. He was not; we have story after story of his healing touch, his comforting those suffering, and his seeking out, giving hope to those who were ignored or cast out.

His message was unequivocally unsafe – at least to those who lived by religious conventions and pious propri­ety. To them Jesus’ message was not only bold, it was scandalous, offensive. Scan­dalous it was, and “Living a Scandalous Gospel” was chosen as the theme of this year’s annual diocesan convention.

We begin by recognizing that we cannot domesticate or control that which is scandalous. The dictionary tells us that to be scandalous is to be offen­sive to propriety, to be offensive against conventional rules of behavior. This can be categorically unsafe and often is. Yet, we, the church, the Diocese of Spokane, are called to a mission that defies playing it safe. As the prominent preacher Peter Gomes has written,

The gospel is offensive and always overturns the status quo. It’s not good news for those who wish not to be dis­turbed, and today our churches resound with shrill speeches of fear and exclusiv­ity or tepid retellings of a health-and-wealth gospel. (The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What’s So Good about the Good News? [2007])

Our diocesan convention theme in­escapably reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus challenges us to tell each other and the world a scandalous story, a story that is contrary to many of our customs, espe­cially the ones that allow us and others to stay within controlled and comfortable boundaries.

It is time and it is right that we pledge ourselves, individuals and every congregation, to intentionally take on in the coming year new ministries con­sistent with the Gospel, and distinctly different from, perhaps offensive to, business as usual. I commend especially as a guide the three basic components of healthy congregations, which are also core elements of our diocesan Mission Imperatives adopted more than five years ago:

• Evangelism – Invite and Include
• Formation – Equip and Enable
• Outreach – Send and Support

To be the church means at mini­mum to be serious about and do all three. May God help us to do so, to risk and refuse to play it safe for the sake of the Gospel Jesus has called and empow­ered us to proclaim.

I rummaged through book stall after book stall, looking for just the right thing. It had to be engaging. It had to have some solid connections to the daily lives of real people. It had to have good theology. An Episcopal author would be a definite “plus.” Discussion questions would be the icing on the cake.

I hit pay dirt at the Church Publishing exhibit. There it was: “Your Daily Life is Your Temple,” by Anne Rowthorn, an engaging book with real-life connections, a theologically-sound book by an Episcopal author. It was on sale at an irresistibly good price. “I could write some discussion questions myself,” I thought.

The book really is a good conversation starter and is a natural for a spiritu­ality group. Its focus is on the ways we encounter God in daily life – places like our families, our friendships, our work, our homes, the way we manage our money. Rowthorn invites us into these places through her own stories, memories and reflections.

She writes, “To seek and find God in a myriad of ways every day of our lives, we do not need the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral. We do not need the vision quest in New Mexico to experience and follow God in our lives. We are more likely to feel our loving God reaching to us in an encouraging smile of a loved one, in the hug of a child returning home, in the kindness shown us by a complete stranger, in a red sunset lighting up the western sky, and in the still of the descending night.”

Rowthorn, who has lived in and traveled to many places all over the world, shares her family’s experiences with the grace of a natural story-teller. It is easy to connect with her experiences that help us discover God in our own.

This is also a book about the spirituality of practice – those things we do that grow out of our spiritual formation – our formation in the faith. When she tells stories of hospitality, we think of our own. When she describes the challenge of using our money in wise and sound ways, we get some insight into our own household economics. When she writes of discovering God in art, we remember those works of art that have moved us.

It is a book that can widen our every-day world a bit by reminding us that God is in the midst of all. And it is also a book that she hopes will be helpful both to people who are steady church-goers and those whose membership and attendance are a little less consistent. It is, she says, for “anyone who seeks to live passionately and can be coaxed into looking at the ordinary circumstances of your daily routine as building blocks for a more passionate life.”

Maybe this would be a good book for a group of folks who are new to the church-a starter book about where we find God in our daily life that could lead toward that more traditional inquirers’ class. A book that might help folks form some of their questions.

If you’re interested in giving it a try, I have a set of discussion questions. Request them via e-mail at kristip@spokanedio­cese.org.