It is not too early to get started on “The Church of Us vs. Them“. 
This book will provide the weekly topics of our BrainStorming sessions in February, March, and April.
Each week Pastor Bo will engage the chapter in this book and then pair it with a challenging view from church history.
Our hope is to be a part of the solution and not to contribute to the problem.
Here is the publisher’s preview of the book:
We are living in angry times. No matter where we go, what we watch, or how we communicate, our culture is rife with conflict. Unfortunately, Christians appear to be caught up in the same animosity as the culture at large. We are perceived as angry, judgmental, and defensive, fighting among ourselves in various media while the world looks on. How have we failed to be a people of reconciliation and renewal in the face of such tumult?
Claiming that the church has lost itself in the grip of an antagonistic culture, David Fitch takes a close look at what drives the vitriol in our congregations. He traces the enemy-making patterns in church history and diagnoses the divisiveness that marks the contemporary evangelical church. Fitch shows a way for the church to be true to itself, unwinding the antagonisms of our day and making space for Christ’s reconciling presence in our day-to-day lives. He offers new patterns and practices that move the church beyond making enemies to being the presence of Christ in the world, helping us free ourselves from a faith that feeds on division.
Here is the reading plan:
The Church of Us vs. Them: BrainStorm Schedule
Feb 2 Introduction: Beyond Enemies?
Feb 9 1. The Strife among Us 15
Feb 16 2. The Enemy-Making Machine 25
Feb 23 3. Are You Biblical? 43
Mar 1 4. God’s Grand Drama: The Bible as the Space beyond Enemies 63
Mar 8 5. Have You Made a Decision? 85
Mar 15 6. Participating in His Reign: Conversion as the Space beyond Enemies 103
Mar 22 7. Let’s Make America Christian Again? 125
Mar 29 8. The Local Church Is My Politics: Church as the Space beyond Enemies 141
Apr 5 9. Beyond the Church of Us vs. Them 165
Apr 12 No Meeting Due To Easter
Apr 19 Appendix 1: The Fullness of Him Who Fills All in All: Rudiments of a Political Theology of Presence 173
Apr 26 Appendix 2: Tactics for Engagement: Opening Space among the Antagonisms 182
Come and join in this conversation! Email VHUMCpastor@gmail.com with any questions