School of Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

 Suggested questions and guidance
by Fred L. Horton,
author of the study  

Editing and additional guidance for facilitators
by Leon Spencer,
Dean of the School of Ministry
2005

Welcome to this opportunity for ministry! Serving as a facilitator as members of your parish reflect together upon the Gospel of Mark is indeed a service to the Church. Here is a collect for each of us in this role:

Almighty God, our heavenly father, the only source of light and life;
send down upon our endeavors the rich gift of the good spirit,
that through the studies we lead your truth may be sincerely sought,
effectually received and reverently followed.
Endue those of us who lead with wisdom, zeal and patience,
inspire those who participate with the spirit of truth, honor and humility,
and grant that all may be strengthened in their service to the Body of Christ,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(adapted from a prayer for Bishop Tucker Theological College in Uganda)

Some Suggestions for Facilitators

A Reckless Faith focuses upon the remarkable way the Gospel of Mark describes the actions of those who have faith. From fishermen who left nets and families to follow Jesus to the courage of Joseph of Arimathea in asking Pilate for the body of Jesus, the Gospel portrays risky faith as the saving response to Jesus. This heedlessness, of course, is no less impressive than the heedless risks Jesus takes to proclaim the kingdom, to defeat the powers of sickness and evil, and, indeed, to challenge and defeat death itself. Within this context of reckless faith, we hear Jesus tell his followers once more to take up a cross and follow him.

The study constantly invites participants to compare conventional piety and religiosity with the active faith Mark portrays: safe religion over against reckless faith.

The Gospel of Mark is the principal Gospel for Lectionary Cycle B that begins with Advent in 2005, and every three years thereafter. This study may help parishioners hear this Gospel afresh in anticipation of, or during, Year B of the lectionary.

The six-chapter text is available on-line and, on request to the School, in booklet form. The text in print, however, is not identical to that which appears on our website (actually they are Prof. Horton’s web pages designed for the School of Ministry on the Wake Forest University website). The website version includes phrases in Hebrew and Greek, using the lettering of those languages. Those skilled in biblical languages who find that practice of interest will need to consult the website version. In the print version we have generally omitted Hebrew and Greek text, both because it can get in the way of rather than enhance our understanding, and because it creates complexities in our layout and printing. In any case, the booklet may prove to be an attractive and reader-friendly version for participants; feel free to request it.

The chapters of A reckless faith were originally written for Prof. Horton’s religion students at Wake Forest University. The study is not written at “a beginner’s level.” While we do not want to discourage people who may feel uneasy about biblical study by providing something too technical, we encourage participants to take a good look at these chapters, as there are some real gems here that can prove meaningful in studying and reflecting on the Gospel of Mark.

Those who receive the booklet will find Questions for Reflection and Discussion, which also appear in these facilitators materials; they do not appear on-line within the text, though they appear on the website as a link on the School of Ministry’s Reckless Faith webpage. We commend these questions to you as you guide the conversation.

While we hope that the guidance we provide proves helpful to you, we intend for our resources to be flexible and adaptable to your particular needs and wishes. When it seems wise to you to depart from the structure and format we have recommended, you should do so.

If you wish to discuss your plans with the School of Ministry, feel free to contact us. However, during the fall university term in 2005, Prof. Horton encourages you, as facilitator, to participate in the on-line version of his Religion 327 course through what is called “Blackboard.” (Contact him at about the availability of this option, and the related “Graduate on Call” service, if you are using this resource in 2006 or later.) All he needs from you is an e-mail requesting enrollment. You will be enrolled with a username that corresponds to the letters and figures before the @ in your e-mail address. So, if your e-mail address is janedoe@umailem.org, your username will be “janedoe.” If your e-mail address is 56tr4@umailem.org, your username will be “56tr4.” He then sends you a password by e-mail. From then on, to get into the course direct your browser to blackboard.wfu.edu, enter your username and password, and you’ll be in business.

He does not, however, think it would be a good use of the resource to try to enroll members of your group in the course.

One of the benefits of your enrollment is access to something he calls “Graduate Student on Call,”available through the Discussion Board on Blackboard. If you have not enrolled in the course, however, but just want an on-line answer to a question about the Gospel of Mark, you may ask the Graduate Student On Call by sending your question to Prof. Horton at , and he’ll pass it on to the graduate student assigned. That person needs your questions in order to do a good job for the requirements of her or his graduate-level course!

There are several other excellent resources on Mark which he has prepared and which are available on this study’s website:

  • Prof. Horton has joined with two colleagues at Wake Forest, Kenneth G. Hoglund and Mary F. Foskett, to develop A Basic Vocabulary of Biblical Studies for Beginning Students. It provides definitions of specialized terminology you will find useful in this course. The link to this resource also appears on the website page as above.

Now, back to your role as facilitator: We consider you to be the facilitator of the group, not its leader. Serving as a facilitator can be tricky, often because members of the group perceive you as the leader who has the answers rather than a peer who is ensuring a good focused conversation among all members. Even if “tricky,” facilitation can still be a very satisfying ministry of service to your congregation, and there’s no reason you cannot enjoy the task. Just keep in mind that a successful group is one in which there is broad participation (watch for those who don’t say much, and try to encourage them to be a part), and one in which the discussion retains its focus (gently bring folk back to the subject when needed). A successful group is not necessarily one that has or seeks consensus; it is one instead that permits members to share their insights of God at work in their lives as those insights relate to the subject at hand. Your leadership will keep the focus; your respect will set the tone for a meaningful encounter among the children of God.

General outline for the sessions

Here is what each session covering the six chapters might look like (actually, as you will see below, we suggest that you have seven sessions, an introductory session and then one on each of the six chapters’ themes):

  • Prayer: We encourage you to open all sessions in prayer. A good one to use is in the Covenanted listening document included in the booklet and on-line.
  • Plan for the Session: Let the group know what’s ahead.
  • Checking in: There is no such thing as being “behind” or “ahead” in your discussions. Each session can pick up wherever you ended previously or, if you desire, you may want to start things up with a fresh topic. Before you start a fresh topic, however, try to get members to identify questions and issues that have come up for them about the last meeting. You should use your best judgment as to how far to pursue such issues, but people need to be heard and need to be rewarded for pondering the material.
  • Questions for Reflection and Discussion: Draw upon the questions provided in the text. Give some thought (in advance!) as to whether you want to cover all questions or how many questions you intend to deal with, then calculate the time available for each question and the number of persons in the group. We need to be cautious in cutting off a stimulating conversation, but it’s also useful to keep in mind that some in the group may be looking forward to other questions and will be disappointed if time expires before the group gets there. (They’ll know the questions, as they appear in both their paper copies and as a link on-line. For those working only on-line, draw their attention to the questions. If you are not using our booklets at all, you may wish to download our pdf Questions for Reflection and Discussion and give them out to everyone.)

The discussions as outlined here focus on the individuals in the group. That is as it should be. You might want to consider, however, that at almost every point you might also talk about your parish as challenged to “reckless faith.”

Given that these texts are not written at a beginner’s level, you may wish to read the handouts as background but not put any expectation that members of the group have fully read them. You could then draw out paragraphs or themes you see as especially valuable, and read those excerpts to the group and encourage discussion, drawing, again, upon the questions we have raised.

The task of facilitation comes into its own significantly during these discussions. Read “The Art of Facilitation,” included here, as a stimulus to your thinking about your role.

You need not summarize the discussion at the end, but it’s good to somehow tie the conversation together, commending the group for their contribution, and suggesting that the group has engaged in faithful discernment together.

  • Questions? Remember the “Graduate on Call” setup available through the Discussion Board on Blackboard, described above. Perhaps you might invite participants to name any particular questions they may have, and send them in with plans to report the following week.
  • Reminder of Readings for the Next Session: Go over the Bible readings and text for next time. Encourage folks!
  • Prayer: We encourage you to close all sessions in prayer. A good one to use is in the Covenanted listening document included in the booklet and on-line.

Here are comments by session:

Introductory Session

As you will note, the materials consist of six chapters. We suggest that the course include seven sessions. Even if folks have signed up for the study, and even if you have told them of readings to be completed before the first class, it just doesn’t happen! At least, it doesn’t consistently enough for the first session to be a success. We suggest, therefore, an introductory session that helps to launch the study and energize participants. It might look like this:

  • Introductions: In some of our parishes, everyone will know everyone, and introductions seem a bit silly. But for many of our parishes, that may not be the case, and especially newcomers will appreciate a reminder of who folks are. Take a minute or two for basic introductions.

In any case, your class is unique and brings its own interests and needs to the study of the Gospel of Mark. Those interests and needs are important to discover. One way to begin is to ask why the members of the class want to read and discuss Mark together. Either write them down for yourself or put them up on newsprint. Try to make sure you summarize all the reasons before the first class concludes.

Here are some possibilities among so many possibilities of reasons people want to read Mark together:

  • “I don’t know anything about the Bible and need to learn.”
  • “Mark is my favorite Gospel.”
  • “I didn’t like the other Sunday School topics.”
  • “I’d like to be ready for the Sunday lectionary readings from Mark.”
  • “I’m curious about Jesus and about his life and times.”
  • “My kids are in Sunday School and it’s too much trouble to go out for coffee.”

Believe it or not, every one of these reasons is valid and useful for you to know. Giving a person “permission” to be in a group without high-minded motives is a gift, and your graciousness in offering that gift is an encouragement to discussion.

As you move past “reasons” – or as an alternative to that part of introductions – you might ask people to describe acts of reckless courage they have witnessed or done themselves. Encourage people to see the courage in their own lives: a woman’s decision to have a baby under difficult medical circumstances, a boy’s courage in standing up to teenage trash-talk about women, a businesswoman’s courage in dealing honestly at a cost to her business. The idea is to discover that members of the group have shown courage in the past in unexpected and unheralded ways. Since the thesis of the course is that reckless courage is the nature of faith for Mark, we all need to explore our lives to discover that we have the capacity for courage/faith.

Although the calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John in Mark 1:16-20 is very short, it might be a discussion starter for the topic of the course. How does Mark portray the courage of these four young men in choosing to “enroll” in the School of Jesus? Although participants will not be asked to look at chapter 1 of Reckless Faith until the next session, material from that chapter might be of some help to you in your preparation.

  • Covenanted listening: At the first session, have a copy of the Covenanted listening document available for everyone, and distribute it at the outset of the session. Ask members to review the covenant, comment on it if they wish, and, hopefully, subscribe to it.
  • The Purpose of the Study: Provide an overview of the study. We do not consider A reckless faith: Studies in the Gospel of Mark to be simply something interesting to learn about. Rather we consider this study as having the potential for being transformative, for this theme of recklessness, seen as courage in the faith, is one that challenges, or should challenge, us again and again. Underscore that theme, and perhaps name the various “pieces” – the thrust of the different chapters – at the outset.
  • Readings : The text of this study is, as noted above, available on-line and in booklets. Here we simply want to remind you that not all members may have access to the internet, and some who do may still prefer paper copies. Be sensitive to where various members are technologically.

We certainly have no objections to your printing copies directly from the internet; however, our booklets are, frankly, laid out far more attractively than the internet pages, and we are able to provide copies quickly. Just let us know. We ask for $2.50 per copy of the booklet.

If you have requested booklets before the study begins, you will be able to distribute them at this introductory class. If you have not, at the introductory class ask who would like to have the study in booklet form. Let us know immediately and we will have copies for you in time for the next session. We are willing to send copies directly to participants if you give us their addresses. If you cannot do it that way, we will send the requested copies to the parish. Participants will then need to read the first chapter on-line if you do not have a way to get the copy to them before the week is up.

  • Assignment: Go over the Bible readings and text for the first session.
  • Prayer: Close in prayer, using the closing prayer in the Covenanted listening document included in the booklet and on-line.

The Six Chapters

Following the general outline for each session for the six chapters provided above, here are

Questions for Reflection and Discussion.

Chapter 1: A Reckless Faith: Introduction

  • Is faithfulness a matter of being right or a matter of taking the risks of faith? How do you understand this distinction? What are the problems and strengths of posing this question about faith in this way?
  • Has fear (“but they were afraid”) ever affected your response to God’s call? How does the focus upon a reckless faith in Mark’s Gospel speak to you about your response?
  • The suggestion in this chapter is that for Mark, “teaching is teaching in action.” What does that phrase say to you about the way you have heard the Bible in your own life of faith?
  • When Prof. Horton writes here about the healing of the man’s withered hand and about divorce, he suggests that the real issue was, in the former, God’s ability to work through Jesus, and in the latter, “sacred language” – Jesus’ pronouncing a religious truth rather than affirming a commandment or law. How do you respond to this view? How does this relate to the theme of “a reckless faith”?
  • Read Mark 1:16-20 about the calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John. How does Mark portray the courage of these young man in choosing to “enroll” in the School of Jesus?

Chapter 2: He healed many sick people

  • Picture the courage and audacity required to bring someone to a teacher of Jewish wisdom for healing in Jesus’ time. How do you envision your own willingness to come forward yourself?
  • It was not “respectable” to be involved in the kind of ministry Jesus practiced. Is the issue of respectability an issue for us? In what ways does the issue require courage on your part?
  • Is it important to you to have an answer to the historical question, “Did Jesus really do these miracles?” Why or why not? Is Prof. Horton’s reference to the power that “holy faith” has to access the power of God as a message from Mark’s treatment of healing helpful?

Chapter 3: Your sins are forgiven

  • What do you mean when you use the word “sin”? What do you see as wrong about the sins you are naming? How would you know if you had committed such a sin? Who is competent to forgive wrongs like these?
  • What acts of courage are involved in the confession of sins and forgiveness of sins? Do you have any real experience of forgiving someone? Have you ever received forgiveness? If you forgive someone, what is the cost to you?
  • Do you think that there are sins against God, acts that God only can forgive? What does forgiveness mean in such an instance? What is the cost?

Chapter 4: Jesus’ Graduate School of Discipleship

  • How does Jesus’ call to his students and the call of other teachers to their students differ?
  • What does it mean to “deny oneself”?
  • Consider examples from your own life that relate to Jesus’ call to “deny oneself.” Are we engaged in excuse-making (“it doesn’t really mean literally that you have to give up your life”)? Do we – can we – accept the radical implications of following Jesus?
  • How often do you say – or want to say – “yes, but…” to the call to reckless faith and the cost of discipleship?

Chapter 5: The Death of Jesus

This lesson focuses on two immediate results of Jesus’ own reckless denial of himself: First, the tearing of the temple veil, and second, the declaration by the Roman centurion that the man he just saw die was “son of God.” The first has led some to declare that the rending of the temple veil put an end to the effectiveness of Jewish worship and substitutes in its stead the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. How do you respond?

  • What do you make of the Roman soldier’s declaration that Jesus is “son of God?” Do you agree that Mark has him make this confession on the basis solely of Jesus’ death? However you view his declaration, what’s its significance for you? Does it speak to you as another manifestation of a reckless faith to which we are called? How?
  • What do you think of Prof. Horton’s assertion that the death of Jesus is a sacrifice in Mark’s Gospel, even though Mark is not explicit about the benefits of that sacrifice? How does the death of Jesus benefit us and others?
  • Do you agree or disagree with Prof. Horton’s assertion that Mark puts no special emphasis on the physical or emotional suffering of Jesus? What difference would it make if Mark were very descriptive about these matters, as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is?
  • Is Peter a study in redemption through grace in Mark’s Gospel? In what way might you be a study in redemption through grace?

Chapter 6: The Resurrection of Jesus

  • Prof. Horton claimed that the "after three days" predictions in Mark 8:31; 9:31; and 10:34 suggested a journey to the underworld. Does that seem to you to be a good way to account for the difference between the three days of the predictions and the actual day and a half of the Gospel story?
  • Does it make sense to you to distinguish between a journey to the underworld and a resurrection? To insist that Jesus was "raised," Prof. Horton claimed, meant that others were involved in this resurrection besides Jesus. He then held that the command to go to the Galilee specifically connected the disciples and the women with that promise of resurrection. Do you agree? Disagree?
  • Did Mark's Gospel end in Mark 16:8? Do you believe that either of the traditional endings of Mark has any merit as a possible ending for the Gospel? Do you agree with Prof. Horton that even if there is a "lost ending," we have enough of the Gospel to understand its outcome?
  • The fact that the women flee the tomb in fear is the last authentic text we have from the author of Mark. Is that the last word? Did Mark regard their inability to tell anyone what they saw to be a terminal act of faithlessness?
  • If the next act of courage, reckless faith, is the recognition of Jesus in the Galilee, what might modern Christians make of this? Do we have an analogous expectation? Is there still room for reckless faith?
  • And for those of us who have infrequent outbreaks of reckless faith, what does a Gospel that ends for us with the faithful women being too frightened to function say for us? Does God condemn us for our fear and hesitancy? Can we expect to be brave after being cowardly? How might our parish, our diocese, our church address this question?

A concluding question for this final session: The questions above focus directly upon this sixth and final chapter. However, as this is the concluding session, you may consider it valuable to ensure time to address this final, sweeping question:

  • What kind of reckless faith might we imagine for ourselves and our communion?

Evaluation: An evaluation form is included at the end of each participants booklet, and is also located on-line. Please encourage participants to complete an evaluation. You may find it beneficial to review the comments yourself. We would be grateful if you would share the results with us as well.