Our concept in creating this site was to offer a new and exciting resource to the creative youth minister. However, it is possible that members of a church will bring this concept to a pastor, priest, or minister who hasn't heard for it, is unprepared for it. We're sorry if this is the case. We hope this website has all the information you need to get going quickly, and is a help not a hinderance to your good work.

If someone comes to you with this idea, or with this website, why not let them be in charge and try their hand at running it; why not try helping them to succeed with it? The mark of a true transformational leader is in allowing someone else to succeed even where you, yourself might have succeeded. Ask yourself: are you willing to give up a little power, and let someone (likely less experienced than you) stumble a little to get a Jesus sangha going, under your auspices? What can you do to help them to succeed? How can you really be a friend to this Jesus sangha?

When we were developing this site, we turned to a good many solid, interdisciplinary resources. But we also found that looking deep within our own faith tradition there was more than enough material for our purposes. So we say: make use of your favorites, surf Amazon, and also be sure to educate yourself well in depth about Buddhism - where it departs from Jesus' dharma and where it agrees, because you will be asked and will need to have answers that ring true to the heart, yours and the questioner both.

You may be interested to explore with the questioner the concepts of Grace and Love and how they may be more attainable to a Western heart than emptiness and a cessation of ego or less exhausting to contemplate than an endless karmic wheel. Grace that doesn't have to be earned or deserved but that flows from a God whose essence is Love itself is both beautiful and compelling. Or there may be other concepts you want to explore with the sangha that forms under your care. Regardless, you can and should be ready for the questions that are bound to arise. You might want to consider tone, as harsh theologies often fall on deaf ears and anyway they aren't the most skillful means to gather anyone into your flock. Rather, a gospel of love, growth, nurturing, lovingkindness, compassion, creative nonviolence and social justice will be much more useful if you explore this JesusSangha concept as part of your ministry.

Reading Resources for the Sangha

Our Sangha Reading Ideas page includes a good many titles to read together, and of course you will want to add to the list and make it your own. These titles explore Jesus, the Gospel, Gospel Nonviolence, Social Justice, and more, as well as Bible Editions that are more widely accepted in this sort of group. In addition to your own Bible edition, consider:

• Word in Life Bible, Contemporary English Version - lots of clear, lucid commentary
      ... but too big to carry around all the time(!)
• Faithgirlz! Bibles - New International Version, cute and fun to carry
• Green Bible by Harper Bibles - New Revised Standard Version, eco paper & soy ink
      ... and creation care passages are marked in green!
• Poverty and Justice Bible by American Bibles - Contemporary English Version, nicely done
      ... and social justice passages are highlighted in orange!
• Pocket Edition New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs - inexpensive and easy to carry
      ... but print can be tiny and pages can be fragile.

feed your head!

Emerging eMinistry Resources For the Forward-thinking and the Open-Minded Church/ Pastor/ Minister/ Priest

• Careaga. eMinistry; Connecting with the Net Generation.
• Kimball. Emerging Worship.
• Kimball. They Like Jesus but Not The Church; Insights from Emerging Generations.
• Kinnaman & Lyons. UnChristian; What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity.
• Malphurs & Malphurs. Church Next; Using the Internet to Maximize Your Ministry.
• Smith. The End of the World as We Know It; Clear Directions for Bold and Innovative Ministry in a Postmodern World.
• Tickle. The Great Emergence; How Christianity is Changing, and Why.
• Webber. Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches; Five Perspectives.