Living the Good Life Together - Forgiveness Study & Reflection Guide: Letting Go

Why is it so hard to forgive?

Christians talk a lot about forgiveness, but our actions don’t always measure up to our words. In this study, authors Susan Pendleton Jones and L. Gregory Jones help us face that question honestly and, together, work toward embodying God’s gracious forgiveness of us. Topics include:

• The Heart of Christian Living
• Crafting Communities of Forgiveness
• The Dance of Forgiveness
• Challenges to Forgiveness

As part of the study, you will read from this study & reflection guide, considering the ideas presented and recording your thoughts and responses. Then, in weekly group meetings, you will share your thoughts and hear the insights of others. Each meeting will include a video exploring the topic of forgiveness through interviews, mini-documentaries, personal testimonies, dramatic readings, and Scripture.

For more information, go to www.livingthegoodlifetogether.com.

Susan Pendleton Jones, a United Methodist elder, is Director of Special Programs at Duke University Divinity School, where her responsibilities include teaching, mentoring students for ordination, and coordinating the Teaching Congregations program. She is a frequent retreat leader for lay and clergy groups. Her travel on behalf of the Divinity School includes pilgrimages to Africa, Russia, France, Palestine/Israel, and Korea.

The Reverend Dr. L. Gregory Jones is Executive Vice President and Provost at Baylor University.  Prior to that he was senior strategist for leadership education at Duke Divinity School and Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. professor of theology and Christian ministry where he served as senior strategist for the Fuqua-Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. A noted scholar, teacher, and church leader, he is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Embodying Forgiveness.