Interview with Jared Wilson on "Abide"

Jared Wilson, author of, Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior, has recently release a great Bible study called, Abide, from Threads media.  Below is an interview with him concerning this new work.

1.  Tell us a bit about yourself.

When I'm not making life-saving inventions out of household materials, I am the pastor of Middletown Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont. I moved here last August after 34 years in the Bible Belt. I have an amazing wife named Becky and two beautiful daughters named Macy and Grace.

2.  What should people expect when they use this study?

They should expect to be stretched and challenged. They should also expect that they won't be able to rush through the questions and answer them 30 minutes before small group meeting time.  But they should also expect to see how the good news of the finished work of Christ empowers the spiritual disciplines and applies to them.

3.  Who is the target audience?

As with all Threads material, the target audience is generally college students and young adults ages 18 to mid-30's. I would guess the average age of the Threads study users would be 24. But there's nothing about the material itself that limits it to the younger age group. The targeting is mostly in the packaging and the "aesthetic" of the book. The study material can be used by youth groups all the way up to senior citizens. It is not written in such a way that it specifically applies to one demographic in the church.

4.  How did this study come about for you?  Is this a topic you have personally wrestled with in a deep way?

It is. The study began as a sermon series at the church I pastored in Nashville, Tennessee. At that time, the series was called "God vs. Suburbia," and it was really the outflow of my working through how the gospel of the kingdom might apply to -- and subvert -- the messages and environments and subcultures of a consumerist and materialist kingdom. This is something I've struggled with growing up a middle class suburban white kid, but it's something I think all Christians have to work out if we are truly to worship Jesus as king. Wherever you find yourself: what does being "in the world but not of it" look like?

5.  What are some of the distinctives of the study?

As with most Threads studies, the book is somewhat of a hybrid of a small book and a Bible study guide. So it's longer than most Bible studies. Each of the 5 sessions requires some reading and thoughtfulness. I think the most distinctive thing about it -- or at least, the thing I have not seen in too many Bible studies -- is that it approaches the concept of spiritual formation from the standpoint of the gospel. There is as much emphasis on Jesus having already done the work as there is on assigning stuff for Christians to do. The last sentence of the entire study is "So relax."

6.  Got any new projects in the works?

I am progressing nicely on my next book, tentatively titled Gospel Wakefulness: Treasuring Christ and Savoring His Power. I am already in talks with a publisher about that project, so I anticipate being able to share that info pretty soon.

Abide from Threads on Vimeo.