Group Study Plan

State of the Art is built for conversation. This page offers two ready-made paths through the book for small groups, classes, and households — a full thirteen-session journey through all thirty-one chapters, and a shorter eight-session core track. Adapt freely: split heavy sessions, linger where the group is alive, and skip nothing essential.

How each session works

A simple, repeatable rhythm — about 60–90 minutes:

1. Open — pray, and read aloud the chapter's Declaration panel(s).
2. Read — group members read the chapter(s) beforehand; review the key Scriptures together.
3. Discern — work through the chapter's Discern views; where do you agree, and where do faithful Christians differ?
4. Reflect — use the chapter's Reflect prompts as discussion questions (answers stay private on each person's device).
5. Respond — close with the Self-check questions and a prayer, and let each person name one step.

New here first? Start with How to Use This Book.

The full journey (13 sessions)

1 · Begin togetherThe Declaration · How to Use This Book. Focus: What does the Lord require of us (Micah 6:8)?

2 · FoundationsThe Kingdom of God · Made in the Image of God. Focus: Whose reign do we seek first, and why does every person matter?

3 · Human dignity, beginning to endHuman Rights & Human Dignity · The Rights & Protection of Children · Life & Death. Focus: Where is human dignity most under threat around us?

4 · Nation, power & the KingdomNationalism, Kingdom & Dominion · Religious Liberty, Persecution & Pluralism. Focus: When our faith and our political loyalties conflict, which bends?

5 · Justice & the vulnerableAdvocacy & Public Witness · Wealth, Poverty & the Common Good · Crime, Prisons & Restorative Justice. Focus: Whose voice is missing from the tables where we have influence?

6 · Who is my neighbor?The Neighbor: Race, Migration & Reconciliation · Disability & the Church · Aging, Honor & the Elderly. Focus: Where have we drawn a line around "neighbor" that Jesus would erase?

7 · Truth & the Church's integrityHeresy, Orthodoxy & Discernment · Truth, Misinformation & the Digital Age · Power, Abuse & Accountability. Focus: How do we hold truth and love — and power — without corruption?

8 · Creation & cultureCreation, Stewardship & Dominion · Technology, AI & the Human Person · Science, Faith & Wonder. Focus: How is what we make and use forming us — and the world?

9 · Body, sex & familySexuality, Marriage & the Body · Marriage, Family & Singleness · Women, Men & Ministry. Focus: How do we hold conviction and compassion together on contested ground?

10 · Wholeness & healingSuffering, Mental Health & Lament · Addiction, Recovery & Grace. Focus: Is our community a refuge for the wounded, or a stage for the well?

11 · Peace & the ordering of lifeWar, Peace & the Use of Force · Work, Rest & Sabbath. Focus: Where do we need to make peace, and where do we need to rest?

12 · The Church's life & witnessThe Unity & Division of the Church · Worship, Formation & the Consumer Church · Mission & Evangelism in a Post-Christian Age · Beauty, the Arts & Imagination. Focus: What is actually forming us — and what do we offer the world?

13 · Hope & sendingDeath, Grief & Christian Hope · revisit The Declaration. Focus: How does resurrection hope change how we live and die — and what will we do now?

The core track (8 sessions)

For shorter courses, a path through the essentials:

1. The Declaration + Foundations (Kingdom, Image of God)
2. Human dignity: Human Rights, Children, Life & Death
3. Nationalism, Kingdom & Dominion
4. Advocacy + Wealth & Poverty
5. Heresy & Discernment + Truth & Misinformation
6. Power, Abuse & Accountability
7. Sexuality + Marriage, Family & Singleness
8. Worship & Formation + Mission & Evangelism — and being sent

For facilitators

• Lead with humility. On Discern sections, your job is to map the faithful views fairly, not to win — model the charity the book commends.
• Make it safe. Many chapters (suffering, abuse, addiction, sexuality) touch real wounds in the room. Listen more than you teach; never pressure anyone to share.
• Keep Christ central. Every issue here is finally about seeking first the Kingdom of God. Return there often.
• End in prayer and action. Let each session close by naming one concrete, prayerful step.

Ready to begin? Open The Declaration, then gather your group around session 1.