Week 1: Introduction — My Aim (and Fear) for This Book

1.Chan admits that he is nervous about writing this book — afraid it could lead readers toward either cold intellectualism about the Spirit or wild emotionalism. Why do you think the topic of the Holy Spirit is so prone to those two extremes? Which extreme is more tempting for you personally?

2.Chan asks whether the church would look any different if the Holy Spirit were taken away. What is your honest answer for your own church — and for your own life?

3.He describes a growing sense that something is desperately 'off' in the Western church, not just stylistically but spiritually. What evidence, if any, have you observed in your own church experience that points to this kind of deficit?