Seeding Hope Book Club

The Seeding Hope Book Club generally convenes each quarter and reads one book per quarter. During a quarterly series, book club members gather every other week on Monday evenings (ET) from 6:30 to 8:00 pm ET typically over five or six individual book club sessions.

Our next book club series will begin in Spring 2026.

While every book is different, we generally strive to keep reading assignments of no more than 50-60 pages per two week period -- so think two or so chapters per meeting. The book club meetings are also structured in a way where participants can join any given discussion session throughout the series and still fully participate if they have completed the reading for that session.

The Seeding Hope Book Club meets online via Zoom. Each book club series will provide its own distinctive Zoom link for the duration of that series. Consequently, book club members will need to sign up for each book club series they are interested in joining.

If you think you've missed the sign-up email or Zoom link registration invitation, please email info@faithfulamerica.org with "Book Club" in the subject line to receive more information on how you can join.

For each meeting, we will spend an hour and a half gathering in community, discussing the assigned chapters in small groups, and offering each other the hopeful reminder that we are not alone.

Our goal is to create a Beloved Community where all participants feel seen, heard, and respected. This will require each of us being willing to step forward and contribute to the conversation as well as regularly stepping back and listening to our peers.

While recognizing that everyone has varying personalities, schedules, and preferences, we strongly encourage full participation in each meeting -- meaning that participants should come having read the assigned chapters, ready to share their thoughts, and eager to listen and learn from others.

Below are 5 general norms to help make that possible:

• Step up, Step back: Everyone has something to contribute -- including both introverts and extroverts. We will have a mix of personalities and experiences in every room. If you're the type of person who speaks up a lot, make sure you're making room for other voices (i.e. wait for everyone to share before speaking a 2nd time, ask the quiet person questions, etc.). If you tend to be the quiet one, push yourself to share (i.e. come to each meeting with a passage that really struck you or a question you've been wrestling with).
• Cameras on, Mics muted: One way that we can cultivate community is by ensuring participants are actually seen and heard. We ask that everyone have their camera on whenever possible during the meeting, especially during the breakout room discussions portion of the meeting. Additionally, keep your mic muted while others are speaking and use the Zoom "handraising function" when you would like to speak. Keeping your camera on and mics muted throughout the discussion will enable us to build a shared sense of trust and vulnerability.
• Platinum rule: Treat others as they wish to be treated. No one wants to be interrupted or talked over while they are trying to share. We should strive to give each other space and time to share their thoughts, even if we disagree with them. Affirm and compliment others when they make great points.
• Come prepared: Participants should have completed all the assigned reading before the meeting so that we can fully share our thoughts. Our goal is for all participants to benefit from informed discussion. If you are unable to complete the reading in time, please feel free to attend the meeting, but out of respect for others, you should contribute to the discussion more with questions and wonderings rather than answers and comments.
• Be open, curious, and humble: We are reading some challenging texts with challenging ideas and claims. We will also be discussing these ideas in community with others whose ways of thinking may be different than ours. This is to be expected and embraced, because "iron sharpens iron." However, how we manage conflict and disagreement in our groups is of the utmost importance. Baseless accusations, name-calling, and yelling will not be tolerated. Alternatively, our aim is to engage the text and each other with charity and grace -- meaning we make habits of assuming others' good intentions, asking others to say more about what they mean, and refraining from questioning others' lived experiences. We are the experts on our own experience, but we should also show a willingness to learn from the wisdom of others and our text.

At this time, we aren't offering any other meeting times, and due to the nature of the discussion and small groups, we are not able to record the meetings. However, we hope you will still consider a few of the options below:

1. Read along with us and join when you can.
2. Email organizing@faithfulamerica.org to ask how you might organize a local book club with other Faithful America members in your area. Organizing a local book club in your church or community while reading along with the national group is a great way to build online and offline community with other Faithful America members.
3. Email info@faithfulamerica.org with any specific questions you may have.

For access to information on previous book club reads and small group discussion questions, please see the list below:

2025: Spring Session

"Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present" by Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat

You can access the small group discussion questions HERE.

2025: Summer Session

"The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted" by Dr. Obery Hendricks, Jr.

You can access the small group discussion questions HERE.

2025: Fall Session

"One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America" by Kevin M. Kruse

You can access the small group discussion questions HERE.

First off, thank you for your willingness to help facilitate discussion for your small group today. The role of facilitator is an important one, and here are a few tips to keep your group conversation focused and robust:

1. Read out the questions to begin the discussion in your group. Your role is not to answer each question first but rather, to suggest the beginning and end of discussions for each question.
2. Keep an eye on the timer. Each breakout session will be roughly 20 minutes, which gives your group ten or so minutes to discuss each question. Gently remind your group at the halfway point to move to the next question.
3. Invite others who haven't spoken much to share their thoughts. The group facilitator can help ensure that no participant is dominating the conversation by paying attention to who is talking as much and simply asking if they'd like to share anything (but of course, no pressure!).
4. Monitor participants' microphones and "hand raising" function to ensure smooth transitions from one speaker to the next. If someone isn't muted while they aren't speaking and distracting sounds are coming through, feel free to chat or politely ask that participant if they can mute their mic. Further, you can help keep the conversation going by calling on those with their hands raised. If multiple hands are raised, consider calling on the hand that hasn't spoken as much.

If you have questions or need specific accommodations before the meeting, please email info@faithfulamerica.org with "Book Club" in the subject line and a staff member will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are having difficulty during the meeting, please alert staff members in the chat or the "Ask for Help" function at the bottom of your breakout session screen.