Hello All,
I'd like to share a really exciting plan to make our Sunday morning class time more purposeful and powerful. Here's the skinny:
I believe very strongly in the power of small groups. Bible class teaching is of great importance, and we will continue to have that, but I believe we can take what's there and make it more effective, on an individual level. As it stands now, a few obstacles that arise are....
1. It's really easy to slip in the door, sit in the back of the room, and drift off into dreamland with all the pretty, shiny things that can distract.
2. It's also really easy to come to class every Sunday morning, appear to be tuned in, but never really get engaged in the conversation, and therefore miss out on most of what's being said. (If we're all honest, we've all done it.)
3. For the quieter types, they may want to speak up, and have a lot to say, but may never have that moment when the time is right for them to get a word in edge-wise.
4. The fact is they've spent their week sitting in 7 hours of lectures a day. Class can become just another lecture.
HOWEVER...
If we keep the traditional bible class teaching format the first half of class, then take a list of discussion questions and break into smaller discussion groups, we can
discuss how the passages we've just learned about from the bible
apply directly to our modern, every day lives. So then....
1. Nobody has the chance to slide through under the radar. Everybody is involved, so the need to be mentally stimulated is there every single week.
2. With multiple, smaller groups going on, everybody is engaged. There's no longer a chance to merely appear to be tuned in.
3. I love this one. Finally, the quieter types are heard. People who would rarely, if ever, speak up in front of the group can speak up so much more comfortably and have their thoughts heard as much as the ones who may have no trouble with things like that.
4. This will distinguish bible class from every other class they've sat through for the past week. Conversation, as opposed to lecture.
PLUS...
5. (and here's where you come in..) YOU get to be involved in what they're learning. "How?" you ask? I'm glad you asked! Because you will be leading the discussion groups! You simply can't put a price on involving the family in the bible-learning process. This puts you right in the midst of what they're learning and how they're learning it. It also gives you the easiest possible starting point to bring up these conversation topics in your own homes, around the dinner, table, or on the way to school in the morning. Like I said, you just can't put a price on that.
We will soon have a sign up list posted on my door for parents to sign up to lead these discussion groups. They will most likely be a month-of-Sundays at a time. (But if you can't commit to 4 back-to-back weeks, we can work something out.) You can either sign up individually or as a couple.
We will also have a training session, probably one Sunday, on leading small group discussions. ANYbody, no matter what personality type, can do this.
I can't wait to get you guys involved in this! I think we're gonna see some amazing things coming from some amazing conversations!
THANK YOU ALL.
