.:|bible study?!?!?|:.
we have home/cell (now known as PLUS) group tonight. home group is basically when people meet in a smaller, more intimate setting of a home and there's basically a mini church. i LOVE PLUS. why? i have no clue. i mean, shoot, when i started to really believe in the home group direction that our church was going in things started to really take shape. now, half a year later i'm co-leading the group, and the group is seeing unprecedented growth... much less stability, but growth nonetheless. nothing to do with me... it's all God. However, this is the first time in over 2 months that i have a chance to actually lead the study part.
i'm energised.. i woke up half an hour early for work. i opened the office, something i don't very often. i'm ignoring this stomach bug that's seen me take 6 craps in the last 24 hours. but like the bible tells me, "be of good cheer." and i am. i'm excited because i actually get blessed when i lead the bible study part, and i challenge myself to always push the bar... to do the very best for Jesus... and this day i have some really good ideas that i'm praying that God uses tonight in the study to really get people to see how and why we Glorify God. excited for bible study?
i've had training and experience in college leading smaller groups, running workshop style meetings for apathetic first and second year college students. i've actually begun to see the resemblance between the people i led then, compared to those that i lead now. huge difference in age, no difference in challenges. getting people involved, excited to be part of the community, driven to participate, giving them ownership of what we're doing... it's the same. that's why i have a quiet confidence in the Lord because i've got the tools to pour into the group, it's just God's will or not if it does get used. give what i can, and let Jesus do the rest.. ya know?
one thing that i don't want to ever concede to is that just because it's a bible study doesn't' mean it has to be boring, monotonous and just discussion. there are so many ways to get a point across, and every teacher knows that visual aids in a classroom with varying size, colour, dimension adds so much to the retention and attention of the students. so what is different to a bible study? i actually think that there is no difference. i've always thought that the best bible studies should include the processes and tricks that the cutting edge university workshops and teambuilding events use. usually the most dynamic and inclusive workshops in college were when we were learning life-skills... skills of morality, racism, prejudice, sexism... all these things were considered something that needed special methods of teaching since it was considered something taught out-of-the-classroom and thus needed to be different and appealing to the student, not something force-fed. during these times as a co-ordinator and mentor, we used to brainstorm for weeks for one particular topic to make sure that the mentees got the message in a clear concise manner that they could apply the moment the left the room.
what's so different about the bible?
i consider there to be only one manual on LIFE and that's the bible. however whenever someone says 'teach' the 'word of God', it's all of a sudden becomes enshrouded in the 'old-school' mentality. i'm doing what i can to break that... i'm SO not old-school and i'm determined to bring the best of what the world taught me, and apply that to my Christian circle... we would be stupid and arrogant to not see that in terms of teaching Christian principles and doctrine, we are often not the most apt at motivating and making it fun.
anyways, in 12 hours, it will be over. whether i apply any of this zeal or mentality to the actual study has yet to be seen, but i do have that heart... and if it's not tonight, the it certainly will be next time. i've spent 2 weeks in prep for this night, i'm still shaky about the specific allocation of time and i'm concerned that we have too much ground to cover to be able to use props.... BUT... i will do what i can to ensure that the word of the Lord stays with anyone who comes tonight, and i'm determined to have everyone participate and to have FUN!
shoot man.. this is one LOOOOONG entry. please pray for me if any of you guys got a spare moment.
we have home/cell (now known as PLUS) group tonight. home group is basically when people meet in a smaller, more intimate setting of a home and there's basically a mini church. i LOVE PLUS. why? i have no clue. i mean, shoot, when i started to really believe in the home group direction that our church was going in things started to really take shape. now, half a year later i'm co-leading the group, and the group is seeing unprecedented growth... much less stability, but growth nonetheless. nothing to do with me... it's all God. However, this is the first time in over 2 months that i have a chance to actually lead the study part.
i'm energised.. i woke up half an hour early for work. i opened the office, something i don't very often. i'm ignoring this stomach bug that's seen me take 6 craps in the last 24 hours. but like the bible tells me, "be of good cheer." and i am. i'm excited because i actually get blessed when i lead the bible study part, and i challenge myself to always push the bar... to do the very best for Jesus... and this day i have some really good ideas that i'm praying that God uses tonight in the study to really get people to see how and why we Glorify God. excited for bible study?
i've had training and experience in college leading smaller groups, running workshop style meetings for apathetic first and second year college students. i've actually begun to see the resemblance between the people i led then, compared to those that i lead now. huge difference in age, no difference in challenges. getting people involved, excited to be part of the community, driven to participate, giving them ownership of what we're doing... it's the same. that's why i have a quiet confidence in the Lord because i've got the tools to pour into the group, it's just God's will or not if it does get used. give what i can, and let Jesus do the rest.. ya know?
one thing that i don't want to ever concede to is that just because it's a bible study doesn't' mean it has to be boring, monotonous and just discussion. there are so many ways to get a point across, and every teacher knows that visual aids in a classroom with varying size, colour, dimension adds so much to the retention and attention of the students. so what is different to a bible study? i actually think that there is no difference. i've always thought that the best bible studies should include the processes and tricks that the cutting edge university workshops and teambuilding events use. usually the most dynamic and inclusive workshops in college were when we were learning life-skills... skills of morality, racism, prejudice, sexism... all these things were considered something that needed special methods of teaching since it was considered something taught out-of-the-classroom and thus needed to be different and appealing to the student, not something force-fed. during these times as a co-ordinator and mentor, we used to brainstorm for weeks for one particular topic to make sure that the mentees got the message in a clear concise manner that they could apply the moment the left the room.
what's so different about the bible?
i consider there to be only one manual on LIFE and that's the bible. however whenever someone says 'teach' the 'word of God', it's all of a sudden becomes enshrouded in the 'old-school' mentality. i'm doing what i can to break that... i'm SO not old-school and i'm determined to bring the best of what the world taught me, and apply that to my Christian circle... we would be stupid and arrogant to not see that in terms of teaching Christian principles and doctrine, we are often not the most apt at motivating and making it fun.
anyways, in 12 hours, it will be over. whether i apply any of this zeal or mentality to the actual study has yet to be seen, but i do have that heart... and if it's not tonight, the it certainly will be next time. i've spent 2 weeks in prep for this night, i'm still shaky about the specific allocation of time and i'm concerned that we have too much ground to cover to be able to use props.... BUT... i will do what i can to ensure that the word of the Lord stays with anyone who comes tonight, and i'm determined to have everyone participate and to have FUN!
shoot man.. this is one LOOOOONG entry. please pray for me if any of you guys got a spare moment.
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