Andy Rowell | Church Leadership Conversations

Superb practical tips about preaching: Communications professor Lori Carrell in Rev.

I wanted to draw your attention to an outstanding series of articles by Lori Carrell, a professor of communication at the University of Wisconsin, who has done research in cooperation with the Center for Excellence in Congregational Leadership, which is owned and operated by Green Lake Conference Center/American Baptist Assembly in Wisconsin and has received funding from the Lilly Endowment.  Each article is three pages long from Rev. magazine and contains some of the best practical advice about preaching you can find anywhere.  Carrell has her Ph.D. in communication, is very familiar with how pastors think, is a Christian herself, and is a highly awarded professor.  I am impressed.  We need more of this kind of research on topics related to pastoring.    

Check out these PDFs online. 

Lori Carrell, "Sermons Most Likely to Succeed: Do sermons actually change beliefs and behavior? An ongoing study reveals hard facts," Rev. Magazine (May/June 2007), 71-73.

This is the most dense article--sharing findings from an extensive survey of what is most effective in preaching. 

Lori Carrell, “The Perils of PowerPoint Preaching: Research reveals that the use of PowerPoint slides during preaching is often more of a distraction than a transformative tool,” Rev. Magazine (Mar/Apr 2008): 91-93.

This article argues finds that much PowerPoint use is distracting. 

Lori Carrell,"Are You Wasting Your Sermon Prep Time?" Rev. Magazine (May/June 2008), 91-93.

This article explains what pastors do in sermon prep time and follows pastors who have tried to improve their effectiveness in preparation.

Lori Carrell,"Reaching the Choir: Are you transforming your listeners or simply telling them what they already know?," Rev. Magazine (July/August 2008), 95-97.

This article suggests a method for moving people from what they already know to specific challenges. 

Lori Carrell,"Why Your Preaching Matters More Than You Think," Rev. Magazine (September/October 2008), 158-159.

This article explains how greatly congregation members value preaching. 

See also her book:

Lori Carrell, The Great American Sermon Survey (Mainstay Church Resources, 1999).

I give Rev. magazine credit for having regular columns from:

• David Kinnaman, author of UnChristian and president of The Barna Group;
• D. Michael Lindsay, assistant professor of sociology at Rice University, and a reputable sociologist.   

Both move beyond the numbers to offer their take on what church leaders should do but they also both deal responsibly with statistics. 

Education in the Local Church: Taylor, Willimon, Storey, Niebuhr, and Groome

A number of churches are doing weeknight adult Christian education courses this fall for the first time in a long time. Classes@Willow at Willow Creek Community Church (which you can watch or listen to online), The Midweek Experience - Journey Bible Classes at Granger Community Church, and my own TableTalk at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church.  I am teaching Philippians with Duke New Testament Ph.D. student Tim Wardle. 

I have come across in my reading this week four theologian-pastors talking about education in the church.  I have reproduced those quotes below as they raise almost all of the important issues related to the educational task.  

In summary, Barbara Brown Taylor worries that too often Bible classes do not sufficiently explore what we learn about God from the text and the imagination is too often left unengaged. Will Willimon stresses the importance of pastors instilling the depth of Christian faith in congregations so that they can live despite the unChristian onslaught of the world's messages. Peter Storey's comments are similar to Willimon in stating the crucial nature of education for faithful living. Reinhold Neibuhr's journal reveals his frustrations with students not understanding his theological ruminations.  He later learns to ask more questions and not talk so much. Finally, I note that Thomas Groome's teaching process--which encourages teachers to start with real life, move to the content, and then move back to life and response--takes into account these various issues.  I hope this will be helpful to any thinking through education in their local church today.  

Four quotations

• 

  
  

Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life (London: Cowley, 1993), 49.  
During my tenure as a coordinator of Christian education, I heard a lot from people about their hunger to know the Bible, so I hired professors from a nearby seminary and offered regular courses on the Old and New Testaments.  People told me the descriptions sounded like just what they needed, but that was usually the last I saw of them.  The classes were small and sporadically attended, while classes on religion and the arts or parenting techniques overflowed their banks. Yet every quarter, people asked for more Bible courses.  They said they wanted more; they were not getting enough.  So I offered more Bible and still no one came. 
Finally, I got the message.  "Bible" was a code word for "God."  People were not hungry for information about the Bible; they were hungry for an experience of God, which the Bible seemed to offer them.  So I laid off the seminary professors and offered a class on biblical meditation instead, which filled up at once.  The plan was simple: every week we locked the door, took off our shoes and closed our eyes and listened to a story about the raising of Lazarus, or the feeding of the five thousand, or John's vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. 

• 

Will Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), 71.
I therefore predict more of a pastor's time will be spent in the education, formation, and enculturation of the members of the congregation to be people who know how to analyze the corrosive acids within the surrounding and essentially indifferent--at times openly hostile--dominant culture.  More of our efforts will need to be expended in giving our people the means to resist, to live by, and to creatively communicate the gospel in a world where Christians are a cognitive minority.  Just the other day I was talking with a pastor who formed a "Public School Teachers' Prayer Breakfast" for the teachers in his congregation.  At this weekly breakfast, the teachers present case studies from their work that challenge their Christian faith.  They share a meal, have prayer, and venture forth better equipped to live their faith in the public-school setting . . .
There is much to be said for the pastor being educated in the classical forms of Christian ministry.  The church has much experience as a minority movement.  We need to draw from that experience today.  In that regard, I predict a recovery of the classical shape of ministry: to teach, to preach, and to evangelize through the ministries of Word, sacrament, and order.  I sense the end of a proliferation of ministerial duties and a reclamation of the essential classical tasks of Christian ministry.  Because so many of our people have not been well formed in the faith, pastors now must stress doctrine, the classical texts of our faith, our master narratives, the great themes.  The culture is no longer a prop for the church.  If we are going to make Christians, we must have a new determination to inculcate the faith.  In some ways our age parallels that of the Reformation, in which the church was faced with a vast undereducated, uninformed, unformed laity and clergy.  Pastors must be prepared to lead in catechesis, moral formation, and the regeneration of God's people.

Peter Storey, "Rules of Engagement: Faithful Congregations in a Dangerous World," Inaugural Lecture for Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Chair of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School.  Storey taught at Duke from 1999-2006.

Reclaim the Teaching Office.  Anything else I say tonight actually depends on this. I have a friend back home whose name is George Irvine, and this very fine pastor says, “If you want to get your congregation moving into mission, you’ve got to do three things:  the first is to teach. When you’ve done that, then for goodness sake, teach. That’s the second thing. And thirdly, teach!”
This has been my experience. It has been a non-negotiable in the churches I’ve served in South Africa: a central teaching and learning experience for the whole congregation, led by the best qualified people available – including certainly all the pastoral staff.  And all lay persons in leadership are required to commit to this weekly educational discipline. All newcomers must do so too, as part of joining. It’s a no-brainer. Nothing effective can happen in a church until its leaders and people begin to think theologically.
I wonder if you know how unique it is that adults attend Sunday School in the numbers they do here? It doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. Yet most Sunday Schools follow an ad hoc approach to a curriculum which is left very much to each class to discuss and decide. What would happen if a curriculum on mission, for instance was agreed and the pastor trained all the Sunday School class leaders each week in how to teach each lesson? I used to do that with a whole lot of home group leaders when our centralized Academy for Christian Living was in recess.
Reclaiming the teaching office means that we will teach Scripture and Doctrine and Christian Practices and above all, we will, as Ted Jennings puts it, “understudy Jesus.” Above all, we want to learn the mind of that one teacher, remembering his words: “You study the Scriptures diligently supposing that in them you have eternal life, yet although their testimony points to me, you refuse to come to me for that life.” (John 5:39)
And we will also train people in the skills the world desperately needs but doesn’t know. I was speaking with Filipino delegates at the Nairobi World Council of Churches gathering about the overthrow of the tyrant President Ferdinand Marcos and how armored vehicles had to stop and bombers had to abort their bombing runs because hundreds and thousands of Christians jammed the streets. “How did you do it?” I asked. The answer: “We studied and trained for twelve years! We trained in the practice of non-violence and the prayer that is needed for it.”
To be about God’s mission in the world, we need to reclaim the teaching office.

• 

Reinhold Niebuhr, Leaves From the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1929, 1980), 16, 29.

[Neibuhr is 24] 1916. The young fellows I am trying to teach in Sunday school don't listen to me attentively.  I don't think I am getting very clse to where they live.  Or perhaps I just haven't learned how to put my message across.  I am constantly interrupted in my talk by the necessity of calling someone to order.  It is a good thing that I have a class like that.  I'll venture that my sermons aren't getting any nearer to the people, but the little group of adults I am speaking to in the morning service are naturally more patient or at least more polite that these honest youngsters, and so I have less chance to find out from them how futile I am.  But that doesn't solve the proble of how to reach the fellows. 

[Neibuhr is 28] 1920.  I had a great discussion in my young men's clas this morning.  Gradually I am beginning to discover that my failure with the class was due to my talking too much.  Now I let them talk and the thing is becoming interesting.  Of course it isn't so easy to keep the discussion steered on any track.  Sometimes we talk in circles.  But the fellows are at least getting at some of the vital problems of life and I am learning something from them.  Disciplinary problems have disappeared.  The only one left is the fellow who is always trying to say something foolish or smart in the discussion. 

Here's a fifth bonus quote:

Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and how Schools Should Teach (BasicBooks, 1991).
"coverage is the enemy of understanding"

Taylor University Christian Education professor Faye Chechowich's response:
How about education as a task of “uncovering” rather than “covering”?

My conclusion and synthesis. 

I think Boston College professor Thomas Groome's Shared Christian Praxis approach gets at all of these aspects. 

Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Vision by Thomas H. Groome (1980, 1999).  We required students to read chapter 9 and 10 in Teaching and Learning Strategies at Taylor University. 

Sharing Faith: A Comprehensive Approach to Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry : The Way of Shared Praxis by Thomas H. Groome (1991)
This book illustrates the process described in chapter 10 of Christian Religious Education.  

Groome's book Christian Religious Education is the classic in the field.  It is a foundational book we teach in the Christian Educational Ministries program at Taylor University.  It is in the curriculum of education courses at Regent College where I did my MDiv.   And it is required in the Th.D. seminar at Duke Divinity School. 

This is from chapter 10 of Christian Religious Education.   

Movement #1
Naming Present Action

Movement #2
The Participants’ Stories and Visions

Movement #3
The Christian Community Story and Vision

Movement #4
Dialectical Hermeneutic Between The Story and the Participant’s Stories

Movement #5
Dialectical Hermeneutic Between The Vision and the Participant’s Visions

I have given a rough informal look at this process in my post: How to Lead An Impressive Bible Study

A similar flow for a lesson is Hook, Book, Look, Took in Larry Richards's classic Creative Bible Teaching (Chicago: Moody, 1970, 1998), which we teach to freshmen in Introduction to Christian Educational Ministry at Taylor University.

Groome's technique is to engage with the needs of the world, then draw upon the classic content, then probe possible faithful responses. I think it is perhaps easiest to think of the process the way Groome describes it in the introduction to Christian Religious Education--imitating Jesus' approach on the walk to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35.   

Movements 1-2.  What is going on in Jerusalem?  Get them talking about their lives. 

Movement 3.  Jesus explained the Law and Prophets.  We introduce students to life-changing content from the Christian tradition. 

Movement 4. They reflect on what they have heard and how it intersects with their lives. 

Movement 5.  The people decide to head back to Jerusalem.  Response. 

There is some food for thought on a very practical topic from some great thinkers.  Happy teaching. 

How to find movie clips to use in your sermon

   I recently had a student who told me she loved movies.  This woman watched lots and lots of movies.  I was wishing she would read a few more books and go out more often with friends.  But I also encouraged her to write down a movie clip she could use in teaching for each movie she watches.  One of my students emailed me that she is sometimes doing this.  (See the end of this post). 

I don't have this habit down myself but I would like to!  Movies can be a big waste of time but if you are reflecting on them, they can be edifying. 

You can send those clip descriptions into Preaching Today and get paid $75 for each one!  See here for a list of their illustrations which you have to pay to access (but you can still the list).  See here for their guidelines on submitting articles. 

Or get some practice and share your insights with the world by starting a free blog entitled "______'s Movie Illustrations" on Blogger.com.   

I gave my students a Movie Clip assignment in Teaching and Learning Strategies  The Microsoft Word assignment sheet is available free for download at the following link: Download mfilm_clip_assignment.doc

There are a few examples at Leadership Journal’s Website .  Search for “Movie Clips to Show or Tell”.

Here are some books which give movie clips for sermons:

1. Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching - Volume 1 by Craig Brian Larson
2. More Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (Movie-Based Illustrations) by Craig Brian Larson
3. Videos That Teach 4: 75 More Movie Moments to Get Teenagers Talking by Doug Fields
4. Videos That Teach 3: 75 More Movie Moments to Get Teenagers Talking (Youth Specialties) by Doug Fields
5. Videos That Teach 2 by Doug Fields
6. Videos That Teach by Doug Fields
7. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: Over 160 Clips for Your Ministry! by Bryan Belknap
8. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Sequel by Bryan Belknap
9. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Return by Bryan Belknap

I have created an Amazon.com Listmania! list entitled "Using Movie Clips in a Sermon" if you want to see the covers of the books. 

The reason I mention all of this is that I got an email from Kerrie Schene, one of my students from that class.  After the course had ended, she thought of two movies that could serve as illustrations.  She didn't put her email to me in the "correct form" for the class assignment but I still thought it would be worth sharing with you.  I'm proud of her for watching movies and thinking about the themes and how she might use them in teaching.

Hey, Andy!

How's it going?  I hope your summer is going well with Amy and Ryan in Upland.  I hope you guys are getting some good relaxing time amidst plans for this fall. 

This is random, but there were two times this past semester when I had seen movies/remembered movies with good scenes in them that reminded me of our movie scene presentation in Teaching & Learning.  So, I'm not sure why, but I randomly remembered those just now and wanted to send you them before I forgot once again!

Okay, the first one I saw over Christmas break-"Christmas with the Kranks".  The basic gist of the movie is a married couple in Suburbia boycott having Christmas and decide to skip the traditions and go on a cruise instead.  Then, their daughter decides to come home for Christmas at the last minute so they scramble to make it a good Christmas for her.  The main scene that I thought was really good was one that parallels Christ's gift of mercy, redemption and grace to us.  It's one of the last few scenes in the movie.  Tim Allen's character decides to give his obnoxious neighbor and his sweet wife (who has cancer) his cruise tickets.  His neighbor refuses to take them and insists that he can't pay for them, though Tim repeats that they're a gift over and over and finally the neighbor takes them in amazement.  After I saw that, I said, "That is such a perfect scene to teach God's free and undeserving gift of Jesus to us!" 

The second one came to mind on the spring CE retreat, actually.  I was in the Lectio Divina room (which was awesome, btw) and my scripture to read was 1 John 3:1-3-

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

The word "lavished" was what stuck out to me the most from the passage and made me think of the movie "A Little Princess".  I don't know if you or Amy are familiar with it-there are a couple different versions, but I was thinking of the most recent version made probably in the mid-90's.  The main story is about a girl named Sarah who came to America from India with her father to live in a boarding school as he goes to war-WWI.  He dies while she is at school and the cruel headmaster makes her become a maid at the school and she has to live in the attic with another servant girl named Becky.  They live in very poor circumstances, but still try to hang to some hope despite them.  They notice that a very rich man lives across the way and they can see both him and his butler, who dresses like an Indian sheik, through the windows.  He sees the girls and notices their living conditions.  One morning they wake up to beautiful surroundings.  They have big comfy blankets, pretty robes and slippers and a table covered with hot food that they haven't tasted in forever.  The girls are so excited and try everything at once and exclaim at the beauty of it all.  They end up playing and dancing in the sunlight through the windows and that was the main scene that I thought of when reading and thinking on the word "lavish".  The colors and cinematography in this movie are great, and definitely help when the cold attic is transformed with beautiful colors and sunlight.

So, I hope that maybe these can help for class next year if you are teaching a section of it at all or in the future.  I have just had those in my head for a while and kept forgetting to share them with you.  Again, I hope you are all enjoying the sweet country summer that exists in Upland, Indiana. :)  See you in the fall!

Kerrie Schene
Women's Ministry/CARE Ministry Intern
Southland Christian Church
Lexington, KY

Guidelines for Using Movie Clips in a Sermon

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Film and television clips can be a rich resource to draw from when teaching. They can be used at the beginning, end, or middle of a presentation to capture attention, stimulate interest, create a desire to know more, illustrate principles, summarize, or provide a powerful, memorable wrap-up to a message. Here are some preparation and presentation guidelines to help you make efficient use of this effective resource.

GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION

1. Select examples that capture the mood as well as the message of your point
2. Select examples that don’t require a ton of explanation to set up
3. Select examples that won’t require an apology afterwards (You can find more info at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/ or http://www.movieguide.org/ about movie moral content though I am partial to the reviews of movies at http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/ since I know three of the reviewers personally).
4. Select only that segment that serves your specific purposes—edit, edit, edit!
5. Don’t be afraid to select examples that may be unfamiliar

GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTATION

A good clip doesn’t stand on its own; it requires a good set up and wrap up

  SET UP—Think Past, Present, and Future

1. Past: Describe the background, setting, time, place, etc
2. Present: Identify the characters and action of the scene
3. Future: Describe any future aspects of the story that would clarify your clip
4. Focus attention by telling them what to watch for, e.g. Pay attention to…,” Be sure to watch for…,”  “Take note of….”
5. Don’t forget to warn the audience of anything they might find offensive or disturbing

  WRAP UP

1. Let the clip speak for itself OR summarize the point you’re making quickly
2. Answer any lingering questions the clip may have raised
3. Don’t get caught up in a personal running commentary on the film as a whole

LICENSE ISSUES

Your church will also need to have a video license to show clips of movies.  Yes, even clips of movies as I understand it though this guy disagrees.  Here are a couple of providers in the USA: MPLC and CVLI  The Willow Creek Association report about the issue is here.  In Canada we used ACF

This handout was originally created by Faye Chechowich, a professor of Christian Educational Ministries at Taylor University, and added to by Ted Ewing, pastor of First Church of God of East Central Indiana.  It was further revised by me for my course Teaching and Learning Strategies (Fall 2005) at Taylor University. 

See the next post which will talk about how to find movie clips. 

APPENDIX: MOVIES I HAVE SEEN IN THE THEATER THIS SUMMER

I have watched three movies in the theater this summer and would probably recommend all of them.  See the reviews of them at Christianity Today: Superman Returns (2 1/2 stars), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (3 1/2 stars), and X-Men: The Last Stand (3 stars). 

You should know that Pirates of the Caribbean is part of a series so the plot does not resolve whatsoever.  The next movie comes out in May 2007.  It is fun.  It is also a bit difficult to follow if you don't remember the previous film.  I read Wikipedia's plot summary of the previous film at Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which helped a lot. 

Superman Returns is also well done I think.  Some of my family thought it was predictable.  I liked it.  There are a few thoughtful moments.  (As far as superhero movies go, see the 4 star reviews from Christianity Today of Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 now both on DVD.  They are great.)

X-Men 3 was the most intellectually stimulating for me because I could think of some parallels to some issues in our modern world.  Again, it might be helpful to read the plot summary of the previous films at Wikipedia at X2 and X-Men to appreciate all of it. 

Media and Preaching

A fellow professor e mailed me this question:

I'm looking for a book that can help explain the communicational importance of using electronic support during worship. Any ideas you have for me to peruse would be appreciated.

Here is what I said:

Check out these in this order. You can see my notes below.

High-Tech Worship?: Using Presentational Technologies Wisely (Paperback) by Quentin J. Schultze

Publisher: Baker Books (January 2004)

Schultze was in my class this year because he has been a visiting scholar at Taylor. This book is short and wise and would fit your purpose I think.

Communicating for a Change : Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication (Hardcover) by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones

Publisher: Multnomah (June 1, 2006)

Andy is one of the leading communicators in the nation. (He is speaking at Willow Creek's Leadership Conference this year). This is his new book.

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture : How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church (Emergentys) (Paperback) by Shane Hipps

Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties (February 1, 2006)

Taylor communication professor and my friend Kathy Bruner is reading this book. She says it is good. He has been on Leadership Journal's Out of Ur recently. See my blog post responding to his article about Video Venues here.

-- The rest of these books I don't know much about. Abingdon (of United Methodist roots) has published all of them.

· The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry (Paperback) by Len Wilson

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk&CD Rom edition (March 1999)

· Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship (Paperback) by Len Wilson, Jason Moore

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk & DVD edition (April 2002)

· Media Ministry Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Visual Communication (Paperback) by Tim Eason

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk & DVD edition (April 2003)

· The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God (Paperback) by Tex Sample

Publisher: Abingdon Press (September 1998)

---I have a few other books about how to use movies in teaching here.

How to Lead An Impressive Bible Study

I have a friend who is trying to get a pastoral position at a church.  He needs to lead a Bible study with the board of elders for 60 minutes as part of his job interview.  Below is the advice I gave him.   

Dear __________,

This year I have graded hundreds of Bible studies. 

I have seen three problems over and over again.

1. The leader doesn't understand the flow of Life-Bible-Life and does all Bible study questions. 

2. It goes super long and so you are never get to discussing how this relates to life.  Often the leader is a bit afraid of talking about the nitty gritty so this adds to the frequency of the lengthening of the Bible study portion. 

3. No one talks because the leader doesn't ask good open questions. 

For the flow of their Bible Study, I encourage my students to use Thomas Groome's Shared Christian Praxis Five Movements from his books Christian Religious Education and Sharing Faith. 

Here's my free-wheeling description of it. 

I hope it gives you some ideas as to the structure of your time.

1. 5 minutes. Easy activity - quote, news story, movie clip, personal story, survey, etc about the topic.  Then gently ask them for what they think about the topic "off the top of their heads."  Or better yet, ask what other people typically think about the topic.  Let this be fairly light.  Ease them into it.  E.g. "What do your coworkers think about spirituality?  What are some of the spiritual movies of the last few years?  (Sixth Sense, Chronicles of Narnia, The Passion, The Village, Da Vinci Code, Superman Returns).  Why do people say they are spiritual?"  Or, "What superheros do you remember growing up?  Have you enjoyed any of the movies about superheros (X Men, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc.).  What is the appeal of those movies? (the triumph of good over evil; interesting talents)"   

2. 5 minutes. Engage a little of discussion about the importance of the issue.  What are the consequences if people think that about this topic?  What if everybody did that?   Why do people typically have that view of the subject?  Where do you think those ideas come from?  E.g. "How do children learn about spirituality?  What happens if children get confused views of spirituality? (Columbine? Confused by predators on the internet?)  What efforts do public schools do at teaching ethics and values? (No drunk driving, no cheating, etc.)"

3. 15 minutes. What does the Scripture say about this topic? Your four sentence background summary.  Then read the text - ask for volunteer(s).  Have three people read if you think there are three main sections of the passage.  Give people a copy of the text to mark up (NRSV, NIV, ESV, TNIV).  It will typically take people some time to get a handle on the passage so you want to faciliate them diving in and discovering it.  Have people pair up and share.  Ask, what are you think are the most important words? Or what do you think is the most important sentence?  Open questions are especially good.  Paraphrase your favorite sentence.  What questions do you have?  It is much easier for most people to share with a partner rather than the whole group and it facilitates them getting into the Scriptures themselves.  Then have some people (if they are willing) share with the whole group some of the main insights they had shared with their partner.  Hopefully through these questions you are guiding people to the main point of the passage with maybe a couple of subpoints.  When the light goes on and people get that you want to move on. Your summary statement: What I am hearing is . . . What I was thinking about this earlier, this is how I would summarize it.  Then . . . ok, we have begun to talk about it but let's talk a bit more . . . what does this mean? 

4. 10 minutes. So what?  How does this insights from Scripture relate to what we see on TV?  How does this insight from the Scriptures affect our coworkers?  What might be different about their lives if they knew this?  How might our church be different if we knew this?  What does this text remind you of?  Who in your life could really use this lesson?  If  . . . is what this passage is teaching, what is one thing that this affects in daily life?  Take 60 seconds and draw a picture or symbol of something and share it with your partner.  E.g. At the beginning of our discussion we talked about kids and how they learn ethics and morals in our culture - from TV and superheros and worse.  What does our text have to say about that issue today?  Anything? 

5. 10 minutes.  What is the new thought for you today?  What do you plan on contemplating the rest of this week?  What part might you memorize?  What attitude might this change?  How will you act differently this week?  Give them a small piece of paper with the text for the day, date and room for them to draw or write anything they like.  Give them 2 minutes to think, or draw or pray.  End by saying . . . what are some things that we can pray about . . . anything . . . how can we pray for all of us concerning this . . . what are other side comments have we brought up tonight that we can bring to the Lord in prayer.  Have short prayer. 

45 minutes scheduled.  If you go over a little somewhere that's ok if the discussion is hot.  Aim to end at 4 minutes early (56 minutes total).

I often try to pair down the flow of the whole lesson to about 8 questions and print them out for people and that is for 1 1/2 hours.  You will probably be able to discuss about 6 questions I'd say in an hour. 

I hope that might give you a vision or at least some fresh ideas for the time. 

andy

Update: my friend thinks he did well though he didn't take my advice!  Oh well. 

Program and Curriculum Syllabus

I taught Christian Educational Ministries 352: "Program and Curriculum Development" this spring and will teach it again next year.  Here is the syllabus we used.  I'm attaching it as a Microsoft Word document. 

Download syllabus_ced352_revised.doc

I couldn't do this with Blogger on my previous blog. 

Christian Curriculum Development Bibliography

Colson, Howard P. and Raymond M. Rigdon. Understanding Your Church’s Curriculum. Nashville: Broadman, 1981.

Cully, Iris V. Planning and Selecting Curriculum for Christian Education. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1983.

Groome, Thomas H. Sharing Faith: A Comprehensive Approach to Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1999.

Harris, Maria. Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989.

LeBar, Lois. “Structuring the Curriculum.” Chapter 8 in Education that is Christian. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989.

Lewis, Kathryn. “The State of the Art in Evangelical Curriculum Publishing.” Christian Education Journal. Autumn 1987.

Marlow, Joe D. “Analyzing the Curriculum Debate.” Christian Education Journal. Spring 1993.

Miller, J. P. & Seller, W. “Curriculum Evaluation Models” in Curriculum: Perspectives and Practice. NY: Longman, 1985.

Pazmino, Robert W. “Curriculum Foundations.” Christian Education Journal. Autumn 1987.

________________. Principles and Practices of Christian Education: An Evangelical Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

Pearson, John. “Weekend Retreats” in Youth Leader's Sourcebook. Gary Dausey, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Schultz, Thom and Joani Schultz. Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It. Loveland: Group, 1996.

Senter, Mark H. “Planning an Event” in Youth Leader's Sourcebook. Gary Dausey, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Walton, John H., Laurie D. Bailey, and Craig Williford. “Bible-Based Curricula and the Crisis of Scriptural Authority.” Christian Education Journal. Spring 1993.

Wyckoff, D. Campbell. Theory and Design of Christian Education Curriculum. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961.

Teaching Bibliography

Buechner, Frederick. Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale. HarperSanFrancisco: 1977.

Coles, Robert. The call of stories: Teaching and the moral imagination. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. 1-30.

Duckworth, Eleanor. “Teaching as research.” Harvard Educational Review. 56.4 (1986): 481-495.

Eisner, Elliot W. “Educational Aims, Objectives, and Other Aspirations.” The Educational Imagination. New York: MacMillan, 1985. 109-126.

Freire, Paulo. Education for critical consciousness. New York, Continuum, 1973. 3-59.

Gangel, Kenneth O. and Howard G. Hendricks, eds. The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Teaching. Victor-Scripture Press, 1988.

Godawa, Brian. “Introduction.” “Conclusion.” Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films With Wisdom & Discernment. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Gorman, Julie. “’There’s go to be more!’ Transformational learning.” CEJ 5.1 (2001): 23-51.

Groome, Thomas H. “The Focusing Activity in Shared Praxis.” Ch. 5. Sharing Faith. San Francisco: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991.

Groome, Thomas. Christian Religious Education: Sharing our Story and Vision. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1999.

Habermas, Ronald T. “Patterns of Growth: Structural Dimension.” “Aspects of Learning.” “Avenues of Learning.” Teaching for Reconciliation. Rev. ed. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2001. 65-83, 100-132

Habermas, Ronald T. “Components of Teaching, Parts 1-2.” Teaching for Reconciliation. Rev. ed. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2001. 133-173.

Hendricks, Howard. Teaching to Change Lives: Seven Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Come Alive. Multnomah: 2003.

Hollander, Jocelyn A. “Learning to Discuss: Strategies For Improving the Quality of Class Discussion.” Teaching Sociology. 30 (2002): 317-327.

Horne, Herman H. Jesus the teacher: Examining his expertise in education. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1978.

Jones. Tony. Read, Think, Pray, Live. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003.

Joyce, Bruce and Marsha Weil. “Learning from Presentations” Ch. 15. Models of Teaching, 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996. 265-278.

Joyce, Bruce, and Marsha Weil with Emily Calhoun. Models of teaching. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2004.

LeFever, Marlene. Creative Teaching Methods. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1996.

Marlow, Joe. “Analyzing the curriculum debate” CEJ. 13.3 (1993): 95-101.

Nouwen, Henri. Creative Ministry. New York: Doubleday, 1971. 3-20.

Pazmino, Robert W. Basics of Teaching for Christians. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

Pazmino, Robert W. Principles and Practices of Christian Education: An Evangelical Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

Richards, Lawrence O. “Focusing Attention,” Ch. 17:187-195. “Focusing Attention,” Ch. 21:225-239. “Encouraging Response,” Ch. 20: 215-222. “Encouraging Response,” Ch: 269-275. Creative Bible Teaching. Chicago: Moody Press, 1970.

Richards, Lawrence and Gary Bredfeldt. Creative Bible Teaching. Chicago: Moody, 1998. 310-318.

Shaw, Perry W. H. “Jesus, Oriental Teacher Par Excellence.” CEJ 1NS (1997): 83-94.

Schultz, Thom and Joani. Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It. Loveland: Group, 1993.

Smallbones, Jackie L. “Teaching Bible in Small Groups” CEJ 1NS (1997): 19-27.

Stake, Richard. “The countenance of educational evaluation.” Teachers College Record. 68.7 (1967): 524-535.

Walton, John, Laurie Bailey, and Craig Williford. “Bible-based curricula and the crisis of scriptural authority.” CEJ 13.3 (1993): 83-94.

Wilhoit, Jim and and Leland Ryken. “Leading Inductive Bible Studies.” Effective Bible Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988. 153-177.

Wilkinson, Bruce. The Seven Laws of the Learner: How to Teach Almost Anything to Practically Anyone. Multnomah, 1983.

Wrobbel, Karen. “Teaching for thinking: A must for Christian Education.” CEJ 12.3 (1992): 147-153.

Yount, William. Created to Learn. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1996.

Yount, William R. Called to Teach: An Introduction to the Ministry of Teaching. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Preaching Bibliography

Bell, Rob. “The Subversive Art: Drawing from the prophets, the rabbis and Jesus to confront the culture.” Leadership Journal. XXV.2 (2004): 24.

Bell, Rob. “Life in Leviticus: Planting this church, I spent a year preaching through Leviticus, and (surprise!) it worked.” Leadership Journal. Winter (2002): 45-47.

Gibson, Scott M., ed. Preaching to a Shifting Culture: 12 Perspectives on Communicating That Connects. Baker Books, 2004.

Johnston, Graham. Preaching to a Postmodern World: A Guide to Reaching Twenty-First Century Listeners. Baker Books: 2001.

Kimball, Dan. “Preaching: Becoming Storytellers Again.” “Preaching Without Words.” and “Spiritual Formation.” Ch.16-17, 19. The Emerging Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003. 155-196, 213-225

Larson, Craig Brian and Haddon Robinson, eds. The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today's Communicators. Zondervan, 2005.

Long, Thomas G. Witness of Preaching. Westminster John Knox Press, 1990.

McLaren, Brian. “Learn a New Rhetoric” The Church on the Other Side. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. 87-93

Nelson, Alan E. Creating Messages That Connect: 10 Secrets of Effective Communicators. Group Publishing, 2004.

Pagitt, Doug. Preaching Re-Imagined. Zondervan, 2005.

Robinson, Haddon W. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2001.

Stone, Dave. Refining Your Style: Learning from Respected Communicators. Group Publishing, 2004.

Stott, John. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today. Eerdmans, 1994.

Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Preaching Life. Cowley Publications, 1993.

Troeger, Thomas H. Ten Strategies for Preaching in a Multimedia Culture. Abingdon Press, 1996.

Wilson, Len and Jason Moore. Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship. Abingdon Press, 2002.

Use of Media in Teaching and Preaching Bibliography

Barsotti, Catherine M. and Robert K. Johnston. Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: Over 160 Clips for Your Ministry! Loveland: Group Publishing, 2001.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Sequel. Loveland: Group Publishing, 2003.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Events: Relevant Retreats and Movie Nights for Youth Ministry. Loveland: Group Publishing, 2005.

Fornof, John. Movie Nights for Kids: 25 Fun Flicks to Inspire, Entertain and Teach Your Children (Heritage Builders/Focus on the Family). Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

Higgins, Gareth. How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films. Relevant Books, 2003.

Larson, Craig Brian and Andrew Zahn. Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching - Volume 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Larson, Craig Brian and Lori Quicke, More Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (MOVIE BASED ILLUSTRATION GUIDES). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Mraz, Barbara. Finding Faith at the Movies. Morehouse Publishing, 2004.

Schultze, Quentin J. High-Tech Worship? Using Presentational Technologies Wisely. Baker Books, 2004.

Schultze, Quentin J. Communicating for Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media. Baker Academic, 2000.

Smithouser, Bob. Movie Nights: 25 Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions With Your Teen. Updated edition. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.