CHRISTIAN LIFE AND...
I've just been trying to sort out some new resources for our church community. A while ago I was looking at issues around equipping people for the workplace and 'faith at work'. I stumbled across a website called Christian Life and. It has some great resources that come from London School of Theology (previously London Bible College) - an outstanding Bible College. I found that they not only have a resource for Christian Life and Wrok but also Christian Life and... : Global Mission; Today's World; Children. I think these are fantastic resources. Many of today's resources aren't exactly transformative. Many are too simplistic and get you to do things like fill in the missing word in a simple sentence (e.g. Jesus is ... (you write in the word 'Lord')). The Christian Life and series promotes a nice combination of knowing, being, doing and feeling for the sake of transformation. For example, in the Christian Life and Children series, you speak about your own thoughts and feelings about children and their faith; you interview a child; you watch children's TV programmes and browse and children's toy catalogue (try to understand the world of children); you are introduced to developmental models for children and their faith (stages of faith) and then you have to do a SWOT exercise (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) on your church and their attitude to children and then consider what might be some of the practical implications for your church. I think that this will be more transformative (in terms of discipleship and church life) than simply filling in the missing word.
Have a look at the website and let me know what you think...
8:45 PM
Heck Andrew - you're positively dangerous with all this thinking you allow us to do! I very much like the example you outline of the Christain Life and Children. One of the series that I'd be keen to see and take part in, is the Christian Life and Work series - to explore what it means to be a Christian in the workplace - to be relevant and yet to be the 'called out ones'. There is a tension there, and I'd love to tease that out, explore options and learn from others and engage in the 'practical stuff' at work. Frankly I find the filling-in-the-gaps studies that you describe as chunder material (with appropriate sound effects!). So bring on the Christian Life and...
2:33 PM
Ian - a helicopter chunder perhaps??!! Christian Life and Work looks like my favourite as well. I think that it's the area I'd like to grow the most in over the next 18 months to 2 years. What does it mean/look like to empower people to be ministers of God's grace in the workplace?