One Word

A few weeks ago, I outlined the process I try to utilize when doing summertime planning for the coming school year. This week is the first time that process will be put into motion for 2009-10. It's time for the pastors and I to have our annual Confirmation Ministry planning retreat. We do this in late-May, when our failures and successes are fresh in our minds. The hope is for us to create the most effective plan possible for helping 5th - 9th graders grow in "faith, love, and obedience to the will of God". The tricky part is that we also do our best to honor the traditions of a church that, to my knowledge, is the only congregation that has a five year confirmation ministry.

(The joys and sorrows of this particular educational model might be the subject of another post; but not today.)

I've been toying with an idea that is new to our congregation...and to me...but I doubt the idea is universally "new". I'm calling this work-in-progress ONE WORD. The goal of the curriculum is to focus on a one-word theme for the duration of the class time. From a pedagogy standpoint, there would be a variety of activities that appeal to the three learning styles and the eight multiple intelligences. From a curricular perspective, we would use (1) Scripture, (2) Church History, (3) Luther’s Small Catechism, and (4) Culture in each lesson to help young people explore what God is saying about a variety of topics.

For example, let’s say the ONE WORD on a given night was “Covenant”. Here’s how the lesson would unfold:

1. Gathering Activity
2. Prayer
3. Definition of Covenant
4. Scripture Stories
5. Introduce Memory Verse
6. Covenants in Church History
7. Covenants in the Catechism
8. Covenants in Kid's Lives
9. Memory Verse Recap
10. Covenant Challenge this week

Obviously, for Christians, the title ONE WORD refers not only to a thematic focus on a singular word, but on the idea that our faith is rooted in God’s living and breathing Word. Helping young Lutherans become more Biblically literate is the bedrock of every confirmation program. That said, my hope is that ONE WORD will serve a practical purpose for these teens as well. By referring to the one-word theme throughout the teaching time, I believe kids will retain more of what is taught. The hope is that the ONE WORD will function like a trigger for young minds in the weeks and months to follow. When kids hear the word “Covenant” they might be more likely to recall the activities and discussions that took place during class time than if they were on their 3rd week in an 8-week series exploring the Letters of Paul.

Of course, that’s all pretty idealistic. That's why we're still in the "idea phase" of planning.

As an additional disclaimer, this is a highly-contextualized tweak of a unique confirmation ministry that already exists where I work. I’m looking forward to fleshing it out and exploring new wrinkles with the pastors later this week. Of course, like all ideas, it’s possible that this one won’t come to fruition. I post this in the hopes that someone might find this helpful for their context…or for people to offer their own Confirmation Ministry thoughts on koinonia.




(I think if we end up running with this idea, our ONE WORD on the first night should be...are you listening? PLASTICS!)

Forgiveness

Enough with the seminary / ordination posts. Let's lighten the mood a little...with a post about forgiveness.

☺

This past Saturday was our church's annual 7th grade retreat. It's a pretty simple routine - drive to a nearby camp, enjoy the outdoors, do a few class sessions, go canoeing, pray a bunch, and head home in time for supper. The topic of the retreat is "Prayer & Forgiveness". Before we hit the road, I asked my friends on Twitter and Facebook, "anything you'd like to tell a 12-year old about prayer and forgiveness." Here are a few of the responses:

Dave - You can't live very long without either one.

Bill - What a great opportunity! God is with you.

Katey - prayer is like talking to a friend. you learn to recognize their voice even if they are trying to disguise it. you know their inflection when you get a text because you know them so well. that is how well you need to know God which means you have to pray a lot to know what He wants from you and to be able to hear his voice even in the most subtle of messages.... that is how i think of it at least!

I love asking people (most of whom I don't see on a regular basis) to contribute to the youth ministry at our church.



For the retreat, we did two sessions on prayer in the morning, and two sessions on forgiveness in the afternoon. One of the big "ah ha" moments for the kids was a Bible study on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35). The turning point came when we unpacked the monetary units of "denari" and "talent".

If you're not familiar with my 3rd favorite parable, it goes a little something like this.

A master forgives slave an enormous debt - equivalent to 150,000 years wages. Later that day, the slave approaches one of his friends and gets mad when the friend isn't able to repay him 3 months wages. The slave begins strangling his friend and has him thrown in jail. The master catches wind of his slave's unforgiving heart and subsequently rescinds his pardon and throws the slave in jail until he can repay the debt.

Yikes!

The implications were obvious. God offers forgiveness on several lifetimes worth of sins. If we are unable to forgive the small things that others do to us, it seems the consequences are dire. Or, to paraphrase Mr. Miyagi -- "A man with no forgiveness in his heart is given an even worse punishment than death."



This really struck a chord with the kids. Having a healthy understanding of grace-based righteousness, these young Lutherans were more convicted by the master / slave / friend story than they were frightened by the possibility of going to hell for their inability to forgive. They saw themselves in the image of the slave. They confessed - through their prayer journals - the ways in which they have been forgiven...and the ways in which they were slow or even reluctant to forgive the sins of others. You could practically see their wheels turning in their minds and hearts.

We came to the conclusion that forgiveness is both beyond our understanding and beyond our ability. The human animal is wired for vengeance and not forgiveness. The forgiveness we offer to other people is not of our own doing. Forgiveness is the work of the Holy Spirit that transforms our eye-for-an-eye tendencies into helping our neighbors to regain their sight.

It's always nice when a day spent "teaching" teens turns into a day of personal learning and spiritual growth.

Easter Questions

Here's a little something I wrote for the Here We Stand Student Webzine a few weeks ago. Isaac has been particularly inquisitive lately, which caused me to revisit this devotion. (Bear in mind, the audience is 7th grade...so it might be a tad more "simple" than other topics broached in koinonia.)

DEVOTION – I Doubt It

Isaac had a lot of questions. “Why do we have to go to church so much this week?” Whether he liked it or not, the little four-year old was attending five worship services in eight days. It was Holy Week, and there were a lot of differences in the worship services.

“Why are we waving palm branches?”
“Why does the pastor wash people’s feet?”
“Why is it so dark and quiet?”
“How come they slam the book?”
“Why did Jesus have to die?”
“Where did all the trumpets come from?”
“How did Jesus get out of the tomb if a heavy stone was in the way?”
“How did Jesus come back to life?”

We expect questions from little kids. But what about big kids? And adults?

At the end of John’s gospel (John 20:24-29) we see one of Jesus’ disciples have some very real questions and doubts. Jesus appeared to the disciples earlier in the day, but Thomas was not in the house at the time. When he returned, Jesus had left. The other disciples were telling Thomas that Jesus was alive; Thomas doubted. I imagine that there were a few follow-up questions that Thomas asked his friends.

It’s good to ask questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Asking questions can help you grow in faith and understanding. You’ll never get too old to ask questions. Be sure to find some trusted friends, parents, and other adults that can help you discover answers to your questions. You never know – they might have the same questions you do!

Think About It:
• What questions do you have about church?
• If you were Thomas, how would you have responded?

The Right Question

Haven't written anything in a week. Lots going on...and I just haven't had anything interesting to impart.

Just put something up over at Center for Renewal blog. The site is in its infancy, but there are some good things being shared over there. Happy reading...