Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: Religious Education

  • Identifying Your Gifts and Service

    Identifying Your Gifts and Service is a workbook that I wrote, which is published by my publishing company, Energion Publications. I’m going to write here about how to use that workbook effectively in helping church members understand their spiritual gifts and put them to use in support of the church’s mission.

    Identifying Your Gifts and Service provides the materials for a six session (50-60 mins) Spirit-guided program of exploring spiritual gifts. It can be used in a small group or a whole congregation, but will be most effective when used with the support of the congregation’s leadership. One element of the program is an opprotunity for each student to discuss his or her gifts and calling with appropriate representatives of the church leadership in order to find a place of service in the local congregation.

    The program works in the following stages:

    Introduction: Depending on the prior preparation of the congregation, it may be useful or even necessary to conduct a basic class in spiritual gifts prior to starting the program. A good procedure for this is to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 (don’t skip chapter 13!) along with parallel material in Romans 12:6-8 and Ephesians 4:9-16. There are handouts on the major scriptural spiritual gifts provided in the manual. These are useful for review whether or not you choose to precede the gifts program with a study of the gifts.

    The program itself can be divided into six sessions:

    1. Spirit Led Ministry
      This session introduces the concept of Spirit led ministry, unified under the guidance of the one Spirit. You will revisit 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Galatians 6:22-26 and learn about fruit, gifts, and offices. There is a handout in the manual based on a Power Point presentation. This session can be split based on time, depending on how long it takes to present and discuss the material. (All Power Point presentations are available on CD from Energion Publications.)
    2. Identifying Your Gifts
      This session deals with listening to the Holy Spirit and the role of the Spirit in giving and revealing gifts. The importance of listening is emphasized. A Power Point presentation is available, and the slide handouts are included in the manual.
    3. Small Group Sessions I – Gifts:
      Two exercise involve the students in helping one another identify their spiritual gifts.
    4. General or Small Group Session – Gifts Survey:
      This survey is designed to stimulate thinking about gifts and the ministries in which one can use them. This is not a scientific gifts survey to be used to determine what gifts each person has, but a “thinking tool.”
    5. Small Group Sessions II – Service:
      The students discuss in a structured way how their gifts and calling can fit into the mission of the church. Members are urged to keep the church’s mission statement handy to remind themselves of the vision of their congregation.
    6. Christian Mentoring:
      Optional, but strongly recommended. This session deals with how to guide others into the use of their gifts in service and do so in a Christlike way. The emphasis is on empowering others to work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in unity with the body of Christ. A Power Point presentation is provided and slide handouts are in the book.

    The book includes the contents of a number of the Participatory Study Series pamphlets on spiritual gifts. Before I prepared this workbook, I used to use these pamphlets as handouts. It is much more convenient to have a single manual that contains all handouts in addition to adequate space to take notes. So that you can review the philosophy on which the manual was based, here are the links to online versions of the pamphlets that are included.

    As noted on the Participatory Study Series web site, all of these pamphlets are available to download free of charge and permission is given there for you to print copies as you need them. If you don’t have a printer, you can order them from us, but that is not normally the most economical way to get them.

    Also, at the moment we are offering this class at Gonzalez United Methodist Church. Reports are on the Pacesetters Bible School news blog, and the most recent report is from 3/22/06.

  • Prayer Training

    Over on the Pacesetters Bible School News blog I have posted an entry on prayer teams and prayer training.

    Prayer training seems to be quite rare in churches. It’s possible that we generally feel that prayer isn’t something that should be taught, but rather is something that just happens. Many pastors that I’ve talked to over the last few years tell me that they had no training in prayer prior to taking up their first parish, and that it is one thing they really wish they could have known more about.

    Basic prayer training, in my view, is largely a matter of clearing the ground. We have so many ideas about what we can or cannot say to God that it interferes with our ability just to commune with our heavenly Father. (Pacesetters offers programs on prayer, which I teach with my wife.)

    But when it comes to prayer ministry, there is a great deal more that can be said. . . .
    Read more at Prayer Team Training.

  • YOU Teach Your Children

    There are plenty of comments on the Dover decision going around right now. I’d like to recommend just a couple of them, though these are only examples of many good comments. Both provide some good links to more information.

    I believe that the result of this trial was pretty much a foregone conclusion. There was little doubt that the Intelligent Design (ID) movement was essentially a religious movement, and there was no doubt at all that there was no theory of ID, certainly not one that was ready for the High School science classroom. We need to teach basic science, well-established science in our high schools, and we have very little time to accomplish that. New ideas need to establish themselves, go through the rigor of scientific debate, and gain a consensus before they become part of the public school curriculum.

    But I want to address another issue. Many people who share my Christian faith are concerned tonight because they feel that religion is under attack. Those who accept one or another of the views involving special creation feel that their children can attend public school only at the risk of their faith. “Godless evolution” has won the day, and they don’t even get a hearing, not even a tiny disclaimer. I could tell them how well evolution is established as a scientific theory, and I would be right. I could tell them how bad an idea it is to trust religious education to the government, and I believe that’s a good point. I could point out the evil things that have taken place when government took distortions of faith and applied them by force, and that would be valid as well.

    But none of those things are likely to move that fairly large group of people right now. I think it’s unfortunate that more dialogue and education does not take place in this area. More people need to realize how many people of faith, such as myself, and how many church leaders do not see a conflict between evolution and faith.

    Let me suggest something that I think should strike home, not only for those opposed to the decision, but also for all other people of faith who support it. We need to look at reforming religious education. In our churches we have a substantial amount of time available in which to educate our children, to supplement the education that they receive in public schools or even in private schools. In many churches in my area we have Sunday School, one or two youth meetings per week, and a Wednesday night teaching program. That’s a great deal of time. Right now, we’re using most of that time to tell a few stories and make them feel good.

    Parents have even more time. They can get involved in helping their children with homework. If you believe that there is a place where faith needs to be introduced into the study of science, you have the power to do it. At the same time as you’re doing it, you will be spending more time with your children, building your bond with them, and increasing the chance that they will become productive citizens. I have some ideas of what should be taught, but even if what you teach is repugnant to me, you have a right and even a duty to take the time and effort to teach it.

    It’s very simple.

    You want your children taught intelligent design? Get with your church’s education program and get some programs on it. I teach such a program for those who hold to a theistic view of evolution through Pacesetters Bible School, and I have produced a tract on the subject called God the Creator. Those who object to any form of evolution will not like my programs, but there’s no shortage of folks willing to teach other viewpoints.

    You want your children to pray? Student led prayer is legal right now. Teach your children to pray–that is, after all, a function of parents and churches–and then release them to work and lead in their own way. You really aren’t prevented from any of this. (I teach this one too. See my book I Want to Pray! co-authored with Rev. Perry Dalton.)

    You see, I don’t think the courts are taking away your right to educate your children about your faith. Not at all! What they are taking away is your right to be lazy and to expect somebody else to do your job, whether you are a religious educator or a parent.

    So get out there, get active, and exercise the rights you have.