Christian Education
CEWeb
Welcome
to the Christian Education page of the American Baptist Churches of
Wisconsin Website!
This online
resource will serve as a forum to share ideas, get information and
the like.
Please share the Web address for
this site with Christian Education workers in your church. I would
also invite you to offer
suggestions of things which would make the site useful to
you.
A Slice of Life
April 2007
The goal of teaching and learning in the church is
the transformation of lives. It is not just for the purpose of knowing
things, but for the purpose of taking those things we know and determining
how they relate to our lives. Life application is almost always a
section of any curriculum we buy. It often, however, is difficult
to see how the life applications printed in the material really relate
to our day to day lives in the world in which we live right now. I
find that when I am teaching from prepared curriculum materials, I
always need to revise the application section to meet the situation
in which I find myself.
We sometimes call this "thinking theologically."
Theology is a frightening word to many because it suggests that we
are going to have to deal with big words we cannot understand and
even bigger ideas that we aren't sure of. But theology belongs to
all of us as the people of God. It is the study of God, it is the
asking of good questions, and it is the search for answers that help
us to put our faith and our life together. Here are some of the theological
questions we often ask (perhaps without knowing we are doing theology):
Who is God? How has God worked in the world in the past? How does
God act in our world? What does it mean to be a human being, made
in God's image? What is the meaning of life? What is sin? What is
redemption? What does it mean to live in community with others? What
is the mission of the people of God?
When we begin to answer those questions, we begin
to know how to live as a follower of God in this world. But we cannot
just attach a life application to the end of the lesson and have it
work. We really need to take "a slice of life" as we know
it and lay it over the top of the passages of Scripture we study and
the other materials we use to help us learn. The two have to be integrated
and we have to be intentional in our planning. It doesn't just happen.
Let me suggest a few methods we can use that help
us take this "slice of life" approach.
Studying the Bible in Context
We need at least two parts to our study of the Bible.
1) What did it mean to the first hearers/readers? This involves putting
the passage in its context. What comes before this passage and what
comes after it? What kind of materials is it (e.g., a story, history,
poetry)? Out of all the material that could have been included in
the Bible, why did the writers include this one? 2) What does it mean
to hearers/readers today? If we try to do this without the first step,
we may make the passage say what it was never intended to say, but
if we skip this step, it will not help us in our life choices. Why
do we still tell or study this passage? What does it tell us about
God, about ourselves, our world, etc.?
Asking Open-ended Questions
Even very young children can begin this process by
asking what are sometimes called "I wonder…" questions.
We want to encourage thinking from the earliest study we do. These
might include, "I wonder how it felt …" or "I
wonder what I would do if…"
Discussions are much more useful when we ask questions
that encourage further thought. These could include elaboration (Could
you build on that idea a little more? contrast of two ideas, (How
would you contrast your idea to the one ________ gave?) or evaluation
(How does that idea fit with the verses of scripture we just read?)
Case Studies
Taking a life situation and exploring the characters,
the events, the decisions the characters made (and other possible
alternatives) is another good way to think theologically. Look at
theological questions from the second paragraph and see how many if
this situation addresses any of them. It is usually easy to identify
with characters in these situations and then we are ready to look
at the way it fits into life. These can be real-life situations, but
I usually prefer to use one that is fictional because there is more
safety in dealing with an imaginary setting.
Reading Novels and Watching Movies
If you have a youth or adult class looking for a
different approach to study, you might begin with life situations
and then move to the looking at how the Bible and theology speak to
the issues you find. One method I have used and found helpful is that
of beginning with a book or a movie; the group would read the book
or watch the movie together and then discuss the material. I find
it works best to use something other than a religious book or movie
so that the "theological work" is not already done for you.
Look for some of the theological themes described above; look for
turning points in the story, and the ways in which learners might
identify with the characters. A few suggested materials might include:
-
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. (a book
and a movie)
-
A River Runs through It by Norman MacLean. (a
book and a movie)
-
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. (book)
-
We Are Marshall (a recent movie about the West
Virginia college that lost its football team in a airplane crash)
When you get started, you will find that the group
can offer good suggestions for material. Unless you have a long study
time, you will probably need to use several sessions to work through
these materials.
These ideas are just a few examples. I am sure you
have many others you could add. Have fun trying out some ways to take
"slice of life" and make theology come alive for your class.
