Thursday, January 19, 2006
Your Best Life Now
I love the idea of this book! I am so into motivational power of positive thinking type of books. Especially ones that focus on the power of God. In Joel Olsteen's "Your Best Life Now" I really bought into the first few chapters. In them there are some very positive things we all can learn or at least be reminded of. However, I got lost in this book. Not the good kind of lost, but kind of lost that said, "Where is He going, is this it?" The whole idea of if your a child of the KING therefore expect to be treated like a king message kind of seems weak & worldly. To be fair Joel Olsteen never used the above statement, that's just the idea I got out of the book. It is ashame too, I really wanted to like this book. Use the book, non-christians are reading it. It could be a way to connect with someone who is searching. There are positive things to learn from it. But if you are looking for depth, you may want to avoid its shallow message.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Church Bible Class: Teaching the facts Vs. Meeting Needs
The title does sounds kind of funny doesn't it? I have always wondered about the purpose of church Bible class, since it is a man made thing. Basically there is no Bible verse that requires or asks for it. Yet it seems obvious that it is a good thing to do based on Bible understanding.
So how is your program doing? Do you have a good Bible class attendance? Is it 80 % of your worship number? Probably not, it more than likely hangs in the 60% to 40% number. I'm a people pleaser by nature, therefore I want to give people what they want. So when I create a new program or class I am often tempted to give people what they want rather than what they need. Some people want Bible class to be like a college lecture course that gives out only exegeted information with little or no application or even speculation. These "just the facts" Christians seem to have a hard time relating to non-christians or anyone that isn't just like them. So the temptation is to please this group of church people by giving them that option; here is your "just the fact class". In these classes we learn how to Biblically evangelize, pray, and worship; yet it is common that no one would apply evangelism or prayer to their everyday life. I fear that many of us who study diligently in Bible class are learning about a life that we are not willing to live.
On the otherhand there some who wont even come to Bible class unless there is a special class that meets a very targeted need in their life: marriage, finance, Parenting, etc. They want classes heavy on application with the hope of a quick fix. These are my "buffet (pick and choose at my convenience)" christians. The "buffet" christians typically never get too involved nor ever become leaders within the church, but they relate very well with non-christians and usually are the ones who bring the bulk of our vistitors. While they are good at bringing people to church they often don't know how to bring them to Jesus. So when I am creating a program it is easy to allow these extremes to dictate what we do. In order to keep convenient peace the temptation is to keep these groups separated, but as you can see, they really need each other.
Here is the problem. If your classes are catering directly to certain groups by giving them want they want, it's possible the message of Christ will be completely missed by all. Too many times the "just the facts" classes discect the Bible or just make it so dry that they miss the message of Jesus and His love all together. The "buffet" Christians are so focused on their special need that they forget that it is Jesus who will help them overcome the very thing that burdens them.
So what is a Bible class teacher to do? Got any answers? First, I try to make sure my class whether it's studying the book of Joshua or the finer points of parenting will never forget that all good answers and Bible classes point to the Christ who loves us. Second, I try to encourage "just the facts" & "buffet" christians to have some connection in both small groups and interactive classes. Extreme groups in a church cannot be united through a brilliant Bible class program but they can be through Christ who is the peace that unites us all together. It's time our Bible classes focus on the Christ who gives us the power and conviction to apply His message to our lives. When we collectively focus on Christ, we'll begin to take on the very character of Christ. Then we can say, "that is a meaningful Bible class."
So how is your program doing? Do you have a good Bible class attendance? Is it 80 % of your worship number? Probably not, it more than likely hangs in the 60% to 40% number. I'm a people pleaser by nature, therefore I want to give people what they want. So when I create a new program or class I am often tempted to give people what they want rather than what they need. Some people want Bible class to be like a college lecture course that gives out only exegeted information with little or no application or even speculation. These "just the facts" Christians seem to have a hard time relating to non-christians or anyone that isn't just like them. So the temptation is to please this group of church people by giving them that option; here is your "just the fact class". In these classes we learn how to Biblically evangelize, pray, and worship; yet it is common that no one would apply evangelism or prayer to their everyday life. I fear that many of us who study diligently in Bible class are learning about a life that we are not willing to live.
On the otherhand there some who wont even come to Bible class unless there is a special class that meets a very targeted need in their life: marriage, finance, Parenting, etc. They want classes heavy on application with the hope of a quick fix. These are my "buffet (pick and choose at my convenience)" christians. The "buffet" christians typically never get too involved nor ever become leaders within the church, but they relate very well with non-christians and usually are the ones who bring the bulk of our vistitors. While they are good at bringing people to church they often don't know how to bring them to Jesus. So when I am creating a program it is easy to allow these extremes to dictate what we do. In order to keep convenient peace the temptation is to keep these groups separated, but as you can see, they really need each other.
Here is the problem. If your classes are catering directly to certain groups by giving them want they want, it's possible the message of Christ will be completely missed by all. Too many times the "just the facts" classes discect the Bible or just make it so dry that they miss the message of Jesus and His love all together. The "buffet" Christians are so focused on their special need that they forget that it is Jesus who will help them overcome the very thing that burdens them.
So what is a Bible class teacher to do? Got any answers? First, I try to make sure my class whether it's studying the book of Joshua or the finer points of parenting will never forget that all good answers and Bible classes point to the Christ who loves us. Second, I try to encourage "just the facts" & "buffet" christians to have some connection in both small groups and interactive classes. Extreme groups in a church cannot be united through a brilliant Bible class program but they can be through Christ who is the peace that unites us all together. It's time our Bible classes focus on the Christ who gives us the power and conviction to apply His message to our lives. When we collectively focus on Christ, we'll begin to take on the very character of Christ. Then we can say, "that is a meaningful Bible class."
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