“Family and Friends” Business Meeting
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sign up sheet indicates that next Class Social is being hosted by Tony and Amy Murphy. However, they were not in attendance at the meeting so no details were discussed.
Discussion regarding subsidizing cost of child care during Class Socials.
Historically, Ed and Claire paid Robin $45/night and parents paid $5/child or $10/family while also chipping in to help cover cost of pizza for both staff and children.
Janet will approach John Haney about whether the church would be willing to continue this ministry in the Wheeler’s absence to allow parents with small children to be more able to attend Class Socials.
Janet will also discuss with John the discovery that Robin was inadvertently not compensated for the last 2 events.
Karen will be moving which forces us to nominate a new Class Treasurer.
David McCorvey volunteered and discussions ensued about closing existing account and opening a new account under church’s identification numbers that has free checking and will be easier to access, etc.
ADDENDUM: ERICA LARSH WOULD LIKE TO BE CLASS TREASURER. DAVID WILL GIVE HER THE OFFERING THAT WAS COLLECTED DURING THE MEETING TO BE DEPOSITED IN THE CLASS ACCOUNT.
Discussions continued regarding the class account. Currently, there is only about $8 available due to recent expenditures within the class with the Wheeler’s departure, baby showers, donations to groups within the church, etc.
Carla voiced that she’d like to see us gradually return to having a cushion available in the account. This would allow the class to more easily give appointed funds to appointed individuals to carry out class functions which is preferable over having to raise money among whoever is present as a need arises.
Karen pointed out that historically, any money raised by “passing the hat” during class time was divided with half going into the class account and half going to the church into an account earmarked for Sunday School Classes in general. This is simply historical and class discussion continued regarding whether we’d like to continue that practice or decide to allot our funds in some other manner.
Discussion continued on other ways the class could build up the account through fund raising, etc.
It was further decided that this matter should be considered and discussed with more class members than the number present and discussion should resume at the next class meeting with the intent to come to some conclusion on allotment of class funds.
Rave reviews ensued on what a fantastic job Tony and Amy are doing as they lead our class in study. Carla reminded the class that both Tony and Amy are more than willing to share this experience with anyone who would like to also share in leading the class in study. Several individuals seemed interested and it was stated that anyone who was interested could go to Tony and Amy to discuss options or ideas.
Along those lines, Carla suggested that Amy may want to offer her position as Outreach Coordinator to lighten her load. Amy has been doing a fabulous job and may want to continue, so Carla will talk to her before we solicit volunteers.
Paul expressed that he would like to see the online Blog continue and volunteered to do it. He requests any hand-outs from class studies in order to help him and prefers it to be e-mailed in a Word format when possible.
It was discussed that Newsletters can be generated by anyone in the class as the need arises in order to distribute information in a timely manner. Paul will try to forward the most updated list of e-mail addresses of class members to all class members so that this will be possible.
Paul discussed that the Trustees are seeking to find groups that may be willing to volunteer their services in order to alleviate the need for the church to hire outside help for maintenance and repairs around the building. It was decided that our class would like to first tackle the Resource Room and will meet August 2nd at 9am to do so.
ADDENDUM: ORGANIZATION OF THE RESOURCE ROOM WILL BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO CONFLICTS WITH SCHEDULES OF MEMBERS OF THE CLASS.
Meeting was adjourned. Next meeting date will be determined by next scheduled Class Social.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A Call to Common Courtesy
Chapter 6 from "A Love Worth Giving" - Max Lucado
"He knocks before he enters. He always brings a gift. Food is served. The table is cleared. Thanks are offered. He knows your name and tells you his, and ...
He pulls out the chair for you."
"People can be so rude. We snatch parking places. We forget names. We interrupt. We fail to show up. Could you use some courtesy? Has it been a while since someone pulled out your chair?
Then let Jesus. Don't hurry through this though. Receive the courtesy of Christ. He's your groom. Does not the groom cherish the bride? Respect the bride? Honor the bride? Let Christ do what he longs to do."
"Common courtesy honors God and his children. 'Do your best to live in peace with everyone.' (Rom. 12: 18). Just do your best. You can't control their attitude, but you can manage yours."
1. When defining what love is not, Paul put rudeness on the list.
a. What's the rudest thing anyone has ever done to you?
b. Describe the rudest thing you've ever done to someone else.
c. How do you feel when someone is rude to you? How do you usually respond?
2. God calls us to a higher, more noble concern. Not "What are my rights?" but "What is more loving?"
a. Be honest: Do you usually think first about your rights or about what is most loving?
b. What does courtesy have to do with love?
c. Describe the most loving thing you did this week.
"He knocks before he enters. He always brings a gift. Food is served. The table is cleared. Thanks are offered. He knows your name and tells you his, and ...
He pulls out the chair for you."
"People can be so rude. We snatch parking places. We forget names. We interrupt. We fail to show up. Could you use some courtesy? Has it been a while since someone pulled out your chair?
Then let Jesus. Don't hurry through this though. Receive the courtesy of Christ. He's your groom. Does not the groom cherish the bride? Respect the bride? Honor the bride? Let Christ do what he longs to do."
"Common courtesy honors God and his children. 'Do your best to live in peace with everyone.' (Rom. 12: 18). Just do your best. You can't control their attitude, but you can manage yours."
1. When defining what love is not, Paul put rudeness on the list.
a. What's the rudest thing anyone has ever done to you?
b. Describe the rudest thing you've ever done to someone else.
c. How do you feel when someone is rude to you? How do you usually respond?
2. God calls us to a higher, more noble concern. Not "What are my rights?" but "What is more loving?"
a. Be honest: Do you usually think first about your rights or about what is most loving?
b. What does courtesy have to do with love?
c. Describe the most loving thing you did this week.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Healthy Child Rearing - Tony Campolo
Tony Campolo Introduced
As you know, I had decided in these last three Sundays to use a different resource that might be of interest to the class at some point later in the year. Last week I taught a chapter from Parables from the Back Side by Ellsworth Kalas. This might be one direction you might consider some time this year. Even if you did not use this particular book, a study of Jesus’ parables might be a good basis for a Bible study.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided that for a second book I would teach from a book by Tony Campolo. My interest in Campolo stemmed from four sources:
· Over the years I have heard many pastors reference Campolo in their sermons, and in each case I found the story/insight to be very profound. Most recently, John Haney often uses a Campolo story to good advantage in his sermons.
· My daughter heard Campolo speak several times in her college years and reported being very moved by what she heard.
· I know enough about Campolo to know that he has done a magnificent job of bridging the great divide in the modern church. [See the web lesson with label “Two Missions of the Church” ] Congregations and other Christian communities tend to fall into two categories: churches that focus on “winning people to Christ, leading them to their first commitment to God … evangelical churches.” Churches that focus on the issues of justice, and poverty and peace … and give little attention to leading individual people to conversion experiences. Campolo lives in both worlds. You will find few preachers who more quickly will challenge you to commit your life to Christ; but at the same time he and the organization he sponsors through the proceeds of sales of his books minister actively in urban Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, Haiti and elsewhere. In other words he lives out both sides of the Christian gospel.
· Campolo spoke on the Sunday our granddaughter was baptized and led in the baptismal prayer.
Armed with this interest, I ordered a couple of Campolo books and a video and begin to prepare a lesson. It has been a harder task than I expected. Campolo is a prophet in the Old Testament sense:
· Speaks with a great deal of confidence and directness
· Not particularly concerned if he makes you uncomfortable
· Not beyond orchestrating a living dramas to illustrate a truth: prostitute story
All of which makes him a very interesting person; some of which makes it hard for me to teach. Of the two books I ordered, the one I am going to use today is entitled, Following Jesus without Embarrassing God. Sample chapters include
1. How to exhibit a Christian lifestyle without moving to a commune.
2. How to protect yourself from technology without becoming Amish.
3. How to have a devotional life without becoming a monk.
4. How to figure out the will of God without hearing voices from heaven.
5. How to be an environmentalist without becoming a tree-hugger.
6. How to get ready to die without pretending that it is no problem.
The chapter to which we will attend briefly is entitled, “How to raise mentally healthy kids without resorting to pop psychology.” I realize that child rearing is not a priority for some of you … but as Campolo makes clear in his examples, these are principles he uses in his work with other people’s kids … and Campolo would always be an advocate of our being involved with other people’s kids. In the chapter, Campolo makes five points.
It is hard to raise children in a highly mobile society in which many of us are separated from extended family who could give support and counsel.
In the absence of wisdom from a supportive community, we often turn to the popular press and media where we find flawed advice on raising our children.
Flawed Advice 1: The most important issue in raising children is to protect and build their self esteem.
Flawed Advice 2: The most important motivator to use in raising our children is to reward them for every good thing they do.
Important Advice: In rearing your children, give them a sense of mission.
I want to briefly summarize his points on Flawed Advice 1 and Flawed Advice 2 and then I will ask you to read his conversation on Important Advice.
Flawed Advice 1: Building self-esteem solves all problems. Campolo follows three lines of reasoning in debunking this statement.
He first takes on the notion that lack of success in school and poor behavior is always tied to low self esteem. He uses the following arguments:
· He cites the fact that surveys report that Japanese society does not focus on building self esteem in young people, yet their young people exhibit some of the world’s best success and best behavior in school environment.
· He points out that in the homes of the “Great Generation,” the men and women who fought in World War II and built post-war America, that self-esteem was not the focus. Indeed, children were often criticized in order to keep them from becoming “uppity.”
· He points out that in his organization’s work with inner city children that building self esteem under false pretenses can be harmful.
· He then reflects on some work underway in inner-city schools in Philadelphia; under direction of social scientists: focus should be on providing resources so students can succeed and behave well and then build self esteem on basis of good work and good behavior
· He then suggests that as parents, we are wiser to follow the model of these social scientists -- Establish high expectations for your children, then build their self-esteem on the basis of real accomplishments.
Flawed Advice 2: Motivate desired behavior with financial rewards.
Campolo then takes on the notion that we should elicit desired behavior from our children by constantly rewarding them when they do what we want them to do. He points out that to enter the bedrooms of most adolescents is like entering a trophy room. Children have been presented trophy’s for almost every effort, perhaps even trophys for just showing up.
He tells of being on a panel with Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House. Gingrich, very worried about the ability of children in inner cities to read, suggested that we pay children a $1 a book as a reward. Campolo responded that the result might be surprising. Children would lose any sense of reading for the joy of reading. They might comb the stacks of the library looking for the shortest books … to make more money. They may read dull, uninteresting books … to make more money. To tie reading to financial reward may dampen or kill the motivation that would lead them to continue to read after the program was over.
He then suggests more generally that by using financial rewards to motivate children, we suppress other, more important motivations. Hence when payments are not available, children have no interest in continuing. In particular, we must grow in our children the desire to behave well and act well out of love.
He then tells the story of the son of a pastor friend. The little boy, seeing the worry on his father’s face as Saturday evening approached, asked, “what can I do to help.” The father told him that it would be a big help if the boy would shine his shoes on Saturday night. Sure enough, on Sunday morning the shoes showed up in the hallway, shining and ready to go. The daddy was so pleased that he left a thank you note by his son’s bed, with two quarters.
The next Sunday, newly shined shoes were again in the hallway, but when the pastor put them on, there was a quarter in each along with a note that said, “I shined the shoes because I love you.” We dare not corrupt motivation like this with economic incentives.
Now, prophet Tony has spoken. He has debunked two approaches to childrearing (both of which I used in rearing my children from time to time J). However, he not only has negatives, he has a positive. I want you to read his conclusion to this chapter and be prepared to comment on one or more of these issues;
Class reads from bottom of page 223 to end of the chapter.
o An idea from Campolo that you had not had before
o Something from Campolo that you agree with
o Something from Campolo that you disagree with
o Something from Campolo you are not sure about.
Class then reads passage where Tony Campolo argues that a key ingredient in rearing a child well involves helping that child build a sense of mission.
As you know, I had decided in these last three Sundays to use a different resource that might be of interest to the class at some point later in the year. Last week I taught a chapter from Parables from the Back Side by Ellsworth Kalas. This might be one direction you might consider some time this year. Even if you did not use this particular book, a study of Jesus’ parables might be a good basis for a Bible study.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided that for a second book I would teach from a book by Tony Campolo. My interest in Campolo stemmed from four sources:
· Over the years I have heard many pastors reference Campolo in their sermons, and in each case I found the story/insight to be very profound. Most recently, John Haney often uses a Campolo story to good advantage in his sermons.
· My daughter heard Campolo speak several times in her college years and reported being very moved by what she heard.
· I know enough about Campolo to know that he has done a magnificent job of bridging the great divide in the modern church. [See the web lesson with label “Two Missions of the Church” ] Congregations and other Christian communities tend to fall into two categories: churches that focus on “winning people to Christ, leading them to their first commitment to God … evangelical churches.” Churches that focus on the issues of justice, and poverty and peace … and give little attention to leading individual people to conversion experiences. Campolo lives in both worlds. You will find few preachers who more quickly will challenge you to commit your life to Christ; but at the same time he and the organization he sponsors through the proceeds of sales of his books minister actively in urban Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, Haiti and elsewhere. In other words he lives out both sides of the Christian gospel.
· Campolo spoke on the Sunday our granddaughter was baptized and led in the baptismal prayer.
Armed with this interest, I ordered a couple of Campolo books and a video and begin to prepare a lesson. It has been a harder task than I expected. Campolo is a prophet in the Old Testament sense:
· Speaks with a great deal of confidence and directness
· Not particularly concerned if he makes you uncomfortable
· Not beyond orchestrating a living dramas to illustrate a truth: prostitute story
All of which makes him a very interesting person; some of which makes it hard for me to teach. Of the two books I ordered, the one I am going to use today is entitled, Following Jesus without Embarrassing God. Sample chapters include
1. How to exhibit a Christian lifestyle without moving to a commune.
2. How to protect yourself from technology without becoming Amish.
3. How to have a devotional life without becoming a monk.
4. How to figure out the will of God without hearing voices from heaven.
5. How to be an environmentalist without becoming a tree-hugger.
6. How to get ready to die without pretending that it is no problem.
The chapter to which we will attend briefly is entitled, “How to raise mentally healthy kids without resorting to pop psychology.” I realize that child rearing is not a priority for some of you … but as Campolo makes clear in his examples, these are principles he uses in his work with other people’s kids … and Campolo would always be an advocate of our being involved with other people’s kids. In the chapter, Campolo makes five points.
It is hard to raise children in a highly mobile society in which many of us are separated from extended family who could give support and counsel.
In the absence of wisdom from a supportive community, we often turn to the popular press and media where we find flawed advice on raising our children.
Flawed Advice 1: The most important issue in raising children is to protect and build their self esteem.
Flawed Advice 2: The most important motivator to use in raising our children is to reward them for every good thing they do.
Important Advice: In rearing your children, give them a sense of mission.
I want to briefly summarize his points on Flawed Advice 1 and Flawed Advice 2 and then I will ask you to read his conversation on Important Advice.
Flawed Advice 1: Building self-esteem solves all problems. Campolo follows three lines of reasoning in debunking this statement.
He first takes on the notion that lack of success in school and poor behavior is always tied to low self esteem. He uses the following arguments:
· He cites the fact that surveys report that Japanese society does not focus on building self esteem in young people, yet their young people exhibit some of the world’s best success and best behavior in school environment.
· He points out that in the homes of the “Great Generation,” the men and women who fought in World War II and built post-war America, that self-esteem was not the focus. Indeed, children were often criticized in order to keep them from becoming “uppity.”
· He points out that in his organization’s work with inner city children that building self esteem under false pretenses can be harmful.
· He then reflects on some work underway in inner-city schools in Philadelphia; under direction of social scientists: focus should be on providing resources so students can succeed and behave well and then build self esteem on basis of good work and good behavior
· He then suggests that as parents, we are wiser to follow the model of these social scientists -- Establish high expectations for your children, then build their self-esteem on the basis of real accomplishments.
Flawed Advice 2: Motivate desired behavior with financial rewards.
Campolo then takes on the notion that we should elicit desired behavior from our children by constantly rewarding them when they do what we want them to do. He points out that to enter the bedrooms of most adolescents is like entering a trophy room. Children have been presented trophy’s for almost every effort, perhaps even trophys for just showing up.
He tells of being on a panel with Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House. Gingrich, very worried about the ability of children in inner cities to read, suggested that we pay children a $1 a book as a reward. Campolo responded that the result might be surprising. Children would lose any sense of reading for the joy of reading. They might comb the stacks of the library looking for the shortest books … to make more money. They may read dull, uninteresting books … to make more money. To tie reading to financial reward may dampen or kill the motivation that would lead them to continue to read after the program was over.
He then suggests more generally that by using financial rewards to motivate children, we suppress other, more important motivations. Hence when payments are not available, children have no interest in continuing. In particular, we must grow in our children the desire to behave well and act well out of love.
He then tells the story of the son of a pastor friend. The little boy, seeing the worry on his father’s face as Saturday evening approached, asked, “what can I do to help.” The father told him that it would be a big help if the boy would shine his shoes on Saturday night. Sure enough, on Sunday morning the shoes showed up in the hallway, shining and ready to go. The daddy was so pleased that he left a thank you note by his son’s bed, with two quarters.
The next Sunday, newly shined shoes were again in the hallway, but when the pastor put them on, there was a quarter in each along with a note that said, “I shined the shoes because I love you.” We dare not corrupt motivation like this with economic incentives.
Now, prophet Tony has spoken. He has debunked two approaches to childrearing (both of which I used in rearing my children from time to time J). However, he not only has negatives, he has a positive. I want you to read his conclusion to this chapter and be prepared to comment on one or more of these issues;
Class reads from bottom of page 223 to end of the chapter.
o An idea from Campolo that you had not had before
o Something from Campolo that you agree with
o Something from Campolo that you disagree with
o Something from Campolo you are not sure about.
Class then reads passage where Tony Campolo argues that a key ingredient in rearing a child well involves helping that child build a sense of mission.
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Before we get started today, I need you to make notes on the answer to three questions. We will then file the answers away and use them later in the lesson.
I want you to think of someone whom you regard as an enemy … or someone that you dislike strongly.
I want you to think of someone whom you regard as disgusting or perhaps just irritating.
I want you to think of a group or class of people that you don’ t like or don’t trust or are uncomfortable with. {Examples: mathematicians, people over 70, Chinese people, …}
We are going to take a look at a book today that Tony and Amy might want to use for some of the lessons over the summer, the book Parables from the Back Side by Ellsworth Kalas. The Biblical materials involved are the parables of Jesus. That in itself should make the lessons rich. However, in each parable Ellsworth Kalas tries to find a new perspective that can make it possible for the parable to speak to us in new and fresh ways.
Please turn to Luke 10:25-37 and read the parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable is an old friend that you have heard many times. However, it is so important that I often wonder if we should not read it every Sunday in worship, perhaps immediately after we say the Lord’s Prayer together.
Some notes from Kalas on this parable:
· As with most parables, this one was told in the give and take of conversation. In conversation with a group of people, Jesus answers the question of the lawyer.
· A “lawyer” in first century Israel was a theologian. The issue was not how to avoid arrest … but how to live the good life … how to obey the law as given in the first five books of the old testament
· The lawyer digested the law into two pieces: Love God, love your neighbor. This answer was not unique to him. This summary comes from verses in the book of Deuteronomy and these scriptures were probably in a small leather pouch that the lawyer, as a good Jew, wore on his person.
· Lawyer saw the wisdom of the answer, but he wanted to cut the requirements of the law down to manageable size. We can love some people without too much efforts, so the law will be much easier to manage if we restrict the definition of neighbor to just those people … or perhaps just those people and a few more.
· Discussion: How does this parable answer the lawyer’s question?
From the class members present: The parable extends the definition of neighbor to include all racial groups and religious groups and voided the significance of partitions by rank, social standing, and caste.
At this point, I think we have had a profound lesson. Each of us needs to be reminded daily of the truth that the parable holds.
Kalas’ twist: How did the good Jewish man who was mugged feel about being helped by the Samaritan, someone whom he had studiously avoided all of his life?
In order to help us get into the question that Kalas asks, Ed has rewritten the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the midst of the retelling, you will find three blank spaces. Please refer to the answers you gave to the three questions a the beginning of class. Read Ed’s retelling three times, each time inserting one of the three names into all the blanks in the retelling.
Ed’s Retelling of the Good Samaritan:
I was hurrying though Forsythe Park one evening as twilight fell, and suddenly rough hands grabbed me. Before I could resist I had been struck on the head, I had been pummeled, my face had been beaten and slashed with a knife, my clothes had been half torn from me, my billfold/purse had been taken, and I had been half pushed into a big azalea bush. As I lay there half conscious, I would have chuckled except my broken ribs hurt too much. I looked for all the world like a drunk who had passed out in a public place or woman of the street who had been manhandled by a lover.
But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pastor John coming, walking briskly through the park. I tried to call out but my tongue was thick with pain and blood from the broken teeth, and he seemed not to hear. At least, he sped up and slid to the far side of the sidewalk. It seemed hours later, but then I saw a familiar tall, skinny frame. It was old Ed, good old Ed. I surely was glad I had been in Sunday School the last few weeks. “Ed, Ed, I gurgled.” But Ed’s eyes looked frightened, and he kept his face forward, and he walked on past. Then I passed out.
Gentle hands were turning me over. A handkerchief was wiping blood from my face, and drops of water from a Dasani bottle were dribbled on my lips. Only after I had been loaded in the ambulance, did I realize that ________________ was sitting beside me in the ambulance. __________ patted my shoulder and said, “I found you in pretty bad shape. You are ok now. We will have you to the hospital in a minute.” I passed out again but when I awoke in the bed in the hospital, it was ____________ who was sitting beside me. “I have called and left messages on the answering machine at home and I am sure your family will join you soon. But even if they don’t get the message tonight, I will stay until through the night. If you need anything, let me know and I will work with nurse to get what you need.”
How did this exercise feel? Did you learn anything new about the parable by rereading it in the first person, using the names from our exercise at the beginning of class?
Kalas tells of running out of gas in a declining part of Cleveland and having to push his car to the curb. A man sees his difficulty and rushes out of the front door of a building whose faded signage reads, “Exotic Dancing till 2:00 am. Hot babes dance Topless, Bottomless and with Abandon.” The man, the proprietor of this establishment, proceeded to place a hose in his own gas tank, siphon gasoline out of the tank (including getting a mouthful of foul gasoline in the process), put the gas in Kalas’ tank, and then sent him on his way, refusing any attempt to pay.
As Kalas drove away, Kalas wondered why the person who helped him couldn’t have been someone with a bumper sticker that read, “Honk if you love Jesus” or a board member of the YMCA rushing to a meeting. Why did it have to be the proprietor of a “girlie” bar?
Kalas’ comment: I am sure that God has warm and gentle sense of humor. He so often sends blessings into our lives through unlikely channels, folks whom we would prefer to fence out of our lives and our experiences. And in that way, he will teach us, reluctant students that we are, that our definitions of our neighbors are surely not big enough.
I want you to think of someone whom you regard as an enemy … or someone that you dislike strongly.
I want you to think of someone whom you regard as disgusting or perhaps just irritating.
I want you to think of a group or class of people that you don’ t like or don’t trust or are uncomfortable with. {Examples: mathematicians, people over 70, Chinese people, …}
We are going to take a look at a book today that Tony and Amy might want to use for some of the lessons over the summer, the book Parables from the Back Side by Ellsworth Kalas. The Biblical materials involved are the parables of Jesus. That in itself should make the lessons rich. However, in each parable Ellsworth Kalas tries to find a new perspective that can make it possible for the parable to speak to us in new and fresh ways.
Please turn to Luke 10:25-37 and read the parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable is an old friend that you have heard many times. However, it is so important that I often wonder if we should not read it every Sunday in worship, perhaps immediately after we say the Lord’s Prayer together.
Some notes from Kalas on this parable:
· As with most parables, this one was told in the give and take of conversation. In conversation with a group of people, Jesus answers the question of the lawyer.
· A “lawyer” in first century Israel was a theologian. The issue was not how to avoid arrest … but how to live the good life … how to obey the law as given in the first five books of the old testament
· The lawyer digested the law into two pieces: Love God, love your neighbor. This answer was not unique to him. This summary comes from verses in the book of Deuteronomy and these scriptures were probably in a small leather pouch that the lawyer, as a good Jew, wore on his person.
· Lawyer saw the wisdom of the answer, but he wanted to cut the requirements of the law down to manageable size. We can love some people without too much efforts, so the law will be much easier to manage if we restrict the definition of neighbor to just those people … or perhaps just those people and a few more.
· Discussion: How does this parable answer the lawyer’s question?
From the class members present: The parable extends the definition of neighbor to include all racial groups and religious groups and voided the significance of partitions by rank, social standing, and caste.
At this point, I think we have had a profound lesson. Each of us needs to be reminded daily of the truth that the parable holds.
Kalas’ twist: How did the good Jewish man who was mugged feel about being helped by the Samaritan, someone whom he had studiously avoided all of his life?
In order to help us get into the question that Kalas asks, Ed has rewritten the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the midst of the retelling, you will find three blank spaces. Please refer to the answers you gave to the three questions a the beginning of class. Read Ed’s retelling three times, each time inserting one of the three names into all the blanks in the retelling.
Ed’s Retelling of the Good Samaritan:
I was hurrying though Forsythe Park one evening as twilight fell, and suddenly rough hands grabbed me. Before I could resist I had been struck on the head, I had been pummeled, my face had been beaten and slashed with a knife, my clothes had been half torn from me, my billfold/purse had been taken, and I had been half pushed into a big azalea bush. As I lay there half conscious, I would have chuckled except my broken ribs hurt too much. I looked for all the world like a drunk who had passed out in a public place or woman of the street who had been manhandled by a lover.
But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pastor John coming, walking briskly through the park. I tried to call out but my tongue was thick with pain and blood from the broken teeth, and he seemed not to hear. At least, he sped up and slid to the far side of the sidewalk. It seemed hours later, but then I saw a familiar tall, skinny frame. It was old Ed, good old Ed. I surely was glad I had been in Sunday School the last few weeks. “Ed, Ed, I gurgled.” But Ed’s eyes looked frightened, and he kept his face forward, and he walked on past. Then I passed out.
Gentle hands were turning me over. A handkerchief was wiping blood from my face, and drops of water from a Dasani bottle were dribbled on my lips. Only after I had been loaded in the ambulance, did I realize that ________________ was sitting beside me in the ambulance. __________ patted my shoulder and said, “I found you in pretty bad shape. You are ok now. We will have you to the hospital in a minute.” I passed out again but when I awoke in the bed in the hospital, it was ____________ who was sitting beside me. “I have called and left messages on the answering machine at home and I am sure your family will join you soon. But even if they don’t get the message tonight, I will stay until through the night. If you need anything, let me know and I will work with nurse to get what you need.”
How did this exercise feel? Did you learn anything new about the parable by rereading it in the first person, using the names from our exercise at the beginning of class?
Kalas tells of running out of gas in a declining part of Cleveland and having to push his car to the curb. A man sees his difficulty and rushes out of the front door of a building whose faded signage reads, “Exotic Dancing till 2:00 am. Hot babes dance Topless, Bottomless and with Abandon.” The man, the proprietor of this establishment, proceeded to place a hose in his own gas tank, siphon gasoline out of the tank (including getting a mouthful of foul gasoline in the process), put the gas in Kalas’ tank, and then sent him on his way, refusing any attempt to pay.
As Kalas drove away, Kalas wondered why the person who helped him couldn’t have been someone with a bumper sticker that read, “Honk if you love Jesus” or a board member of the YMCA rushing to a meeting. Why did it have to be the proprietor of a “girlie” bar?
Kalas’ comment: I am sure that God has warm and gentle sense of humor. He so often sends blessings into our lives through unlikely channels, folks whom we would prefer to fence out of our lives and our experiences. And in that way, he will teach us, reluctant students that we are, that our definitions of our neighbors are surely not big enough.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Newsletter, May 18, 2008
Report on Class Meeting: The Families and Friends Class indulged themselves in good food and then did good work as they planned for Ed and Claire’s departure. Several important decisions were made including:
Decision 1: We will have a June social event on the evening of June 14. Details are not yet known, but it will involve eating out and feting the “old folks.” Robin is available to supervise childcare. Please let Kristen Maynard [921-7688 (home) or 657-3634 (cell)] know how many children will need childcare. This event will serve as the June/July social event.
Decision 2: The class will continue to welcome newly baptized children into the Christian community with a letter and a children’s Bible. Janet Everly leads this ministry. [Lois and John presently have 8-9 Bibles that they will donate for class use].
Decision 3: We will not regard Interfaith Hospitality Network as a class outreach. However, we will encourage individual class members to support this ministry as they are able. For the new members of the class, the following information might be useful.
· Interfaith Hospitality Network is an outreach to homeless families
· WBUMC makes its facilities available once every 6-10 weeks for to up to three families who have no place to live. We rotate this responsibility with several other churches.
· Volunteers are needed each evening of the weeklong visit in two shifts.
· Shift One: 5:30 –8:00. Help serve dinner, eat dinner with guests, play with children and/or help with homework as needed.
· Shift Two: 8:00 pm – 7:00 am: Volunteers sleep at church. No specific responsibilities other than problem solve if problems arise.
Decision 4: Although class organization may evolve over time, for the next several months the class will be organized into two leadership directions.
Community Building Leadership:
Class Preparation Leadership:
Decision 5 (The big one!!!):
Part (a): For the foreseeable future (at least the next six months) Carla and David McCorvey will provide leadership in community building efforts. They will invite class members and class attendees to join them in making the class a welcoming place for all who come, providing periodic social events for the class [and families and friends broadly defined], and supporting mission outreach as opportunities arise.
Part (b): For the foreseeable future (at least the next six months), Amy and Tony Murphy will provide leadership in the delivery of class on Sunday mornings. They will invite class members to join them in choosing teaching materials, teaching multi-week units, and listening to the class for issues and needs that need to be addressed by lessons.
Part (c): The rest of the class will join in these two major tasks. As we talked about teaching responsibilities, a number of people nodded that they would be glad to give it a try. Perhaps even more importantly, class members were cognizant that “creating a warm and welcoming place for both frequent attenders and walk-in guests” is a priority to which all contribute … even those with only a few weeks of attendance under their belts.
Other Issues 1: Teaching for the next four Sundays is mapped out as follows.
May 25: Ed
June 1: Ed
June 8: Janet and Mitch
June 15: Ed
By June 15, we will try to have curriculum chosen to carry us through the summer. After June 15 Amy and Tony will begin their “Interim Teaching Supervisor” responsibilities. They will certainly teach some, but with summer travels they will need to hear from those of you who would be willing to share in their responsibilities. [Hawkeye Ed was taking notes of those whose heads bobbed up and down during the teaching conversation and will pass this info to A and T. However, in case Hawkeye missed a bob, it would be good for you to tell A and T yourselves.]
Other Issues 2: Amy had previously committed to teaching in a children’s class this Fall, but will need to take a pass in view of her joint “Interim Teaching Supervisor” role. If you are not comfortable teaching in the Family and Friends class or if you have a special heart for children, you might consider this role this Fall.
Decision 1: We will have a June social event on the evening of June 14. Details are not yet known, but it will involve eating out and feting the “old folks.” Robin is available to supervise childcare. Please let Kristen Maynard [921-7688 (home) or 657-3634 (cell)] know how many children will need childcare. This event will serve as the June/July social event.
Decision 2: The class will continue to welcome newly baptized children into the Christian community with a letter and a children’s Bible. Janet Everly leads this ministry. [Lois and John presently have 8-9 Bibles that they will donate for class use].
Decision 3: We will not regard Interfaith Hospitality Network as a class outreach. However, we will encourage individual class members to support this ministry as they are able. For the new members of the class, the following information might be useful.
· Interfaith Hospitality Network is an outreach to homeless families
· WBUMC makes its facilities available once every 6-10 weeks for to up to three families who have no place to live. We rotate this responsibility with several other churches.
· Volunteers are needed each evening of the weeklong visit in two shifts.
· Shift One: 5:30 –8:00. Help serve dinner, eat dinner with guests, play with children and/or help with homework as needed.
· Shift Two: 8:00 pm – 7:00 am: Volunteers sleep at church. No specific responsibilities other than problem solve if problems arise.
Decision 4: Although class organization may evolve over time, for the next several months the class will be organized into two leadership directions.
Community Building Leadership:
Class Preparation Leadership:
Decision 5 (The big one!!!):
Part (a): For the foreseeable future (at least the next six months) Carla and David McCorvey will provide leadership in community building efforts. They will invite class members and class attendees to join them in making the class a welcoming place for all who come, providing periodic social events for the class [and families and friends broadly defined], and supporting mission outreach as opportunities arise.
Part (b): For the foreseeable future (at least the next six months), Amy and Tony Murphy will provide leadership in the delivery of class on Sunday mornings. They will invite class members to join them in choosing teaching materials, teaching multi-week units, and listening to the class for issues and needs that need to be addressed by lessons.
Part (c): The rest of the class will join in these two major tasks. As we talked about teaching responsibilities, a number of people nodded that they would be glad to give it a try. Perhaps even more importantly, class members were cognizant that “creating a warm and welcoming place for both frequent attenders and walk-in guests” is a priority to which all contribute … even those with only a few weeks of attendance under their belts.
Other Issues 1: Teaching for the next four Sundays is mapped out as follows.
May 25: Ed
June 1: Ed
June 8: Janet and Mitch
June 15: Ed
By June 15, we will try to have curriculum chosen to carry us through the summer. After June 15 Amy and Tony will begin their “Interim Teaching Supervisor” responsibilities. They will certainly teach some, but with summer travels they will need to hear from those of you who would be willing to share in their responsibilities. [Hawkeye Ed was taking notes of those whose heads bobbed up and down during the teaching conversation and will pass this info to A and T. However, in case Hawkeye missed a bob, it would be good for you to tell A and T yourselves.]
Other Issues 2: Amy had previously committed to teaching in a children’s class this Fall, but will need to take a pass in view of her joint “Interim Teaching Supervisor” role. If you are not comfortable teaching in the Family and Friends class or if you have a special heart for children, you might consider this role this Fall.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Stress of Change
Read the Abram story: Genesis 12:1-5
Today’s lesson is about change and the stress that accompanies change. As Christians we should know a lot about how to deal with that stress, because the Bible records the lives of people who found themselves immersed in change:
Abram (Abraham) … who left his home to go to a new land
Joseph who moved from favored son to slave to prisoner to potentate
Moses … who was tending sheep and was called by God to lead his people to freedom
David … who was tending sheep and was called by God to go into battle
Mary who was an innocent adolescent … and learned she was to bear God’s son
Joseph who learned that his betrothed was pregnant
Peter who moved from fisherman to fisher of men
Paul who was abruptly moved from chasing Christians to creating Christians
And the list goes on and on
Among the things that the Bible reveals about change is that sometimes astonishingly positive things come from change and the stress that accompanies it. Look again at the list of Biblical characters and what resulted from the change in their lives:
Abraham: A new nation was created that ultimately blessed the world with Jesus.
Moses: His people moved to freedom.
Mary: is honored as the mother of the savior of the world.
Peter: birthed a new church and nurtured it in difficult years.
Change has within it the seeds of good.
· It often calls forth from us growth and creativity and reveals to us new challenges and new opportunities.
· It has the potential to move us closer to God.
But despite the potential positives of change, we remain very ambivalent about it:
Bumper Sticker (put up board): Change is good, you go first.
For most of us, change can be good as long as it happens to someone else … and as long as it does not interrupt our agenda
Now, we have talked about biblical changes … but let’s brainstorm about the changes that characterize our lives: [work on board]
· Life cycle changes
· Vocational Changes
· Relationship changes (engagement, marriage, divorce, parenting, caring for aging parents, …)
· Health changes
· Cultural changes
· Financial changes
· Residential changes
Activity: I want to return to an activity that is parallel to activity that we did last week. Suppose that you were counseling a friend who is immersed in or facing great change. What advice would you give him or her for managing the change … and overcoming the stress of the change:
Here are some ideas on advice from the class discussion:
· To make peace with change we may have to reorder our priorities. To do so may involve not being selfish.
· The stress of change is temporary. We will reach equilibrium. The result may be better than the past, but it will certainly be different.
· Change is inevitable but in the midst of all change, we know that we are not alone … and we are loved
· Even in the midst of negative change, God will help us find good
· Pray and ask God to help us see the good things
· Even when change has laid us low, God helps us see that other people need us and this gives us strength to get up and start again
At this time, I need to take our conversation in a different direction. I need to discuss some major changes in the life that Claire and I share that will create some smaller changes in the life of this class. I want to talk about some pulls and pushes that have been working on our lives over the last 18 months that are resulting in change in our lives.
· A major change occurred some 14 months ago when Claire and I became grandparents. This created a magnet in Decatur, Georgia that has exerted a strong pull on the two of us … and a particularly strong pull on Claire.
· Another change has been occurring over time. My parents, who are 85 and 83, have remained in remarkably good health, but become more frail in body and mind as time passes. As we think about the need to respond to their needs, the seven hours between Birmingham and Savannah loom very large. This has created another pull on the Wheeler family.
· Still another change occurred two years ago when I was helped hire a new boss. Last week Tony talked about some of the perils of being in management … and there are many. But one peril of a manager is that he or she is very dependent on the relationship he has with boss the next level up. Though I have maintained remarkably good relationship with my new boss, we do have different priorities and different styles that some time cause dismay. Further, she is building a completely new leadership team, and though she has been gracious enough to include a place for me, it is not a place where I am completely comfortable. I have experienced these events as a push.
· About a month ago I received a call from a little two year college located just south of Atlanta, asking if I would be interested in serving a year as academic officer at that school. As I laid awake thinking about this call and as I prayed about this call, it seemed to be the right next step in our lives. I will be leaving in a month to move to that area, and Claire will follow as she is able to wrap up her practice.
As we prepare to leave, there is just one heartache that we cannot calm.
We have loved our work in Savannah, but we will find good work elsewhere
We have loved our house in Savannah, but we will trade grandchild for a house any day
We have loved living on the coast, but it will be good to be nearer mountains
The heartache that remains, however, is that we will miss you. We have enjoyed being in this Christian community, the community in this class, more than any Christian community in our adult lives. We are so very grateful you have shared this part of our life with us.
Today’s lesson is about change and the stress that accompanies change. As Christians we should know a lot about how to deal with that stress, because the Bible records the lives of people who found themselves immersed in change:
Abram (Abraham) … who left his home to go to a new land
Joseph who moved from favored son to slave to prisoner to potentate
Moses … who was tending sheep and was called by God to lead his people to freedom
David … who was tending sheep and was called by God to go into battle
Mary who was an innocent adolescent … and learned she was to bear God’s son
Joseph who learned that his betrothed was pregnant
Peter who moved from fisherman to fisher of men
Paul who was abruptly moved from chasing Christians to creating Christians
And the list goes on and on
Among the things that the Bible reveals about change is that sometimes astonishingly positive things come from change and the stress that accompanies it. Look again at the list of Biblical characters and what resulted from the change in their lives:
Abraham: A new nation was created that ultimately blessed the world with Jesus.
Moses: His people moved to freedom.
Mary: is honored as the mother of the savior of the world.
Peter: birthed a new church and nurtured it in difficult years.
Change has within it the seeds of good.
· It often calls forth from us growth and creativity and reveals to us new challenges and new opportunities.
· It has the potential to move us closer to God.
But despite the potential positives of change, we remain very ambivalent about it:
Bumper Sticker (put up board): Change is good, you go first.
For most of us, change can be good as long as it happens to someone else … and as long as it does not interrupt our agenda
Now, we have talked about biblical changes … but let’s brainstorm about the changes that characterize our lives: [work on board]
· Life cycle changes
· Vocational Changes
· Relationship changes (engagement, marriage, divorce, parenting, caring for aging parents, …)
· Health changes
· Cultural changes
· Financial changes
· Residential changes
Activity: I want to return to an activity that is parallel to activity that we did last week. Suppose that you were counseling a friend who is immersed in or facing great change. What advice would you give him or her for managing the change … and overcoming the stress of the change:
Here are some ideas on advice from the class discussion:
· To make peace with change we may have to reorder our priorities. To do so may involve not being selfish.
· The stress of change is temporary. We will reach equilibrium. The result may be better than the past, but it will certainly be different.
· Change is inevitable but in the midst of all change, we know that we are not alone … and we are loved
· Even in the midst of negative change, God will help us find good
· Pray and ask God to help us see the good things
· Even when change has laid us low, God helps us see that other people need us and this gives us strength to get up and start again
At this time, I need to take our conversation in a different direction. I need to discuss some major changes in the life that Claire and I share that will create some smaller changes in the life of this class. I want to talk about some pulls and pushes that have been working on our lives over the last 18 months that are resulting in change in our lives.
· A major change occurred some 14 months ago when Claire and I became grandparents. This created a magnet in Decatur, Georgia that has exerted a strong pull on the two of us … and a particularly strong pull on Claire.
· Another change has been occurring over time. My parents, who are 85 and 83, have remained in remarkably good health, but become more frail in body and mind as time passes. As we think about the need to respond to their needs, the seven hours between Birmingham and Savannah loom very large. This has created another pull on the Wheeler family.
· Still another change occurred two years ago when I was helped hire a new boss. Last week Tony talked about some of the perils of being in management … and there are many. But one peril of a manager is that he or she is very dependent on the relationship he has with boss the next level up. Though I have maintained remarkably good relationship with my new boss, we do have different priorities and different styles that some time cause dismay. Further, she is building a completely new leadership team, and though she has been gracious enough to include a place for me, it is not a place where I am completely comfortable. I have experienced these events as a push.
· About a month ago I received a call from a little two year college located just south of Atlanta, asking if I would be interested in serving a year as academic officer at that school. As I laid awake thinking about this call and as I prayed about this call, it seemed to be the right next step in our lives. I will be leaving in a month to move to that area, and Claire will follow as she is able to wrap up her practice.
As we prepare to leave, there is just one heartache that we cannot calm.
We have loved our work in Savannah, but we will find good work elsewhere
We have loved our house in Savannah, but we will trade grandchild for a house any day
We have loved living on the coast, but it will be good to be nearer mountains
The heartache that remains, however, is that we will miss you. We have enjoyed being in this Christian community, the community in this class, more than any Christian community in our adult lives. We are so very grateful you have shared this part of our life with us.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Stress of Discontent
Ice Breaker:
Life would be sweet if I was driving a _____________________
I surely would not mind swapping places with ________________ for a week.
This somewhat silly exercise reminds us that we all have aspirations that are not being met in the present. This is both normal and expected. However, sometimes we become so invested and focused on what we don’t have that we lose the joy of the present. This “out-of-control” discontent can fill our lives with stress and sour our relationships with all those around us.
The Stress of Unfulfilled Expectations: The Stress of Discontent
In-Class Exercise: Please read the following scriptures. Do any of them speak to you in a powerful way about the nature of contentment … and how to find it?
Scriptures
Philippians 4:10-13: I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Hebrews 13: 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
I Timothy 6: 6 – 8: But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Psalm 63: 1 – 3: O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my body longs for your in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your live is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
2 Corinthians 4: 7 - 8: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Philippians 3:7-8: But whatever ws to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus m Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
Matthew 6: 19-21: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
In the outline below, I provide you with a summary of the didactic on discontent from the text. Please review and prepare comments that you are willing to share with the class on how these observations dovetail with your experiences.
Read and Respond:
Contentment is not complacency
· Contentment does not mean we don’t pursue goals and seek change
· Contentment does not mean that you don’t have a preference
Contentment allows for disappointment:
· Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:8: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair.
· In the midst of contentment we can be disappointed and we can grieve
· However, contentment does mean we are not mobilized by despair
Contentment does not dwell on comparisons: What I have versus what I should have.
Contentment does not dwell on comparisons: What I have now versus what I once had.
Contentment does not dwell on comparisons: What I have versus what others have.
Contentment does not depend upon circumstances
Contentment is the fruit of perspective
· Phillipians 1:20, 2: 16-17
· Phillipians 3:20
· Phillipians 3:7-8
· Phillipians 1:15-18
Contentment is learned behavior
The text provides a summary in terms of these Life Change Lessons:
· Make a list of unfulfilled goals and accept disappointment … but do not slip into despair. [Being content is not pretending that everything is the way you wish it would be, it is not acting as though you have no wishes. Rather, it is no longer being ruled by your desires. (John Eldredge)]
· Make a list of new goals based on current circumstances.
· Celebrate the special people, places, and moments in your life.
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