Teaching Outside the Box - Chapter 1. The Instructional Approach

"I think the church not only does a very poor job of teaching, but an even worse job of bringing up effective teachers."

So says one student of youth ministry, and if it's true, it is a poor indictment on the Church that we allowed it to happen, but a terrible comment if it is still happening. Zirschky's book "Teaching Outside the Box" is something that can help the church to better train their teachers.

Through the book, Zirschky presents five approaches to teaching, and as I read each approach I will seek to summarise what I've read.

I have already read this book, but felt it was something I needed to read again. Indeed it's something that I need to look through again and again to keep these different approaches in my mind or I will default to my normal style, no matter how ineffective it might be.

His first approach is "The Instructional Approach", and this is the closest to the five to my usual habit, though he offers a few suggestions that would have a significant impact on my teaching if I can take them up. Here are four important keys to the success of the approach:

• Teaching teenagers what the Bible says, or a focus on the content
• Bringing students to understand ( and trust) the content of Scripture
• Helping students recognize how the Bible should apply or make a difference in everyday life
• Equipping and preparing teachers for their task

One difference between this approach and my own 'telling people what they need to hear' is allowing people to find the truth for themselves and seeking to make the application right through the lesson. This doesn't mean just pointing people to Luke 15 and asking what they make of it. Not at all. Rather, it is opening Luke 15, reading carefully what is found there, and pointing out the areas of application as we go through it, and determining how you will help the students / congregation work through these points and see the applications for themselves.

Having listened to, and having preached, sermons that bang on about stuff for 25 minutes and hurriedly make some points of application, I am well aware of the far greater impact of application being made at each point of the sermon. I learned this some years ago from Jay Adams in his book "Preaching with Purpose", but it seems to be a lesson I need to keep learning. (and applying).

Zirschky is not just writing to encourage us to teach better lessons. He is writing with an understanding that it is the Holy Spirit who is the real teacher and it is our task to prepare / make the way for the Spirit to work. He comments:

"Change your theory of divine action, and logically, your teaching approach must change as well." (p45)

Supporting our teachers well is also a theme in this chapter. Over the long weekend we have just enjoyed here in Australia, I was one of around 300 people attending the Engage Leadership Conference. We had some great Bible teaching there, and it was good to worship with such a group of people. But the purpose of this conference is much more than that. The purpose of this conference is to equip leaders to engage, handle and teach God's word. This is a conference that is truly seeking to support and equip our teachers.

Chapter One of "Teaching Outside the Box" is inspiring. I already know the other chapters are too. I hope my summary might help you too.

Book Review - As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Eugene Peterson

“I found myself taking a deep breath, sitting back letting the book drop slowly to the table as I pondered what I had just read. I’m familiar with this passage of scripture, but I’ve never considered it like this before. Then came the uncomfortable thought that I had misunderstood the Ten Commandments all my life. This was immediately followed by a sense of joy at what these ten rules actually might mean – and I felt free. “

This was my experience more than once as I slowly read through “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”. It’s a collection of sermons by Eugene Peterson, something of an anthology of his preaching over 29 years in one church in Marylands. I’m not going to try to explain the title, though as I read his introduction again I realise just how fitting it is.

What I can say is that this book has had a profound impact on me.

It’s not the first book of Peterson’s that I’ve read. Nor is the first book of sermons that I’ve read. In fact, it’s so different to sermons that I have read in the past that at one point I found myself wondering if I could listen to this kind of preaching week after week. I now think I probably could, though I understand that not all would agree with this for themselves.

Peterson is a poetic figure. By that I mean that his language is filled with poetic imagery – which is not very Presbyterian, but is very good. As I read his sermons, I have found my thoughts begin to grab hold of a theme, or a phrase, or an image, and to then hold that in my mind as I read the rest of that section. And in this way, the message of the sermon strikes into my heart, not just into my brain. This is surely something that preaching should do to all who hear it. 

 Peterson has divided the book into seven sections each with a subheading of “Preaching in the company of  . . .” Here we are given the chance to sit in on some preaching in the company of Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul and John of Patmos. Each section has seven sermons, and though none of these is a long read, you get the chance to think deeply on what God is revealing through his word.

As a preacher myself one of the things that has stood out for me is the preparation time that must have been taken in these sermons. These sermons reveal to me a length of thought and meditation that must clearly have been given in preparation; the careful consideration of a phrase, the right use of a metaphor, and the sense that this is an un-rushed sermon all work together to make somethings stick with me even now.

I have underlined so many things from this book. There are so many phrases that would make great posters, memes, Instagram posts, etc. But doing that will rob them of the context in which they come and so will reduce their impact. (But I made some anyway)

This is not a book to be read quickly. If you do and you tell me you didn’t enjoy it, I would say to you, “Read it again. One sermon every two days. Write the phrase that catches your attention and ponder it for the rest of that day. Then if you still don’t like it, let me know, and we’ll talk.”

If you are in ministry, this book contains pastoral gold. It won’t make you a great preacher, but it will show the value of knowing your people. It will help you as you search for wisdom. 

This is one of the best books I have read.

PYV 2018 Summer Camp - a final word

The whole gang

The 2018 PYV Summer Camp concluded on New Year’s Day – January 1 2019. It was a good end to a great camp.

The camp had been held at Campaspe Downs near Kyneton, and based on my experience at the last PYV camp we held there, I had some concerns about how well it would go. I was very happy that none of those fears were realised and the campsite and staff were absolutely fantastic. In fact, we had a very encouraging message from one of the staff there. More of that later.

Convener Sherif Makar

Running a camp means a lot of work needs to happen beforehand, and this means good leadership. Sherif Makar accepted the role of convener early in 2018 and began to build the executive leadership team. All of these people were brilliant in their roles. Thank you Duan, Stephanie, Callum, Sarah, and Aradie for the part you played in making camp work.

The Exec Team and Preacher

Of course, it needs more than just these six people to look after around 115 teenagers, and we had a great team of study leaders (who were also activity leaders and dorm leaders), first-aid carers, pastoral carers, musicians, an amazing tech team, and a special someone providing morning tea and supper.

We also had 14 trainees very busy with YouthMETRO training. Matt Deroon was teaching theology and Nate Barbieri was teaching evangelism. It is always good to see this group of people getting to know each other and forming solid friendships while having their minds stretched as they consider some aspects of theology they haven’t considered before.

In the evangelism training, the trainees do some learning in the classroom, and then during camp they get to put it into practice. By God’s good grace, it is through this practical exercise that teenagers come to faith in Jesus Christ during camp.

This is the first year that we have a cut off age for campers as those who have completed year 12 (or equivalent). It was good to be able to get this group together in our final session and to pray for them as they ‘graduate’ from PYV camping. Some of these have been at camp right through their high school years, and it’s been a delight to see them grow in knowledge and wisdom (and height!) over that time. I look forward to seeing some back as leaders in the future.

Their Final Camp (as campers)

Speaking of the final session, it was here that we heard one of the camp staff say that she has enjoyed some long chats with some of our people during the camp, and that she is looking forward to learning a bit more about our faith. I have been to a lot of camps, but this is the first time I have ever heard a staff worker say something like this. Your teenagers have made a very positive impact, as teenagers can.

Finally, Rev Toby McIntosh’s sermons on the gospel of Luke were outstanding. Toby was able to make the big themes of the gospel clear and relevant to teenagers. God has used him well in pointing young people to Jesus.

Thank you for continuing to pray for PYV during the camp. Thank you also to those who expressed their thanks for the blog posts during the camp. That was a great encouragement.

Now we get into 2019 with a sense of great expectation to see what God has in store for us. 

Just because we can

Good to be outdoors

Making new friends

Caught using your phone

The Late Show hosts (they were brilliant)

I don't think anyone enjoyed this game. But it was good.

Our Tech Team. Great job everyone.

2018 PYV Summer Camp – Day Six (New Year’s Day)

Celebrating the new year with a few friends

And like that, the camp is finished.

But before we get to that, I need to tell you some of the things that happened today, January 1 2019.

The leader’s meeting was a little bit later today, so we had a chance to stay in bed for an extra 15 minutes! I could have used a lot more than that, and I expect a few other leaders felt the same. But I’ve learned that some had much less sleep than I did, so I shan’t complain. These are a great team of leaders and it has been a privilege and a delight to serve with them at this camp.

Our final Leader's Meeting. They're all there.

As far as I know, everyone made it to breakfast on time, or close to it, which is pretty remarkable after such a late night. This was followed by a quick packing of the rooms so we can get our gear out of the dorms. This meant that the session started 30 minutes later than originally planned, but it worked out well.

In our session today Zack Grace shared his testimony while also answering the question “When does God respond to the prayer of sinners?” Through his testimony, we heard about his conversion as an eight year old and the important role his mother played in that. (Well done mum). This is what really answered the question – God hears a sinner pray when that sinner prays for forgiveness in repentance. Zack also talked about a couple of significant moments in his spiritual life, and these happened at a PYV Junior Camp and a Summer Camp.

Study groups for the final day.

We do these camps because we believe that God uses them to change the lives of teenagers coming to faith, and to impact the lives of other teenagers who are growing in grace. Zack’s testimony, and the testimony of many others, affirms this. I know that there are at least two families who had a conversation with their child who is going home as a converted teenager. Praise God. 

Toby’s final talk was excellent. Here he took us to Luke 9:18-27 with the big idea of his message being that Jesus is central to God’s redemptive plan. We learned that Jesus had a mission, and this was a mission of self-denial, even to the point of his own death. His mission was not the one that people would have expected of the messiah, so he didn’t make his identity widely known, and instructed his disciples to keep it quiet even though they had worked it out.

Then Toby talked about our own mission – the mission that matches that of Jesus. Our mission is a mission of self-denial, to take up our cross daily and to follow him. This should be seen in how we use our money by giving and sharing, how we use our time, and how we treat others. We’ve learned that God uses teenagers to fulfil his mission. He can surely use some of these teenagers.

“If you live for yourself, you’ll have an empty and selfish life.

If you live for Jesus you will have a full, rich and everlasting life.”

Not a bad message for teenagers to take home with them.

After a magnificent lunch, we allowed the teenagers to make up the quiet time that we missed out on this morning. One of the campers took it a little too quietly and fell asleep on the floor. I couldn’t blame him. It seemed like a good idea really.

Following this we had our final session together. This was where we were able to say “Thank You” to all those who have worked hard to make the cap happen. Our leaders are quality people, and I want to give a special shout out to Dave, Abi, and Ryan who made up the tech team. With excellent sound, graphics, and videos shot and edited on camp, this crew didn’t have much down time. Thank you Tech Team.

We also had something very unique happen. Throughout the camp, the staff person who has been looking after us has been sitting in some of our sessions and has been talking with some of our leaders about Jesus. Today she thanked us all for what we’ve done during the camp, she thanked those who have talked with her, and said she is interested in learning more about our religion. I’ve been to more camps than I can count, but I’ve never heard a staff worker say something like this.

Would you join us in praying for her?

And then, just like that, camp was over. There was hugging, and many goodbyes being said, with a few looking forward to meeting up at the next camp. People were busy packing up, loading cars and trailers with all manner of things that needed to make their way back to the PYV office. Thank you to those who took some stuff with them to bring back. I truly appreciate it.

Thank you to all those who have commented on this blog, or spoken with me about how you have appreciated reading something of what has been happening at camp. Your encouragement is a great help.

Eventually, we will have the photos and recordings and videos online for everyone to enjoy. I hope you will do so. 

Thank you, and goodnight.

 

Studying with Bibles and Chocolates

Studying with Bibles and Smiles