Generations In Faith Together

Redefine and Rename Sunday School ?

Sunday school: two words that bring memories of struggles with getting enough volunteers and trying to get parents involved but also two words that evoke some pretty happy memories of years past from my own experiece as a child and as a parent with three young boys.

So what are we to do in today's congregations to encourage this once dynamic ministry model to include all the ages in a whole new way?

For the time being, I'd like to submit my Ten Top Reasons to Not Kill Sunday School quite yet:

1. Death is permanent. Resurrection, renaming, reclaiming the way its’ done makes more sense.
2. Kill sounds like a sentence to carry out. The history of Sunday school alone affirms it had and continues to have a valuable place in the congregation.
3. This is one of the few places where lay persons get involved, equipped, and get tools to grow in their faith in leadership roles. If it’s gone, and decisions remain in the sole hands of the ordained, what will become of Christian education?  What about the body? How does it recognize the sense of a call?
4. Want a new name? Christian education is the heart of the church. Just call it what it is and go from there. Start with Faith Formation.
5. It’s not really dying. It is in true need of a little care and attention from church leadership. A new look and way to do it would help too.
6. Most pastors have not attended nor do they participate in Sunday school. It normally means Children’s Ministry, an important place (if not the most important place) to start! Shouldn’t there be a requirement to go for a while and experience it first before you kill it?
7. Seminaries require a minimum of one Christian ed course to earn a divinity degree. Doesn’t that mean it has very little priority? Let’s rethink how we teach in seminaries.
8. Google “Sunday school” and you will encounter hundreds of faith-based resources and publishing companies providing tools to teach the Christian faith. People continue to seek the resources.     They know Sunday school means Christian education.
9. If you told the average lay person sitting in the pew on a Sunday morning that you were going to kill Sunday school, they’d be in shock. Most know no other terminology. For some it would be evoking powerful memories and may be the very reason they are sitting there in the first place.
10. It’s the number one place in the congregation where adults of all ages are role models for the young. It provides a place for the lay to feel called. The relationships built there are lifelong and vibrant. Think twice before you kill the one thing that can actually grow the church!

What do you think?

 

The Musical Brain

So I’m looking for something in the dollar store today and see this book about your brain on music.    

So I bought it. Who could resist…a dollar!

A quote from the chapter on religion in the book, The World in Six Songs, by Daniel J. Levitin:              

Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla says, “God designed us, He knows what we need. He dictated that we should sing songs of religion and belief because He knows they help us remember, they motivate us, and they bring us closer to Him; He knows that they are what we need.”

One more reminder the Faith Inkubator’s Scripture songs  are such a valuable tool to be used for faith formation. I have been singing these songs for about 17 years now and they have been so embedded in my brain, that I don’t just sing the Scripture, I feel it. There’s 120+ covered in the 75 Bible Song theme lessons and 90 in the Head to the Heart theme lessons.                                                                    

And all the verses cover close to the entire three year lectionary cycle. It’s a journey !

I totally agree with the Rabbi, singing helps me remember, motivates me and without a doubt brings me closer to God. It makes me all the more thankful I’ve been singing for a good reason!

This was truly a dollar well spent.

Daniel J. Levitin’s website: Click here 

 

Spiritual Glue?

So what does it mean? It’s the “sticky” stuff. It’s what holds everything together. It’s what forms the core of healthy family relationships and builds a thirst in them to gather with others on a regular basis.  It pastes, sticks, fastens, attaches, joins, bonds, and cements us together as one.

Where do we find it? From my experience, I think we find it through God’s work in our lives. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we want and how we want others to do things that we forget to let go and let God. But more often than not, that’s when I have learned it “sticks” better.

How do we apply it? I like the way John Roberto of www.lifelongfaith.com says it best, “We meet people where they are in their walk with the Lord.” If we open our hearts and minds and allow a change of thinking to happen in the way we do things, we may be able to meet people where they are in a variety of ways. Honor and celebrate programs and ministries from the past and look to new ways to connect through technology and the unbelievable plethora of resources now available to congregations.

Overwhelming? Yes, it is. But I think we are at a truly reforming moment in the church and should rejoice and be glad in it! Together with networking and forming support groups we can do it.

“Taking Cheer”

Thursday morning Bible study began for the fall today. We’ll be diving into a series from Keryma called, “Knowing God”. A discussion we had today was about stories handed down to us through the generations. I friend of mine, Kathy, mentioned that one of her memories is her mother always “taking cheer” to others. She explained that it was a given. That’s just what you did. And Kathy still does this with her daughter and grandchildren. What a wonderful way to pass on the gift of service.

It’s a way of life.

I thought about what a beautiful story this was as a tradition in her family to hand down from generation to generation. And it helped me reflect on the stories and memories I have from my parents and grandparents.

It reminded me of the Scripture verse in Deuteronomy 6:6-9:

“Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Thanks Kathy. You really got me thinking about the importance of “taking cheer” to others and remembering the significance of handing this way of life down to the next generation. "Taking cheer " to others is surley a key ingredient to helping others know God.

Way to share His love with the world!

 

Earthquakes and Hurricanes

Working on Faith Ink Advent, "Signs of the Son"...hmmmmm....an excerpt:
 
“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”                      — Mark 13:24-25

Natural disasters often give advanced warning signs that animals can pick up.
Earthquakes, seismologists say, call ahead to let the world know they’re coming.  Animals often sense the vibrations and become extremely agitated hours ahead of the actual quake.
Electrical storms also give signs. Dogs will bark at the sky or run and hide under beds. Human beings are often caught off guard by these natural phenomena.
There were great signs in the heavens and on earth when Jesus first appeared. The Bible says there will also be great signs when Jesus returns.
As we prepare for Christ’s coming this Advent, be aware of the signs. They point
to something great that is right around the corner!

Tell about a time you got caught off guard by the weather—a storm, an earthquake. How did it feel?
What signs do you see in the world that let you know Jesus is coming?

 “May your eyes be open to the signs of Christ’s coming.”

 
                                                  Dr. He Qi

Faith Inkubators and Evangelism

Evangelism is a word that in years past would have frozen me on the spot if anyone asked me about it let alone ask if I was involved in it. A few years ago David Gortner, an Episcopalian priest, called me and asked how I would relate my experience in working with Faith Inkubators resources to evangelism. I didn’t have to think for more than 10 seconds about it. Working with the resources and witnessing lives change and parents get “on-board” with an understanding they were the key role models of faith for their own children changed my life forever. And it changed my own life at home and how I viewed my role as a lay parent with three sons.

The result of David’s interviews with many churches and research is the book, Transforming Evangelism. I was surprised to see the pages where he quoted what I shared about my experience. And it renewed and affirmed my passion once again as I continue my commitment to help congregations and parents work together to grow faith lives. As David shared in the book, “The shared stories I heard from family after family became central evangelistic experiences.” What I told David several years ago holds true today,   “I personally have grown to be an evangelist because of a system that sets expectations for growing faith in the home and develops the understanding of fostering a nurturing community where that faith can grow. When you see how it can work, you’re willing to serve more. And then you see children respond – and the end result is that you evangelize because you understand what faith is all about.”

The evangelistic experience continues as after seeing a story in the book I shared about 1 year old Maia blessing her brother, I went and showed now 6 year old Maia her name in the book. She smiled.     I told her thank you for sharing her faith and was excited about the many other parents who would now read her story. She is indeed an evangelist!

When something good happens in our lives….when we have a “God sighting”….we want to share it. We want the whole world to know and our children see our joy and want a piece of it as well.

Check it out. Transforming Evangelism.      

Making Time for Family

We know making time for family is important, yet time and time again our busy schedules impede families actually having time to sit down together for mealtime or anytime for that matter. Today while I was eating breakfast, I was watching the Today Show. Matt Lauer was interviewing Laurie David about her new book, The Family Dinner. Two things she said caught my ear: "Highs & Lows" and "Rituals".

Laurie talked about the importance in taking time to sit down together as a family whether for dinner or another time and have intentional discussions. Sound familiar? Of course it does if you have been seeking tools to place faith formation in the hands of parents. A major step is to provide tools for building relationships and having faith talks at home. If you are trying to get the message across in your congregation about the importance of developing faith practices at home, I suggest you show this clip from the Today Show: Click here.

After viewing the short interview, ask parents if they have made time for one another at home every day. Highs & Lows is step number 1 of the FAITH5, a faith practice incorporated into all Faith Inkubators resources. Conversations following the watching of this clip have the potential to open the door to a discussion on the importance of adding a faith piece to the daily family conversation.

Building rituals in congregations and at home are essential to a healthy faith life.

I hope you take time to view this clip and then begin to dream how you can use it to encourage families in your congregation to give it a try, add a prayer and blessing and see what a difference it can make.

 

Art Attack Time Favorites

Thought I’d share a few responses to a “touch-base” email sent to congregations using Bible Song over the past few years. Art Attack time is Small Group time and many have been developing some very creative things to do during this time. It’s a time of sharing with one another about the theme Scripture for the day and choosing ways to interpret a retelling of the story thorough the arts.

Here are a few examples of those who completed the following sentence:                            During Small Group/Art Attack time, one of the favorite things to do is…

-       make posters on 4foot butcher/ colored paper. All of the parents and kids have to work together and they LOVE showing their creation during show and tell, and then seeing the banners hung in the church!

-       create a quilt of the Dr. He Qi art.

-       Use Model Magic to create artwork that represents the story.

-       copy the black-line master of the He Qi artwork for the day onto watercolor paper and let the kids water color their picture.

-       making murals as a group. We usually assign each table group to one part of the mural, then they come together to put it all together. The one of David & Goliath was amazing!

-       A fun project we just did was re-building Solomon’s temple using index cards. Each table group had a large stack of blank index cards they could fold in ½ and stack on top of one another to build a temple. They also had to work silently, but also had to work as a group. It was great! And they were amazing.

-       to act out the reader’s theaters in pictures then create a slide show to share with the congregation during worship.

If you have ideas and would like to share with others, I’d be happy to send them out to our Bible Song churches.

Please send your words to complete the sentence: During Small Group/Art Attack time, one of the favorite things to do is… to dstreicher@faithnk.com . Thanks!

 

The FAITH5™ Check-In

It has become crystal clear over the past 16 years that the core of all Faith Inkubators resources is the FAITH5™. It’s the developing and fine tuning of this faith practice during small group time over the years that has changed the way we do ministry. The FAITH5™ is not just done once a week anymore. It’s once a week with your friends and family in a small group setting and then everyday at home with your family.

Over the past few years we have begun to help churches find ways to set expectations for practicing the FAITH5 during small group time. And we have added an emphasis on taking it home. As a result, we have been receiving story after story about the impact it has had on the lives of families. The feedback we receive confirms a growing awareness on the part of the congregation that faith formation doesn’t just happen once a week. It happens at home too!

Parents are beginning to understand what Martin Luther tried to do years ago by placing the Small Catechism in their hands.                                                                                           They are taking on an active role as faith guides for their children.

Another truth is becoming clear the more I hear feedback and begin asking churches what’s working and what’s not. The church is challenged when it comes to holding families accountable and having some type of system in place for feedback and for a “check-in” time. It’s one thing to set expectations for small group time where you can do the planning, but how can you hold parents accountable?

Here are a few answers I received recently from congregations when I asked what steps they were taking to help parents be accountable for practicing the FAITH5™ in their homes:

1.    1. We have a six session parenting course that runs about one every 5 weeks. During small group parenting discussions we always ask, “How does the Faith5 accomplish what you want for your family?”

2.    During Lent we did the Faith5 challenge. Each family got a calendar, and was challenged to do the Faith5 at least 5 out of 7 nights. If they did so, then they cut that week’s calendar off the bottom of the sheet, and brought it back signed for a prize! We did small bags of cookies and cheap Oriental Trading cross pins, “We Love Jesus” footballs, etc. Every week I reminded the families that if they had not turned in their calendar, all they had to do was start that night and they would get all the previous week’s prizes next week. That way no one lost!

3. Each week during small group we use the phrase “bring it on home” to remind them that they should!

4. We model it in the sessions and encourage it at home and talk about successes. It’s hard to get families to grasp this point!Good question! I am not sure we hold them accountable exactly. We encourage it in a variety of ways, but we aren’t doing anything to track who is actually doing it at home. The church did a “Five for 40” push during Lent this year. “Faith5™ for 40 days.” It was great to do this as a church-wide event and families signed up saying they would make the commitment. We encourage it each Sunday morning by giving the kids a take home sheet: on one side it shows the handout of the day’s He Qi artwork along with the scripture verse. On the back is an outline of the Faith5™ with a few extra tips on doing it at home. We also just finished recording a DVD that shows different families talking about it and doing the Faith5™ at home.

5. We hold families accountable to practicing the FAITH5 by asking the children to bring their journals every week so we can share the week's highs and lows. 

 

Hope you are able to gain insights and gather a few ideas from those seeing the fruits of placing an emphasis on the FAITH5™ .

Have a story? We’d love to share it!

Send it to me at dstreicher@faithink.com . Thanks.

 

 

 

Modeling the FAITH5

Faith Inkubators Australia has placed a movie clip of a family who practices the FAITH5 every night in their home on their homepage to model for others. It is the Gladigau family of Loxton and was done as a presentation for the General Synod of the Lutheran Church Australia held in Croydon in 2009.

Thank you to the Gladigaus for modeling for us all so that we may watch, experience, wonder, and desire to intentionally speak faith in our homes with 5 simple steps every night. Check it out!