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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Lent Groups and growing in faith
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Clotilde
Shipmate
# 17600
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Posted
A friend asked me about Lent Groups and wondered if I knew any.
Not really was my reply. I know they differ and I have come across recently the Churches Together in Britain and BBC courses.
What she was looking for was a course which would double up as a relaxed friendly discussion, and also serve to equip christians with thoughts and ideas for Christian living - how to read the Bible, Prayer, decision making, worship etc.
Has anyone any thoughts or experience of such a course (which may have to be tailor made). Maybe its about reading a book with shortish chapters on this sort of thing.
Can you help or offer ideas?
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A witness of female resistance
Posts: 159 | From: A man's world | Registered: Mar 2013
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Aravis
Shipmate
# 13824
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Posted
Who is likely to come to the group? It sounds as though you are looking at the basics of Christianity, but for people who already have a Christian faith - so are you thinking of new converts (e.g. a group moving on from Alpha) or people who go to church regularly but whose knowledge of their faith may be patchy? Or both? Are you also catering for people who are more knowledgeable? Do you want something evangelical, charismatic, Catholic, middle of the road?
Sorry about all the questions, but I'm very much aware that not all courses suit all groups.
Posts: 689 | From: S Wales | Registered: Jun 2008
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Galilit
Shipmate
# 16470
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Posted
Tell her not to get ahead of herself.
Voice of Bitter Experience hat on: sometimes you prepare so thouroughly for Lent that you are thoroughly sick of the whole idea of it all by the 2 1/2 th Sunday (which of course occurs on the Wednesday preceding the 3rd Sunday)
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She who does Her Son's will in all things can rely on me to do Hers.
Posts: 624 | From: a Galilee far, far away | Registered: Jun 2011
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Galilit
Shipmate
# 16470
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Posted
Such a traumatic memory I spelt
"thoroughly" wrong
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She who does Her Son's will in all things can rely on me to do Hers.
Posts: 624 | From: a Galilee far, far away | Registered: Jun 2011
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
Why is there this strange belief that study/bible reading is somehow better kept for Lent?
If your friend wishes for guided reading and prayer from that try the Bible Reading Fellowship (which also runs Quiet Days which your friend may find of interest).
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
This looks an interesting course = 2014 Churches together
Sure, it isn't a kind of basic guide to the points you addressed in your OP, Clotilde. IME focused courses like this are very often a good way of opening up the "yes but how" questions of Christian living. What challenges do we face today? How do we respond in our lives, individually and together? How do the normal disciplines of Christian practice (prayer, contemplation, worship, study of cripture) help us to do that?
Like all studies, a lot depends on the quality of the group leaders and how they understand the dynamics of small groups. Good material can fall into a black hole if you haven't got that. Not everyone is good at it. Good study guides may have frameworks (what to do) in their material, but IME it's rarely enough to apply a kind of "cookbook" approach i.e. this is a good recipe, lets follow it precisely.
Factors such as how well do you know group members, their relative experiences, their different understandings and their maturity in the faith are be at least as important in a study group as finding a good, coherent set of studies.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
There is also the York Courses who have a course on Attending, Exploring, Engaging.
However, I have seen Christianity Explored can be used for Lent style group. It actually gives people, who are committed, space to explore how they formulate their faith.
That said the important thing will be the environment. You could have good material and if there is a didactic leader the group will not share. You can have terrible material and if the leader is open and generous the level of sharing can be high.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
I forgot Living the Questions which might also work like Christianity Explored.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
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Clotilde
Shipmate
# 17600
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Posted
How helpful! Thank you. Thats a lot of food for thought.
Jengie - the York Course while it seems good also seems a bit out of date - 'with audio tape...' we don't really have casette players nowadays. Maaybe they offer CDs.
I like the one Barnabas suggests - but not its name which seems so mpney / economics focussed. The idea though of a course on the parables is a very good one as the Lord had a mixed audience and found story telling the best way! Yes, I'll suggest that certainly.
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A witness of female resistance
Posts: 159 | From: A man's world | Registered: Mar 2013
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
I've done Christianity Explored and there's a definite con-evo emphasis.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Amos
Shipmate
# 44
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Posted
Is anyone near you doing the new Pilgrim Course?
http://www.pilgrimcourse.org/
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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken
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Clotilde
Shipmate
# 17600
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
I've done Christianity Explored and there's a definite con-evo emphasis.
And thats not my friend's setting. Why does the middle ground not get more such courses off the ground!
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A witness of female resistance
Posts: 159 | From: A man's world | Registered: Mar 2013
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
The York course is used by my local churches, unless they do their own thing. It seems to be well-liked, and it isn't especially evangelical. I didn't realise that the recordings were only available on cassette, but if you're running the course ecumenically then surely one of the churches in the group can provide a cassette player?
Posts: 6668 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2012
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Christianity Explored seems to be the update of Emmaus. Now I have seen Emmaus used in congregations that are not Con-evo with skilled leaders and it worked very much as a time of sharing opinions rather than determining doctrine.
90% of how successful this is will depend on the leader. The ability to trust a group to come to its own conclusion instead of wanting to direct is all important.
More recent York courses are on CD. I suspect it is just that the people at York are not technical enough to get it onto CD themselves and have no money to hire someone to do it for them for what are very low level sales with old courses.
Jengie
[NN2ST = No Need to Sign Twice]
[ 15. January 2014, 16:59: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Clotilde
Shipmate
# 17600
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
Christianity Explored seems to be the update of Emmaus. Now I have seen Emmaus used in congregations that are not Con-evo with skilled leaders and it worked very much as a time of sharing opinions rather than determining doctrine.
90% of how successful this is will depend on the leader. The ability to trust a group to come to its own conclusion instead of wanting to direct is all important.
More recent York courses are on CD. I suspect it is just that the people at York are not technical enough to get it onto CD themselves and have no money to hire someone to do it for them for what are very low level sales with old courses.
Jengie
[NN2ST = No Need to Sign Twice]
Thanks for those wise and insightful comments. I like the distinction you make between sharing opinions and determining doctrine.
For myself, and I know tyhis is personal, I like the idea of learning from others and their insights rather than being preached at in a course.
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A witness of female resistance
Posts: 159 | From: A man's world | Registered: Mar 2013
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JoannaP
Shipmate
# 4493
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Posted
My church did the York Course produced for that Lent last year and it was certainly on a CD.
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"Freedom for the pike is death for the minnow." R. H. Tawney (quoted by Isaiah Berlin)
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 1877 | From: England | Registered: May 2003
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Sacristan&Verger
Apprentice
# 17968
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Posted
I generally find Lent courses a little disappointing as they always seem to start from scratch and some of us would like something with a little more substance. Of course in a mixed group it's difficult to get the level just right.
I'd love to lead a group using Stephen Cotterell's 'The Nail' - it could be a real challenge.
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Did I do something wrong today or has the world always been like this and I've been to wrapped up in myself to notice?
Posts: 8 | From: Beside the sea | Registered: Jan 2014
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Clotilde
Shipmate
# 17600
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Posted
Yes I can see that Sac and Verger, however, I still personally warm to the listening to the parables and talking about them approach suggested. It seems they can often still speak at such different levels and it can be refreshing, and humbling, to hear, say, a child or young person's take on the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37).
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A witness of female resistance
Posts: 159 | From: A man's world | Registered: Mar 2013
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3rdFooter
Shipmate
# 9751
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Clotilde:
quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
Is anyone near you doing the new Pilgrim Course?
http://www.pilgrimcourse.org/
Never heard of it, and the website while partly informative doesnt give a hint as to its flavour / tradition. Is this another evangelical course?
We are seriously considering using this as the basis for a course probably outside of lent. I have read the material and I am quite impressed. I think the second book (The Lord's Prayer) is stronger than the first (Turning To Christ)
It is pretty anglican and MOTR really. It asks questions rather than sets out too much in the way of doctrine. The units are quite closely coupled, so I think it would work better as once a week for 6 weeks, then take a break than once a month for ever.
For those casting around for some source material, I think it is definitely worth a look.
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3F - Shunter in the sidings of God's Kingdom
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