BOF Adult Bible "Conversations"

[David Schoenknecht]

So...the excitement at the BOF Advocate Meeting as been great. But now, it's nose to the grindstone time. Question: How would you envision the first adult resources (not "studies", conversations!). What book would you start with? What format would your use? What approach - topical, lectionary, book-by-book.

[Dave Mareske]

What if we went question by question? Not sure what this means yet.

[David Schoenknecht]

What might be an example of a question?

[Dave Mareske]

I suppose the questions that I have now imagined would lend themselves toward topical...eg: How should we use the Bible in the public arena? Are there instances in scripture where peopel used the Bible in the public arena? A simpler one might be how should we use the Bible in worship? One thing I had my confirmation students do is ask the question, "Who is Jesus and how do I intend to serve him?" Then I had the students search the scriptures for stories that helpded them answer that question.

I think beginning with a question helps folks engage the text in a new way and a way that is even handed across economic and social strata.

[David Schoenknecht]

Are you familiar with Dan Erlander's "Manna and Mercy?" What if -as a beginner resource we do something Erlander-esque that takes learners on "fly-over" of the entire Bible - presenting major themes, event character 6-8 weeks or so?

Dave Mareske said:

I suppose the questions that I have now imagined would lend themselves toward topical...eg: How should we use the Bible in the public arena? Are there instances in scripture where peopel used the Bible in the public arena? A simpler one might be how should we use the Bible in worship? One thing I had my confirmation students do is ask the question, "Who is Jesus and how do I intend to serve him?" Then I had the students search the scriptures for stories that helpded them answer that question.

I think beginning with a question helps folks engage the text in a new way and a way that is even handed across economic and social strata.

[Katie Yahns]

Not a technical BOF "advocate" here...but I like this idea a lot! I'm pretty sure my people who would be interested in exploring Scripture are interested because they feel their current knowledge is a bit wanting...so if they can grasp that "fly-by" picture of the whole Bible in an accessible way, it would not only give them a basic orientation for answering questions like "how do we use the Bible?" in the future, but it would also keep them invested in the process by filling in those knowledge gaps relatively early.

This conversation does make me ponder though...Book of Faith is going to look very different in different places. In some places, the question of "how do we use the Bible?" is really going to get conversation going right away. In other contexts (I'm envisioning my parishioners here), there may be a need to give information first and answer more concrete questions, and then follow up and expand the thought process by asking more open-ended questions.

David Schoenknecht said:

Are you familiar with Dan Erlander's "Manna and Mercy?" What if -as a beginner resource we do something Erlander-esque that takes learners on "fly-over" of the entire Bible - presenting major themes, event character 6-8 weeks or so?

Dave Mareske said:

I suppose the questions that I have now imagined would lend themselves toward topical...eg: How should we use the Bible in the public arena? Are there instances in scripture where peopel used the Bible in the public arena? A simpler one might be how should we use the Bible in worship? One thing I had my confirmation students do is ask the question, "Who is Jesus and how do I intend to serve him?" Then I had the students search the scriptures for stories that helpded them answer that question.

I think beginning with a question helps folks engage the text in a new way and a way that is even handed across economic and social strata.

[David Schoenknecht]

Hey Katie - this sounds like it could be a way to "ease" into Scripture, eh? Gaining some orientation and understanding in the process, perhaps making it more comfortable to dig deeper. I'll be sure to pass your thoughts along as I am part of an Augsburg Fortress "Customer Intelligence Team" for Book of Faith.

[Laura Seneker-Jones]

The fly-by idea is excellent. If you think about how many un-churched or never been to church visitors we NEED and have, they wouldn't be lost. They would be learning the stories WITH the members. The visitors wouldn't be befuddled by references and could feel more comfortable and satisfied with the worship service.

Lets put tabs in the pew Bibles! The pastor could announce the page number for the pew Bibles too. I'm going to share the fly-by idea with my pastor. He's starting the 7-session Book of Faith discussion(love discussion opposed to class or study - I never liked to study in school, loved the class discussions though) during Sunday Classes. I put Classes on our church sign instead of School. Other churches in our area use "classes". I hope it might make a possible visitor more comfortable. I also put Bible-Based at the very top of the sign! Being in the south most people don't realize the total amount of actual scripture we use during our worship, even the responses!

[Carolyn Martin]

We will be pursuing three "paths" of classes associated with the Book of Faith initiative in our congregation. The first path is a very basic one, for those new to our church, new to studying scripture, or new to the Lutheran Church. We will be taking these people through Opening the Book of Faith and providing some basic tips on Bible study and understanding how to use resources.
The second path is for those who have had some experience in reading and studying the Bible. This path includes our circles, men's Bible study and some established and some new small groups. Most of them choose their own study materials, some will be using the Book of Faith Bible studies.
The third path will be for those who are ready to dig into the scriptures. Our interim pastor will be leading a seven week in-depth study into Revelations.
After they are released and we have a chance to preview/pilot them, I hope to use the two video courses offered by Augsburg in the first and second path. Hopefully by dividing the offerings up this way, no one will be intimidated by who they may encounter in Bible study!
David Schoenknecht said:

Hey Katie - this sounds like it could be a way to "ease" into Scripture, eh? Gaining some orientation and understanding in the process, perhaps making it more comfortable to dig deeper. I'll be sure to pass your thoughts along as I am part of an Augsburg Fortress "Customer Intelligence Team" for Book of Faith.

[David Schoenknecht]

Hey Carolyn- I've heard that group use of "Opening the Book of Faith" can be pretty heavy for beginners. Not to disuade this use as, Lord knows, we NEED people better equipped to interpret scripture, I just would encourge the facilitator to be hyper-sensitive to the needs of that 101 audience when using this course.

[Fred Schott]

One book I would like to use with my congregation is "Opening the Bible" by Robert Kysar. It is a short and accessible book, but unfortunately is has gone out of print with Augsburg/Fortress. It would be a good time to bring it back and make it available.

[David Schoenknecht]

Hey Carolyn - I'm going to take back what I said. I caught a glimpse of the new "Opening the Book of Faith" leader guide when I was in MN this week - it's great and would be quite easy to use with 101 folks.

[Deborah Thinnes]

I like a variety of "conversations", especially the online resources since I am somewhat of a "computer geek". I like the concept of a book to keep us focused and keep us diligent in our faith journey.