Sunday School Blog

Types of Lesson Series

We previously looked at how to prepare a lesson, but before preparing a lesson we need to decide what type of lesson series we're going to teach. 

The two types of lesson series that we're going to look at are topical and verse-by-verse.

First, some definitions:

• Topical Lesson Series - This type of series consists of several lessons focused on a specific topic.  Each lesson may focus on a different portion of the Bible, but all of the lessons are tied to a common theme.  Examples:  Raising Children to Know Christ, Leadership in the Church, How to Deal With Conflict
• Verse-by-Verse Lesson Series - This type of series consists of several lessons focused on a specific portion of the Bible.  Each lesson may focus on a different topic, but all of the lessons are tied to a particular book, chapter, or set of verses.  Examples: The Gospel of Matthew, A Study of James, Life Lessons from Proverbs

Both types of lesson series have advantages:

• Advantages of topical lesson series
  • Class members have mental focus on a specific area for several weeks. For example, I once taught a series on the names of God.  As a class, we spent several weeks focusing on the truth that God wants us to know Him and has revealed various aspects of His character through different names in the Bible.  We studied a different name each week, but the overriding theme was that God wants us to know Him intimately.
  • Teaching several short series on different topics allows you to reach a wider audience. When I first moved to Houston, I visited several churches and finally found a church that I liked enough to consider becoming a member.  Until the pastor announced a multi-month sermon series on parenting.  As a young single woman with no children, I immediately felt like the church would not or could not minister to people in my stage of life.  I moved on and eventually joined another church. 
• Advantages of verse-by-verse lesson series
  • Class members learn the importance of context with each lesson. With topical lessons, it's easy to pull out only the portion of Scripture that "fits" with our topic and run the risk of misinterpretation.  Studying a book of the Bible verse-by-verse means that class members will see what comes before and after each portion of Scripture, helping them in interpretation.
  • The class builds a history to draw on. For example, my class and I did a verse-by-verse study of the gospel of Matthew.  The lesson each week had a different focus, but we recognized overriding themes, such as the kingdom of God.  We were also able to refer back to previous lessons to gain a better understanding of the current lesson. 

The most important factor in deciding a Bible study focus in a class is the make-up of the class itself.  Your class may consist of students of Scripture that are hungry to go in-depth on every verse.  Or you may find that your class has a life focus on a particular area and needs to see what Scripture says about the topic.  The important thing is that Scripture is read, taught, and discussed.  A teacher that "correctly  handles the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15) can find a way to teach each type of lesson series in a God-glorifying way.

Now it's your turn - tell us what works for you in choosing a lesson series.

Psalm 23 Study - The Cure to Conflict

Last night I watched our dog chase one of the cats down the stairs.

Usually they get along pretty well.  They often share a couch.  But all that changed in a moment.  One minute we're all enjoying a quiet evening at home, the next minute animals are pounding down the stairs and interrupting the cone of silence (minus the drone of the TV).

I watched the dog's tail disappear from my line of sight and asked myself, "Should I intervene?" 

To which I quickly answered myself, "Nah.  They'll be alright."

I'm motherly that way.

I spent the better part of the next thirty fifteen five seconds wondering why there was conflict all of a sudden.  Was mocking involved?  Did the cat pull the dog's tail?  Or did our sweet Dulce think that chasing a lazy fat cat was a fun way to pass the evening?

It reminded me of a picture that made its way into my inbox recently.

No matter.  Conflict is a fact of life.  It comes and goes.  When it comes to the animals, I'm happy as long as there's no bloodshed.

But it's not so straight-forward when the conflict involves real live human beings, is it?

The day-to-day conflict we deal with may not involve bloodshed, but it can harm in so many other ways.

Hurt feelings.

Ended relationships.

Damaged reputations.

Missed opportunities.

And that's just within the church.

Conflict Within the Church

In the last few weeks we've seen that we cannot rest unless we are free from fear, desire, and spiritual illness.  Another factor interrupting our rest is conflict.

In A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller describes the conflict and jealousy rife within a flock as sheep establish their places of dominance.  The sheep are unhappy and irritable as the tension mounts, even to the point of losing weight. 

Who knew that sheep society was so complicated? 

Or that it would look so much like the culture within churches?

If we were all perfectly honest, we would have to admit that we have participated in or been affected by conflict within our church circles.  Maybe it's the matter of locking in a leadership position, belonging to a particular social group, or participating in gossip.  Before we know it we're involved in Drama.  Our cell phones are glued to our ears as we discuss who said what and when they said it.

DRAMA.

The Antidote to Drama

Phillip Keller, an experienced shepherd, describes the affect of his presence on conflicting sheep:

"...whenever I came into view and my presence attracted their attention, the sheep quickly forgot their foolish rivalries and stopped their fighting.  The shepherd's presence made all the difference in their behavior."

So the million dollar question is: How should our relationships within the church be affected after we experience the presence of Jesus?

We experience the presence of Jesus when we enter into true worship.  We can sing the songs and raise our hands, but if we walk away from a worship service still nursing grudges, we have not truly entered into worship.  We've only gone through the motions.

So how do we enter into true worship?

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

True worship is an outgrowth of a deep relationship with our Savior.  We can nurture this relationship in small ways:

• Begin each day reading a chapter out of the Bible.
• Pay attention during the sermon.
• When singing hymns or worship songs, focus on the words and mean them.
• Pray by pouring out your heart to God.

It can be summed up by Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

By nurturing our relationship with our Shepherd, we promote health and healing in our relationships with other believers.

Now it's your turn - tell us what you have found to be effective in nurturing your relationship with Jesus.

Playing Music Before Class

Imagine that you're visiting a class for the first time.  On your way to what you hope will be the class of your dreams, you pass a room alive with music, chattering, and smiling faces.  But once you reach your destination, you find silence and soft voices. 

Wouldn't you want to go back to the first room?

As teachers, we want our classes to be places where people feel free to talk and share.  But first we must create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. 

Some ways to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere are:

• greeting people at the door with a smile
• engaging in casual conversation
• sharing coffee or snacks
• upbeat music

A good first step in creating an atmosphere in which people want to linger is some good upbeat music.  Something that brings a smile to your face, a bounce to your step, and a feeling of "Hey, y'all!"  (I live in Texas, so the y'all is completely appropriate.  Northerners may prefer "Hey, you guys!"  And those of you from the Pittsburgh area would probably go with "Hey, youins!"  The point is - promote a friendly feeling!)

Here are some suggestions to implement this:

• Bring a CD player to class along with some upbeat CD's.  You'll want to keep a collection of CD's with your Sunday morning gear or you'll be listening to the same CD for a year.  Trust me - I  KNOW.
• Bring a radio to class and tune into a Christian station.  Just avoid talk radio or everyone will be bored to tears.
• Set up a Sunday Morning playlist on your iPod or MP3 player.  You'll need some sort of speaker system so that it's not just you beebopping to the music.  I tried using an FM transmitter with a radio, but it didn't work for me in the classroom.  You may have better luck.  I recommend a speaker system like this one to plug your player into.  Just don't leave it behind or it might disappear!

Some good songs for your Sunday Morning playlist:

• Made To Love - TobyMac
• Here Is Our King - David Crowder Band
• Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) - Chris Tomlin
• Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
• He Is Exalted - Shane & Shane
• Friend of God - Israel & New Breed

Now it's your turn - what would you add to your Sunday Morning playlist?

Teacher Interview: Dave Mitchell

Dave Mitchell teaches the "Tribe" 20's Bible Study at Champion Forest Baptist Church.  He is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University with B.A. in English and a minor in Theatre (both skill sets being quite useful on Sunday mornings).  Though he currently works in medical research, he's never relinquished his dream of being a novelist, and plans on one day being able to write full-time and not starve.

What types of classes have you taught? 

I've been teaching the Single 20's class for about 3 years.  Usually it's a mix of lecture-style and discussion-based teaching, with groups ranging from 5-30.  I've taught topical studies, apologetics studies, and most often expository studies of different books of the Bible.

What do you consider to be a unique challenge of the class that you teach? 

Folks in their 20's are often afraid to put down roots or commit to a group,  because they're unsure if they'll even be in the same area or job in 6 months or a year.  So the challenge is to create an environment where it's easier to make connections and feel like you're part of the family.

Do you have a particular process for preparing a lesson? 

It depends on whether I'm using a curriculum or not.  If I'm writing my own lesson, I will usually read over the text several times over the course of a few days, to get a sense of content and themes.  Then I'll use a number of resources like commentaries to get other perspectives and historical background.  Finally, I'll commit an outline to paper and fill in the appropriate anecdotes and references.  I'm often a last-minute-dash type of person, so it takes a special effort for me to plan in advance. 

When I'm using curriculum, I'll spend a few days reading the text, then I'll read the curriculum and make my own outline based off that. I have a hard time teaching directly from someone else's outline; it feels stale and distant.  If I can rewrite the material in my own words, making the connections and references myself, it usually works better.  This process takes just as long as coming up with my own teaching material, because I have to absorb and reformat the provided outline.

How do you like to begin a class?

We've lately started class with about 20 minutes of fellowship/visiting time.  Gives people a chance to wake up, catch up with friends, and get to know visitors.  This is part of the "feeling at home" focus we are seeking.

What's a good way to handle an uncommunicative class?

Often classes don't communicate because they're either bored or they're scared of giving the wrong answer.  I try to use humor to break the ice a little bit, and coax a response out of a particularly stiff group.  I also try to provide questions for small group discussion that don't have obvious or pat answers, because once you say "the right answer," it shuts down discussion.

How do you go about filling class roles? (service opportunities) 

It's not easy.  You don't often have people who volunteer for class roles.  Often it's just learning through experience who is dependable, who is willing to serve, and then trying to match them to a position that uses their gifts.  This is also a learning process, so being flexible is vital.  Sometimes you'll need to switch people to a different role to find the best fit.

What's your favorite thing about teaching?

Being able to share what I'm learning in my own life with others.  And feeling like I'm doing what I'm made to do.  To tell you the truth, the one hour each week where I feel completely at peace with myself is when I'm teaching--which tells me, for now, that's God's place for me in the church.

Do you have any great tips for other teachers? 

Here's what I'm learning:

1) Never ever forget that it's God who saves people, God who changes people, God who works in their lives to produce fruit.  You are a messenger.  Just share the message and get out of the way.

2) If you aren't living out what you're teaching, no one will listen.  And if you aren't honest about your failings, no one will take you seriously.

3) Magnify Jesus in all things. 

4) Encourage as much as you admonish.  Sometimes it's really easy to get really heavy-handed when teaching (especially when you get as emotional as I do), but try to balance it out by reaffirming to them that you care about them and are here for them.

5) Take it seriously. Paul outlines several serious admonitions for teachers for a reason.  That whole "millstone around the neck and thrown into the sea" bit that Jesus mentioned? That applies to us.  So make sure that whenever you stand to speak, you do so humbly, submitted to God in gratitude and obedience, and being careful that the words you speak are for the building up and not the tearing down. 

What do you feel has contributed the most to your spiritual growth?

I am blessed with parents who are devoted Christians, who were committed to raising me in a Christian environment.  That was a great foundation.  What I've also found is that I grow the most spiritually when I'm responsible for teaching.  Usually, the lesson I'm to present is the lesson I need.  Right now, covering James, it feels like I'm taking the spiritual "hit" first, before teaching the material to the class.  Every time I've prepared for teaching, it's been the message I've needed to hear most.

Reading any good books? 

I'm almost done with a book called Why We're Not Emergent by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. The post-modern "Emergent" movement in the Western church is growing rapidly, but DeYoung and Kluck demonstrate through the writings of Emergent's leading voices that good theology is getting lost in the process.  A provocative and well-researched book that I'm going to recommend to my class. 

(On the non-spiritual front, I also recently finished The Case for Democracy by Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and political prisoner who makes a moral case for promoting free democratic societies worldwide. If you are interested in political theory or current events, it's definitely worth your time.)

In-depth Bible Study

When I was a little girl, I spent several months reading my way through the entire Nancy Drew series.  If memory serves (you know it's the first thing to go), there were over fifty books, so this was no small accomplishment.  As a matter of fact, it was a major time commitment. 

And what did I gain by investing all of my free time enjoying the life of a fictional strawberry-blonde amateur detective?

Well...not much.  I can't even remember a single story.  Not one.  It didn't make me a better person.  And I certainly can't say that it taught me anything about spirituality or life in general.

Other than I didn't know that anybody could have hair that color.

There are more productive ways to spend your time.  I've found that a time-worthy investment is in-depth Bible study.  Not to be confused with a quiet time.  While a quiet time is a special time set aside for reflection and prayer over Scripture, in-depth Bible study usually focuses on a specific text by:

• reading other portions of Scripture to understand it
• reading what others have to say on the text (books, commentaries, Bible study workbooks)
• maybe even doing some word study of the original language. 

In-depth Bible study should also include prayer and reflection, but while wearing our student cap.

Some of the benefits of in-depth Bible study are:

• Having "Aha!" moments.  I can't tell you how many times I've learned something in Bible study that I've wondered about for a long time.  It's great to have the question, "What does that mean?" answered.
• Gaining a fresh perspective.  One of the miracles of Scripture is that God communicates with us directly when we read His words.  But sometimes it's good to hear what someone else thinks about the same passage.  As members of the body of Christ, we learn from each other.
• Focused study time. Bible study workbooks are invaluable resources for helping us to study a particular topic or even an entire book of the Bible at length.  That can be difficult to do on our own.
• It's downright fun! This list is not complete without acknowledging the "fun" aspect.  Any student of Scripture gets a huge kick out of diving into the mysteries of Scripture and surfacing with a fresh revelation.

It's important to note that Bible teachers should be doing in-depth Bible study that is not specifically related to what we're teaching.  In other words, we should be studying our Bibles even when we're not studying for the next lesson.

So I thought that I would share with you some Bible studies that I've found to be well worth the time commitment:

• Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, Claude V. King
  • There's also an online study!
• He Speaks to Me, by Priscilla Shirer
• A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place, by Beth Moore
• Breaking Free, by Beth Moore

All of these authors also have other excellent studies.

Now it's your turn!

• Have you done one of the Bible studies mentioned above?  If yes, tell us what you think.
• What Bible studies would you recommend?

Person Henry Blackaby

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Class Roll

I've talked about calling visitors to your class to make them feel welcome and answer any questions.  In order to do that, we need to get their contact information by having them fill out some sort of visitor's slip.

Storage of this contact information is crucial.  Filing each visitor's slip can be helpful, but I learned a better way from another teacher - the all important class roll.  The church may have a class roll for your class, but depending on how they provide it to you (paper or electronic format), you may want to keep your own class roll, as well.

Here's why a class roll is important:

• It makes it easy to see who hasn't attended class in a while.  This is  best done if the class roll is in a spreadsheet.  A simple sort gives this information quickly and easily.  I found this to be an extremely useful tool for this reason.
• It's a good way to store contact information. Shooting an email to invite class members and visitors to socials is easy if all of the email addresses are in one place.  I sent out a weekly email to the class covering the previous lesson, a little something about the next lesson, and a list of future socials.  It also makes it easy to call people that haven't attended in a while.
• It helps track the number of people that attend each week. Being a Sunday School or Bible study teacher is about participating in building God's Kingdom, not our own kingdom.  So we shouldn't be a slave to the number of people in our class.  But it is helpful to see if attendance goes up or down drastically.  If attendance goes up drastically and stays up, maybe outreach is especially effective or the lessons touch on an important topic to the class members.  If attendance drops drastically, we can ask ourselves if there's something that we can be doing better.

Key pieces of information in a class roll are:

• Name
• Contact information - including phone numbers and email addresses.  It may also be helpful to keep track of home address.
• Attendance for each week
• Date last attended - for sorting the list.
• Miscellaneous information - names of children, special needs, etc.

Below is a link to an example class roll in Microsoft Excel formation.  The first tab keeps track of attendance for each member or visitor, and the second tab is a graph of overall class attendance.  We'll talk about keeping track of attendance each week in another post.

Download class_roll.xls

Now it's your turn - What are your ideas for keeping track of class attendance?

Simple Lesson Titles

I'm not a witty person.  I'm the person that thinks to myself, "It would have been so funny if I'd said ________!" after an interaction. 

My lack of wit became a handicap as I tried to come up with clever titles for my lessons every week.  I would wrack my brain to come up with something cute and funny that would grab your attention.  I'm sorry to say that I usually wasn't successful. 

But then I had an epiphany.  I noticed that a popular speaker gave simple names to many of her messages.  The names conveyed exactly the topic of the message.  Nothing clever.  Just on target.

That I can do!  I decided to try to name my lessons with one word or simple phrase that summarized the major points of the lesson.

This had a few benefits:

• Simple lesson titles made me a better teacher. A simple lesson title taught me to focus on one main topic that I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to cover in that particular passage of Scripture.  Lesson preparation became much more focused as this forced me to cover only major points that supported that topic.
• Class members had a topic to focus on.  They left each class with one word or phrase ringing in their ears that summarized most of what we discussed.  We won't remember every word that was spoken during a lesson, but we can remember a simple phrase that helps us recall some of the major points.
• My angst over lesson titles disappeared.

Please allow me to give you some examples.  The following are some of the titles that I used as we studied the gospel of Matthew:

• Fear, Doubt, & Courage (Matthew 14:22-36)
• How to Recognize a Good Christian Leader (Matthew 20:20-28)
• Devoting Time to God (Matthew 15:29-39)
• Learn How to Worship (Matthew 21:12-17)
• Fearless Devotion (Matthew 10:24-39)

Comment and tell us how you come up with lesson titles!

Psalm 23 Study - Spiritual Illness

Every morning my husband is faithful to a multi-vitamin and vitamin C regimen.  And he is hardly ever sick.

(Sorry ladies, he's taken!)

In an attempt to follow his good example, I joined him as he "medicated" himself every morning.  The multi-vitamin I can do, but the vitamin C...how can something so good for you be so difficult to get down?  I finally bowed to the discomfort and gave up. 

You can guess the consequences.  Last week I was brought down by some vile illness and had to work from home so that I could recline on the couch with my head on a pillow.  In this position the nausea and headache abated enough for me to get some work done on the laptop propped in my lap.  And I got a lot done...until the day drew to a close and my fever spiked.  I went to bed wrapped in a thermal blanket...in HOUSTON...during the month of JUNE...to ward off the chill.  Illness is no respecter of season or geographic location.

Then there was the time (as in, yesterday) that I enjoyed a lovely lunch with a good friend at Panera.  Panera's soup in a sourdough bread bowl has been good to me in the past, but, feeling adventurous, I went with a chicken sandwich instead.  After the lovely lunch I returned to work, only to spend the afternoon longing for the privacy of my bathroom at home.  There are some things that you just shouldn't do in a public toilet (that's right, I said it).  More nausea and chills.  The internal drama eventually passed (no pun intended) and I was able to return to my exciting life as a software developer.

The last couple of weeks we've learned about a sheep's need to be free from fear and hunger in order to rest and applied this physical lesson to our spiritual needs.  Today we will talk about the need to be free from disease.

Spiritual Illness

God often uses physical examples to reveal spiritual truth.  Last week we were able to better understand spiritual desire with the example of physical hunger.  So what is the spiritual correlation to physical disease?  See if you can figure it out by reading the following verses:

Romans 5:12 - "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned"

Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Galatians 6:7-8 - "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

James 1:15 - "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

Do you see it?  We learn from these verses that sin results in spiritual death.

Sin: Topic Overview and Symptoms

All of the vitamin C in the world will not cure the human race from the illnesses and diseases that are part of the human condition.  We are familiar with the symptoms of physical ailment - fever, headache, nausea, loss of energy, to name a few.  But what are the symptoms of spiritual illness - sin?  Refer to Psalm 32:

3 When I kept silent,
       my bones wasted away
       through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night
       your hand was heavy upon me;
       my strength was sapped
       as in the heat of summer.
       Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
       and did not cover up my iniquity.
       I said, "I will confess
       my transgressions to the LORD "—
       and you forgave
       the guilt of my sin.
       Selah

Psalm 38 also shows the symptoms of sin. If I were to submit an entry to WebMD for Sin, I would include the following as symptoms:

• Groans
• Loss of energy
• Wounds
• Searing pain
• Pounding heart
• Depression
• Desperation

Home Treatment

In order to complete our fictional WebMD entry, we need to know how to treat the illness of sin.  Is there a home treatment?   

For the answer, refer back to Romans 6:23.  Jesus, our Shepherd, provides us spiritual health.  John 3:36 spells it out more clearly - "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."  To embark on the road to spiritual health, we must admit, "Jesus, I'm a sinner and You are my Savior.  Please come into my heart."

But what do we do when we have accepted Jesus but have allowed sin to creep in?  This is a universal problem.  None of us can live a sinless life.  Refer back to Psalm 32:5.  The cure to this sin problem is to acknowledge the sin.  Stop covering it up.  Confess it to God.  He will forgive.

And rest in the arms of the Forgiver.

Now it's your turn.  Tell us...

• What would you add as a symptom to our WebMD entry for sin?
• What does it feel like to confess and receive forgiveness?

 

Person James 1:15

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Coffee Break

I just came from lunch with my team at work.  I'm with these people forty hours a week, working on various projects, but I find it interesting that when we have lunch together we talk about everything but work.  For example, today some of us discussed cooking, children, India, and hypermiling.  It's nice to see something other than the I'm-so-stressed-out-working-on-this-stuff side of people.

I attribute the relaxed conversation to good food.  Especially eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head kind of good food.  (I must be into hyphens today.)  Chewing.  Tasting.  Appreciating.  Conversing.  All's right with the world when I'm enjoying a good meal.  (Especially sushi!)

So how about taking that experience into the classroom on Sunday mornings?  Here are some ideas:

• Set up a coffee bar.  If your church doesn't provide coffee, brew a pot before people start arriving for class.  Provide nice-sized Styrofoam cups and stirring straws.  Set out a basket with cream and sugar/Splenda packets.  Be sure to have some napkins or paper towels available for spills.
• Pick up some donuts on the way to church.  You can place them on a table or pass them around the room.  (Don't forget the napkins.)  Maybe the sugar will get non-morning people to liven up during the discussion time!
• Have the class members sign up to bring breakfast.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy.  Maybe just donuts, kolaches, fruit, or even a breakfast casserole if someone decides to make a little extra effort.  Having someone different bring breakfast each Sunday makes this less of a burden on everyone.  And don't forget the plates and napkins!

You may be surprised how conversation flows when folks are gathered around the coffee pot or passing around a box of donuts, especially during that awkward time before class begins.  If nothing else, it gives them something to talk about.  There's no telling where a "Stacy, I've got to get this recipe from you" or a "Darn it, I can't even get through the morning without spilling something on myself" comment will take you!

Teacher Interview: Morris Horner

In an effort to learn from other teachers, I interviewed Morris Horner, my former ministry leader.  I served under Morris in his role as the Single Adult Pastor at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.  He is currently the Associate Pastor of Missions at Champion Forest Baptist.  Morris attended seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He served in churches in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Pensacola, Florida, before joining the staff at Champion Forest Baptist.

1. What types of classes have you taught?

I have taught age group, life stages, topical, technical, and support/recovery classes.

2. Do you have a particular process for preparing a lesson?

My process for preparing to teach depends on what type of lesson I am teaching. If I am teaching a topical study, I will read all the material I’m covering before I do anything. As I read, I pray over the material and keep my audience in mind as I read. After I have read the material, I make a list of questions that I think might come into the minds of my class as we discuss it. Then, I try to make sure I have the answers to those questions.

If teaching a verse-by-verse study, I read the passage over and over to become very familiar with the passage. Then I start with asking who, what, when, where, why, and how. I would conclude this type of preparing by developing a series of questions on how this applies to the lives of my class members.

3. How do you like to begin a class?

I like to begin a class by asking a get-acquainted question. For example, “Share your name and the favorite junk food.” If I can make the question relate to the lesson I do.

I do this so that I know at the end of class everyone has made at least one contribution to the class.

4. What's a good way to handle an uncommunicative class?

I love to teach an interactive lesson. So, I ask lots of questions. I have been blessed with the gift of being able to turn my interactive lesson into a lecture when the need arises.

However, that doesn’t mean I give up if the class is uncommunicative. I go back the next week with another interactive lesson.

I believe asking questions is the best way to deal with uncommunicative classes. This is another reason why I like to begin each class by asking a question of every class member…gets the people accustomed to talking in front of the group.

5. How do you go about filling class roles? (service opportunities)

I typically go about filling class roles by asking specific people to carry out a task. I like to match up tasks with things that I see happening in the individual’s life.

I tend to steer away from announcements to big groups about class roles. When this approach is taken you have to diplomatically deal with everyone who has an interest in the role.

6. Do you have any great tips for other teachers?

• Know your audience.
• Let your people know you care. A seminary professor once said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” I believe in our culture, we have to earn the right to be heard.

7. What do you feel has contributed the most to your spiritual growth?

Some of the primary contributors to my spiritual growth have been:

• Godly people who have invested time in my life.
• A praying grandmother.
• The challenges of life.
• The responsibility of others’ spiritual growth.

8. Reading any good books?

The things I am selecting to read have changed somewhat over the last few months. I just completed Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ, by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen, a few days ago. INCREDIBLE READ.

I’m currently reading Voices Behind the Veil: The World of Islam Through the Eyes of Women, edited by Ergun Mehmet Caner, and The Externally Focused Church, by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson.