Engaging the Bible

Last night I taught Westside's first Engaging the Bible class.

It's the 1st of several environments I/we hope to see exist within our church community to come alongside people's spiritual formation.

I was excited.

I love to teach, so this environment was fun for me. Lots of prep, a little overwhelming at times trying to put so much info into a small time frame. But it seemed to work.
I loved the interaction and dialogue - what you hope for in a learning setting
I loved the fact that people who signed up really came as learners, anxious to grow
For Westside, this kind of environment is long overdue; people need it, future Christ followers will need it, present Christ-followers need it (as expressed in a few from the class who've been Christians for a while)

People engaged and learned and actually practiced reading the Bible.

Here's a rough outline of the class.

History:
- how did the Bible actually get written down
- from oral tradition to written text to canon to the modern translation
- chronological time-line of both testaments

How to Read:
- we split this into 2: understanding & transformation
- understanding is reading wide and systematic to help you get into the Bible's world, words, stories, teachings, etc.
- the tools & process for this was more systematic in method
- transformation is reading slow and prayerful to help the Bible (ultimately God's words and the teachings of Jesus) get into you
- the tools & process for this was more prayerful (i.e. lectio divina)

Exercise:
- we ended with a 20 minute exercise in reading for transformation
- read, think, pray, live (a modern approach that resembles lectio divina)
- people shared what they discovered through it

Westside hopes to offer a class like this 1-2x per year. Other environments will be coming soon, things like - The Story, Biblical Financial Management, Character Development, Leadership Development, Missional Living, Spiritual Disciplines. We hope to see all these available within a few years - added one at a time. Our goal for 2009-2010 will see the following: Engaging the Bible, The Story (groups/gatherings); Finances; 1-2 more)