Adventure into the Bible

This is what I call inductive Bible Study.
Every time I am asked to train people in facilitating this sort of group Bible Study I try to improve the way I present it.  This is my latest diagram of the process:

Those who know this method will see that I have renamed most of the steps.  I also added a concrete action step a number of years ago.  I also try to impress on people that, although it must be done in an order, it is non-linear in the sense that everything refers back to the passage.

I am feeling happy with the new words!

Why this iteration now?  Last week Wednesday I was doing a seminar for a group of new small group leaders at out church - Claremont Methodist.  This week I will be workshoping with the same group.  It is quite difficult to help people get enough of an idea of how it works in a total of 2 hours, but ... I do my best.

2011 into 2012

 

For those who missed it: Charis started 2010 really ill and missed her last year of school.  Joanna and Charis visited Thailand for three weeks in July 2010.  Joanna and Adam got married on 24 September 2010. 

2011 started off quite difficult:  After falling off a ladder, Lesley was flat on her back for 8 weeks and continued in the brace for another 5 weeks.  Life continued tough:  Martin's dad has been in hospital six times this year and had four operations.  In between he managed to turn 88!

Lesley had a small op, which was a bit tricky to recover from!
We have managed to "serve strangers" as well!


Martin leading a weekend workshop on using street art.

Martin had a huge teaching load this year: part time at two colleges and some weekends with churches. 

Lesley has worked mainly in our urban-hub project.  The big innovation there being the advent of a blog aimed at not-yet and not-anymore and not-at-all-sure Christians and others! see link below  We both have many privileged opportunities as "life coaches", formal and informal.

Right now, Martin has been painting a nativity scene on the pavement outside a shopping mall; he has spoken to witches, a JW, secularists, Christians and a Muslim, apart from the very angry shop-keeper and the dozens who have looked, enjoyed and commented. Lesley has been blogging about the Festive Season. 

We hope that you enjoy celebrating Jesus.  May God guide you as you reflect on living.

Martin's Crazy Days

Martin has just finished a marathon of marking exam papers and essays.  BI courses complete!
He collects his final CI essays this afternoon.
He has been preparing a course for BI for next semester ... 'Evangelism'.  He is amped to teach it, but starting a course you have never taught before is a major undertaking.  He has found some fun stuff on how not to do it; up YouTube!

He is just busy finalising his prep for running his street-art-and-talking workshop - happening for the third time over the mountain pass in Villiersdorp.  Tomorrow morning will see five paintings happening on the village main road.

Then he will drive post haste back to the Cape Flats to run a seminar on 'Becoming a Life-Long-Learner' for the lay preachers in our group of churches ... tomorrow afternoon.  He will finish off that preparation tonight at bed-time.

Meantime, we are hoping to leave on Sunday for a long-desired holiday.  Martin was really tired before last week, so you can imagine that he will be a basket case by Sunday!  Also that some prayer for all this would be essential.