SUMMER: Book Club!

Ever think of having a different kind of Summer Sunday School for youth and adults and have a Book Club?  Put the adults and the youth together and give them a good book to read. If you publish the reading schedule people who are gone could continue reading and come to a discussion when they're in town. Books written by men and not God provide fantastic fodder for discussion because we can disagree with them!

You may have some great books in mind but how cool would it be to get youth and adults together to talk about some of the books by C.S. Lewis such as Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and Surprised by Joy? You could try nearly anything by Max Lucado or I might also suggest a fiction story such as The Shack by William Young that is a little out there but was very popular and is full of discussion opportunities. If you want something edgy you could try Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. It talks about how Jesus is not interested in having fans but wants lifelong followers. The question will be whether or not it's the type of book that lay-people are interested in reading.

Summer is a great opportunity to do something completely different and as a teacher I LOVE having conversations with teenagers about faith and life where adults and kids can learn from each other in a safe environment. There is no better opportunity to get people of many generations together than to have them all reading the same book but you could also do:

• Just the youth.
• Men's or ladies' summer book club.
• Parenting book club.
• Teen boys and men.
• Teen girls and women.

My suggestions:

• Choose a book that everybody is interested in reading. You may even get really bold, give them three choices and let them vote on what they're interested. 
• Be sure the youth feel comfortable and respected enough to share and don't let adults lecture them for their thoughts or opinions.
• Find a facilitator and not a professor.
• Before you choose a book, read it. Don't just take somebody else's opinion about it.