SPIRITUAL LIFE: Daily Bible Reading - It's About a Habit

A habit is a developed or acquired pattern of behavior and humans are creatures of habit. It’s how our brains work. The brain is our most amazing and complex organ. “The more often you perform an action or behave a certain way, the more it gets physically wired into your brain” (Oppong, 2018).

Good and bad habits are developed in the same way; repetition. The brain, however, doesn’t know good habits from bad. “Habits are the brains internal drivers” (Oppong, 2018), which is why new habits can be difficult to start – there is no history of repetition; and why old habits are difficult to break – there is a history of repetition. 

Think about your day or year. We develop morning habits and bedtime habits. We develop schedules and routines at work or at school. We typically celebrate holidays in the same way each year and call them traditions. How we react to certain situations is also learned behavior that’s been repeated over time. Going to church is a habit (that was broken for us due to Covid-19 and may be difficult for some to get back into) and we can make reading the Bible regularly a habit as well.

So, how do we start a new habit of reading the Bible?
Tip 1: Pray about it. Ask the Spirit of God (whose whole purpose is things like this) to support and encourage you in this challenge and to bring you new and deeper understanding of God’s word. NEVER underestimate the power of prayer, especially for something like this. 

Tip 2: Recognize that you’re going to have to consciously think about doing it a number of times to make and strengthen those brain connections until the pattern is developed. Put your Bible in a place where you have to look at it every day and read in that place. Please, make it a place where you will have the fewest distractions.

Tip 3: Predict the obstacles that the great liar may put in your path to success and find ways around them. If your kids need you at a particular time in the morning or evening, don’t choose that time as your reading time. Don’t try to wake up earlier to read if you’re not a morning person and will hit that snooze for 10 more minutes. If you use public transportation use a Bible app and read while you ride.

Tip 4: Getting started is the hardest part. Nobody runs a marathon without working up to it. Don’t start reading a difficult book like one of the Major Prophets or Revelation. These are difficult to read and you will find yourself frustrated. Find a reading program that starts with shorter verses that can be read easily. Whatever list you're going to use, print it out and keep it in your Bible.

Tip 5: Embrace the process and pat yourself on the back each time you succeed. Thanks be to God! 

Tip 6: If you miss a day don’t think you’ve failed and should just stop. It’s just one day and tomorrow is another day. You haven’t failed unless you quit.

Tip 7: Find a reading buddy and hold each other accountable. Be honest about your progress. Text each other every day to ask what each of you learned from or thought about the reading. Encourage each other to continue even if you miss a day or two. 
Research done by the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that about 54% of people who vowed to change a habit through a New Year resolution failed within six months. Don’t be that person! Enthusiasm at the beginning is common. Commitment is the challenge. You can do this and it will absolutely change your attitude and perspective of life, strengthen your faith, and encourage you daily!

References:

Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (2002). Auld lang Syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 397-405. doi:10.1002/jclp.1151

Oppong, T. (2018, June 15). The Neuroscience of Change: How to Train Your Brain to Create Better Habits. Retrieved August 29, 2020, from https://medium.com/swlh/to-break-bad-habits-you-really-have-to-change-your-brain-the-neuroscience-of-change-da735de9afdf

RALLY SUNDAY: Church Family Feud docs

 We're planning on playing Church Family Feud on Sunday School rally day and people were asking about it on Facebook. It wouldn't let me upload the files so I'm going to put them here. The game template was created by rusnakcreative.com and it's fabulous! I just changed the titles by adding the word CHURCH. Make sure that when you download it that you also download the Fast Money template. 

I created a google form to do a survey of church questions and put it on Facebook and that worked great, though I have a feeling a lot of people who responded haven't seen the game. 

If you want to see how mine ended up I uploaded it to my Google drive and you can check it out here. It's super easy to use and I can't wait to try. It's going to be so much fun!

CONFIRMATION: Online Final Exam

This year,due to the disruption of Covid-19, we ended up creating a final exam for the students to take online. We wanted ot use Google Forms and had a few concerns though: 

1. We only had the 8th graders for one year and didn't know what they learned from the previous pastor, so there are parts of the test that were simplified.
2. We chose to have them test at home, but knowing kids, wanted to make sure they didn't test on their own, so we sent each test to a parent email with very direct instructions. 
3. We wanted the test to be timed and to count any instances that students left the site because it would be more difficult for them to look elsewhere for online help. We used timify.me for this and it worked very well. 
4. We didn't want it to be too long, but also wanted it to be comprehensive. 

As an educator, what I've noticed working with pastors is that they more often ask questions to illicit information, especially from confirmands. They want their students to be able to recite back what they've memorized, which may be why so many still like a questioning night. I prefer there's a deeper understanding and finding out what they are thinking just as much as what facts they can recite back. Some will say that if they get it in their head/heart that they'll carry it with them, which is true, if they truly memorize it, reviewing it over time and not just once one week in a span of a 2 year course. 

It's easy and really beneficial to add answers to the simple questions so that they grade themselves, but you will want to look at the short and longer responses. If you add short answers you may find that the program expects them to match a little too closely to grade them well. I've shortened the number of questions in a couple of sections because we didn't teach those and didn't want to penalize students for past teachers. Look at the test via this link. 

Remember: when kids are working online it's on the honor system. We can remind in instructions and ask parents to oversee, but we'll never know what happens. If there's a little cheating going on, it's not the end of the world. After you grade each test (you can add comments) you can let students see their results and send an email to parents (check the email at the beginning of the exam). I simply let a couple of students know that the pastor would be contacting them before the service.  

 Take a peek below. 

CONFIRMATION: Worship Connections

Confirmation notes, reports, reflection, or whatever they're called at your church can be a challenge. Along with asking students to identify the law/gospel, what the main point of the sermon was, I have seen questions like:

1. What was the law (shows our sin)? What was the gospel (shows our Savior)?
2. What was your favorite part of worship today? 
3. What did your parent(s) find interesting or thought provoking?
4. How would you change today's service? 
5. What was the "theme" of the service? 
6. How is what you heard in the sermon going to change your life? 

I've used some of those questions too. In the law they never ask a witness a question to which they don't know the answer. I have a similar motto for sermon questions. Before you put them on a form, ask yourself how the kids will answer; keeping in mind that they're 13-14 years old. Then look at the answers they're giving and ask yourself if doing this is getting you what you hope for.

My next question is... how are they doing with that? First of all, listening and writing cannot be done at the same time. Listening, reading questions, thinking, and writing is so much harder. Middle schoolers are not taught how to take notes from a lecture. When they get notes at school they come written on a slide or white board and thinking about them is not required: write now, think later.  As for the others:

• Determining law and gospel can be hard for some adults, much less kids, especially when the pastor keeps talking. Imagine what's going on in their heads, "Was that the law?" Student writes. "Wait a minute, what did he just say?" and the pastor never pauses. Of course, students are not dumb. Many will simply write "we can't do it on our own" for the law; and "Jesus is the anwer" for the gospel. It's not wrong, but it's not what you're hoping.
• Most students write these reports or notes during the sermon, which means they miss at least some of what the pastor is saying, and/or whatever happens next in the worship service. 
• Middle school kids are just learning to go deep. They are commonly looking for straight forward answers and love to fill-in blanks. Their brains won't be fully developed for 10 years. Asking them to think deeply about a sermon, pay attention as they finish the service, and turn-in their paper before they leave assures some very short answers. Students who give long answers probably did their report during the rest of the service. 

With many pastors posting their services, or at least their sermons, on social media via video, blog, or podcast, students can go back and listen again at home. However, since confirmation isn't a graded class. and many pastors have trouble holding students accountable, they will usually write whatever comes to mind and hand it in right after worship and it will be accepted.

My suggestion, and what I'm switching to next year, is to stop doing worship or sermon notes or reports and start doing Worship Connections. I'm going to try to connect the readings to each other and the sermon by looking ahead and asking some questions about the readings and the service. Download an example here.

My first one is below. The picture below is difficult to read. It may be easier to download the copy through the link above.

The Art of Teaching Confirmation RESOURCES

Resources to go with
The Art of Teaching Confirmation 
will be out this summer!! 

Resources go with Luther's Small Catechism (CPH, 2017) and are NOT A CURRICULUM. They are downloadable and are intended to enhance whatever curriculum you have created or purchased so that students  interact with the information in a meaningful way. Some of the resources are: 

Student Workbook
Workbooks can be printed/copied and put in binders or bound as desired. Teachers can choose which resources they want to use and print only those for each student workbook.

• Graphic organizers for note-taking including discussion questions.
• All chosen worksheets

Leader's Manual
Each manual includes helpful administrative information and forms, Each of the 6 chief parts includes note-taking pages and a variety of other resources:

• Administrative forms such as student info cards, progress checklists, a progress report form, and two lesson plan forms.
• Information about the purpose of memorizing scripture and how it can be successful, parent participation, classroom tips, and more.
• Memory work forms, progress checklist, and how to do memory challenges. 
• Graphic organizers for note-giving including discussion questions.
• Table Talk - questions to get students talking about each topic at the beginning of class.
• Discussion question cards 
• Notes quizzes 
• Family discussion questions
• Two Sermon Connection forms
• Scenarios for students to discuss real life isues. 
• Final Project ideas, directions, and samples, including essay outlines if that's the chosen project. 

If you're interested in seeing a sample, use the form below and I'll send them in as soon as they are available:

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation FAQ

I've been hearing about a lot of people who've had a number of students and parents ask why they (or their kids) need to go through confirmation classes, especially if they're not required for salvation. My suggestion is to write some Frequently Asked Questions and answers for your website. Many people already have done that, but I see often that their questions are about when and where classes will be held, what students need to bring, and other procedures.

My FAQ were chosen carefully. I did not want to answer every question under the sun nor did I want to have answers so long that they wouldn't be read. If you're looking for some examples, feel free to check mine out:

• What does the Bible say about confirmation?
• What is the history of confirmation?
• What is the purpose of confirmation?
• ​Why did Luther write the Small Catechism?
• ​Should parents be teaching confirmation in the home? ​
• What is the role of parents in the teaching of the faith to their children?
• How can parents support their kids through confirmation?
• How can parents support their pastor through confirmation?
• Is confirmation a requirement for being a member at St. John Lutheran Church?
• What is taught in confirmation?
• Why do we have to memorize so much?
• ​Why do we have to do sermon notes?
• Is confirmation the end of one's religious education?
• Is confirmation still meaningful in the 21st century?

To see the answers go to the St. John Lutheran Church, Sterling, NE website. Remember that learning the Word and the 6 Chief Parts of Christian doctrine is the most important thing we all learn. 

The 10 Commandments show us how God created us to live in a relationship with him and each other. Without him we are without hope and a future. 

The Apostles' Creed describes who we are in a relationship with; briefly explaining the triune God and what he did and does for us. 

The Lord's Prayer is how we are invited to communicate with him and how he teaches us that he wants us to remain in communication with him. 

Baptism is how we are brought into relationship with him through water and the word. 

Confession maintains us in the relationship, continuously bringing us back to him for forgiveness through repentance and confession. 

The Lord's Supper is how he nourishes our relationship, strengthens our faith, and draws us closer to him.

EDUCATION: The Storyteller Bible

Friends! This is it! For years I've been encouraging people to read the Bible as if it is the great story it is. It's so much easier to understand, especially for kids, when it's read with emotion and inflection. For some reason when we're sitting in church or reading in Sunday School we treat the greatest story ever told as if there aren't even real people with emotions involved in it, but there are!

Check out the Storyteller Bible. You can hear the difference and you'll want one for your family. You can listen together, talk about what you're hearing, write down questions for your pastor, but most of all, you'll hear the gospels as if the Apostles are telling them to you. This is a great resource!

If you use the link to go to the website, scroll down to the book of Jonah for a great sample. It's so amazing how the time flies when you're listening to the Bible in this way; and it's not a story. You're listening to the words of the Bible (Christian Standard Bible) read by Keith Ferrin.

I'm already working on ways that I can introduce this into my congregation! I'm also learning how to memorize books of the Bible through Keith Ferrin's process. I can't wait to get started!