Hi folks,
Just to inform you, I’m in my final semester, Lord willing, of the M.Div. program. I have to do an internship, meant to give ministry experience to those who have been studying. Of course, I have over 35 years of ministry experience, but I still have to do this! To fulfill this requirement, I have decided to write a course to help unchurched people understand and get oriented to the Bible. In this update, I want to tell you about what I’m planning to do.
Not really having a church I’m connected with here or a lot of other connections either, I’ve had a hard time coming up with what to do for this internship. Most of my fellow students work under the pastor of their church or in some ministry of their church. I don’t have that, though a small local church has allowed me to do one focus group meeting today, and the pastor agreed to give me some weekly Bible studies, and some Sunday services to present the material. That will be one outlet for me.
I’m also going to try and establish several other local groups where I can present this material. But in addition, I’m taking a course on marketing, PR, and social media, which is very interesting and eye-opening. I already have this website, and I’m on Facebook, so I have made at least a start in the social media world. It seems to me that these media also have great potential, and I would like to try and make use of that potential.
For that reason, I want to use this website and maybe Facebook for my internship efforts. I’m going to prepare and present materials here for this course I’m offering, in addition to doing it with small groups locally. I’ll do it in written, video, and podcast format, so that people can access whatever format is most convenient for them. If you like to just read it, I’ll have the notes and outlines in written form. If you prefer to listen while driving, jogging, or whatever, the podcast will make that possible. But if you prefer to sit at your computer and see the person who is teaching, I’ll have it on video.
Now then, what will the course be about? In our local library, they offer courses for folks who have no knowledge of the computer and are afraid to even turn one on. Well, I think there are people like that when it comes to the Bible. They don’t know why it’s been a best-seller for hundreds of years, why it’s the greatest literature ever written, why people think it’s the Word of God. They don’t know how we got it, how it was compiled, where, when, in what languages, or what it’s good for and why millions love it. In other words, they don’t know the amazing history of the Bible!
They certainly don’t know where to begin in reading it either, how to understand it, and how to sift through all the contradictory opinions and ways of interpreting it. That’s where I come in. I’m going to write up a course on this, then present it in written, video, and podcast formats. I am required to spend 200 hours on the work. So it will be a well-thought out and developed “course.” I may even have a professor who teaches religion at a secular college help me. My supervisor for the course is the registrar at that same college. She’ll oversee what I present.
Here’s what I hope you can help me with. Would you think and pray about people you could recommend to take this course, and would you speak to them about it? I don’t even really know the exact format yet. But what I think I’ll do is present this in different formats, like a four-hour course, a 6 or 8 hour course, and a longer version of the course. People can sign up for whatever length of course they think they’d be interested in. They can listen for a few minutes, then take a break, and come back later. I just need a group who would be willing to check it out. I’ll probably put a lot of hours of teaching out there, so they can go as long as they want. But if they just participate for a few hours, that would still be helpful, both to them and to me.
I’ll do my best to make it worth their while. Also, I’d be interested to hear from any of you regarding what you think I should include, or any suggestions you might have about how to interest people and get them involved. And by the way, you could take the course yourself, even if you’ve been a believer and have read the Bible for years. I’m especially hopeful that I can reach unchurched people who know nothing about it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want others to come along as well! So please think about this and pray about it. And please see if there is anybody you could steer my way to learn some of this. It would be a great help to them, I truly believe, and it would help me finish my seminary degree as well.
Thanks so much! And till next time, may the Lord bless you! Warren