The Friday 5 is a new series on our blog featuring our favorite posts, tweets, quotables, or links from this week on the interwebs. This week we’ve been at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. So I thought we’d start with my 5 favorite quotes from Catalyst 14. Which one resonates with you?
“No one can out-sin the cross” – Matt Chandler
“The God who calms the waves and tells the wind when to blow is at work in the storm so don’t be afraid of suffering.” – Matt Chandler
“A career is what you get paid to do. A calling is what you were made to do.” – Robert Madu
“If Jesus is not enough for the church, how can we expect the world to believe He’s enough for Him?” – Christine Caine
“You won’t be able to change the world, the church, anything if you don’t change yourself” – Tim Keller
Where are the great helps we used to have available? I’ve been a school teacher and SS teacher for over 30 years. I don’t need a video to tell me HOW to teach. I need true teacher resources. Not quotes and blogs, but the lesson plans in print so I don’t have to retype the entire lesson every week. This new book and so-called resources are pitiful. We’re on staff at a small, rural church that doesn’t have money to purchase all your “extra” helps every quarter. Our county is FULL of small, 50 member churches or less who can’t even afford a pastor full time. They can barely afford to pay for one personal study guide for each learner, much less 2 or 3 books or resources for every teacher! They certainly can’t spend more money on “extra” helps that really should be a part of the leader’s book. Go to any school and look at the teacher’s books. What the teacher truly needs to teach is already in the book. It is really sad when making the almighty dollar comes before true ministry and serving our Lord by providing good materials. Very few have the luxury of being a part of the huge, big city churches your materials are planned and written to accommodate. I guess I will have to look to another company to provide our Sunday School curriculum, and I will spread the news to my neighboring churches.
Hi Donna,
Thanks for your feedback. I’m so sorry your having difficulty. Though we have certainly changed the look of Explore the Bible, We have not changed what we offer leaders or where they get it. Teaching plans are printed in the Leader guide at the end of every session. As you mentioned, they are certainly available in the pack, on the CD-ROM, and in the digital bundle. It sounds like you are an experienced teacher. Remember that many who lead Explore the Bible groups are not. The great thing is that through various channels, we are able to provide additional resources such as videos, helpful articles, etc. to help those young teachers become as equipped and eventually as experienced as you. Thank you for faithfully leading. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.
Kris Dolberry
Brand Manager | Explore the Bible
Kris, I do not believe that you understand her frustration and desires for helps. Through out this change, whether is preschool, kids, youth or adults the new format is causing issues within churches convention wide. If you are going to implement change you must manage change. You must inform and train toward change not just dump change on the masses and expect them to understand your concept. Why don’t you ask laypeople what would benefit them most in assisting in their teaching rather than convening several seminary trained education ministers that do not reflect the majority of churches within the convention. I know I talk too much.
Steve,
We regret that the revision of our Explore the Bible curriculum is unsatisfactory to you. Please know that we endeavor to serve the many and diverse churches of the SBC (and beyond) with trustworthy biblical content. That diversity makes the challenge impossible to satisfy everyone, as you might imagine.
The revision of Explore the Bible was not developed in isolation or only with a certain demographic of pastors and leaders. In fact, we surveyed scores of ministries and individuals (ranging from academicians to pastors to ministers of education to small group leaders and participants to various other laity), hosted advisory team meetings, obtained feedback on prototype versions of the materials, and, to date, have had the materials previewed by over 20,000 churches in order to produce the curriculum as you have it today (with some changes still in process as a result of feedback we’re still acquiring). So, while not everyone will be satisfied with the modest changes we’ve made for this next cycle of Explore the Bible, we’d ask you 1) to be patient with change and prayerfully give the new material a try, at least for a season, 2) to pray for us as we endeavor to serve such a diverse audience of blood-bought saints, and 3) ask Christ to be gracious to correct us if we’ve neglected due diligence in listening to those same saints we try to serve faithfully in the name of our Lord.
You’re welcome to email or call me personally at any time if I can help! My office number is 615-251-3633 and email address is [email protected].
Blessings,
Kris Dolberry
Brand Manager | Explore the Bible
Kris,
I for one really love the new adult Explore The Bible curriculum. The format and content of the student guide and leader guide are greatly improved, in my opinion.
However, we Sunday School teachers use a variety of resources in preparing our lessons. A couple of these resources formerly were hosted online by Lifeway but they have been removed and nothing has been added that takes their place. There was a forum in which teachers could post their notes (even complete lessons) and discuss relevant topics. That one in particular is sorely missed. There was another that summarized a recent news item and tied it into the week’s lesson. I suppose that resource is what this blog is supposed to replace but it is lacking the tie-ins so far.
Thank you for providing your contact information. I will certainly follow up individually but this is a public matter and should be discussed publicly.
Thank you,
Eric Q.
Hi Eric,
Glad you’re enjoying the new format. The piece that ties current events to the lesson is called Leader Extra. You can find it here.
Let us know if we can help any more.