Leading and Learning

Categories

Curriculum – You need to own it

by

OwnershipOpportunity1In previous blogs, I have written about specific curriculum that I have used that I have found helpful. Many of the guys that I have connected with have gone on to use it as well with good success. In fact, it has become the “go to” curriculum at the church I am a part of, at least for men’s triads – I probably purchase 30-50 books each year on behalf of various groups.

I will also reiterate once again that it is important to have some type of curriculum to work through for those that you lead. You need to be learning together as part of the experience, and a properly chosen curriculum will guide the learning that will hopefully take you into topics that you may not otherwise choose to delve into.

All that being said, as you take the journey of leading others, you must discover what works best, and this is from two different viewpoints.

First, it needs to work for you, for your style. We will each lead people in different ways, we each have our own learning styles, and as such you need curriculum that you enjoy, that gives you energy so that you can engage it with those you are leading. The more the curriculum fits you, the more you’ll be able to lead others on the journey.

Second, it needs to fit those that you are leading. I recognize that, for someone you are leading who is new to engaging intentionally in their discipling journey, anything intentional may feel awkward – perhaps that is to be expected. However we need to be able to adjust the curriculum that we use or at least the way that we choose to engage it to maximize the impact on those we lead.

Over the past couple of years, some of the guys that I have come alongside and who are now coming alongside others, have let me know about some new curriculum/book that they are using that have been very impactful for them and the guys they meet with. At times they tell it to me sheepishly, as though I’ll think that they have gone off track from the curriculum that I recommend. Perhaps I have presented my ideas to boldly/solidly in the past (good learning for me going forward). And yet I’m excited that they are taking ownership of the journey. I’m excited that they get it, that the discipling journey isn’t simply about moving guys through a program, it’s about life change and they are willing to find whatever is necessary to make this a reality.

My wife was taking a couple of gals through my recommended curriculum. However, about half way through it, she discerned that there were some missing pieces that needed to be addressed, and that this particular material, although it did a great job in revealing some issues, would not have been useful to continue, at least not until these issues were worked through. As such, in her wisdom, she chose to stop and take her gals through the Alpha program. It was transforming, exactly what was needed. Without her willingness to discern real learning, she may have simply pushed through the prescribed content and missed a growth opportunity.

So let me highlight again as I have before – you are the leader, so you need to lead. You aren’t a program administrator, you aren’t a curriculum check box junkie, you are a leader and your objective is to guide someone in their journey of faith. A journey that at the end they may know how to feed themselves, and that they too would come alongside others.

So choose your content wisely. And when all is said and done, make sure that you can say that you owned it, and as such, lives were changed.

For the kingdom.

Madison’s Thoughts on Serving

by

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. A lot has happened since I wrote last, and I’m sure you’ll get a glimpse of it as I write a series of blogs over the next few months.

I currently run an after school program in an under resourced neighbourhood in London, and have been doing so for the past year. In January, my awesome mentee has joined me at this program. (I should preface this by saying that I currently only mentor one individual.) We endure the chaos, the laughter, the doubts, and the creativeness together. All of it together. This is a neat experience for both of us. Here is what I have been learning along the way.

  1. She gets to see me in another context. At the after school program, or as the kids call, “campsite”, she sees me take on a leadership role, how I interact with kids, and how I deal with the stressful situations. She sees how I problem solve, hears my doubts and concerns, and laughs with me when the kids do something hilarious. At the same time though, I get to see her blossom into a leader as she observes the kids and sees which kids need some extra attention. I see her work one on one with kids and see the smiles on their faces when she’s with them. I listen to her observations of the days, and take in her ideas. It’s a great opportunity for us to grow together as we serve there, and then afterwards we sit down and chat about life and dig deep into the Word.
  1. We don’t just get to read about God’s command to serve, but we get to do it together. Over the past year we have done a few studies together and serving seems to come up a lot. It’s one thing to just talk about serving and serve separately, but it’s another to learn and serve together. On her own, she serves a lot, and we debrief about those times, but together, we learn about each other by actually seeing each other in that context, as stated above.
  1. It’s something we both enjoy. We both love working with kids, and have babysat together in the past and served in the children’s ministry at church before. Working with the kids at Campsite is natural for both of us. As it says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” God has given us both the gift of caring for kids, so asking her to help me was not difficult, knowing that she would be a good fit.

Over the past 5 months, we have had a great time being together at Campsite and building relationships with the kids we work with. I’m looking forward to continuing this routine and seeing how we grow and develop together and in our understanding of who God is.