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Becoming Childlike Learners

2 Comments / Marriage Definition, Moral Authority, Teaching / By /

“[Jesus] called a child, whom he put among [the disciples], and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-3) Scholarly discussion—in which, I can assure you, children do not take part—revolves around just what childlike qualities Jesus had in mind when he talked about entering the kingdom of heaven. Was it their helpless dependence? their innocence? their lowly stature in the community? their teachability? Within the gospel context, Dale Bruner favors the notion of childlike humility based on their low social status, which required them to […]

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Teach Your Children Well . . .

2 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

The charge given to the PCUSA by the General Assembly is to “enter into a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage.” Implicit in this assignment is the exploration of Christian marriage, which gets its definition from Scripture and the history of Scripture’s application within the church. Discernment is necessary when a particular teaching requires a particular doing. Since as Presbyterians we hold fast to the principle that learning is pursued so that we can behave rightly (“truth unto goodness”), the process must aid us in making decisions about what we do regarding marriage. So

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Marriage Curriculum: Learning Indicators

25 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Step Three in the process of developing a curriculum on marriage is to identify learning indicators in each of the four domains (knowing, feeling, doing, and becoming). If we haven’t already encountered a sticky wicket, this step gives pause to many. The development of learning indicators is predicated on the following givens: 1. There is something to learn; there is knowledge to be discovered and applied to everyday life. Yes, Virginia, there is truth and you can know it because God has revealed it in his Word. 2. Feelings are going to come out, if we do our job right

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Learning Goals for a Course on Marriage

4 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

The second major step in developing a curriculum on marriage for congregations in the PCUSA is to unpack the overall goal, which was stated yesterday: “The purpose of this course is to arrive at an understanding of marriage that can be affirmed and practiced, with joyful confidence and a clear conscience, in the church.” A careful examination of this guiding statement points to sub-goals in four areas: what do we want the learners to know (information), to feel (emotional impact), to do (together in class activity as well as in application elsewhere), and to become (transformation). In other words, we

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Steps Toward Developing a Marriage Curriculum—Part II

12 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching, Uncategorized / By /

To give you an idea of where I am headed in the next few posts, let me outline the general plan for how to develop a curriculum on any topic. The foundational work of such a plan is important, because it sets the direction for the whole project. It reveals the starting point for discussion, and offers the measure for success at the end. As you read through this outline, think about its application for a course on marriage in your church. 1. Set the overall learning goal for the course. This is the “big picture” statement of what one

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Foundations for a Curriculum on Marriage, Part I

20 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, Moral Authority, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

This week I am putting on my “Christian Formation and Discipleship” cap to analyze the best approach for a congregational study along the lines directed by the General Assembly. The content of our study, the methods employed, and the desired outcomes will be discussed through this week here. But before we can get to that standard protocol for curriculum development, the question must be addressed: “What will be considered authoritative and foundational for the study?” What can be identified as “information” and “true knowledge” as we start out? I realize this is a Modern approach, but the post-Modern alternative poses

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What Can a New “Season of Serious Study” Accomplish?

13 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity, Teaching / By /

In answer to all the Committee 13 items of business regarding civil unions and marriage, the PCUSA General Assembly passed the following resolution:  “In a desire to promote the peace, unity, and purity of the church, we move the whole Presbyterian Church U.S.A. enter into a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage in the two-year period between the 220th General Assembly (2012) and the 221st General Assembly (2014). We would further move the Office of Theology and Worship prepare and distribute educational materials to all presbyteries and congregations. These materials should include the relevant

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What GA Decisions Mean to the Church

5 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, MCC Report, Naegeli's Laws, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Hundreds of decisions were made in the course of this week’s General Assembly. Tracking the business is a little like maintaining a baseball scorecard. Some runners may get on base but never make it to home plate. The weather may delay the game. An error may be offset by a brilliant field catch. The final score is only one indication of what happened during the game; but the routine plays, the hand signals, and the errors throughout the game reveal the true condition of the team. To carry this analogy into the PCUSA, the Big Decision not to change the

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We Are Not at Liberty . . .

9 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

On this Fourth of July, while Americans consider the implications of Liberty, Presbyterians were in their plenary session of the General Assembly in Pittsburgh, PA.  The Assembly was surprised by the announcement of the Vice-Moderator Tara McCabe, that she was resigning that office immediately. After a tearful statement infused with anger and defensiveness, she was released from duty and replaced by Tom Trinidad of Faith Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. What Tara learned was that with church office comes a limit to one’s freedom. As office holders in the PCUSA, elders agree to bind their consciences captive to the Word

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Real Power in the PCUSA

6 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Leadership and Spirituality, MCC Report, PCUSA / By /

One of my favorite verses in my favorite chapter of the whole Bible is this one: 10”But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10-11) As a long-time observer (if not commissioner to) the Presbyterian General Assembly, I have absorbed the ethos of the Reformed tradition in ways not possible

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