One Congregation, One Women’s Class, and One Question: "What Should We Study?”

The Educational Question and the Use of Resources to Discover the Answer

Scenario: A church was in transition with an interim pastor. Serious questions were raised about what it really means to be Presbyterian and Reformed.

The women’s class was now to resume its Sunday morning time together. Members of the class didn’t realize it, but they fit the profile. Over half of them had not been raised in a Presbyterian congregation. As a result, the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) did not cross their minds as a study resource in their Sunday morning class.

As they made their plans, no one wanted to be “the teacher.” All the members were willing to share leadership, with two conveners. The group was particularly interested in Bible study. An active issues class was already meeting, so a Bible study group would generally meet, pick a book of the Bible, and study its meaning.

What will the class choose as its study?

The two conveners met with the interim pastor in search of a study resource. He called to their attention a short-term course, The Great Ends of the Church, authored by Joseph D. Small. The course is written as a five-session study of this portion of the Constitution found in the Book of Order. A “Suggestion for Leaders” section is included for each session. The introduction puts the study in the context of the first four chapters of the Book of Order. Old and New Testament passages are assigned to each session for study and reflection.

They decided to try it.

What did they do with the resource?

1. Since no one felt comfortable teaching the Constitution, the two conveners agreed to share the leadership suggested in the study guide.
2. It was immediately obvious to members of the group that they would need more than five sessions to get to know the six “Great Ends.” They decided to spend two weeks on each lesson.
3. The group was blessed to have an excellent note-taker as a member. She shared notes on key concepts discovered and explored as a summary after each session. This really helped anyone who happened to miss a Sunday.
4. The scripture passages were found to have a direct relationship with each of the “Great Ends.” While different from their normal approach to Bible study, the thematic approach met their desire for meaningful study. It wasn’t an intended study objective, but they saw how scripture informed one of the fundamental documents of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
5. The “Beyond Discussion” section of the leader’s guide, combined with the group’s motivation to share with the whole church, led to a couple of newsletter articles about discoveries made at the women’s class. One article shared with the congregation how this study could help guide the church through the interim period and beyond and will help encourage more members to take advantage of the interim pastor’s special course on what it means to be Presbyterian. Equipped with this new insight, the women’s group is looking forward to this churchwide course.

What happened after the ten sessions?

The group decided not to make the banners suggested by related resources. They decided to examine other denominational adult resources, take on a mission project that was manageable for the eight class regulars, and encourage others to attend the interim pastor’s course. The mission project was found in their Presbyterian Women’s Presbyterial newsletter. While the class includes an active octogenarian, it is going to use one of the Real Faith Real Life young adult Bible studies for its next series.

Summary Points for Adult Education Planners and Teachers

1. Denominational resources are just that: resources. While the selected resource suggested a way to conduct the classes, the content provided can be shared, explored, and learned in any number of ways. The circumstances of a congregation in transition made this series just right.
2. A consistent curriculum with an extended scope and sequence is always a sound, systematic way to nurture one’s faith, increase one’s biblical knowledge, and give volunteer teachers the resources they need to lead the class. However, the immediate needs of a congregation and its adult members will, at times, call for focused resources to address the needs and concerns that form the educational questions of the moment. Christian education is at its best when the students’ need to know and grow come first and the resources of the denomination are used to help that happen.
3. Other resources you could use to study the “Great Ends” are found in the Great Ends of the Church series from Witherspoon Press. See www.pcusa.org/witherspoonpress and look for “Great Ends” under Available Titles.

Bibliography
Church: Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church, Pewee Valley, Kentucky.
Small, Joseph D., The Great Ends of the Church Short-Term Study Course for Adults, rev. ed. Frank T. Hainer, ed. Louisville, KY: Witherspoon Press, 2003.

The Presbyterian Panel, Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians, 2005 Findings from the Initial Survey of the 2006–2008 Presbyterian Panel. Louisville, KY: PC(USA) Research Services, 2006.

Chip Andrus is associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship. He can be reached at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5772.