Cathy continued, “I had been volunteered to be the teacher of our church’s adult Bible study, and had foolishly agreed. I was already feeling a little shaky about how much I didn’t know, but the crisis came when I reviewed the sign-up list of participants. Barbara and Robert were at the top of the list! My stomach literally did flips, then sunk. Barbara and Robert were both professors at the local seminary: Hebrew for her, Greek for him. I would never pull off the role of teacher-expert I had envisioned with these people able to see right through me.
But I tried to breathe deeply and be calm as it was clearly too late to back out at that point.”
The study chosen by Cathy’s church was Kerygma’s Discovering the Bible, a 30-week study that introduces the people, the places, and the stories of the Bible. Cathy describes the experience as wonderfully engaging, encouraging participants to connect The Story with their stories. The best part, though, was that Cathy discovered that Kerygma Program resources prefer to use the title leader rather than teacher. The leader is considered a learner among learners! No degree in biblical studies is required, just the ability to select from the many learning experiences offered in the Leader’s Guide to create an interesting lesson plan and, of course, a commitment to shepherd the group through the classtime explorations. This shift from “lessons taught” to “Scripture explored together” is wonderfully liberating. Permission is given for everyone, including the leader, to say, “I don’t know the answer to that. Let’s find out!” |
