Joey Bocook- Post 9

A. Time commitment


- 2 hours (1 ½ in class, 1 writing this)

B. Class this week

- This was our last week meeting before Christmas break. We met and Pastor Joe brought food and drink so that we could fellowship over food, like the New Testament church did. We spoke about what we could do to prepare ourselves to be called like Matthew. Pastor Joe said that in some way we are all called into ministry, some not specifically into the Church but all are called to be witnesses. Zach and Kara both spoke about their upcoming marriage about how it causes them to seek the Lord and become more ready to follow. I stated that I believe that if we make ourselves available that we will be used by God and not need to worry about what will happen next. The rest of the time that we were there this night, we spent fellowshipping and building relationships.

C. Questions Raised

1. What can we do to get ready for our calling?

2. What is the most effective way to end a particular study? A party-type like this? Or something else?

 

Danny's Practicum Post #10

Hours this week= 4

The last week of ReaLife went by very quickly. Because it was the end of year Christmas Party, the lesson time was cut short. The lesson was on the Christmas Story (who would've guessed!!!!) Ms. Jessica pulled a Wilbur Williams and dressed up as Mary, and she taught the entire lesson in character. It was really great, and the kids all loved it.

The main thing that I noticed during the lesson time this week was how diverse the backgrounds of some of these kids are. Some kids knew the Christmas Story in and out, others were totally confused and were wondering where Santa came in, and then with other kids (like the Spanish Siblings) it was incredibly difficult to gauge their reactions and what they were thinking. 

I decided to ask Michael some questions, since he had probably the weirdest question of all... "Is Jesus Rudolph's brother?" It turns out, he goes to church every Sunday with his mom, dad, and grandma. What's even more crazy is the fact that it's a church I've been to here in Marion, and it certainly seems to be a quality church. Maybe it was Michael being silly, or something... I don't know, but I sure hope that our churches are teaching our kids about the true meaning of Christmas.

1) How in the world does a 6 year old live under the impression that a reindeer can be the sibling of Jesus?

2) How many of the confused kids in the class are regular church attenders? 

Chris' Practicum Post #9-Teaching Report

Hours this week-4 (1-Sunday school, 1.5-Worship, 1.5-Class preparation)

My Lesson

This week I talked about unity and how unity is the only way that we, as Christians, can experience true community. The goal of this lesson was to give biblical examples of what community looks like and the aspect of unity that must be present to create this community.

The points I used were as follows:

Apart from God there is no community

What is Community? What does this community look like? What steps do we need to take in order to achieve this form of community?

Christ is the only way to achieve community and strength

Christ came and took down these walls/barriers between Jews and Gentiles allowing them to become a community of unified believers for the good of the Kingdom. 

Community creates a dwelling place for the power of the Holy Spirit

All people are meant to be together as one unified body of believers in order to fully function for God

B.The Response

There were about ten people in class today. 

C.Supervisor Evaluation

My supervisor was very supportive and thought I did a very nice job. The one big thing that he constructively criticized was that I like to use the words, “like and um” in almost all of my talking. He said it can get rather annoying if people start to pick up on it. He also said that I should have something to help engage the class more at the beginning. He did like the fact that I incorporated prayer into the class as a way of building relationships, which also tied into my lesson. One of the things he said was that I did not make much eye contact with my “audience” and that I looked very stiff. He said I needed to relax and make myself feel comfortable. If I am tense the class can pick up on that and it will in turn make them feel uncomfortable also. The vibe of the room is based off of the comfort of the teacher or leader in the room. 

Did Well

Well prepared. 

Did a good job of incorporating prayer that is common to the class into the lesson. 

Able to relate to those I was teaching. 

Had good biblical points that were backed by the text. 

To Improve

Eye contact

Comfort while teaching

Engaging the class more than just at the beginning

Maybe move around a little bit and not be so stiff.

Questions

Being prepared is a big part of teaching, but being comfortable in front of one’s peers and friends is also big in teaching. What are some ways that I can get past this fear/uncomfortable feeling in front of my friends and peers?

How does a teacher keep the attention of those they are trying to teach for more extended periods of time? How do you keep it from becoming boring and too much like a lecture?

Not relying on notes all of the time will free up a teacher to adapt to how the lesson if flowing and allow them to not be tied to a podium while teaching. Is it feasible for a teacher to memorize their lesson every week? Or maybe at least memorize the main points? 

Why am I afraid to speak or teach in front of my peers? What do I have to lose?

Chris' Practicum Post #8

Hours this week-2.5 (1-Sunday School, 1.5-Worship)

This week was another typical Sunday morning. The class began with prayer, which was very good because we hadn’t really spent a whole lot of time in prayer as a class in a while. We got into groups and shared some requests that we had and spent time praying together. It was refreshing to get reconnected in the lives of the group. Not being in prayer together really makes it hard to understand where one another is at in each others lives. 

Opening and closing with prayer is always a good thing. Yet, how much better could our classes be and the relationships be if there was a lot prayer being implemented into the classes? Prayer should be a central point of the class and worship both. Often prayer is used as “filler” or can also be seen by some as expendable. Often churches will cut prayers from their services or classes for the sake of time. However, I believe that prayer can be a great tool for use in the setting of Sunday school. 

The lesson was an okay lesson. It was very informative and very little interaction was necessary for the class. It was like hearing a lecture in college. I was bored! Oh my goodness was I ever so bored. Not to mention the subject was somewhat elementary and dry. It was like he had forgotten about the lesson until the night before and then decided to try and throw something together. It was somewhat disorganized and very unlike him. It was probably the worst class we have had all semester. But, we had class and got something out of the prayer time so it was not a complete loss. 

Questions for this week:

Why do we only use prayer to open and close classes and services? Why can’t we use prayer in more creative ways? What creative ways? 

Obviously a teacher should not wait until the last night to get the lesson organized, but what if they are bad teachers? Should one be confronted about their teaching style and be asked to change?

Chris' Practicum Post #7

Hours this week-2.5 (1-Sunday School, 1.5-worship)

This week we had a pretty short lesson. Our class was meeting like usual but the teacher never showed up. It was nearly 9:50 when he finally showed up and our class started at 9:15. He was pretty late and you could tell he felt bad. 

In light of this event, we pulled one of the minister’s in to teach an impromptu lesson. It was interesting to see him scrambling around to get something together while sitting in front of the class. If there was one thing that I could say that this made me learn, it is that a teacher should always have a lesson that they can go back to without any preparation and teach it to just about any age group. If this had been the case with this replacement, who was asked at the last second, he would not have had to scramble to get a lesson together for us. 

Once he finally got going, it was interesting to see how nervous he was. It was like he had never taught a class in his life. He stumbled over a lot of words and seemed to be unsure of what he wanted to talk about. It made me think of someone in a dark room, who is just reaching out and grabbing whatever they can and giving it to someone else. It was probably very intimidating for the poor guy because he was not used to working with college age students and wasn’t really sure how a “typical” class would go. 

There was one good thing about this, it was a change of pace. It was nice to have someone different and someone who did things a little differently in comparison with our regular teacher. He did a decent job of making it interesting and keeping us all attentive to what was going on. Not an easy thing to do sometimes with a bunch of tired college students. Overall, it was a decent class for a pretty messed up morning in which a poor, unprepared teacher got thrown to the wolves. However, he succeeded and managed to pull off a decent lesson. 

Questions for this week:

If you are teaching a class and oversleep, should you rush around and try to get there a little late or should you accept that idea that someone else is probably already teaching your class? Changing teachers can keep things fresh. How often should a class have a different teacher?

How can a teacher always be prepared? Should one memorize a few of their lessons in order to be ready at a moments’ notice? 

Chris' Practicum Post #6

Hours this week-2.5 (1-Sunday School, 1.5-worship)

This week we had a pretty short lesson. Our class was meeting like usual but the teacher never showed up. It was nearly 9:50 when he finally showed up and our class started at 9:15. He was pretty late and you could tell he felt bad. 

In light of this event, we pulled one of the minister’s in to teach an impromptu lesson. It was interesting to see him scrambling around to get something together while sitting in front of the class. If there was one thing that I could say that this made me learn, it is that a teacher should always have a lesson that they can go back to without any preparation and teach it to just about any age group. If this had been the case with this replacement, who was asked at the last second, he would not have had to scramble to get a lesson together for us. 

Once he finally got going, it was interesting to see how nervous he was. It was like he had never taught a class in his life. He stumbled over a lot of words and seemed to be unsure of what he wanted to talk about. It made me think of someone in a dark room, who is just reaching out and grabbing whatever they can and giving it to someone else. It was probably very intimidating for the poor guy because he was not used to working with college age students and wasn’t really sure how a “typical” class would go. 

There was one good thing about this, it was a change of pace. It was nice to have someone different and someone who did things a little differently in comparison with our regular teacher. He did a decent job of making it interesting and keeping us all attentive to what was going on. Not an easy thing to do sometimes with a bunch of tired college students. Overall, it was a decent class for a pretty messed up morning in which a poor, unprepared teacher got thrown to the wolves. However, he succeeded and managed to pull off a decent lesson. 

Questions for this week:

If you are teaching a class and oversleep, should you rush around and try to get there a little late or should you accept that idea that someone else is probably already teaching your class? Changing teachers can keep things fresh. How often should a class have a different teacher?

How can a teacher always be prepared? Should one memorize a few of their lessons in order to be ready at a moments’ notice? 

Joey Bocook-- Post 8

A. Time Commitment this Week


 2.5 hours (1.5 hours in class, .5 hours reflection)

B. Class This week

 What does Jesus mean when He says, “Follow me.” Does it mean the same today as it did 2,000 years ago? If Christ came into this room today, would it mean what it meant to Matthew? These are the questions that Pastor Joe opened up with this week. In essence these are the same questions that we have been asked all semester. I answered like this, “No, it does not mean the same. We have been given the Bible. We can look into history. We have more responsibility.” Pastor Joe continued my train of thought in saying, “To whom much is given, much is required.” Amber, however, stated that she believed that it was the same. We have been given the Bible, yes, but God does not change his plan. Pastor Joe let her know that he believed that both could be right. But he did state that not even the disciples knew what “Follow me” meant in their time. We have been given the opportunity to become greater than they.

C. Questions Raised

 What is the best way to disagree and somewhat shoot someone’s answer down? Is it to say yes, but? Or just simply say they are wrong?

 And I ask you, what does Jesus mean when he says “Follow me,” and does it mean the same today?

Joey Bocook--Post 7

A. Time Spent this week


 2.5 hours (1.5 hours in group, .5 hours writing this)

B. Class this week

 Education. Matthew seems to write as if he is an educated man, at least in the ways of Jewish customs. Pastor Joe posed the question to us, were the disciples educated men? Zach answered that they were somewhat educated but did not know much more than the average man. I agreed, stating that they were all trained in some fashion but were not good enough to continue in the ways of studying. Matthew obviously was very familiar with the Jewish customs and the Law. His many, many references to the Torah are proof enough for that. Though, the question is also geared toward the other disciples. It seems, in Matthew’s account, that John the Baptists disciples were in the same feeling of the Pharisees on wondering why Jesus called who he called. Bethany was quiet, but piped up to make this comment, “Maybe Jesus didn’t need the educated?” I thought to myself, and later agreed. Jesus’ radical ministry was contrary to popular belief. How much easier is it to teach a new crowd new things, than an old crowd? Pastor Joe was very impressed with the depth of thought, from a normally quiet girl.

C. Questions Raised

 What is it, as a leader that we can take away from how Pastor Joe approached the situation of having a rather quiet girl in the class?

 Is it a victory in and of itself if she speaks up, or simply if she is right?

Joey Bocook- Teaching Report

Teaching Report


Time required: 3 hours (2 preparing, 1 teaching)

A. My Lesson

- I prepared a lesson about why Jesus would call ‘sinners’ instead of righteous men. The reason I chose this was because it was the next topic that we were to discuss in studying the calling of Matthew. I wanted to convince the class that the reason he called sinners was because they needed to be saved.

- Order of Questions and findings

o Short Answer

 The sinners are the ones in need of help (vs. 12)

 They can realize and vocalize their need for a Savior

 True, the Pharisees were looking for the Messiah…however, they did not need someone to teach them

 The disciples were teachable

o Longer Answer

 I believe that Christ was showing us an evangelistic strategy

 He was developing the leaders of His church

 Each man with a different story/background/heritage

 All knew of the coming Messiah

 He had a heart for the lost

• He was seeking out the lost

- Pastor Joe’s Response:

o He told me that I did well. However, I prodded him to tell me more about what I did well. He told me that it was apparent that I read around so that I knew what I was speaking of. He said that I was very assertive and seemed able to fit the role of Master/Teacher.

o When I asked where I needed to improve, he was a little quicker than I would have liked him to be with a response. He said that I didn’t do what he really asked. He wanted me to inductively dissect the text. That I needed to be more prepared.

B. Questions

- Is the study, inductively, more important than any other? Or are there studies that can be done that are just as relevant?

- Can I, as a master-teacher, be more assertive in asking questions? How much is too much, when pressing for an answer?

Danny's Practicum Post #9

Hours this week= 3

The second to last week of Tuesday Church was probably the best one of all of them. Today, Ms. Jessica shared the salvation message with the class. God had His hand over the classroom time, the loud kids were respectful, the eager learners were full of questions, and in the end, 13 kids accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Granted, this is probably (and hopefully) the first of many Salvation Prayers that these kids will say in their lives, but it's exciting nonetheless. I was nearly brought to tears when I saw their little hands raise, and the excitement they had about the angels partying in heaven. When I first came into this practicum, I felt it was a bit out of my comfort zone as far as teaching goes. I'm comfortable working with kids, but teaching-wise, I prefer to go deeper than cover the surface level type stuff. But seeing the impact that the Tuesday Church Ministry has on their lives every week is incredible.

As I was making my observations, I noticed that Shawnaia was back again, and so was Corey. He was being his usual self, but nothing extreme. On the Corey scale, he was probably at a 4 (which translates to a 11 or 12 on a normal person's scale, but I'll take it) Dora asked to pray again, and Talia, one of the meaner girls, said that Jesus was telling her to be nicer to her friends (I made sure to let her know that He wants us to be nicer to everyone) Overall, it was an incredible night, and as always, Ms. Jessica taught right at the kids' levels. She's wonderful.

Some of the questions that I had after this week were:

1) What's the next step? Now that they've accepted Christ, how do we follow up?

2) How can we get these kids and their parents to start regularly attending a local church?

Danny's Practicum Post #8

Hours this week= 3

Just like any church service before Thanksgiving, the main theme of the night was giving thanks... I wouldn't say that it was the most effective lesson time, but it was clear that some kids were really into it. The usual children were attentive, Javion, Johnny, Amari, and Savajia. Corey was not there this week, which definitely mellowed the entire classroom, and some of the shyer kids spoke up a bit. Dora actually opted to pray and thanked God for Ms. Jessica. I remember thinking to myself how awesome it would be to have an adorable 1st grade kid thank God for me!!! I pray that I have that kind of influence one day.

One thing I happened to notice, which is probably nothing, but still concerned me, was the fact that Miguel had a black eye. The worst part about it was the fact that the story behind the black eye was slightly different from each sibling. It's more than likely nothing, since most physical signs of child abuse are in hidden areas such as the arms or back. Also, he doesn't shy away from a hug, which is usually typical of abuse cases. Like I said, probably nothing, but definitely something to keep an eye out for and lift it up to God in prayer.

Questions

1) What am I supposed to do in this kind of situation? At what point do we allow our assumptions to become accusations?

2) Seeing how Corey's absence impacted the group positively, is it wrong to hope he doesn't show up so that the other kids have a better opportunity to learn?

Danny's Practicum Post #7 (Teaching Post)

Hours this week- 5 (3 at Tuesday Church, 2 Preparation)

My Lesson

This week I taught my lesson. Seeing the kids excitement when they saw that I was the teacher for the day was INCREDIBLY encouraging, and certainly gave me enough courage to be confident as I taught. My lesson this week was out of the book of Jonah. I taught about how sometimes God wants us to do something, and it's scary. I would like to have included some clips from the Veggie Tales Movie, but I couldn't get any. Overall, the lesson went well. I was really into it, and had a difficult time gauging the classes reaction like I do when I'm just an observer/helper. I did however notice that Ms. Jessica had to separate Corey and Michael from each other, and then she had to separate Corey from Alaysia... but this is just typical "Corey" behavior.

Supervisor Evaluation

Ms. Jessica told me that I did wonderfully. When I asked her for some constructive criticism, she mentioned that some of the words I said were a little too advanced for that age group. Overall, she said I should probably dumb the lesson down a little bit to meet their needs a little better. One example is that when I mentioned being from Florida, I failed to realize that some kids don't even know where Florida is.

Questions

1) Would the use of the Veggie Tales Movie helped my lesson or deterred from it?

2) Did the kids see me as a substitute teacher, or a legitimate teacher?

Danny's Practicum Post #6

Hours this week= 3.5

After a crazy week several weeks ago, things got back to normal. I missed last week's class cause I was feeling sick, but what a blessing it was to come back to hugs and excitement from all the kids who missed me. Class went well, and Ms. Jessica informed me that next week I would be doing the teaching, so it was a pretty exciting week for me.

Today's lesson was out of the book of Job. A great thing that happened in the past couple weeks was that the leadership decided to purchase children's Bibles, so a good amount of the kids who don't usually pay attention, were attentive and listening today. Sha'Heem, who is usually shy, even opted to read for the group. The lesson was on the problems we all have, and almost every kid wanted to share. One exceptionally sad aspect of the sharing time though was the amount of kids who expressed sadness over their parents being in jail or dead. When I first started volunteering at Tuesday Church, I knew it would be a bit of a culture shock, but it had never been more real than it was tonight.

Another disheartening part of the night is that Shawnaia hasn't returned. Unfortunately, Ms. Jessica didn't remember if she was there last week, so there's a chance that she's missed 2 consecutive weeks after the incident.

Some of the questions that I had after this week were:

1) What can I do to meet some of the needs of these kids whose fathers are in jail or have passed on?

2) Why has the ReaLife leadership waited until NOW to get Children's Bibles?!?!?! It worked out SOOOOOO well!!!

Joey Bocook- Post 5

A. Time Commitment This Week
- 2 hours at group, ½ hour of response
B. Class this week
- This week Daniel, a class member, brought us his findings about how we can establish that Matthew was the author of the book of Matthew, and if his credibility is real. We discussed how we can find his credibility. Pastor Joe stated that the way we prove that Matthew was real and the author is that we cannot disprove those facts. He told us a story, which Dr. Bence also tells, about Saint Denys. He said why is this story more unbelievable than the story of the resurrection? They are both recorded by eye witnesses. So we talked about faith. This is how we come to believe that Matthew has credibility.
C. Questions
1. Does it matter that we cannot substantially prove Matthew the author of the Gospel?
2. Can we stand on faith alone?

Joey Bocook- Post 4...this somehow was deleted from blog

This is a substitute practicum. On Sunday nights, a small group gathers in my suite in the East Lodge. Nathan Miller taught and these are my observations from this night.

A. Time commitment
- 1 hour during the time and half an hour response
B. Class this week
- Nathan Miller, my R.A. and suitemate, taught out of a book called Crazy Love. He talked about how God is love and his love is so immense and deep that it is His character. His main points were that we as humans have been made in the likeness of God. So we should share this love that God has. However the conversation veered quickly when I spoke this phrase, “The bad thing is: Christians are no longer known for what they do. They are known for what they don’t do.” Here is the problem. Chris Collins pushed back and realized he had seen this in his own life throughout high school and since we have been in college. We are accustomed to living our life by a set of rules and viewing God as a ‘cosmic-kill-joy.’ As a group we decided that we must change this. Nathan continued and talked about his personal testimony and how he needs to change his motives. This was a powerful week.
C. Questions
1. What can Christians do about this identity that has come about?
2. Is it feasible to ask Christians in a class setting to embrace this “Crazy Love” and go out and actually give off “Crazy Love?”

Chris' Practicum Post #5

Hours this week- 1(Sunday School)

This week was interesting because our teachers were gone with their son. Their son has a problem with his eye and has had eye surgery. Anyway, we had a collaborated class with some of the seniors in high school and their teacher/youth minister. It was interesting to see the difference between a teacher from the high school level and our teachers who are used to dealing with college age students.

Our class is usually pretty student lead and student driven discussion. However, I could tell a big difference in the style of teaching this week. This week we had a much more example driven, less interactive class. It was a lot of the teacher talking about the topic and less about us relating and discussing our own lives. This is something that I think is super important for all to learn in leading Sunday School or any kind of teaching setting. There is obviously a difference in how one teaches high schoolers versus college aged students. I guess what I am saying is that based on the setting, the people, and the topics, there is always more than one way to do things correctly.

Another thing that I noticed was that when he did try to get people involved and engaged, he always went and called on the same group of people. If you are going to call on people to get them engaged, you need to do it with more than just a few of the class or else it becomes a discussion between the teacher and those few whom they are engaging. It leaves the rest of the class feeling “left out.” This did not help to keep the attention of the those whom were “left out” or keep them engaged so as to gain anything from the lesson. These are the things that I have learned this week in observing our class.

Questions for this week:

How do you know when the teaching style you are using is not working? At what point are you almost “required” to change how you teach? Is it when people begin to say that they are not “getting anything from class?”

Having a blended class was different. Is it a good idea to bring two completely different classes together as one? Especially different age groups?

Danny's Practicum Post #5

Hours this week= 4

Wowzers was last night a crazy night!!! The kids were off the wall!! I don't know if it's the fact that Fall Break is soon or what, but this was the most rambunctious I have ever seen them. Ms. Jessica had a terribly difficult time teaching tonight. The lesson was 1 John 2:25, God's Promise of Eternal Life. Unfortunately, it seems as if there was a ton of Spiritual Warfare going on this week, cause the kids would not pay attention, kids were fighting, and the 4th and 5th grade group had an incident which resulted in someone getting sent home. After the failed attempt at a lesson amongst the groups, all the leaders got together and spent about 30-45 minutes discussing what went wrong and then approaching the Lord in prayer.

Though I didn't quite get to see God working amongst the kids, He was definitely working amongst the leadership and in me, as I saw how He can turn something bad into something that will bring Him glory. Next week will be a better week. I think weeks like this are necessary for us to appreciate the good weeks.

This week, I intend on praying for Shawnaia, a 1st grade girl who got punched in the stomach by a 3rd grade boy. She left crying, and said she doesn't want to come back. She is one of the shyer, more timid kids in my class, and I really hope she gets an opportunity to learn more about God, despite the punk kids and Satan's tricks.

As we closed out this week, I had several questions:

1. What the heck got into the kids this week?!?!?!

2. When the Evil One is so clearly trying to ruin things, what's the best way to stay focused and positive?

Danny's Practicum Post #4

Hours this week= 2

I'm not quite sure if this would be considered a substitute practicum or not. I spoke to Ms. Jessica via Facebook about

not being able to attend ReaLife on Tuesday night due to having night class. She invited me to attend her Sunday School

class on Sunday Morning at Exit 59. I figured this was as good a week as any to attend, since it was Fall Break and I did

not have a ride to my usual church The River.

While sitting in on Ms. Jessica's Sunday School group (which was comprised of middle school aged kids) I could

see that her classroom management skills carried over into a different age group. The lesson was certainly deeper, yet

Ms. Jessica had a great way of still simplifying it to where I'm fairly sure a kindergarten student would understand 80-90%

of what she was teaching. I didn't really know any of the students in the classroom, but I could still see the different personality

mixes amongst them. One girl, who was named either Christine or Christina, was clearly the eager beaver of the group.

On nearly every question asked, her hand was raised anxiously in the air, ready to provide her insight into the topic at hand.

The lesson this week was on Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord,

not men" Most students in the class related this to their schoolwork, but a few took the subject matter deeper, and began applying it to other aspects of their life, including honoring their parents, striving for 100% in sports, and one boy whose name I never got a chance to learn, related it to his relationship with his girlfriend.

I had several questions as I left the group this week:

1. What exactly does Ms. Jessica do to make the material so accessible? How can I do that when I teach/lead?

2. How do these older students feel about Ms. Jessica and does that factor into their learning experience?

3. How long has Ms. Jessica been leading this group and does that impact how they learn from her and how effective she is?

Danny's Practicum Post #3

This is a substitute practicum. I spent the weekend doing RAM Camp and led one of the small breakout groups. I decided to use this as a substitute practicum in order to catch up to where I should be.

Total Time= 3 hours breakout time, 4+ hours preparation time

This past weekend was RAM Camp, an IWU Hosted event that is geared towards leadership development for High Schoolers. For the entire semester leading up to this weekend, we have been preparing for it in my Youth Evangelism and Discipleship class. Now that it's here, all of our hard work is going to be put into practice. All in all, I led three breakout sessions focusing on three things "Foundational Values" "Unique Design" and "Personal Mission."

The sessions were mainly discussion based with small excerpts that I prepared beforehand from Scripture as well as the Sermon preached during the Rally Session.

The first session was spent mostly getting acquainted with each other. We played some icebreaker games, and when we finished that, we began our discussion time. I asked my group of 9 High Schoolers what they were expecting out of their RAM Camp experience. My biggest discussion participators were Jillian, Jacob, Caleb, and David. Overall, the discussion went really well, and every single one of my group members participated and shared what they were hoping to experience this weekend as well as what they think defines someone as a leader.

The second session was cut short due to the extended Rally and altar call afterwards. The third session went incredibly well. Jacob shared how he felt called to ministry, and each one of my kids were excited to get back to their home church and start pouring out what they had experienced into the lives of their friends. At the end, I handed out a devotional that the Team Ops Leaders had prepared and had printed out. This Devotional takes them through 10 days after their RAM Camp experience. It encourages them, and challenges them to keep the fire burning.

Overall, this experience was incredible, and the teaching experience I had was unforgettable. My kids were attentive, they actively participated in discussion, and they kept the flow of the breakout sessions moving smoothly.

After this weekend, I have several questions:

1. What would be the best way to keep in touch with the students I built relationships with this past weekend?

2. How will we be able to measure the effectiveness of our teaching this past weekend?

3. How can we measure the effectiveness of the devotional that we handed out?

4. Though unconventional, is this an effective way to develop and build leaders?

Chris' Practicum Post #4

This is a substitute practicum because of RAM Camp. I was involved with that and could not make it to my church for this weeks class.

Time Spent this week: 1.5 hours

For my practicum this week, I went to the small group bible study at the lodges here on campus. One of my good friends was leading this week and our topic was loving God. We talked about how we are always coming up short in loving God the way that we should.

It was interesting to watch as people sat there for the “lesson.” One of my friends is always there and is always very quiet. He usually doesn’t say much during these bible studies. Yet, when we get to a point of discussion or have been discussing things for a time, he always asks a deep question. If you were to sit there and watch him throughout the time, he looks as if he is very disconnected and not engaged in the topic or the discussion. However, he is and always has some good question to ask. People like this are hard to get a read on sometimes. You cannot tell whether they are listening or if they could care less. I wonder sometimes if we should not try to engage these people into our conversations more or if we should leave them to learn and understand as they do best? This is something that I have seen more than just once.

In our high school class back in my hometown, there is one kid who always was very quiet and never really said much. Yet, when he did speak, it was usually way beyond the depth of thought of the rest of the class. Some people seem to learn best by just soaking it all in, like a sponge. While others have to be constantly asking questions and fidgeting around. There is always a very active participation when dealing with younger kids and youth, but there seems to be a distinctive difference when maturity starts to set in.

So, with that said, it brings me to my questions for this week.

1. Should we, as teachers/small group leaders, try to change how people learn? Or should we adapt our teaching styles to best accommodate these learning styles?

2. Should we even worry about making sure that people learn when they are there because they have the ultimate choice in what and when they learn?

3. How would we adapt our teaching if so needed? What could we do to make it more engaging?

Danny's Practicum Post #2

Hours this week= 3

This week's group seemed larger, but actually still hovered around 25 children. We experienced some difficulties during the lesson time. Though Ms. Jessica was doing an excellent job, the kids were a little wilder than usual. Corey kept trying to crawl under the tables and get up out of his chair, which seemed to cause the other children to become distracted.

The lesson this week was on 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins." Overall, I'd say the lesson went fairly well. Aside from the distractions, Ms. Jessica was able to get through the material as well as teach the kids who were interested. She truly has a knack for teaching to their level and explaining things in a way simple enough so that they understand the concept. Seeing the kids really get into it was great. At one point, Javion and Amari both seemed to be having a "knowledge battle." Between the two of them, they must have answered every single one of Ms. Jessica's questions, while also throwing in some wisdoms they clearly must have picked up at home or from a family member. At one point, Javion raised his hand and when called upon by Ms. Jessica, lifted his Bible in the air and said "This whole book tells me Jesus loves me."

The response in the group this week was better than the last. Over half the group of kids participated in the memory verse, and several of them continued to ask questions even when our time was up.

As we closed out this week, I had several questions:

1. What is the best way to deal with hyperactive children that would not distract the others

2. At such a young age, do these children really understand the fact that their decisions and sins affect others as well... and if not, do they really feel remorse for them or are they confessing simply out of obligation?

3. What can be done to encourage good behavior in the classrom?

Joey Bocook- Post 3

A. This week time commitment
- 2 hours, half hour of response time
B. Class this week
- This was my second week at Bella Café. Pastor Joe was intent on us figuring out the intricate details of Matthew’s account of his own calling by Jesus. We spoke about the time gaps that could have been in the passage. The biggest question that we faced was what to make of Matthew saying that Jesus came to his hometown. Zach, one of the class members, recalled that he thought Jesus’ hometown was in Nazareth. When in the account of Matthew, the calling of Matthew takes place in Capernaum. This led Pastor Joe into his subject for the night. What do we know? The problem with Christianity is that we, as Christians, are so un-learned of the Scriptures. We are called to defend our faith, yet we have no real knowledge. Daniel, another student, recalled that Jesus moved to Capernaum after the beheading of John the Baptist. Pastor Joe stressed to us the importance of knowing the details, because now, more than ever, people are attacking the credibility of the Bible. And we are the only ones able to defend.
C. Questions Raised
1. How can we bring those people in our churches into a better understanding and knowledge of the Scriptures?
2. Can we, practically speaking, have a class on finding the intricate details of Scripture? Would that even matter?

Chris' Practicum Post #3

Hours spent this week 4 (Sunday School=1, Worship= 2, Small group bible study=1)

This week we had one of our peers give us a rundown on what her experience has been with missions trips. It is part of the missions festival that Lakeview Wesleyan is putting on these next two weeks. Liz McClellan, a senior here at Indiana Wesleyan and daughter of Pastor Tim McClellan, has done a lot of overseas work and has experienced a huge amount of spiritual growth from these experiences. This goes to show that spiritual formation outside of the church is important. As she gave her experiences on her travels, the class seemed to be pretty interested because almost all of us had been on some kind of missions trip. It was interesting to see how the people interacted and related with Liz and amongst themselves. We were asked to talk in our groups about where we had seen the Church at work outside of the church building. A lot of people have seen the Church at work outside of the local church which is awesome. Over the course of the class, people were definitely interested in Liz’s personal testimonies of people’s lives that she had been a part of in the process of her travels. When it is something that everyone can relate to, it is much easier to keep their attention. She did a very good job of keeping people interested and getting them involved in the conversation. People in this class seem to be easy to keep interested in the topic, of course it is a college age class. Some people in this class seem to be very mature for their age and are able to talk about spiritual things and learn best when they are able to discuss and talk about their feelings on different subjects. Even the younger students, freshmen, are very attentive. People seem to learn best in this class when they are interactive. Those who sit and listen to a person talk for an hour often feel like it is another sermon that they are listening to. Learning happens best when those we are teaching can be involved more than just listening to someone talk at them.

Questions:

1.Would this same method of teaching, being interactive, be as effective in a setting with younger kids?

2. What are some creative ways that we can do more than just the small group discussion to get people involved?

Joey Bocook- Post 2

A. Time Commitment
- 1.5 hours in group, half hour of response
B. Class This Week
- This week I attended a Bible Study at Bella Café sponsored by Brookhaven Wesleyan Church. We studied Matthew 9, when Jesus called Matthew and said, “Come, follow me.” Our question in this story was, “Did Matthew really know what Jesus meant when Jesus said that?” “Did Matthew know Jesus?” The problem that we came too was that some things must be inferred from the writings in the Bible. Pastor Joe explained that the writers of the New Testament might not have understood fully, what happened first hand, but that when they wrote it down they did. This is how their theological framework came about in their writing. We examined, in parallel, the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We found that it was derived from a story of an old lady and three bears and was told to children so that they would stay away from the woods. Fast forward to our time, we have a cute story where the little girl lives happily ever after. The difference between that story and the Gospel is that the Gospel is truth. It is true. No doubt. What we were charged with to do for next week was to re-read Matthew chapter nine and find if there are any indication of time lapses. Because, what if before Jesus called Matthew, he had stayed in Nazareth for an extended period of time, met Matthew and then decided to call him? That is what next week will entail. The group was not very talkative. Six other people attended, including Pastor Joe’s wife. I felt as if I was the only one willing to speak up and share my opinion. But that is okay, because I like to do it.
C. Questions Raised This Week
1. Is it fair to say that, if Matthew decided to drop everything and follow Jesus then he knew exactly what Jesus meant by saying, “Come, follow me?”
2. Is it okay to read between the lines, so to speak, and draw our own conclusions? Or should we stick to learning from just the words on the pages?

Chris' Practicum Post #2

This is a substitute practicum. I was out of town for my sister-in-law’s wedding and did not get to go to my practicum here in Marion. I got together with a group of my closest friends for a bible study they have been doing for a few weeks now.

Hours this week=1.5 (Bible Study)

This week I was out of town and met with a small group of friends and we discussed some very good verses and what they meant to us. It was interesting to hear what different people thought about these verses. We are all at different places in our spiritual walks, but there were a lot of really good thoughts on these verses.

The guy who lead the group is an education major. He wants to be a high school teacher, so he will be teaching for a long time. It was interesting to see the way he taught and discussed the verses we were going over. He initially read the verse then gave an explanation of what truths he got from the verse for his own personal application. We also had some of the other members of the group share what truths they got from the verse. It was kind of like going around the room asking each individual, “what does this verse say to you?” This is not how I envisioned the discussion going, but it actually worked and got most of the group talking about the verse and what it meant to them.

It was interesting to observe the group and watch who was engaged and who was “spacing out.” As I looked around there were a few ministry majors in the room, five baseball players, and a total of thirteen people in the room. For the most part the baseball players were very engaged and participated in the discussion, with the exception of one. As we worked through the verses, he seemed to be “spacing out” more than anyone else. He never said a word and was never engaged in the discussion. This reminded me of the days when I was in my high school Sunday school class back home. There were always those who would never say a word, were only there because their parents made them go, and usually slept through the whole class time. So this brought me to my questions for the week:

1. How do you get people involved when they seem to only be there because of obligation?

2. How do you engage those people and, over time, get them to become a part of the group and share some of their thoughts?

3. Is there more than one right way to teach a lesson, either biblical or secular?

4. If the way one is teaching is not engaging everyone, should there be a change in how that person teaches?

Danny's Post #1

This week, I got the opportunity to meet a lot of the children in the classroom and get to know their names and a little bit about their personality. There were about 25 children in the class. There's definitely a wide array of personalities in this group. There's Corey and Michael, who seem to find it a statistical impossibility to sit still. There's Dora, Carmen, Leo, and Miguel, the soft-spoken and shy hispanic group of siblings. Then there are several eager learners in Savajia, Javion, Sha'Heem, and Amari.

The lesson this week was on Isaiah 49:16. "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" As Jessica, the "Master Teacher" I am observing, began the lesson, it took quite some time to get the kids settled down. Once they did though, for the most part, they were all ears. There were a few instances though where the kids attention was lost, and they all seemed to be after Jessica was speaking for too long without involving them. I noticed that even Javion, who always seems eager to answer questions, was zoning out.

My questions this Week:

What could have been done to keep the kids engaged in the lesson?

What do I want to get out of this entire experience?

What would be the best means to go about building a relationship with these children?

How can I help Jessica as she teaches?