Back to school: teachers' workshop

Many of us were trained to teach monologically; this was presented as the "Biblical" way of teaching. E.g. in Acts 20:7 one might get the impression that Paul soliloquized so long that Eutychus fell asleep and out the window!

Some people monologue rather well…

The verb dialegeto, however, is variously translated as “spoke” (NIV), “began talking” (NASB), “kept on talking,” “dialogued” (Birkey, 54), or “conducted a discussion” (BAGD, 185).

F.F. Bruce (425) comments, "A conversation rather than an address is indicated, a 'sermon' in the etymological sense of the word (Lat. sermo, 'conversation')."

Birkey (56) reminds, “We must not forget that the New Testament ideas of Christian education are built upon a ‘Hebrew model’ of the Old Testament, which placed the responsibility in the locus of home life (cf. Deut. 6:1-9),” the head of the household informally teaching those under his roof. Also in the Hebrew tradition, rabbis were known for their Q&A approach to teaching.
So some GBIM Europe teammates went back to school, sort of, to explore dialogical, interactive teaching.

(Note: We began gift-based workshops a few years ago to hone our skills and cultivate the gifts the Spirit has given us. Other workshops this year: apostolic, shepherds' and evangelists'.)

Susie, Tom, David, Roy, Scott, John & Louise
November 2008 Teachers' Workshop - Dublin, Ireland

Tom in action

Organizer Tom Barlow had us read articles on dialogical teaching and Günter Krallmann’s book, “Mentoring for Mission.”

He also asked us to share interactively on one of the following:

• What is the sermon you remember the best? Why?
• What person had the greatest impact on your Christian growth? What made their impact so powerful?
• Who is the person you have impacted the most? What methods did you use? What are the signs of your impact?
• What methods did Jesus use to teach / influence others?

Was the workshop helpful? Here are a few teammates comments:

I just want you to know that I had one of the best workshop experiences with all of you this past week! What a joy it was to be able to hear and glean from your rich experiences. Thank you all so much for letting God use you in my life this past week! God is using you in the European body of Christ to help me to grow. What a fantastic week!!! Thank you all so VERY MUCH! And Tom, Thank you for leading us in this great experience.
...

Let me add my thanks and appreciation to all of you for your part in making for a super experience during our days together in Dublin. Special thanks to Tom for creating an atmosphere in which everyone could feel free to share openly.
...

I will add my kudos and appreciation to the teammates who were [in Dublin] last week. It was a great time together and to experience some of what we were talking about, i.e. "withness". Great job, Tom, for prompting us and spurring us on. I am still trying to figure out which of the cats in the cat-herder clip I seem most like.

Some highlights that I mentioned in my presentation from Günter Krallman's book, Mentoring for Mission.

Spend quantities of quality time together
The “essential with-ness principle.” (19)

Mark 1:14 “that they might be with him.” (52-53)

“On the basis of such with-ness he generated a dynamic process of life-transference which was meant to foster wholistic maturity in his friends.” (13)

Consociation - togetherness
“Hence he made the experience of his with-ness the pivot of their training. 'Jesus had no formal curriculum'… no classroom syllabus. Instead, he called his disciples to be with him.” (53)

Coleman, “Truth was not taught in abstract doctrines or regulations; it was caught in the experience of their shared life.” (53)

“He first majored on making friends and only later on sending out apostles (Mk 3:14).” (55)

Discipleship
"The favorite image and the technical term Jesus chose for this action-charged procedure was ‘to follow’ (Greek akoloutheo) him as Master. He viewed discipling as life-transference through the channel of relationship, and not a mere intellectual absorption of certain theoretical precepts." (57)

Priority people come first
“Jesus made himself more readily available to them than to anyone else (Mk 9:30-31), took a special interest in their understanding of his teaching and mission.” (54)
“The time which Jesus invested in these few disciples was so much more by comparison to that given to others that it can only be regarded as a deliberate strategy.” (54)