Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Teaching in the Parish”
efore I go on to talk about using a print Bible, let me tell you something about my love for technology. I love my iPhone, iPads, computers, and the like. I’m on the Internet way too much. I’m one of those (sigh) Millennials; tech is part of my life. I’ve noticed something lately. People just don’t bring physical, print Bibles …
here do we start when teaching God’s Word in the parish? It seems a simple question. In reality, though, it’s not. We generally know where we want to go, but figuring out the best place to start can be a challenge. Search the Internet. Type “how to teach the Bible” into a search bar. If you do so, you’ll find a …
t’s Call Season in the LCMS. What a wonderful time of the year! It’s filled with eager anticipation from brand-new church workers of all kinds. DCEs, pastors, teachers, deaconesses, parish musicians, and the like all have a great future ahead of them. Their call will be to serve God’s people in His name with the Word of God. My first …
ver the last two posts, I have been trying to explain in simple terms what I’ve personally found most useful in my pursuit of teaching and learning. This post is intended to shed some light on where teaching and learning begin: with directing the learning focus. My prayer is that you’ll find refreshment in your ministry as you engage in the process …
n my last post, I began outlining a four-step framework for understanding the mechanics of teaching and learning for the parish. In this post, we continue our investigation by looking to the concept of the hourglass. When it comes to education, we always want to avoid the trap of simply trying to either cover material or do activities. Regardless of …
The Problem Years ago, I had to face the music. I just didn’t really know how to teach. I didn’t understand the mechanics of teaching and learning. Don’t get me wrong. I went to college and earned my Lutheran Teacher’s Diploma and then off to seminary to receive my Masters of Divinity. I had gone through the classes and learned all …
nyone with a young family understands the challenge of finding solid devotional material for the whole household. There are lots of fantastic options out there; don’t get me wrong. Personally, though, I struggled to find one that would work okay with my kids, who are in preschool and lower elementary school. Then, oddly enough, I found that it was right …
ible stories are unfortunately usually seen as the stuff of Sunday School, picture Bibles, and children’s messages. It’s true. A general bias I’ve seen from adults in the parish is that Bible stories are cute and may be good for teaching morality lessons, but they’re not all that relevant to us today. We say that Bible stories, much like fairy …
f you haven’t heard, there’s a new edition of the Synodical Explanation of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism that is being field-tested even as I write this. Plans call for it to be published by October 2017. This is fantastic! There will be a lot of discussion, much of it online, about how to approach and use the Catechism. It’s always …
—Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries and staff in an educational system around a shared goal. This makes sense on paper, but it is really difficult to achieve in reality. Moving toward greater alignment in the parish, however, can have a really big payoff in the end. Here’s why alignment is so important for parish education—and also a few tips for …
