Some Coffee Conversation
Today I'm hanging out at Panera trying to give the rest of my afternoon to some much needed prep for a few responsibilities on my plate for an upcoming Spring Break conference we take our students on every year.
Somewhere along the line I agreed to do the intro at the beginning of the week on how to meet with Christ. My responsibility is to "cast the vision for the value of a PERSONAL walk with God...and how to communicate with Him."
What seemed initially like something that was right up my alley -- I love to help people discover relationship with Christ -- now seems a little daunting! As I've been sitting here pondering this journey in my own life, I feel humbled by this task. I mean, what does that look like really?
So, I'm asking you -- How do you do this? What does relationship with Jesus look like for you?
The coffee's poured. The comfy seats in my little corner are ready. Anyone have any ideas?
Somewhere along the line I agreed to do the intro at the beginning of the week on how to meet with Christ. My responsibility is to "cast the vision for the value of a PERSONAL walk with God...and how to communicate with Him."
What seemed initially like something that was right up my alley -- I love to help people discover relationship with Christ -- now seems a little daunting! As I've been sitting here pondering this journey in my own life, I feel humbled by this task. I mean, what does that look like really?
- How do you communicate relationship with Jesus?
- How do you cast a vision for an outcome that happens as a result of yes, doing some specific things to engage in pursuit – reading the Word, prayer, meditating on Scripture, journaling, etc. – and yet is so much more than those specifics?
- How do you share a picture for the transformation that is sure to happen when someone encounters real, live, up close and personal relationship with Christ?
- How do you paint a picture of the Person you’re trying to probe and how do you communicate the process of allowing Him to do the same to you?
So, I'm asking you -- How do you do this? What does relationship with Jesus look like for you?
The coffee's poured. The comfy seats in my little corner are ready. Anyone have any ideas?
posted by Blythe Lane @ 1:45 PM
10 Comments:
Ideas...no. Thoughts...yes.
This spring is my second semester teaching Human Geography. One of our sections is on Religious Geography (Geogrpahy of Religion, if you prefer). We discuss the origin of the major world religions, how they spread, and core beliefs.
In such a setting, I discovered last semester just how difficult it can be to summerize what it means to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior in five minutes or less (with obvious limitations to my presentation). It was a good learning experience.
This semester it went much more smoothly.
1 P 3:15
By
The Bearded, at
March 02, 2006 2:32 PM
A "Religious Geography" class...that sounds very interesting! Yes, what a large task to share "relationship with Christ" versus "religion" in a secular setting (I'm assuming you're teaching in a secular setting?).
Did any of your students ask followup questions? What made it go more smoothly this semester?
By
Blythe Lane, at
March 02, 2006 3:20 PM
you always write /blog about how when you were having time with God this morning, blah, blah, blah usw. or you were just reading somethingorother in your quiet time, etc. so i think you have EXACTLY what we wanna hear-- you do encounter and interact with and meet with in a personal way with him, right?
maybe how and what exactly to bring across is your question? but i'm all ears. c u next weekend!
By
martha, at
March 02, 2006 4:30 PM
Yeah, I guess I'm asking what relationship with Jesus looks like for you...how would you cast a vision of relationship with Jesus?
By
Blythe Lane, at
March 02, 2006 5:37 PM
what about some stories:
* abraham welcoming the Lord
* God talking to Moses like a friend - "they're YOUR people, Lord"
* Jesus and woman at the well
* Jesus and the woman talking about crumbs to dogs
these are ways that Jesus/God was way outside the norm, outside the "have a great quiet time" mentality. it's like that for me - more personal, more conversational, more out-of-the-ordinary.
make mine a caramel latte and a banana-pecan bagel, please...
By
Rick, at
March 02, 2006 10:15 PM
What made it go more smoothly? Focusing on the golden rule of teaching: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!).
Last semester I tried explaining everything from Isiah to the Trinity and left my students dazed and confused (thankfully, only 8 in the class). This semester I have roughly 100 and realized I needed to simplify the Christian presentation (espcially when compared with the 4 Noble Truths or 5 Pillars).
I used the following:
We are all sinners and sin separates us from God.
Jesus died and rose from the dead as a sacrifice for all humanity.
Faith in the life and works of Jesus leads to eternal life.
Although I didn't recieve any follow-up questions, I did notice that a couple of Believers in the class were smiling from ear-to-ear as I was presenting.
It's a long semester...who knows what may take place?! It's rather humbling how the Lord has used me in this position. Students have come to know Christ in the past and I'm praying that a miracle takes place again this semester.
And yes...I do teach in a secular setting.
By
The Bearded, at
March 03, 2006 12:46 AM
Blythe, great question. I may post more than this later, but here are my quick thoughts. I think my relationship with Jesus looks much like blogging. Actually, think of ANY relationship...and I do mean ANY...and you will have a picture of how God and man/woman are to relate. Blogging is opening up space to share thoughts and feelings...flat out who you are. Then, others read, sometimes respond...sounds like relationship to me. Hmmm. What if we decided to call quiet times something like God Blog or Facing God through facebook....lots of ideas.
By
alethea, at
March 03, 2006 11:43 AM
Ok-- got ya. me personally? well maybe I'd show the scene from "You've Got Mail" --they're sitting on this bench drinking something and Meg ryan's character exchanges dribble about what the mystery man's email address could mean, and later says: "157 (or whatever the nr. was!) insights into my SOUL!" and he responds, "well, there's no competing with THAT!"
like God is the ultimate email pal or instant messenger and always on line. and he DOES have these incredible insights... but you sometimes get hurt by them, or convicted, or feel hugged. hopefully mostly guided and feeling loved! and then imagine, you get to drink COFFEE with him LIVE (there's your fav word in that sentence!)... your dreams come true-- he's for real and you get to meet Him-- the living God-- encounter of the close kind!
By
martha, at
March 03, 2006 6:03 PM
live it out-- sit on the stage in a comfy chair and with your cup of coffee and journal and bible. ??
for me, it's like talking to myself a bit-- like i have this voice inside my head and all day i have a conversation with God, shooting up prayers and ideas and wishes for myself and others-- that's the informal side of relating to God for me; or listening to my i-shuffle and saying "YES" in my heart to a worship song i'm humming.
By
martha, at
March 03, 2006 6:07 PM
Yeah, I actually thought about sitting on the stage in the comfy chair and doing the whole nine yards...as I've been praying about it, the Lord brought to mind that first time my freshman year in college where relationship became real to me...thinking about sharing along those lines...we'll see. Always a little bit vulnerable to share the personal stuff -- and yet, it seems that the personal is what seems to speak to hearts, you know?
By
Blythe Lane, at
March 03, 2006 9:30 PM
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