This cluster of questions focuses on ways to engage biblical texts and various biblical metaphors and narratives in learning.

One of the key elements of supporting learning community in Christian contexts is helping people attend to the stories of God’s relationship with human beings, and God’s action in wider Creation. One of the most important sources of those stories is the Bible. Sometimes this learning goal gets reduced to simplistic slogans like “increase biblical literacy.” But I think what we’re actually aiming for is something much richer and more nourishing than mere literacy. I think what we want, what religious educators work towards, is a way of being in relationship with the Bible that involves integrating not only concrete stories from that sacred text into our lives, but also allowing deeper questions and challenges that emerge from the text to question us.

The goal of this cluster is to work on how to draw on biblical texts to shape learning goals, and how to allow learning goals to be shaped by biblical texts. You can go at this task in a variety of ways, but try to answer at least the following questions about the “text” for the week (by “text” I mean the situation, vignette, video clip, or other set of pieces I’ve put at the center of our focus).

1. Start with how, if at all, the Bible is present in the week’s focus situation. What kinds of biblical texts, what biblical metaphors, what stories and characters, are present?
2. Then think about whether there are any other texts that come to mind for you in relation to this situation. Sometimes biblical texts may emerge in a snippet of a hymn that wafts across your consciousness, or through a line in a prayer you find yourself saying. Other times you might consider what the lectionary is offering for a given week, and whether there are any connections to be drawn.
3. Once your group has brainstormed some responses to these two questions, start to think about what the people in the focus situation might be learning about God through the biblical texts present. Please note: just because a specific text is explicitly mentioned does not mean that the people present are learning something useful or credible about it. Some of the focus situations I’ll use in this class are actually examples of problematic uses of the Bible. Given what they’re learning, do you want to reinforce it? Or are there contrasting messages or ideas you’d like to present?
4. Next, search out at least five resources that offer useful materials that relate in some way to the biblical learning challenges of this focus situation. You can find such materials in the assigned books for this class. You can look for additional resources online. You can ask your trusted colleagues and church mentors for ideas. You can go to a resource center for ideas. The point is to find and share with your colleagues additional resources that would assist in leading learning around this focus situation. Perhaps you’ve identified a biblical text you think you could work with in relation to this situation. Find the text online, and then find additional resources to use with it – perhaps images, perhaps a curriculum unit someone else has created, perhaps an exercise or craft activity. The point is to help you explore the biblical questions, the biblical stories, the biblical issues that arise for your group in this situation.
5. As the “next to last” question, consider how biblical texts emerge in relation to this week’s “Greek learning” term. In other words, in relation to either koinonia, didache, kerygma, leiturgia, and diakonia. (You can find these words explained more fully in the Maria Harris text which is required for this class.)
6. Finally, compose a summary of your deliberation and post it to the course blog for this week’s focus situation.

Possible useful sites for finding resources include: lectio divina / the St. John’s bible / the ATLA image databank / FeAutor / WorkingPreacher.org / great children’s books at your local library