A recent study on online education found that students do better, on average, when they learn online instead of in face-to-face situations. So does that mean you should ditch your classrooms, small groups, and youth group and just do all of your education online?

Of course not. We all know that there are many, many benefits to face-to-face learning, such as...

• Developing emotional intelligence. We need to physically be with people to better grow in our skills of empathy, listening, and compassionate caring.
• Healthy touch. In our germ-phobic, safety-obsessed, fingertip-friendly world, we simply don't come into physical contact with others very frequently. Our education settings can be places where persons can receive healthy touches.
• A more green setting. Computers, like it or not, are the cause of a LOT ofgreenhouse gasses, environmental destruction, and even war. A church classroom can provide a more environmentally friendly learning experience.
• Being together as the body of Christ. Online, it's easy to associate with only your close friends or those with similar interests and to "see" you only as a person with a profile. In person, we have the opportunity to get to know one another as whole persons of God. 
• Mentorship. While there are many things I can certainly learn online, often I can learn them much faster when someone is there beside me to give feedback, demonstrate techniques, and assist me.
• Spiritual practices. The corporate nature of worship, service, prayer, and other disciplines is hard to replicate online effectively.

Parents in progressive congregations often wonder how (and even whether) to talk about scripture to their children. Some of them may have moved away from the literalistic views they heard or learned in their previous congregations but don't feel confident speaking in a "different voice" yet. Others may wonder about ways to talk about the Bible that are appropriate for children.

Here is a list of talk points I gave to a parenting class once to help us engage in a conversation about reading the Bible at home with children. Feel free to adapt and expand them - turn them into a handout, print them in a newsletter, provide them to teachers, and so on. (Crediting DifferentVoice.com is always appreciated!)

Choosing curriculum for children, youth or adults can be a difficult task. Hopefully, a lot of thought goes into which curriculum best meets the needs of those who will be using it. Once a curriculum is chosen, however, there is a tendency to then use the curriculum “as is”. Many teachers do not feel comfortable modifying lessons. This is an acceptable approach if you have discovered a curriculum that perfectly matches your beliefs, teaching style and the needs of those in the class. To determine whether your curriculum is a good fit for your church, ask it some questions.

The beginning of a new Sunday School year is a good time to remind teachers about the importance of learning the names of all the students in their class. It seems like a small thing, but regardless of our age, we all appreciate it when someone remembers our name.

In addition to the Sunday School teachers knowing class members’ names, it is important for class members to know one another’s names. Again, this is often something we take for granted. However, it takes repetition to learn names and often, this is overlooked among other Sunday School activities. Children and youth, especially, I have found, will participate in a group without being concerned that they do not know everyone. (Four weeks into last school year, my 15 year old son still did not know his locker partners name. This did not seem to concern him…)

It never fails. As soon as I plan a Teacher Training Event for Sunday School teachers, one of the teachers approaches me and asks, “Is it really necessary that I come to this meeting?” The reasons that they seek to be excused vary from, “I have taught Sunday School for 25 years,” to “I don’t want to come to another meeting.” No matter which words they use, I hear the underlying question, “What’s in it for me?”

I’m guessing that anyone who has planned a Teacher Training Event has had this same experience. I’d be interested in hearing how you respond. (You can leave a comment here.) I respond by informing the teacher that he or she is an adult and must make the decision about whether or not to attend. (I refuse to give anyone permission to miss the Teacher Training Event.) Then I follow up with reasons I believe his or her attendance would be beneficial.

As the end of July approaches, a Christian Educator’s thoughts turn to Fall Sunday School, which entails ordering curriculum, recruiting Sunday School teachers and scheduling a teacher training event. Of those three things, the first two must be done, but it may be tempting to leave out teacher training or postpone it until life is less busy. (And when would that be?) I encourage you to resist this temptation. A teacher training event can be a helpful and positive way to equip your teachers for a new Sunday School year.

Here are some “back-to-basics” essentials that may be included in a beginning of the year teacher training event. Note that I have avoided calling it a teacher training meeting. Few of us want to attend another meeting!

In last week's Monday blog/email, I suggested you reflect on two images or metaphors of the youth ministry leader: counselor, and coach. In general, the coach imagery is probably better for most youth leaders. Today I'll share with you a 4-step process a coach-like leader might use in his or her ministry: Prepare - Act - Reflect - Return.

A great coach makes use of each of these four elements in his or her job and expects that the players will make them a regular part of their experience, too. Players learn fundamentals, watch films of practices or games, study play books, do their strength training and conditioning, and so on. All of this comes together during the game, as an athlete does what they are trained to do. As Dennis Waitley, a sports psychologist who has worked with many US Olympians has said, Olympians don't try to win when they compete; they already know how. Instead, they simply repeat what they have practiced time and time again. Afterwards, they will study video footage to further improve their technique, then return to play again.

We too can follow this pattern in our ministry with youth.

Are the youth ministry leaders in your congregation blessed with a meaningful image for their ministry? By that I mean, what is the dominant "picture" you want them to have of their ministry role, and is it an expressive one? Two common ones are youth leader as counselor and as coach.

The term counselor is a common one at many summer camps (where the relationship is short-term), but it may not be the one you want to use in your congregation. Many youth associate the term with school guidance counselors or therapists, and the youth leader who thinks of herself as a "Youth Counselor" may understand her dominant role to center around listening, giving advice, or helping youth deal with personal problems. All of these are certainly elements of the youth leader's ministry, and a good youth leader will want to develop her skills in attentive listening, asking thoughtful questions, and assisting youth to make good choices. However, unless a leader is a professional, "counseling" youth can easily cross emotional boundaries and lead to an abuse of power if leaders try to "fix" youth or get too close to the youth.

A child comes bursting out of the Sunday School classroom proudly waving tissue paper flowers in one hand. “Look what I made!” the child exclaims. The parent responds with suitable admiration.

At lunch that day, with the tissue paper flowers residing in a place of honor on the table, the parent asks, “Why did you make tissue paper flowers in Sunday School today? What was the lesson about?”

“I don’t know,” is the reply, accompanied by a shoulder shrug.

I've had food on my mind lately, and not just because I'm counting calories. When you live in a state dominated by agriculture, it's hard to avoid the topic. Conversations about the state of the crops fill the noon hour on the radio (did you know that global warming may be reducing wind speeds, which in turn causes crops to overheat?), and the two CSAs I belong to give me weekly opportunities to connect with people who are passionate about local food.

But the primary reason I'm thinking about food is that I'm leading a team that is planning an event called, "All Ames Eats Together." The idea came about when the fundraising committee of an assistance organization in my town started talking about the dip in donations that happens this time of year. Since we give out Healthy Food Vouchers, we are aware that talking about healthy food is very important when thinking about poverty issues. And indeed, any community that talks incessantly (as Ames does) about "progress" towards a new mall, if the city should buy up houses to add turn lanes at a major intersection, and whether or not to cut recess and art from the school schedule certainly should engage in a vigorous conversation about the most basic topic around: food security.