This article by Tim Gossett was originally posted on February 13, 2009.

Is Christian Education just another interest?

Wangaari Maathai grew up on a farm in Kenya. When she left Kenya to attend college in America, she took with her memories of a country clothed in green, with many trees and clear streams filled with fish. Although she was only away for five years, she returned to a very different Kenya. Many of the trees had been cut down and replaced with farms to grow export crops; in places the land was barren. Small farms that had provided food for each family to live on now grew food to export and families bought most of their food from the store. The effects of erosion were evident in the muddied streams.

There are many ways in which Wangaari could have responded to the changes in her native country. The inspiring story of the path she chose is told in the book, Planting the Trees of Kenya, by Claire A. Nivola.

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I introduced the idea of beginning a writing group at your church. If you have a writing group already at your church, or if you are planning on starting one, I’d be interesting in hearing about your experience and sharing it with our readers. You can post a comment below, or send us an email. As promised, I have four more writing activities that would be appropriate for use in a writing group. If you have other ideas for writing activities, send me those as well, and I will share them in a future article (giving you credit, of course).

This article by Tim Gossett was originally posted on February 24, 2009. It remains an important and relevant topic.

Talking with Youth about Sexting

I recently had a discussion with a youth Sunday School teacher concerning his frustration with how youth Sunday School was going. He was out of ideas about how to engage the youth and maintain their interest and attention. During our discussion, he admitted that the activities the class had done consisted mostly of presentation of a topic and discussion, with an occasional video thrown in. This didn’t surprise me. First of all, I know this teacher well, and these methods are his preferred learning styles. (I don’t fault him or any teacher for favoring activities that appeal to his or her learning methods. It is a natural tendency, but one of which we must be aware.) Secondly, many youth and adult classes use these methods of learning.

Today I offer a quartet of short poems. I hope that one or more of them bless you on your journey.

Self-talk

Creative
Imaginative
Wonderful
Amazing
Loved, loveable and loving
Created in God’s image
Always remember

Today's guest blogger is Rev. Dawn B. Young, Ed.D., the Director of Christian Education for the Louisiana Conference.

Certainly as citizens of the United States, and probably as Protestant citizens of the United States, we tend to have this deep seated rebellion against “rules.” Personally, I profess to a desire to be aware of all the ins and outs of all the rules and laws about which I can possibly gain information. Because, for me, it is in knowing the rules that I know where I can bend, maybe break them. We almost have an inborn sense of not wanting rules, or at the very least believe that the rules only apply to others. And then there is the Rule of St. Benedict. Why would someone with an acknowledged joy in rule manipulation develop such a pronounced pleasure in a Rule? The answer is as simple, and as complex, as the Rule itself. It is a way, a means to live your life as a Christian.

When I lead a women’s retreat, I congratulate the participants for being there – for taking the time and spending the money to give themselves the gift of retreat time. (My experience is with women’s retreats, but I believe that everyone benefits from retreat time, regardless of gender.) Although we may long for time away, either alone or with a group, for renewing our spirit, it is difficult for us to make it a priority. And yet, Jesus himself modeled for us the importance of retreat.

I'll keep this short and simple today: I know you have questions related to technology and Christian education or ministry, and I'd like to know how we can best help you. Do you struggle with email overload? Can't figure out how to hook up one gadget to another? Struggling with understanding social networking? Wish you knew how to stay on top of pop culture? Longing to integrate the web into your classrom environment but don't know just how to do that? Whatever your question is, please leave a comment. I'll be answering them (or finding someone who can) in upcoming weeks.

The public library is one of the best resources available to a Christian educator. In fact, there are so many good reasons to use your local library that I think it's worth scheduling a weekly or bi-weekly time to work from there, as I do most weeks. (My wife, though, firmly believes our library needs to have a smaller limit on the number of items one can have checked out!) Here are some of the reasons I hang out there so frequently.