St. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us, " to go . . .and teach all nations . . . to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." In the interest of Christian development and education, our church wants to understand specific needs of deciples within our congregration so we can set forth a plan that may bridge the gap between what Jesus told us to do and our actual performance. A survey will be given to give some tangible measurement of our decipleship status by focusing on our Church School organization. In trying to develop this questionnaire, we need recommendations about questions to ask our members. Any input is appreciated and certaintly a prayer answered.

God Loves You and So Do I

-- Anonymous, May 21, 1998

Answers

I understand what you are trying to do--measure the current status to see where you are and where you must teach. My experience has been that some members are reluctant to participate in surveys to measure thier status. I teach and during the sessions carefully observe the action and reactions of the students and adjusting my teaching to a mid-level to include all. Sometimes the gap is too big, but most of those who are advanced are patient while others are brought up to speed so to speak. In my study of the New Testament gospels, it appears that this is similiar to Jesus' teaching, for example, He would make a bold statement and gauge the reactions of His disciples "See these buildings. There shall not be one stone left on another that shall not be thrown down". He would also ask probing questions "Who do men say that I am?"--and then teach based on the reactions. I always try to let the Holy Spirit be the ultimate teacher. In communicating there are several variations of the message: 1) What the teacher said; 2) What the student heard; 3) what the teacher intended to say; 4) What the student wanted to hear; 5) What God wanted the teacher and the student to learn. That last item (5) is the work of the Holy Spirit. If the student and the teacher are truly seeking God, both of us will receive what God wants. As the new spelling bee Champion said, "Trust God and Work Hard". Hope this is helpful. God bless you in your work Rev. Alton Paris

-- Anonymous, May 30, 1998