Do Something Meaningful This Christmas Season

Every year churches offer people the chance to fund poinsettias to decorate the sanctuary. They look lovely, impressive, and then what do you do with them once the season is over?

As nice as a lovely sanctuary is that can be a problem because we have taken the focus off the reason for the season just so we enjoy the season more. Too often we think of our comfort, our needs  and take our minds - and hearts - off of our purpose to be hope and light to our mission field.

So, instead of buying pots of short lived flowers, why not do one or more of these things as the church focuses on the coming of Jesus Christ - -

• Hold a special community meal with such funds. Everyone gets a small gift.
• Fund a visitor/coffee station that will provide welcome and a meeting place all year long. Fill it with nice welcome bags to greet visiting guests all year long.
• Provide needed supplies, food, or clothing to local shelters who work with battered families, homeless or other special needs groups. 
• Send a year's support to orphanages or facilities to sponsor at least one child or person.
• Fund one or more outreach efforts for the coming year.
• Establish or add to an emergency fund for use by and in the community
• Pick a needed area in the congregation or church that needs attention and fund its upkeep or refurbishment so that ministry will go on.

Set up a bare tree and add symbols only as these active steps of outreach, love, concern, and mission are taken up by people in the church.

Then, after all those significant and meaningful steps are taken, enjoy the beautiful season of the coming of the Savior....and the warm joy of sharing that news in real and tangible ways.

Talk with your pastor and church members about expanding horizons as holidays approach.  Find the reason for the season and celebrate in such a way that  the mission and purpose of the faith are moved forward.

INCLUDING YOUTH IN THE LAY SERVANT MINISTRIES EQUATION

Churches often bemoan the fact that they lose their youth in their teens and college years. No amount of parties, outings and fun stuff seems to keep them around. What to do? What to do?

The simple truth is that youth - especially the intelligent and socially aware - of today have a hunger for significance in their life.  They are of an age when they see the unfairness of life and want to do something. They feel caught between the freedom of coming years and the chains that keep them connected to their childhood.

It seems to me that the answer might be to begin to engage these youths in significant areas of the local church: liturgists, ushers, greeters, committee members, speakers, teachers. The Basic course of the Lay Servant Ministries program would introduce them to the principles of servant ministry, faith development, and active faith living. The training would set them apart so mature people knew they had some knowledge of what they were doing. Advanced courses would make them Certified Lay Servants and establish some habits of disciple based living and serving to last a lifetime.

Most of all, they could be engaged in actively seeing needs and crafting responses of ministry to those needs. Their energy and passion would enthuse others and generate engagement and support.

Imagine Sunday mornings with youth prominently leading the proceedings. They are the future of the Church and they are workers who must carry the Gospel to a new generation. That means changes as they craft a church to meet the needs of the coming years. We can do that in love, support, and friendship or we can drive them out of the church with our unwillingness to release the reins and allow new things to emerge.

What is the best choice?

Training the Trainers: An Opinion

One of the exciting aspects of the Lay Servant Ministries training is the opportunity it provides for PEER TRAINING.  Peer Training is basically a system of being trained by those who have been trained. They utilize training materials, follow course outlines, and work toward established outcomes for the training. No training - clergy led or lay led- will be effective if it's ill planned, unfocused, and have no clear steps to achieve a specific goal.

Many conferences and districts still engage clergy as the facilitators of training but who better to communicate with laity than impassioned, dedicated and trained laity? Some subjects may benefit from the clergy serving as instructor but most can be handled most adequately, and sometimes better, when led by a lay person.

In general laity need enough grounding in the church to understand its history, beliefs, organization and mission.

Beyond that there is a need for components of training opportunities on working with church leaders ( influencing people for participation and involvement, servant leadership principles, peaceful negotiations, being a change agent for mission and discipleship making).

There is a need for skill mastery in practical areas of serving as worship leader, liturgist, ushers, song leader, and, as needed, speaker (faith story sharing, devotions and sermons) and use of the Bible.  We should stop calling faith sharing a 'sermon' because that is frightening to so many people!  What we should do is return to the term of 'Witness' as it was used in previous generations. No, not that door to door cold call sales person approach, but the way early Methodists simply shared the way God was revealed daily through a myriad of ways. 

Long ago Christians rose in service to give their 'testimony' of what God was doing in their life and for them. People need to hear that witness of lived faith and daily walking with God. Our problem is that, often, we do not have any daily witness to God in our lives to share! What draws people to Christ is the vibrant, joyful, and hope filled sense that in Christ they too will have a story to live and to share.

Going further there is a need for enhancing skills through spiritual growth, team building, community outreach and mission.

• Good training will always be structured ( a clear purpose, route to achieve that purpose, and a neatly defined end).
• Good training will always set good standards for both delivery of training and outcome in the participant.
• Good training will be repeatable. Training need not be 'word-for-word' but the essential points and principles should be consistent from training to training.
• Good training should be measurable, in other words it should be able to be assessed (demonstrations of knowledge through answers to questions in discussions, demonstrations of skills observed through activity such as delivering a devotion, leading a prayer, reading the scripture, etc.
• Good training should not demand more in cost, time or effort than the position requires. In other words a volunteer, non-salaried person should not be required to invest in costly and numerous trainings. Similar learning experiences should be acceptable to meet training needs, similar to how some organizations accept CEU's over the course of a year. This would broaden opportunities, cut costs, and if used in some areas -such as recertifications - highly improve the experience.

This article on 6 Tips For Teaching Adults is a valuable read.

Key Goals for Each Lay Speaker Track Course Subject

SCOPE & SEQUENCE FOR REQUIRED SUBJECTS FOR CERTIFIED LAY SPEAKER

Subject	Specific Title as of 2019	Key Concepts
Basic Course	* Jackson and Jackson. An Introduction to Lay Servant Ministry. Guide and Student book. UpperRoom.org	·         Introduction to the ‘ministry of all believers’ ·         Exploring servant leadership ·         Role of laity in the church and Methodism; working as a team; ·         lay servants as intentional, trained and enthused leaders ·         lay servants as role models for discipleship and mission ·         Serving in areas of care, worship and leadership in the church.
Prayer	·         *Debra R. Tyree, Leading Public Prayer. Leader’s Guide (.pdf). ·         Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher. Shaping the Prayers of the People: The Art of Intercession. Participant’s book. ·         *Leading Public Prayer for Lay Leaders (online Course) ·         Lawrence Hull Stookey. Let the Whole Church Say Amen! Participant’s book.	·         Introduces the basic principles of leading public prayer ·         Introduces variations of public prayer for wider use in church and outside the church ·         Introduces resources for written prayers, for crafting spontaneous prayers, and for leading others in participative prayers ·         Challenge participant to think beyond preconceptions of style, voice, and settings to enrich both public and personal prayer life
Spiritual Gifts	·         *William J. Carter. Discover your spiritual gifts (Revised).Leader’s Guide (PDF) ·         William J. Carter. Each One a Minister. Participant’s Guide. ·         **Charles V. Bryant. Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts (Online Course) ·         Charles V. Bryant. Your Spiritual Gifts Inventory. ·         Patricia D. Brown. Spiritual Gifts Participant’s Workbook.	·         Introduction to the Biblical concept of spiritual gifts and their foundational role in the church’s mission ·         What it means to be a spiritual leader ·         Helps in identifying personal gifts in self and others ·         Utilizing and maximizing spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church and its ministry
Worship	·         *Taylor Burton-Edwards. Leading Worship. Leader’s Guide. ·         Hoyt Hickman. Worshiping with United Methodists (Revised). Participant’s book. ·         Taylor Burton-Edwards. Planning Worship. Leader Book. ·         Marcia McFee. The Worship Workshop: Creative Ways to Design Worship Together. Participant’s Book. ·         *Your Ministry of Leader Worship 101 (Online Course)	·         Introduction to the styles, methods, procedures, and forms used in UMC Worship ·         Introduction to the Hymnbook, liturgy, lectionary, online sources, and creative innovations. ·         Practical training for lay persons who assist in leading worship occasionally or regularly in a group or congregation ·         Introduction to the principles and practice of worship planning for those who may be called on to plan worship occasionally or regularly
Polity	·         Beth Galbreath. Life Together in the United Methodist Connection. Leader’s Guide. ·         Thomas Edward Frank. Polity, Practice, and the Mission of the Methodist Church. Participant’s Guide or ·         Laceye C. Warner. The Method of our Mission. Participant’s book.	·         Introduction to the structure and organization of the UMC ·         Introduction to key principles of the UMC : Connectionalism, Itinerancy, accountability
Heritage	·         Kenneth L. Carter. Living our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way. Participant book. ·         George Hovanes Donigian. Living Our United Methodist Beliefs. Leader’s Guide. ·         Living Our United Methodist Beliefs (Online Course via www.beadisciple.com/lay-servant-ministries) ·         Steve Harper. Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition. ·         Anita Ownes Fenstermacher. Grow Spiritually Through Daily Discipline. Leader’s Guide 9.pdf) ·         Devotional life in the Wesleyan Tradition. (online course) ·         Steven W. Manskar.  Accountable Disciples. Participant’s book. ·         Steven W. Manskar. Becoming Accountable Disciples.  (Revised) Leader’s book. ·         Steven W. Manskar.  Class Leaders. Leader’s Guide. [Has pre-requisite of Accountable Discipleship] ·         David Lowes Watson. Class Leaders: Recovering a Tradition. Participant’s Book. [Has pre-requisite of Accountable Discipleship] ·         Henry H. Knight and F. Douglas Powe, Jr. Transforming Evangelism. Participant’s Guide.   Henry H. Knight and F. Douglas Powe, Jr.  Lead in Evangelism. Leader’s Guide	·         Introduction to the special gifts of theology, witness, and organization that the UMC brings to the church universal ·         Introduction to the basics of Wesleyan theology and its heritage in the areas of prayer, scripture, vital personal devotional/spiritual life, the ‘means of grace’, and service and proactive discipleship ·         Introduction to the basics of the evangelistic roots of witness, mission, and outreach in the Wesleyan tradition ·         How we got where we are today ·         How our distinctive emphases on theology, witness, and organization are needed today
Preaching	·       *Dawn Chesser. Called to Preach. Leader’s Guide (.pdf) *F.*Clifton F. Guthrie. From Pew to Pulpit. Participant’s book. ·         *Tony Franks and David Carroll. From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering Effective Sermons. Leader’s guide. ·         *Tony Franks and David Carroll. From Your Heart to Theirs: Delivering Effective Sermons. Participant’s guide.	·         Introduction to the basics of communication through sermons addresses, and devotions. ·         Introduces the common forms of preaching: exegetical, topical, children’s ·         Emphasis on reducing anxiety and helping participant in delivering clear messages with confidence and spiritual purpose. ·         Resources to help craft a message, use of Biblical tools in preparation and how to improve your message and method ·         Helps on finding a story, the use and abuse of illustrations, how to use the hymnal in preaching, and how to write a sermon and then move beyond words on a page ·         Helps on sermon delivery and manner ·         Use of the lectionary cycles

Improving the Instruction

One of the truest statements made : 'The mind takes in only as much as the backside endures."  The truth of the matter is that most learning situations use one of two models: the lecture model with the facilitator at the front or key point at the table and students waiting to have knowledge poured into them, or they utilize a round-robin style that solicits a lot of interaction and opinion or experience sharing but does little to carry the topic home to students.

What is first required is a clear idea of the purpose of LSM in all its incarnations (Servant, Speaker, Lay Minister) in the life of the church individually and corporately. Review the 2016 BOD legislation for some clarity on this. Then the most important next step is developing an idea of where the training should take the student. What are the expected outcomes to be demonstrated in the life and faithful living of these Lay Servants and Lay Speakers?

Two key factors are vital to improving the quality of both learning and teaching.  The first quality is the outcome. At the conclusion of the class being taught what should be the student's 'take-away' to take home with them and put to work or to being to implement in their life?

Consider the overall content of the book, how it fits into the training process and how to make practical what can be oft times very abstract topics.  If the book is one of those meeting the Lay Speaker subject categories (Prayer, Preaching, Worship, Spiritual Gifts, Heritage, Polity) what are some ways those can be utilized in the local church where the Lay Servant or Lay Speaker worships?

The second quality is addressing the various ways people learn in a class setting. Some people need to talk things out, some need time to think about information received, some learn best by hearing, some need to get up and be active, others need to write it all out and others need to see visuals to process information most effectively. Some meld it all together and can go with any style of instruction; others, have a distinct need for one of the styles mentioned.

These can be addressed by shifting the ebb and flow of classroom life: break into small groups, allow some to go elsewhere (hallway, empty space, etc.), encourage creative brainstorming of ideas and understandings, ask open ended questions "How can you take this back to your congregation and model it for them? How might you motivate or inspire others with this information?"

A One Day Training Model

This model allows participants to engage in study, lectures and activities related to training as a Lay Servant/ Lay Speaker through a one-day model. It requires pre-work of reading, answering questions about the reading assignment and then submission of those responses on the day of the training.

Sample pre-class work might include :
(1) Reading designated chapters of text and answering two or more reflective questions raised in the reading or in end of chapter questions; 
(2) Responding thoughtfully and prayerfully about the topic(s) raised by the text and how the attendee might see the subject used in the local church; 
(3) Other appropriate activities or readings as designated.

SAMPLE AGENDA FOR A ONE-DAY TRAINING EVENT

7:30 - 8:00 /Coffee  & Registration
8:00 - 8:30 /Welcome As a Group (Share information, future plans, prayer, etc.)
8:30 - 10:30 /Class (Session 3-4 ;Pre-Assignments can cover parts 1-3)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45 - 12:00 /Class (Sessions 3-4)
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch (Onsite for quicker return to the classes to meet requirements)
12:45 -  2:15/ Class (Session 4-5)
2:15 - 3:15/ Class  (Session 4-5)
3:15 - 4:15 /Class with Breaks (include here reviews, Q&A, evaluations, etc)
4:15 - 5:30 Communion with Commissioning Service (A highly motivational and more energetic model is recommended).

[Alternate models could be a later start time and adjusting for a later end to the event]