New Anabaptist History Study Guide from Faith Builders: If Anyone Would Follow Me

[mike]

I taught lesson 10 yesterday (we skipped Sunday school one week) and agree that it's difficult to adequately cover everything. I tell people that for the lessons I teach, they have to read the book for background and I'll fill them in on the context and additional details. We have been streaming these to allow people to go back and catch up on things they might have missed the first time around.

Nice. I asked around whether people are enjoying the study, and it sounded like they are. In fact one person said that since launching the study, he has developed a new hobby, reading history. I thought that was as positive feedback as one could get. Frodo could let us know more about how it's going.

[barnhart]

I taught lesson 10 yesterday (we skipped Sunday school one week) and agree that it's difficult to adequately cover everything. I tell people that for the lessons I teach, they have to read the book for background and I'll fill them in on the context and additional details. We have been streaming these to allow people to go back and catch up on things they might have missed the first time around.

Is there a link where I can also benefit from the teaching of the Jones from Ohio?

[JohnL]

Our church has the books on order. It is yet to be determined how we will implement it. Some are very opposed to teaching history in a Sunday service. I am opposed to learning history on Wednesday evening with half my brain cells dormant. I am teaching youth guys Sunday School this year. They have specifically requested to NOT be put in with adults for this. So it looks like Yours Truly will get to teach it.

I think it would be a great experience teaching this course to a group of youth guys. The questions in this guide are exceptionally good and will stimulate great discussions.

This sounds like a worthwhile book. I agree about the youth guys. They sometimes sit back and get bored when the adults have the floor. That age likes to talk about the lesson in their own age group.

[Frodo]

Nice. I asked around whether people are enjoying the study, and it sounded like they are. In fact one person said that since launching the study, he has developed a new hobby, reading history. I thought that was as positive feedback as one could get. Frodo could let us know more about how it's going.

Okay. I don't post on here very often, but I can respond to this. Mike did an excellent job teaching the lesson (even quoting from Mennonet )and our congregation was blessed to have him and his family with us.
Our roughly half hour Sunday school time is not long enough to really cover the lesson text and also get into the questions at the end of the lesson. One thing that I've noticed happening is teachers would try to get through the lesson text and we would not have much time for discussion or questions. I have really enjoyed the series so far, I love history, but I think even a lot of people that don't necessarily enjoy history have been finding it very interesting and thought provoking. I am sometimes surprised by how little some people seem to know about their roots and where they came from, and something like this definitely seems to spark some interest in that.

[Judas Maccabeus]

I have taught about half of this. I have 45 mins, and barely cover it. It is generally quite good, but to be prepared you need to have read a fair amount of background material. I will be teaching the same material in a winter Bible school format. Should be interesting.

[Signtist]

We finally got this study going. I teach a group of 50 mixed youth. 40 minutes is hardly enough, but also 40 minutes is a lot of time for a sign guy to be teaching a "history" lesson.

I am less concerned with the history, than I am with some other parts of it.

[Heirbyadoption]

We finally got this study going. I teach a group of 50 mixed youth. 40 minutes is hardly enough, but also 40 minutes is a lot of time for a sign guy to be teaching a "history" lesson. I am less concerned with the history, than I am with some other parts of it.

Any particularly concerning parts you could expound on?

[mike]

We finally got this study going. I teach a group of 50 mixed youth. 40 minutes is hardly enough, but also 40 minutes is a lot of time for a sign guy to be teaching a "history" lesson. I am less concerned with the history, than I am with some other parts of it.

Any particularly concerning parts you could expound on?

Same question. We're also finally getting around to studying it- summer Bible school adult & youth class coming up.

[Signtist]

I communicated poorly. What I meant to say is that I concern myself less with teaching the history of it than I do with making sure the youth know why we study it, who all should study it, what attitudes we should have as we study history, and what the real lessons are behind it. Not just names, dates, and places. I am concerned that many youth and adults today that are Anabaptist have no idea what the Anabaptist distinctiveness is and how it affects us. The history has little value if it is only history. We should study it to learn, to see how choices 500 years ago affect us, to learn the truth, good and bad. To learn what made the first Anabaptists different from their surrounding culture.

I am not "concerned" about the content of the book.

[barnhart]

...What I meant to say is that I concern myself less with teaching the history of it than I do with making sure the youth know why we study it, who all should study it, what attitudes we should have as we study history, and what the real lessons are behind it. Not just names, dates, and places. I am concerned that many youth and adults today that are Anabaptist have no idea what the Anabaptist distinctiveness is and how it affects us. The history has little value if it is only history. We should study it to learn, to see how choices 500 years ago affect us, to learn the truth, good and bad. To learn what made the first Anabaptists different from their surrounding culture.

I agree.