1. Keeping in Touch: Christian Formation and Teaching May the Circle Be Unbroken CEF 2014

2. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11: 28-30 The Message Biblical Reflection

3. Changing Paradigms Apostolic Era Christendom Post- Christendom/Great Emergence

4. 1.Keeping in touch with God’s grace 2.Keeping in touch with God’s people 3.Keeping in touch with your experience 4.Keeping in touch with the world 5.Keeping in touch with teaching Five Critical Processes for Teachers

5. Gives us the life abundant Changes us from within Enables us to love others as God loves us Keeping in Touch with God’s Grace

6. Prayer Studying the Scriptures The Lord’s Supper Fasting Christian Conferencing Acts of Mercy The Means of Grace

7.  Spiritual Types Personality Types Keeping in Touch with God’s People

8. Open-ended questions Questions for clarification Listening checks Observing non-verbal clues Listening to God’s People

9. Divide into groups of three. Person A: Complete one of these sentences: When I think of the personality types in my present Sunday school class, I think... My spiritual type is... I would describe my relationship with God as... Practice Your Listening Skills

10. Person B: Practices active listening using the techniques just shared Person C: Observes the conversation and makes notes Listening, continued

11. Discuss with your small group the following questions: What did you learn or reaffirm about listening as a skill? What did you learn or reaffirm about your own listening skills? Listening, continued

12. Keeping in Touch with Your Experience Scripture Tradition Experience Reason

13. Living as a disciple of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world: Compassion Justice Reconciliation Hope Keeping in Touch with the World

14. Multiple Intelligences Brain research Experiential learning Critical thinking Keeping in Touch with Teaching

15. Almost Christian, Kenda Creasy Dean Christianity After Religion, Diana Butler Bass From Generation to Generation, Chuck Foster The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle Teaching the Way of Jesus, Jack Seymour Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen Selected Resources

16. For More Information Carol F. Krau General Board of Discipleship PO Box 340003 Nashville, TN 37203-0003 Phone: (877) 899-2780, ext. 7171 E-mail: ckrau@gbod.org