Get (Very) Ready
It’s time to dig in to the very good soil of God’s word, but before we do, it's essential to understand why we’re digging in.
We don’t spend time reading, studying, and praying God's word so that we can obtain knowledge and… get an A+ from God.
We read, study, and pray God’s word because it’s one of the main ways we get to know God, and because ultimately, we want to be formed by the God we come to know. The Christian life isn’t about amassing information in our brains. The Christian life is about being transformed, and specifically, it’s about being transformed to be more like Jesus.
This kind of transformation isn’t something that we can make happen by studying harder.
Transformation happens when:
The Holy Spirit lights up God’s word; AND
We take vulnerable steps to live the word out; AND THEN
Through relationships with God and one another, the word is loved into who we are.
That’s why we’ve provided growth modules for every video to help you absorb, process, and experience the content in a way that makes space for God to do his transformative thing. We recommend that you do one video a week, taking your sweet time with the activities, and trusting God to work through your experience.
For every video, you will:
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Each video is between 5-15 minutes long. Feel free to speed it up, slow it down, watch it multiple times, take notes, and do whatever you need to do to get the basic ideas pretty locked in.
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Here you will engage scripture using the SOWN (Soak it in, Observe, Wonder, and Noodle) Method. Note: If you are not a great reader (I am not a great reader) the module will include different ways to engage the text to make it accessible.
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Next, you will do something that helps you to experience the lesson in an embodied (like… with your body) way. For some, this step might seem outside of the box, but try it out, and trust in God to bring something very good out of it.
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Transformation happens in relationships. Here you will have a chance to process or experience the teaching with others.
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You’ll finish up each module with a guided (or unguided if that’s your style) theological reflection on what you experienced.
Test yourself (or don't)
Test yourself (or don't)
Tips For Each Section
Take your time.
Take your time.
Every video will have a fill-in-the-blank handout/quiz to help you lock in the teaching. If this handout is helpful to you as something to fill out while you watch, OR as a way to quiz yourself after watching, OR if it is helpful to print and keep and answer key, great.
If this section is not helpful, skip it. You will not be getting a grade for Very Good Soil so don’t feel like you have to “pass the quiz” to move on.
DO. NOT. TRY. TO. DO. ALL. OF. THE. ACTIVITIES. IN. ONE. DAY.
These modules should be spread out over a week so that the activities do not feel burdensome and so that each experience has some time to simmer. If you try to do all (or even two) of the exercises in one day, you will be short-changing yourself.
Take your time with each exercise and let the Word of God do its work.
It's OK to not know what you're "getting out of it."
It's OK to not know what you're "getting out of it."
Most of us are used to learning in a classroom and from lectures and books. Many of us think that doing an activity is only worth our time if we know what we’re “getting out of it.”
But…Jesus did not teach in classrooms, and very often his disciples did not understand the point of his experiential teaching methods.
These “embodied” activities will probably feel weird and might feel pointless, but open your mind to the fact that God may be doing something you don’t fully understand in the moment.
You need others.
You need others.
There is no such thing as Christian discipleship outside of relationship.
This doesn’t mean that the internet is ruining discipleship. In fact, the digital resources at our disposal are excellent for spreading the Gospel to anyone with an internet connection. The problem comes when we use the internet to try to “get what we need” without having to be in relationship, because relationships are a part of Christian discipleship (and being human) that cannot be skipped.
So, if you’re not sure why you have to include other people in your solo journey through Very Good Soil, remember that “getting what you need” is impossible on your own.
If you learn nothing else...
If you learn nothing else...
Many Christians live their whole lives without knowing how (or even that they should) engage in Theological Reflection. Theological Reflection is the practice of considering something you learned or experienced and reflecting on how God was at work in the experience. As you repeatedly reflect on your video learning, bible study, and experiences, you will learn to pay attention and see connections that help you to see God in a new way.
If you learn NOTHING else from Very Good Soil, but you learn to pay attention and engage in Theological Reflection, it will be well worth your time.