Weekly Thoughts

So I was sitting in my office...looking at the SNOW outside (come on...snow on October 16th!) and reading one of the four (or five, or six) books that I'm attempting to read, when the author mentioned the demolition derby. I don't know about you, but I love the demo derby! I have a good friend, who always goes, and as often as I can I tag along. The demo derby is great because the people there are doing the opposite of what you're "supposed" to be doing with a car. Instead of driving nicely, yeilding the right of way, they are smashing into each other! It's loud, exciting, often muddy, and sometimes a little scary. What a rush, right!?

Well that author (Jim Walker: Dirty Word: The vulgar, offensive language of the kingdom of God) suggests that God's Kingdom (also known as the Church) should be like a demolition derby! He starts out by talking about Dale's Cone of learning which reports that the least efficient way to teach someone is through verbal communication (talking to them) while the best way to teach a person is by letting them do it themselves. Dale's Cone of learning asserts that a person taught verbally (think sermon, lecture, etc) will only remember %10-%20 of what their taught, while someone who's taught by doing will retain a whopping %90 of the information!

From here the author claims that while we in the Church seem to think that worship services, sunday school classes, and sermons are the best way to teach others to be Christians, the truth couldn't be more opposite. He says the Church should be like a demo derby, where everyone is allowed to actually get into the car and drive it (even if they hit a few curbs and dent a fender or two).

What do you think? Should the church be like a tour bus where everyone sits nicely in their seats and has a teacher, pastor, or other "super christian" tell them about God, or should we all be allowed to get behind the wheel and experience God for ourselves? If you think the latter, then what are you doing to get behind that wheel? What can I do to help you get started? Let me know...

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John