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Dear youth and parents, 

Recently I had the opportunity to spend two weeks teaching the People's Bible Class on Sunday mornings, and I was very grateful for their invitation.  My topic was "Unpacking Scripture With Youth," and my goal was to help a group of adults who take Bible study seriously understand how we approach the Bible with middle and high school youth.  In the first session I talked about some of the foundational ideas, principles, and realities that are part of unpacking scripture with youth in our church.  In the second, I shared a lesson from the "Re:Form" curriculum our 8th graders use on Sunday mornings to demonstrate a creative, relevant Bible lesson for youth.

One of the key things I conveyed that I think parents should understand is this: Our youth have a pretty good sense of what they believe, but they want help articulating those beliefs.  They are regularly challenged by their peers who have a different understanding of the Bible, and they often have a hard time putting their own understanding into words.  You might think that means that our youth want their ministers and adults to teach them our own interpretations to counter their peers - but I haven't found that to be the case.  In fact, on several occasions when our high schoolers perceived that was happening they were pretty resentful.  Instead, I hear a desire for adults to teach them the history, context, and other relevant factors that relate to a biblical passage so that they can interpret the Bible for themselves.  And really, that's who we are as Disciples.  We're not a church that arms our youth with an alternative set of rigid talking points and out-of-context "proof texts" to use.  We're a church that wants to prepare our youth for a lifetime of biblical interpretation by providing them with the tools and framework to do so.  My hope is that as they move into adulthood, they will seek out faith communities that continue to guide and equip them on that life-long journey as students of the Bible.

Read on for more information on upcoming events, including Breakfast with the Guys, a Prom Dreams volunteer meeting, and more!

Grace and Peace,
Russ 

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