Disciple Starts September 17

People often ask me for various 101 level classes. They may be interested in Church Membership 101, United Methodism 101 or Laurel Heights 101. All of these and more can be found in Disciple Bible Study. Each year I teach the intro class of the Disciple Bible Study Series authorized by The United Methodist Church. While the course is designed to work through all the major portions of the Bible in 34 weeks, each week brings questions relating to “What are the beliefs of The United Methodist Church,” How is the Church structured,?” “What do others at Laurel Heights believe about this?,” “How did the founders of the Methodist Church interpret this?,” “What do other denominations say?” and “What do we believe about God, the Bible and Jesus?,” as well as questions you may have.

People who take the time to participate in Disciple Bible Study want more than simple, one-line answers to these questions. They realize that the questions are interrelated and each week builds upon the others. Like many things, this takes time and commitment. Everyone may need to miss a class or two but most try to attend every class knowing that they will come away a little richer and with a deeper and fuller appreciation of how God is active in Laurel Heights. After taking the intro class with me or one of the other pastors of the church, most will continue their study with one of the other three Disciple Bible Study classes being offered or maybe a shorter, more focused Bible study offered in much the same format.

I would like for as many people as want to walk with me through this wonderful exploration of God’s self-revelation to be able to. You may have taken the class before and would like to again. That’s great. Maybe you took it in another church or with another pastor. Maybe you have a friend who wants to learn but doesn’t want to take it by themselves or your life experience has changed and you have new questions.  Let me know that you are interested and what day of the week and time of day works best for you. Be especially clear if there are times or days that will not work at all for some reason. I am going to try to keep each class to about 12 people. That seems to work best; it worked well for Jesus. He only had one drop out before the end of the class and that person later deeply regretted that decision. Remember there are other classes offered if you have already taken the intro class and want something else. Let the church office know which classes you have already taken and we will put one of the other classes together for you. Again, let us know which days and times are best and which will not work at all. Once we gather all this information, we will offer a couple of suggestions for class dates and times.

You will find on page 6 in this newsletter [click here] a form that you can fill out or feel free to email the information we need to [email protected]. If you have any questions or are not sure of what your schedule might be through May, let us know that too. You probably have less control over your schedule than Jesus and the Disciples did and we understand that. Orientation will be at 5:00 pm on Sunday, September 17 in the Parlor and should last about an hour. If you will remind me, I’ll try to bring some ice cream or something. The final Disciple Intro class is scheduled for the week of Pentecost, the church’s birthday.

See you Sunday,
Jim