Faculty Appeal Letter for Jubilee Conference

Introduction

Political Terms

Meeting One: Setting the Stage

Meeting Two: Pro-American Conservatives

Meeting Three: Cautious and Critical Conservatives

Meeting Four: Sophisticated Neo-Conservatives

Switching Gears: An interview with Byron Borger

Meeting Five: Traditional and Reflective Liberals

Meeting Six: Civil-Rights Reformers

Meeting Seven: Pro-Justice Activists

Meeting Eight: Theonomic Reconstructionists

Meeting Nine: Developing a Christian Political Perspective

Two Essentials for the First Week

Six Weeks that Count

9 Principles to Guide you through the First Six Weeks

Cycles of Momentum

The First 56 Days

II. Be clear why you are memorizing scripture. Before starting, I urge you to write at least ten reasons for your decision to memorize scripture, and secondly, many reasons why you know you can succeed.

III. Commit to memorizing and systematically reviewing God’s Word daily for three months or some other specific length of time. Memorization is most difficult when you first begin. Freedom always follows discipline. Know that you are going to face many times of struggle and disappointment. No new discipline is easy. Satan will strongly oppose this one. Only drawing close to Christ as Lord and the power of God’s Spirit can see you through these initial efforts.

IV. Choose small portions of scripture at first. Master the verse at the beginning of the day and review it four or five times during the day. It is usually most helpful to have it on a card you can carry with you. This makes review much easier. I suggest one verse a week, or at most, two verses per week for the first three months. Learn the references by saying them before and after each time you review the verse. Both become part of you and increase confidence in your knowledge.

V. Determine to memorize each verse “word perfect” before memorizing additional verses. It takes no longer to review a verse word perfect than with mistakes, and it gives greater confidence. You may take two to four days with that first verse before you learn the second. Then, master the first and second before you add a third. Review each verse every day until you have memorized at least 12. If you have mastered the verses, that review will take you two to five minutes, unless you stop to meditate and/or pray the verse. Whenever a verse you are reviewing inspires you to pray, move into prayer. Then, return to the review process. The primary purpose is to be with God through scripture. Say the verses to Jesus. He is present and pleased with you. John 14:21

After you have memorized 12 verses, then each time you add an additional verse, eliminate the first one and then the next one, etc. This way, you can review all your verses daily in five minutes and it doesn’t become a burden. I suggest that you review all your verses on the Lord’s day each week. In this way, you can keep them sharp and forming your life, even when you have memorized 100.

VI. Energize your discipline through regular accountability to another person. Everyone should have somebody check them on their verses each week because of the strength and encouragement this gives you, and so you can know you have them word perfect. The key is a long obedience in the same direction. It will bless you and also the person with whom you share them.

VII. Faithfulness and faith will grow. Memorizing scripture in order to know God and His will for your life will become one of the most powerful blessings you will ever receive. If you learn scripture in order to respond to God’s love, pray in the light of those passages and live their truth in daily life, faith will grow as will the power of your prayers and the impact of your life. Share your adventure with someone else and, if they choose to join with you in this thrilling and life-changing adventure, I encourage you to pray for each other daily for the first month, using the 30-Day Prayer Covenant plan.

A Model for Church-Based Campus Ministry

From Newsweek:
“Budget online. New socialnetworking financial Web sites like mint.com, geezeo.com and wesabe.com are made for twentysomethings, says Todd Romer of youngmoney.com, an advice Web site. You can keep all your finances in one place, check your balances from your cell phone or office” -
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/archive/2007/10/20/when-you-finally-go-it-alone.aspx

1. Ask questions that are more open than closed.
Questions with only one right answer or implying a “yes” or “no” response are more closed. These questions are more a test of memory that they are inquiry into subject matter. When tempted to ask a closed question, make a statement instead; then ask open, analytical, or probing questions.

2. Ask only one question at a time.
More than one question at a time is confusing to the participants. Leaders who ask several questions at once usually have not thought carefully or prepared adequately and are “fishing” for the right questions.

3. Present questions to the whole group.
Instead of putting one person “on the spot” by directing the question to that person, offer the question to the whole group. By being aware of the readiness of individuals to respond, it is possible to invite responses by eye contact, a nod of the head, or a gesture of the hand.

4. Provide feedback after a participant responds.
The discussion leader can reinforce participants and facilitate further discussion by providing verbal and non-verbal feedback so that they will know the leader has heard and received the contribution.

5. Follow up with probing questions.
Probing questions are those that follow up after initial question and response. They lead to further inquiry and exploration in depth of a subject. Probing questions also provide a degree of reinforcement and feedback.

6. After asking a question, be silent.
The best “next step” after asking a question is to be silent. If the question is clearly stated and if the participants have sufficient background with which to answer, then they need some time to think. Ten seconds is not too much time, but seems like an eternity to an anxious leader. The burden of the silence should be upon the participants, not upon the leader.

7. Use an inquiry style rather than an interrogation style.
Inquiry says to the participants, “I’m interested in what you think and say.” Interrogation puts persons on the defensive and inhibits their ability to think and express themselves creatively.

8. Encourage participants to ask their own questions.
Questions are not just the property of the leader; questions can be asked and used effectively by the participants as well.

9. Avoid echoing responses of the participants.
There are two reasons for repeating the responses of participants; to reinforce the answer or to state it loud enough so that others can hear what they might have missed.

10. Accept responses as if they were gifts.
When a participant ventures to answer a question, there is some risk involved. Leaders need to accept what persons offer even though it may not be exactly what the leader might have said. Leaders need not agree with everything that is said in order to be accepting.