Theology & Inner-City Kids... Two Things Not Usually Found in the Same Sentence

Wow... my mind is going ballistic!! Thank you for everyone who prayed for the LiT small group. I just got home and I am seriously bursting with just how God used those prayers.

To understand an LiT small group... you basically have to take away any formal structure of a Bible study that you have in your mind. At LiT we make our own rules... and we go with the flow! Interruptions happen every 30 seconds, so you have to be ready for the unexpected. We still look at the Bible and I still teach, but I teach by facilitation, which means discussion questions that we talk about as a group. My job is just to keep them on topic (NOT AN EASY TASK!) These girls have their own agenda and things that they want to learn. We can be talking about something and a question will come from left field that has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about. And they're not silly questions either! They are deep theological questions about the end times, what happens after we die, hell, heaven, the trinity and the list goes on! And those are just the things they wanted to know about tonight!!

One question really got to me though. "Why do the LiT leaders teach in a way that I can understand, but then I go to church and try to listen and can't even follow what the pastor is saying no matter how hard I try?" This is still breaking my heart.

The obvious answer is because at LiT we are teaching aimed at the girls and where they are at and in the church they're not. But as the body of Christ are we not suppose to be aiming our teaching at the church?!?! Why are children always left out? Sure we have programs for them to go to... but why aren't we teaching in a way that they can't understand? Are they not a part of the body of Christ as much as the adults? There is so much "Christianese" and ridiculous words that almost no one can define that a Bible college student like me can barely understand it sometimes... let alone a 13 or 14 year old from the inner-city. Just something to think about. I could probably rant for hours, but I'll let you think about it on your own.

These girls are ready to dig deep and we all need you because you're our prayer team! Please pray for me, Steph & Patience as we prayerfully try to answer all their questions and understand the Bible in a way that we are able to articulate what they want to know so they can understand. After an hour and a half tonight, these girls did not want to stop! God has put such a strong desire in their hearts to learn and He has put a passion in our lives to reach out and build relationships with them. Please pray that God would also show me, Steph and Patience how we can continue to be a part of their lives once the summer is over.

♥ Ash