Transformational: Putting Our Teaching Into Practice (w/Randy Harris) | Episode 10

What does it look like to "live out" the lessons we teach in our classes? What if our groups were covenant groups, committed to doing just that? In this tenth episode, we look at the importance of weekly expectations, follow up, follow through, and communal commitment.

My featured guest today is Randy Harris. For 32 years, Randy taught Bible, theology, philosophy and ethics, first at Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN) then at Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX). He says that, if he had to do it over again, he would have "invested more in fewer," illustrating the importance of personal relationships in ministry. His book Living Jesus charts out how a covenant group can commit to living out the Sermon on the Mount on a daily and weekly basis.

In this episode, we cover several interesting topics, including:

• What if Bible Classes Became Communities of Practice? (1:34)
• Offering A Lab Component To Your Teaching (8:38)
• Good Content or Good Connection? (11:23)
• Covenant Groups and the Problem With Our Small Groups (16:13)
• What to Leave Your Sunday Morning Class With (18:44)
• And lots, lots more!

References Made in the Podcast

• Mark Scandrette, Practicing the Way of Jesus

Connect with Randy:

• Nathan's substack article featuring the interview with Randy
• Randy's bio at the Siburt Institute
• The story of Randy's retirement
• Randy's book Living Jesus: Doing What Jesus Says in the Sermon on the Mount
• Reading with Randy

 And if you want more tips and guidance, visit  us at avenueforfaith.org. Here you can sign up to our weekly substack email/newsletter,  sign up for a zoom class or an online ministry course, or download free curriculum.
 
---
 
In partnership with:

• Sherrod Avenue Church of Christ
• Avenue for Faith
• Nathan's weekly Substack
• The Teaching Guys

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro: Randy: Can't Learn Without Practice
• 1:06 Nathan: Introducing Randy
• 1:34 What If Bible Classes Became Communities of Practice?
• 5:57 How To Do This With the Gospels...And Beyond
• 8:38 Offering A Lab Component
• 9:40 Paying Attention To The Relational Component
• 11:23 Good Content or Good Connection?
• 16:13 Small Covenant Groups Beyond Sunday Morning Class
• 16:51 The Need For Covenant Groups and the Problem With Small Groups
• 18:44 What Does This Look Like Mon-Sat?
• 21:15 Introducing The Next Episode