The SEAN team goes on the road

The heart cry of pastors and leaders is “how do we envision our people and mobilise them into relationship with Jesus and effective action within our communities.

The Sunday sermon is having little ongoing impact and is easily forgotten, housegroups are drying up and the psalms have been read, dissected and put back together again for the third time this year! Church has become a place where we meet rather than who we are.

To reach our communities we need a people with an ongoing living relationship with Jesus, which will impact family life, the life of the Church and provide serious workers for Jesus into the harvest field. And where is our harvest field? – in ordinary places, right where we are, with our neighbours, our friends, our workplace, at the shops, in cafés.

But how can pastors and leaders envision their people when there is a lack of understanding of even the basics of our faith?

Many Christians find it difficult to answer the questions asked by SEAN’s Abundant Life with any degree of confidence: How do we discover the will of God in our lives? What is the true meaning of repentance? What are the three enemies of the Christian and how do we deal with these when they appear in our lives? What are the basic steps to consider when reading the Bible? What are the four steps in leading someone to Christ? At the end of this wonderful course people can answer these and more, find the answers in their Bibles and apply these truths to their lives.

Training is a vision for life – not only for action but for our spiritual health, a lifetime of knowing, understanding and applying the truths of God’s Word, the new life within us that Jesus has invested in, growing and bearing fruit.

Jeremiah 9 vv.23-24 reads:

This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts, boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight’, declares the Lord.

This relationship grows out of knowing God. Knowing God comes from understanding His Word. So how can we train and equip the Church today? How can misplaced priorities, sometimes due to our hectic life style, be corrected so that the Word of God becomes a natural part of our living instead of something that has to be squeezed into the end of the week if we are not too tired.

One pastor who recently attended a SEAN workshop said: ‘SEAN as a tool puts the Bible back into the hands of ordinary people’ – quite a statement but true. Those that have tasted the dynamic of SEAN have been hooked and all of a sudden the Bible becomes a resource for life instead of a chore.

The SEAN workshop is on the road and available to come to your church or area to explore these issues and explain how SEAN can serve as a tool to meet this challenge.

The basic topics for the day, which can be adapted, are:

>>> Taking a closer look at Matthew 28 and 2 Timothy 2
>>> Vision and mission
>>> A church trained and mobilised – the effects in our community
>>> Essential ingredients to take us beyond evangelism into serious training
>>> What is SEAN?
>>> How it can serve a vision
>>> Objectives and expectations
>>> Basic steps in setting up an effective programme
>>> Tutoring skills
>>> Group dynamics
>>> An opportunity to complete a lesson of the Life of Christ Compendium and take part in a group discussion

If you would like a day of fellowship, to meet the SEAN team, and explore the above issues together then please contact the SEAN office.

For those who already know and love the SEAN material and are up and running or for those who have just started, we can provide ongoing support, further tutor training – either at your church or at our training centre at Weycroft Hall. Please contact us for further information (01297 630104, www.sean.uk.net).

Related topics

Tutor Training

Why change?

There is little point in change for change’s sake, and the existing page design for SEAN’s courses has done good service for a number of years. However, for the UK at least, it was felt that the time was right to give the courses a fresh look.

The aim was straightforward: to make SEAN’s study book pages more comfortable for the user, and to give the books a more contemporary ‘pick me up and fill me in’ factor.

On the printed page, ‘comfort’ means ‘white space’. But, in printing, of course, ‘white space’ often means more pages (and more money!). Yet SEAN courses must be affordable as well as attractive. Economy and aesthetics make for poor bedfellows – a problem that had to be met head on!

Three major changes

Try reading a book with long lines which are too tightly spaced, and the brain struggles, whether consciously or unconsciously, to find the beginning of the next line – result: discomfort. So we’ve reduced the line length by splitting the page into two columns – the result: comfort and economy – the first major change.

Given that SEAN’s flagship course is the ‘Life of Christ’ compendium, comprising six books, each with 10 units, and each unit having parts (A, B and sometimes C) with much cross-referencing, a clear system of navigation was also high on the hit list – the second major change. Cross-references rely almost entirely on clear unit/frame labels which have their own distinct typeface – page number references have largely disappeared. Although Ephesians is the first course to use the new styling, the navigational styling itself has the ‘Life of Christ’ compendium as its end focus. Hand in hand with the actual unit/frame labelling is, of course, the style and hierarchy of heading and subheadings – now, we hope, a little more clear.

The third noticeable change is the illustrating. Because the existing pictures had evolved over a considerable period, their style was understandably diverse and, in some cases, perhaps a little dated (clothing fashions, for instance, inevitably change over the years). However, the new set of pictures have only just been commissioned and so have a contemporary feel. Clement Montag is a gifted artist who has worked in newspapers for years and therefore knows how to communicate to a wide reading audience. We hope you will appreciate the balance between simplicity and subtlety that he has achieved.

Is this the answer?

Nothing is perfect, and we continue to be a part of SEAN’s evolution. Indeed, even the ‘answers’ themselves are already undergoing further change. Whilst in Ephesians we felt it good to present the ‘answers’ to the C-discussion units at the end of each unit (rather than temptingly close, as previously), the main A- and B- answers still appear towards the end of the book. But now, in the new-look Abundant Life, we’ve decided that the home studies also benefit from having the answers at the end of each unit.

But we hope we’re on the right track. The new Ephesians is already printed; Abundant Life and Abundant Light are the next two courses to be rebirthed, with Life of Christ the top priority after that. The current new look was tested on some existing users, but we would value feedback from the wider testbed of you, the actual users – all constructive comments will be gratefully received (why not do it through the pages of Forum?).

Trying out the ‘home’ study

…Oliver Buckley, Minister

Hilda Briscoe first introduced me to SEAN material in Ramsgate Kent. I was thrilled to find it very effective in enabling young Christians to get to grips with the basics of the Christian faith. Having used other material in the past (without much success), I was very impressed at how those who used SEAN material were growing spiritually through applying what they were learning. I am now the minister of a church in Sheffield and I’m seeking to introduce the church to the SEAN method of studying the Bible.

In November of last year I had the opportunity to take the church secretary and treasurer to a seminar where SEAN Bible study material was introduced. It was encouraging to be with people who were enthusiastic about helping others to grow in the faith. The seminar was well thought out, moving from theory to practical aspects of leading small groups as the day progressed. I felt inspired and encouraged to continue with the work of nurture for new Christians and seeking to promote growth in those who have become simply church goers.

I highly recommend the material produced by SEAN and believe it is a tool which God is using.

…David McPherson, Treasurer

Oliver, Martin and I travelled over to Wigan on Saturday the 16th November to attend an introductory event that presented the SEAN Bible study material to us. It meant an early start but the day was worth it.

We listened to members from the SEAN UK office describing the background to the material and the way in which they had personally found it useful in terms of discipling groups and encouraging them to participate in Bible based learning. We then had a session in which we introduced ourselves to each other and outlined what we thought was the vision of our churches, our goals in terms of discipleship, and our training needs. This was an interesting session as it helped us to realise that we probably have a lot of thinking to do before we, as a church, can agree and actively support, a vision that achieves the goals that we think we should have of reaching and helping people in the neighbourhood in the name of Christ.

After lunch we had a practical session working through one of the studies from a course. Initially the session was taken up by actually doing the homework. This appeared very simple and repetitive in its form and it was explained to us that it was deliberately presented in this way so that no one would think it was beyond them and that they could not do it. At the end of the lesson there was a test paper that we all filled in, although we were encouraged to ‘cheat’ by looking at the answers to ensure that we had got them right. Again this was explained to us as being one way in which every member of the group would correct their own work and would not be embarrassed if they got the answers wrong.

The test sheets would also be the basis for the revisions prior to the end of course test and therefore it was important that it was put right at an early stage. I thought at this stage that the whole thing was just far too simplistic – but this changed when the ‘tutor’ started the group meeting part of the session by going over the tests to see if we had had any problems.

It was after this that things became more real to me as we entered the discussion stage. It was based around the study that we had undertaken but it suddenly went very much deeper – but not in a threatening way. I felt that everyone would still be able to take part and get something out of it. It drew out the message from the passage and then made us apply it to our lives and our church.

Overall it was a really good day and I learnt a lot about the SEAN organisation, its material and about the passage we studied. I look forward to using the material for real within our own Church.

While at the Wigan workshop, Jane Orbiston and Beryl Loy from Warrington enjoyed the privilege of being presented with their Basic Diploma in Pastoral Theology.

…Martin Smith, Church Secretary

I was very impressed with the SEAN workshop in Wigan on 16 November 2002. It was extremely well organised with clear and helpful presentations by people who showed a real love of Christ and the Bible.

It was great to hear how the Lord was using the SEAN Bible study material, not only to bring people to faith – which is wonderful of course! But more than that: to build people up in the faith – in other words, to make true disciples who knew what they believed, put it into practice and who, when asked, could give a reason for their faith. The SEAN methodology was straightforward but thorough, linking biblical truths to everyday life in a way that was clear and relevant. A very worthwhile day!

For more about the day at Wigan.

We started an Abundant Life course in our home just after Easter last year. We were all at different stages in our Christian walk but thouroughly enjoyed meeting together to study God’s word and encouraging each other to grow in Christ.

One of the participants, Debbie, had just recently started coming to church from a background of no church contact. She was overwhelmed by the welcome and ‘ordinariness’ of the congregation and wanted to know more about finding the reality of God for herself that she had seen in those at church. Within a month of starting Abundant Life, she had made the prayer of commitment to Christ (during the prayer time at the end of week 3). It was a delight to see her grow and hunger for more of God. God became so much a part of her daily life and she soon developed a lifestyle of prayer that put many of us to shame. How we all need to keep that first love, and what a joy it was to see that first love in her. Her friends commented that she looked so different – she seemed to glow. She was asked if she had a new man in her life? To which she replied she had!

As a group we began to see God provide in wonderful ways through our prayer together. It was often ‘before we could ask he had answered’, even providing for Debbie a washing machine exactly the same as her old broken one. God’s presence was so tangible when we met. The study seemed so simple and yet was so dynamic.

Our times were often filled with lots of hilarity too, the rest of the family wondering if anything sensible was ever done – yet they coundn’t wait to join us for the tea and coffee at the end. By the time we had finished the lesson on baptism three of the group wanted to be baptised, including Debbie. It was truly wonderful to be able to baptise Chris, Deborah and Debbie in the sea in September along with our older two children – the fruit, if you like, of Abundant Life!

Andrew Keenan

Chris and Debbie write…

We would like to give thanks for the Abundant Life course we did recently. We enjoyed the simplicity and directness of the course; the answers we needed were there to be explained. The sharing together with the other participants in the group and the hospitality of the group leaders made us feel part of the Christian family and enabled us to discuss various faith issues and brought us all close together in the body of Christ. We were so uplifted that we decided to be baptised – we were relatively new in the faith, and were baptised in the sea at Putsborough Sands (see photo below) on Sept 1st 2002 to confirm our commitment to Christ. A beautiful day. We enjoyed the fellowship of the group and were inspired by members of the group, their lifestyle and faith was a great witness to us. We have had a tremendous year that calls for celebration and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Debbie’s story…

Approximately one year ago, after Sept 11th 2001, I began to re-evaluate my life starting with trying to live it better. Church seemed the obvious place to start, but I had misconceptions of ladies in posh hats, gents in suits and children who sat still and spoke only when spoken to (ha ha!).

How wrong could I have been? I really liked what I saw and didn’t realise there were so many people who cared about making a difference. After visiting the church on a regular basis and committing myself to a regular Abundant Life course I decided to be baptised and give my life to the Lord. From week to week my life gradually changed. I no longer worried about bills or daily life. From a worship point of view, the songs and sunshine would keep me going. By sunshine I mean literally; it felt like I had the sun bursting out of me from inside my stomach. Neighbours and friends remarked that I looked really well – glowing almost.

Prayer, which was initially alien to me, soon became a way of life and, guess what, it works! My teenage kids have stopped laughing at me quite so much – they think there might just be something in this God business after all. God is love, all giving, all loving and all free! Go on, try it, I dare you – it’s infectious and you might just like it.

Sid, aged 70+, resisted joining a SEAN group but eventually submitted. He finished book 1 and passed the exam.

Unfortunately a week before he was presented with his certificate he died. However, the vicar, during his eulogy, explained the situation and presented Sid with his certificate by laying it on his coffin!

Sid received his round of applause after all.