About the Book
Claim the Life is a six-year, comprehensive spiritual formation plan for youth Sunday school. The annual themes are Journey, Word, and Faith for younger youth; Promise, Story, and Call for older youth. Each year is divided into two 16-week semesters. Each lesson begins with Tending, an intentional ritual that helps youth develop closer relationships through tending to one another and tending to God at work in their lives and the world. The planned Teaching content is focused on one word (or phrase) that is significant to the Christian faith (Commitment, Suffering, Simplicity, Blessing, Peace, Abundant Life, for example). Each lesson concludes with Sending, an intentional ritual that helps youth create SMART goals, ways in which they will practice some element of being a disciple. * The weekly pattern of Tending, Teaching, and Sending is an intentional plan for spiritual formation, learning, and discipleship. * Churches, parents, teachers, and youth will have a sense of progression and intentionality in teaching material that is important to the faith. In six years students will encounter 192 words and Scriptures. * Sunday school classes will be able to complete the annual material and still have weeks they can fill with seasonal, timely (LinC, for example), or local-interest lessons.* Youth will experience Christian community and participate in practices of the faith.* Each youth will make the lessons relevant to him- or herself through the practice of developing his or her own SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Revealed, and Time-Limited). *Teachers will be able to choose a lesson plan that suits them from the two provided. Claim the Life: JourneyIn this first year of study for younger youth, the words (topics) focus on loving God, making faithful decisions, loving others, dealing with life's difficulties, and developing Christian character--all hallmarks of the Christian journey. Semester 1 and Semester 2 have the same categories, but use different words and Scriptures. Sample words: Worship, Commitment, Temple, Forgiving, Disciple, Love, Generosity, Courage, Simplicity, Light.Claim the Life: WordIn this second year of study for younger youth the focus will be on "words for life." Of all the Bible passages, these 32 Scriptures are ones youth should understand and know "by heart." In Semester 1 the words are from the Old Testament and include the Ten Commandments, the Shema, Psalm 23, and other memorable passages. Semester 2 words come from the New Testament and include the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, the Great Commandment, the Fruit of the Spirit, for example. Sample words: God, Sabbath, Choose, Shepherd, Steadfast, Justice, Prayer, Good Shepherd, Believe, Abide.Claim the Life: FaithThese two volumes of the third year for younger youth introduce them to the nature of faith, God, in whom we have faith, being saved by faith, living as a community of faith, living faithfully, and faith eternal. These categories are the basis of both semesters, but the words and Scriptures are different from one semester to the next. Sample words: Authority, Doubt, Trinity, Confession, Salvation, Communion, Kingdom, Lord, Second Mile, Eternal Life.Claim the Life: PromiseIn this first year of study for older youth, the words come from the categories of the nature of promise, God's promises, Jesus' promises, and our promises. Both semesters follow this structure, but the words and Scriptures are different for Semester 1 and Semester 2. Sample words: Belonging, Judgment, Providence, Blessing, Abundant Life, Hope, Community, Incarnation, Vow, Test.Claim the Life: StoryThe second year of study for older youth will be an encounter with the larger biblical story as told in the Old Testament (Semester 1) and New Testament (Semester 2). Through the telling of the stories that move along The Story, youth will put together bits and pieces of Bible stories they have learned in the past into a coherent and grand story of God's amazing love for humanity. Sample words: Creation, Sin, Grace, Deliverance, Exile, Savior, Remember, Resurrection, Church, New Jerusalem.Claim the Life: CallThe third year of study for older youth challenges them to respond by who they are and what they will do with their lives. The categories are the nature of God's call, gifted and called, called to follow, and called to bring change. The categories remain the same for both semesters; the words and Scriptures are different. Sample words: Vocation, Ministry, Spiritual Gifts, Obedient, Freedom, Serve, Countercultural, Prophetic, Righteousness, God's Will.
About the Author :
Larry Beman is a pastor/educator/storyteller who lives near Rochester, New York. He has written numerous articles and curriculum resources for the United Methodist Publishing House. Following in the footsteps of his carpenter grandfather, he is part of a team that offers home repairs to low income families in a rural county in Western New York. He is blessed to be married to Barbara Bruce. Marcey Balcomb is a 30 year veteran in youth ministry, currently serving as Director of Common Cup Youth Ministry in Portland, OR. Marcey is co-author of Twists of Faith: Ministry with Youth at the Turning Points of their Lives (1999). She has also written for Faith in Motion, YouthNet, LinC, Connect Enuma Okoro was born in the United States and raised in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and England. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School where she served as Director for the Center for Theological Writing. She has served as a Spiritual Formation Leader for seminarians and continues to lead workshops and retreats for both youth and adults on such topics as the Dangers and Joys of Prayer, Vocational Discernment, Theology & Poetry, The Arts as a Mirror for the Divine, Writing as a Spiritual Practice, and Engaging the Spiritual Disciplines for Discernment. She works as a full time writer, speaker, and workshop/ retreat leader. Enuma is the author of Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert's Search for Spiritual Community. Enuma is co-author with Susan Briehl and Don Richter of a companion study guide for On Our Way: Christian Practices for Leading a Whole Life ed. by Dorothy C. Bass and Susan R. Briehl. The Reverend Doctor Robin H. Kimbrough knows a lot about following Jesus, from both a positive and a negative viewpoint. In addition to being a clergyperson serving Scott United Methodist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee, she is also a judge for night court. Mike Ratliff has more than 20 years experience in youth ministry. He has also written for YouthNet and for Let's Be Real: Honest Discussions About Faith and Sexuality. He is a nationally known workshop leader and consultant, as well as adjunct professor of youth ministry at Illiff. He currently serves at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Littleton, Colorado. Mary Bernard is a writer and editor and has worked in Christian education for more than twenty years. She s a regular contributor to Bible Lesson for Youth and enjoys blogging and cooking. Visit her online at www.writingmomof3.com.
