Study guide
ccumulation. Clutter. It’s when things grow old, wear out or become obsolete, yet we keep them around. They take up space in the attics, closets, basements and
garages of our homes and congregations. But our hearts and minds can also become cluttered with ideas that no longer work, and our congregations can become bogged down with outdated ideas. From time to time our physical spaces need a good cleaning, and so do our mind-sets.
house and assign a “clutter grade” (A is clutter-free and F is clutter chaos) to each of these places: attic, bedrooms, clos- ets, living room, dining room, basement, garage and other spaces. Share: • What would be your overall grade? • Which is the most cluttered area? • What does the clutter consist of? How did it get there? • What does the clutter say about your life? Your attitudes? • What are you going to do about it? Now as a study group (you might divide into teams)
go through your church and assess the clutter you find in these places: the narthex, classrooms, office, kitchen, pas- tor’s study, conference rooms, storage rooms, basement and other spaces. Share: • What would be the overall grade? What’s the worst grade? • What does it say about your church? Its attitudes? • What can you do about it?
Exercise 2: Accumulation Clutter happens when we accumulate too much stuff. And
it’s getting worse. People find closets in older homes way too small for their clothes. And even our houses are too small, which is why the self storage industry is booming. • Do you fight clutter? Do you have more accumulated stuff than your grandparents did? (And more space?)
• Why are we more acquisitive today? • How have we changed as people? • What does it mean to accumulate and hold on to possessions?
• What are the spiritual dimensions of accumulation? • How can we fight it?
This study guide excerpt is offered as one example of the more than 400 that are currently available on The Lutheran’s website. Download guides (including a longer version of this one)—free to print and Web subscribers —at
www.thelutheran.org (click “study guides”).
22
www.thelutheran.org
By Robert C. Blezard
Starting fresh: What goes, stays? A
Exercise 1: Clutter assessment Have each member of the study group go through their
Exercise 3: Give ‘stuff’ away As a study group, take the 100-item giveaway challenge:
Over the next 100 days, covenant to find at least 100 items (not junk—stuff that’s useful) to give away. Check in with one another regularly to see how it’s going. When done, discuss: • What did you learn? • What was the hardest part? The easiest? • Did it change how you thought about your “stuff ”? As a variation, make the challenge part of your Lenten
celebration or post-Easter countdown to Pentecost. Or make it a yearlong 365-item giveaway.
Exercise 4: A ‘buying fast’ Clutter creeps into our lives because it’s easy to accu-
mulate. As either an alternative or a complement to giving stuff away, your study group can covenant to go on a buy- ing “fast.” For a period of time—100 days, a month or two, a church season or maybe even a year—agree not to buy any new stuff. Draw up some rules (food is not stuff) and excep- tions (it’s OK to replace worn-out socks or underwear, and emergencies happen). As you go, discuss what you are expe- riencing. What’s hardest? What’s surprising? What’s joyful? What are you learning about stuff? About yourself?
Exercise 5: Bigger barns Jesus warned: “Be on your guard against all kinds of
greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of pos- sessions” (Luke 12:15). Then to illustrate, he told the story of the rich fool. Read Luke 12:15-21 and discuss: • Why was the rich man foolish? • What did possessions mean to him? • What was his understanding of sufficiency? Of security? Of generosity? Of gratitude?
• How do you compare in your own attitudes? • What “bigger barns” do you build?
• What is a Christian understanding of sufficiency and the value of posses- sions? How would this understanding help us declutter our lives?
Author bio: Blezard is an assistant to the bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did
subsequent study at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52