Ali Kaiser
This semester has challenged me to analyze profoundly my surroundings and interactions with such. As I engage the readings and projects for my classes, I realize how many facets exist in my ministries, and how each carries specific needs and calls for particular attention.
In previous projects for this course, I have carefully described the multiple layers of my context as I more deeply develop a connection between the gospel of Luke and my life of ministry in Brazil. As I elaborated further for this assignment of a six month curriculum plan, I spent time crafting discussions, resources, and applications for each layer, connecting it to the most relevant Lukan theme. In this paper I will present a rough outline for each of the four levels of my context, some which will last as long as six months, whereas other themes and contexts do not lend themselves to such an extensive period of time yet still aim to meet the uniqueness of the context’s needs.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN NATIONAL CONTEXT
As seen in previous papers, I recognize an acute need for the expansion of the Social Justice movement in the Brazilian culture – not only do we experience a vast need, but also we lack initiative and examples of Social Justice movements in our society.
In October I made connections with two very important and impressive organizations that are open and available to discuss the importance of Social Justice culture in their line of service. One institution works with favela children, offering them extra-curricular activities and tutoring; the other is the city office in charge of juvenile delinquents that have served their sentence and must meet for a period of six months of probation.
Both organizations rely on staff that lacks support, resources, and training to sustain the emotionally strenuous labor of serving such underprivileged population. Therefore, in both scenarios I will first offer training and motivation to the employees and emphasize their role in the Social Justice movement in the community, and call them to create awareness in their community of Social Justice service.
For such training and motivation sessions, I will present the following topics for discussion:
a) The sociological study of hidden rules among economic classes. This information opens our eyes to assumptions many times unseen that cause much of the frustration when working across economic levels.
b) Learn from other organizations. Recognizing the importance of trading experiences with other social justice organizations further expands our knowledge and network.
c) Use art as inspiration. Present songs, movie clips, poetry, and paintings that expose the need for Social Justice in our culture or that come as a positive result of such movements in our country. In this discussion I will insert passages of Luke as a respected literature source that speaks of Jesus exercising Social Justice (read 1:26-28; 4:40; 8:1-3 -- What can we learn from Jesus in Luke about this theme? Highlight the topics of inclusion of women, the corrupt, and the poor in his life story.)
d) Plan citywide seminar. Invite the leaders of both organizations to propose to the mayor a seminar of Social Justice awareness offered to the population of Itu.
This flow of topics will present necessary support tools to the employees, encourage their role in the organization as essential tools for a better society, and empower them to teach our communities more about service to the underprivileged and outreach to the marginalized.
Important observation: These conversations are contextualized for non-Christian organizations, although discussion on Luke will be highlighted. The purpose is to develop the practical implications of the Lukan theme, not to discuss the theoretical relevance.
COMPASSION IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
The theme of compassion presents itself in two ways in this context:
1. How does the church extend compassion to the community?
2. How does the church extend compassion within the church?
1. To answer the first question, I will invite the church leadership team and the benevolence ministry leaders to combine for a discussion of Jesus and compassion in Luke (expanded in the Kaiser Outline paper). I will also use this material while training the group of volunteers for our medical campaign, CURA, in the months of May and June.
2. As for the second question, we will introduce in February (and will continue until December) a video series called “Telling Our Story,” where every month two members of the church will offer their video testimony during worship on Sunday. Compassion stories of Jesus in Luke will be read at the opening of the videos. This series will emphasize the availability of compassion within a community when we share our stories.
Both perspectives on extending compassion hold significant value in the life of a congregation, and largely influence the health of the church both looking inward and outward.
SIMPLICITY IN THE YOUTH GROUP
The strong Lukan theme of simplicity is most relevant to our ever-consuming youth culture. The leadership team and I will present this theme in 4 phases, knowing that each phase will surpass one week’s worth of discussion:
Phase 1. Luke 9:10-17 → “We never have enough.” Discuss the materialistic obsession in our culture, showing commercials and songs that emphasize the constant pursuit of wealth.
Phase 2. Luke 12:32-34→ “I will provide.” Discuss Jesus’ call to live a simple life.
Phase 3. Luke 10:1-12 → “What now?” What commitments can we make as a community in relation to this theme?
Phase 4. Watch the movie “Into the Wild.”
I hope to challenge this age group to reconsider what material norm they will allow themselves to follow. Oupersonal story with the group about our decision to live a simple and communal life.
HOSPITALITY IN OUR HOME
Since I live in a communal home, the hospitality theme most closely connects to this level of my context. Jesus, however, has opened my mind to understanding hospitality also as the act of being received, not just receiving.
With our home, I plan to carryout the discussion of hospitality in Luke (as developed in Kaiser Outline paper), and call the house to the following actions:
1. Make the four sentences visible in our home, such as painting them on the living room walls.
2. Invite one family/month to share Friday evening dinner with our home.
3. Invite ourselves over to share a meal with a family once a month.
4. Keep a journal about the experience of opening our home to a family and entering another home as a family.
We receive between 40 and 50 people/ week at our home, but I know our non-nuclear family will gain much from receiving hospitality and blessing people within their most personal setting.
As I imagined a six-month curriculum for my context, I did not want to simply expand the Bible study aspect, but create a semester full of pragmatic initiatives for each of my ministries. As I reviewed the four strong Lukan themes I chose to weave into my ministries, I am pleased to recognize their relevance, and excited to watch each community learn and grow from the exposure to Jesus in Luke.
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