If you have 10 minutes each week

• pray - for a quiet mind, thankful for time to listen for God.

• choose one video

• read the discussion questions and choose one that really makes you think (reading the questions FIRST gets your brain into gear, and helps you watch with focus)

• watch the video with that question in mind

• think about those ideas as you go about the rest of your day

• (optional) record your ideas when you have a quiet moment later in the day

If you have 30 minutes each week

• pray - for a quiet mind, thankful for time to listen for God.

• get out your journal and Bible

• read the discussion questions before watching the video (a great learning tool…gets your brain looking out for cues and keeps you focused)

• watch the video

• look up one of the Bible references mentioned and consider how the story informs the question

• write your thoughts and questions in your journal, making connections with your own experience

If you have 60 minutes each week

• pray - for a quiet mind, thankful for time to listen for God.

• find your journal and Bible

• read the discussion questions before launching the video (a great learning tool…gets your brain looking out for cues and keeps you focused)

• watch the video, remember you can use the transcript if you prefer to read. Look for the link next to the video

• look up one of the Bible references mentioned and consider how the story informs the question

• record your responses to your ideas and spend some time writing/recording in your journal. Don’t be worried if you get caught up on one idea, develop your ideas and consider how you might discuss them with others.

• consider making a time with someone else to discuss their responses to the discussion questions.

• record how the ideas impact your life, and pay attention to any niggling calls to action

If you have 90 minutes - 2 hours, and a group

Here’s an example of how a 2 hour group session might run

Prior to the meeting

• advertise the topic for the week, eg: “Why is religion a thing?” which is week one from the Christmas too commercial? Try WONDER! pathway.

• ask people to think about their own experience of that question. Encourage thoughts about experience, Bible stories, people, prayer, silence etc

At the meeting:

• This is the first meeting, so get right into the action. People will get to know each other as they participate. There is time during a cuppa to swap names and have a more formal introduction. Barriers are down by then!

• gather and do five minutes of fun to get brains working – start this right on time, it sets an expectation that you run a tight ship AND gets everyone looking forward to a non-threatening intro each week.

• run a THINK:PAIR:SHARE to allow people to give their ideas about the topic question, and meet one other person. Allow 2 minutes thinking time to organise thoughts, the pair up for 6 minutes. Then gather and ask specific people to share.

• introduce the video with the task: “See if you can find one new idea, and one old idea”. Giving people something to look out for really focusses attention and motivates people to watch and listen with purpose. Take notes if you like.

• play the video

• use the THINK – PAIR – SHARE routine to gather ideas about the one new idea and one old idea

• take a break for 5 minutes to get coffee etc

• set up the discussion questions: For example, I’ve chosen for the group to focus on only 3 discussion questions and plan to approach each question differently

Question e) Identify questions that you have asked/wondered about/heard others ask about religion. Is God at the end of all those questions? How would you answer them?

To encourage conversation, identify a few key responses and jot them on separate pages. Pass the pages around the circle, have people read what’s there, tick if they’ve had the same question and add sub questions, then pass on.

Question d) Peter Kline discusses the nature of a human desire for God - “our natural wiring towards God?” “Is it located in the mind is it located in the emotions, is it located in the body or some combination of all of those things?”

Think about this question and place yourself on a line across the room - Emotions at one end, and Body at the other. People can be in the middle as well. Discuss reasons why people have placed themselves at various spots on this continuum.

Question f) How would an ad agency deal with promoting our “natural wiring towards God”?

Take on the role of Advertising Agency genius and nut out a slogan, or idea to promote this. Collect the ideas and display in Church or on the blog/Facebook page. Groups of 3 – 5 are ideal for this. Bring your ideas and selves together and hear the ideas! Use all your resources: Biblical stories, personal experience and so on. Decide how to display this to the wider parish during the week

Pray!