Kaleidoscope Bible Study
MSU Wesley practices the gracious leadership skills that we have learned from Eric Law and the Kaleidoscope Institute.
Respectful Communication Guidelines
R = take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others.
E = use EMPATHETIC listening.
S = be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles.
P = PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak.
E = EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions.
C = keep CONFIDENTIALITY.
T = TRUST ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.
Mutual Invitation
In order to ensure that everyone who wants to share has the opportunity to speak, we will proceed in the following way:
The leader or a designated person will share first. After that person has spoken, he or she then invites another to share. Whom you invite does not need to be the person next to you. After the next person has spoken, that person is given the privilege to invite another to share.
If you are not ready to share yet, say “I pass for now” and we will invite [you to share later on]. If you don’t want to say anything at all, simply say “pass” and proceed to invite another to share. We will do this until everyone has been invited.
We invite you to listen and not to respond to someone’s sharing immediately. There will be time to respond and to ask clarifying questions after everyone has had an opportunity to share.
(from The Wolf Shall Dwell With the Lamb by Eric H. F. Law)
Kaleidoscope Bible Study Process
- Read the Respectful Communication Guidelines and invite members of the group to affirm them for their time together.
- Inform participants that the Bible passage will be read 3 times. After each reading, participants will be invited to share their reflections.
- Invite participants to capture a word, a phrase or image when listening to the passage the first time.
- Invite someone to read the passage.
- A moment of silence to capture a word, a phrase or image that stood out from the passage for them.
- Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her word, phrase or image briefly. (This should take no more than 5 minutes.)
- Invite participants to consider the second question appointed for this passage. (Facilitator should prepare ahead of time a question that is relevant to participants’ context.)
- Invite someone to read the passage a second time.
- A moment of silence to reflect on the question.
- Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her reflection.
- Invite participants to consider the following question while listening to the passage again.
- “What does God invite you to do, be or change through this passage?”
- Invite someone to read the passage a third time.
- A moment of silence to reflect on the question.
- Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her reflection.
- End the session with a prayer circle:
- Invite participants to join hands in a circle. Invite each person to mentally complete the sentences:
I thank God today . . .
I ask God today . . .
The leader will begin by sharing his or her prayers. After he or she has shared, the leader then squeezes the hand of the person to the right. That will be the signal for the next person to share his or her prayers. If the person does not want to share, he or she can simply pass the pulse to the next person. When the pulse comes back to the leader, he or she can begin the Lord’s Prayer and invite everyone to join in.
We recommend that you study one of the Bible texts from the upcoming Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).
Get Involved
Are you a current Michigan State or Lansing Community College Student? Get in touch and a Wesley student will happily connect you to our community.
Know a student currently attending Michigan State University or Lansing Community College? Let us know, and Pastor Bill or a Wesley student will reach out!
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