Ambassador Institute Christmas Greeting

January is a time for intensive two week training courses both here at the Association Free Lutheran Seminary as well as in Chirala, India. The training in India will include: Doctrine of the Means of Grace by Dr. Francis Monseth, Discipleship by Pastor Mark Antal and Congregational Life by myself, Pastor Kevin Olson.
The style of the training in India is different than at AFLTS because the culture, the language and the education of the people is different. A classroom in the U.S. typically includes desks, books, class notes, and a teacher. In India, the training comed.s from an oral tradition in which the lesson is learned by repetition and memory. Books are not readily available in Telugu and so the training style must be varied. Instead of straight lecture, the students will be engaged in a story most often from the Bible that they will learn and apply to the topic of the class. The oral method of training engages the mind in the study of the text, it is more quickly retained because it is a story, and it involves the emotions that go along with the feelings of the people in the story. It can be a challenge to change teaching styles from one culture to another, but it is also a great privilege to be a part of taking God’s Word half way around the world.

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