Low-tech Blah
"Before you dive, get the big picture."
Fellow Buzzards,
Yesterday I addressed a Christian Businessmen's group here in Ventura.
There were two limitations: (a) I only had about 25 minutes; and (b) The room had no PowerPoint capabilities. I had to go fast, and I had to go low-tech.
Actually, it was great! It forced me to be creative and to figure out a new way to make things very interactive in a very short time frame.
Here's what happened.
I took with me a portable blackboard (about 16" tall and 24" wide), some chalk and an eraser. After a few introductory comments about shoveling manure on a dairy farm (part of the MC's intro that I couldn't let pass), I launched into the presentation by saying I'd written a fun, simple intro to worldviews. It's about crunching all the philosophies and religions into six basic types.
Guys generally like things simple. So I asked rhetorically, "What's a worldview?" and answered with "it's your view of the world. Am I going too fast?" Then I explained in one sentence that a worldview is a set of assumptions you have about what's true, real and good -- and moved on to the blackboard and started to draw.
The order of presentation of the various worldviews was different than how I usually do it -- and it seemed to work very well. I began with the What You See Is What You Get illustration. I briefly explained it without naming it. I asked the guys if they knew anybody who believed like this. Then I said, "Your job today is to name these worldviews. What should we call this worldview?"
After kicking around "Dead Men Walking" and a couple of others, they decided on "Dead End."
Then I drew the diagram for the Haunted worldview. We went through the same pattern and they named this one "Many gods, many spirits." Then we reviewed the names of the two worldviews we'd just learned.
For Dueling Yodas they came up with "Opposing forces." Then we reviewed the names of the three worldviews we'd just learned.
For Omnipresent Supergalactic Oneness they came up with "Do it over" (keying in on the idea of reincarnation). Then we reviewed the names of the four worldviews we'd just learned.
For Designer Religion they came up with (Do it yourself." Then we reviewed the names of the five worldviews we'd just learned.
And finally, for the Biblical worldview they came up with "God's Way." Then we reviewed the names of the six worldviews we'd just learned.
To conclude I talked about the big idea of chapter 5 or 6 of the book: that only in the Biblical worldview does it make any sense to say that God loves you. And that's very good news -- the news we, created in God's image for a relationship with him, most desperately want to hear.
The Q&A afterward was very animated and stimulating. All in all, a very fun, profitable time.
Fellow Buzzards,
Yesterday I addressed a Christian Businessmen's group here in Ventura.
There were two limitations: (a) I only had about 25 minutes; and (b) The room had no PowerPoint capabilities. I had to go fast, and I had to go low-tech.
Actually, it was great! It forced me to be creative and to figure out a new way to make things very interactive in a very short time frame.
Here's what happened.
I took with me a portable blackboard (about 16" tall and 24" wide), some chalk and an eraser. After a few introductory comments about shoveling manure on a dairy farm (part of the MC's intro that I couldn't let pass), I launched into the presentation by saying I'd written a fun, simple intro to worldviews. It's about crunching all the philosophies and religions into six basic types.
Guys generally like things simple. So I asked rhetorically, "What's a worldview?" and answered with "it's your view of the world. Am I going too fast?" Then I explained in one sentence that a worldview is a set of assumptions you have about what's true, real and good -- and moved on to the blackboard and started to draw.
The order of presentation of the various worldviews was different than how I usually do it -- and it seemed to work very well. I began with the What You See Is What You Get illustration. I briefly explained it without naming it. I asked the guys if they knew anybody who believed like this. Then I said, "Your job today is to name these worldviews. What should we call this worldview?"
After kicking around "Dead Men Walking" and a couple of others, they decided on "Dead End."
Then I drew the diagram for the Haunted worldview. We went through the same pattern and they named this one "Many gods, many spirits." Then we reviewed the names of the two worldviews we'd just learned.
For Dueling Yodas they came up with "Opposing forces." Then we reviewed the names of the three worldviews we'd just learned.
For Omnipresent Supergalactic Oneness they came up with "Do it over" (keying in on the idea of reincarnation). Then we reviewed the names of the four worldviews we'd just learned.
For Designer Religion they came up with (Do it yourself." Then we reviewed the names of the five worldviews we'd just learned.
And finally, for the Biblical worldview they came up with "God's Way." Then we reviewed the names of the six worldviews we'd just learned.
To conclude I talked about the big idea of chapter 5 or 6 of the book: that only in the Biblical worldview does it make any sense to say that God loves you. And that's very good news -- the news we, created in God's image for a relationship with him, most desperately want to hear.
The Q&A afterward was very animated and stimulating. All in all, a very fun, profitable time.
