Spectral

Additional Info for Parents

Are you going through a specific curriculum?

We do not have a formal curriculum for our group.

What topics will you be discussing?

The first four topics are carryovers from last year's interest. For the last two meetings, we will be asking the students who attend what they or their friends are currently wrestling with in regards to Christianity. We'll attempt to tailor the discussions around that.

6/5: Fact or Faith: do I have to choose? (Science and Faith)
6/19: Abortion
7/3: The Hiddenness of God
7/17: How to not sound like an idiot (logical fallacies and how to deal with them)
7/31: Student's Choice
8/14: Student's Choice

What "other resources" are you using to answer these tough questions? Or is it just off the top of your head?

The other resources we will most likely be using are Stand to Reason, the books Hard Questions Real Answers and Keeping Your Kids on God's Side, as well as the youtube channel Red Pen Logic.

What's the format for each night?

The format for each meeting is: 1) pose a tough question, playing Devil's advocate 2) students discuss, trying to refute it 3) we all watch or read a resource for 7-20 minutes 4) discuss again. We'll also have some kind of dessert each night 🍰

Are parents invited?

Our vision for the group is to have a safe space for high school students to process and give voice to concerns and questions they might be wrestling with.

I, Marie, am a former high school teacher who saw students finish k-12 Christian education and walk away from the faith of their parents and their teachers. I realized some of these students didn't feel they had a place to process some of their hardest concerns because of the pressure to "toe the party line" as it were.

Our hope is to provide a "third space.” Not their secular space (school and/or social media) where they constantly encounter convincing and attractive untruths. Not their home where they might feel pressure to give the "right answer" without totally being convinced it is right. This "third space" will hopefully allow more vulnerability and openness with peers and trusted adults who can help walk them through these questions.

With all this in mind, we are encouraging parents to let their students attend without them. Obviously we don't want any parents to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable! Eric and/or I would be very happy to talk with you over the phone or in person to answer any other questions and hopefully assuage hesitations.

What ages can participate?

Students going into 9th grade through freshmen in college.

Mixed gender discussion or guys and girls separate?

Mixed gender.

Will you be using the Bible as well as your additional resources?

Depending on the nature of the questions, we will use verses from the bible as evidence. Some questions, like "how can we be sure the bible is true" can't rely on the bible to answer that because that would be circular reasoning: "the bible is true because the bible says it's true." For those kinds of questions we will be calling on historical evidence, current evidence, and general Christian apologetics. Our hope is that this approach would better equip students when encountering their own doubts or others' they interact with.

Can parents get a recap after each discussion?

We won't be able to provide a recap to parents for each meeting. This is not motivated from wanting to keep things secret from parents as much as simply a time limitation. Also, our hope is that students would be excited to share with their parents and recap the previous discussion themselves. Certainly, if something comes up we feel parents should know about, we'll encourage students to talk directly to them and follow up accordingly. If it's anything life threatening or illegal, we will inform the parents.

Jon and Judy Haywood

Jon • 970-219-3426
[email protected]

Judy • 970-381-1745
[email protected]

Eric and Marie Grunzke

Eric • 719-210-0472
[email protected]

Marie • 760-846-3324
[email protected]