Friday, February 11, 2011

Confirmation Class Character Sheet

Trying to do something new and interesting (hopefully) with the confirmation class.  We're going to talk about gifts of the spirit, and I used Comic Life to put together a little character sheet for the kids to fill out.  The idea is to spark a conversation about the spiritual gifts described in the three main NT lists as well as turn us to thinking about which gifts we have, which we want to develop, and which we just wonder about.

I tried to change all of the spiritual gifts listed into I-statements that the kids can either identify with or not.  I hope this goes well.  The idea is just to jump-start talk about spiritual gifts, and to connect the lists in the Bible with what we do, or don't do, every day.

Anybody reading this brave enough to post your scores in the comments thread?

This is really a rudimentary sheet - the software is more versatile than this, but I don't have all that long to learn  how to use it better.  I got the idea from Pete Figtree using Comic Life for his syllabus and making character sheets for all of his high school English students. What he came up with is more of an example of what you can do with the software, which is free for 30 days, and based on its potential, may end up being something I pay to register.

10 comments:

Alan said...

When they're done, do they roll for their hit points, charisma, and dexterity scores?

(Do kids even get D&D references any more?)

Douglas Underhill said...

I think they sort of do. Things like attributes and hit points have been standard fare in video games for about 30 years now - they'll just probably wonder how you use the dice with their XBox.

Aric Clark said...

This is excellent Doug, though I did think you were onto something yesterday when you were going to force them to rank their gifts to prevent the "shrug" effect. With this sheet I have a feeling you'll get a lot of 2's up and down the whole list.

Aric Clark said...

Oh, and here is how I would score myself:

I do what's right: 2
I show excitement: 3
I am generous: 2
I am gentle: 1
I help sick people: 1
I am honest: 2
I invite outsiders: 2
I interpret people: 3
I enjoy learning: 3
I love enemies: 2
I make good choices: 3
I love family/friends: 2
I see miracles: 1
I am patient: 1
I make peace: 2
I pray alot: 1
I see what will happen and speak: 3
I speak when others can't: 3
I have sympathy for those suffering: 2
I know right from wrong: 3

Stacia said...

I got 47 total. Didn't know how you wanted the scores. (Aric got 42 - I think he's a lot more humble than I am.)

Very cool sheet! It caught my eye!

Alan said...

Doug, Alas, they miss out on having that bag full of wacky 4,6,8, 10, and 20 sided dice.

Aric, I believe your scores make you lawful good, so you could be a Paladin if you want. What's your armor class? :)

Anonymous said...

Interesting... Ben and I got a smile out of this. He could help you develop the video game side if you want. Maybe next are some "items" we can equip to remind us of ways we can start to accept and overcome our shortcomings to reach out to others more effectively. I'd love an awesome cape that reminds me to be the best I can for myself and others every day. I could get better at using it over time, and might be more likely to guess right when I'm thinking of others' needs.
I do what's right: 2
I show excitement: 2
I am generous: 2
I am gentle: 3
I help sick people: 3
I am honest: 3
I invite outsiders: 3
I interpret people: 2
I enjoy learning: 3
I love enemies: 3
I make good choices: 1
I love family/friends: 2
I see miracles: 3
I am patient: 2
I make peace: 2
I pray alot: 1
I see what will happen and speak: 2
I speak when others can't: 2
I have sympathy for those suffering: 3
I know right from wrong: 2
-Kri

Douglas Underhill said...

I have no idea how this will go over - Aric you might be right, but we'll see. If nothing else, this was worthwhile to see the responses. Anyone, after putting numbers to things, see anything worth talking about?

For me:
I do what's right 2
I show my excitement and joy 1
I am generous 2
I am gentle with others 3
I can help people who are sick 2
I am honest with myself and others 2
I invite outsiders to join me 1
I can interpret what people say 3
I enjoy learning and know a few things 3
I am able to love my enemies 1
I make good choices 2
I show my love for family and friends 2
I've seen miracles happen! 1
I am patient 3
I always try to make peace with others 2
I pray a lot 1
Like a prophet...2
I can speak when others can't, and be understood 2
I have sympathy...3
I know right from wrong 3

Totals weren't important in this exercise (since 1 can either be low, or is an invitation to ask a question), but my total is apparently 41

Anonymous said...

Hey Dude,

I just randomly came across your blog due to the picture showing the various counties and their Protestant-majority affiliation. That being said, this above post is un-Christian and misguided. While there may have been some Christian protesters arguing alongside their Muslim counterparts for regime change, that doesn't mean there isn't a culture war. I'm currently in the West Bank, and Christians here are being persecuted because of their faith. You can try to convince yourself that Islam is not an expansionist entity aimed at world domination, but that is the truth. Just because every Muslim does not openly advocate for this (in the same way not all Christians will tell non-believers how truly they believe in the Second Coming), this is an inherent quality of Islam.

Also, I think you might be projecting when you say that it is a popular misconception that Arabs are backwards and hate filled. Is this part of the common discourse?

Anyway, as can be seen by the continued rioting and the election of Islamists (including the extreme Salafis), you were clearly misguided...the question is whether you can take off those blinders.

Douglas Underhill said...

My post about using a superhero character sheet for confirmation class to teach about the gifts of the Spirit is un-Christian? That's weird.

But seriously - I don't have blinders on. We just disagree. Even you seem to understand that militant, exclusivist, apocalyptic and expansionist Islam is just their equivalent of militant, exclusivist, apocalyptic and expansionist Christianity.

I'm honest with everyone about what I think about the Second Coming. When one doesn't harbor the above type of beliefs, it's actually pretty easy to be honest about everything with whoever wants to know. That's just one of many advantages.