Frequently Asked Questions
What do the 38 lessons cover?
The Small Catechism section has 4 lessons on the 10 Commandments, 3 on the Apostles' Creed, 3 on the Lord's Prayer, and 4 on the Sacraments (what we do, and what God does, for both baptism and communion).
The Church History lessons cover the Early Church to the Great Schism, the Reformation, Lutherans & WWII, Slavery and the Bible, and ELCA History.
The Faith Structure lessons cover ELCA Structure & Ministries, Career Ministry, Other Lutheran Denominations, Other Christian Denominations, and Other Religions.
The Church Calendar lessons cover the Season of Pentecost Holidays, Seasons Related to Christmas, and Seasons Related to Easter.
The Faith Life lessons cover the Priesthood of All Believers, Spiritual Disciplines, Stewardship, Worship Whys (a tour through Sunday worship), and Special Services (healing, marriage, and funeral services).
The Special Topics lessons cover Lutherans & the Bible, The End of All Things (death & Revelation), Spiritual Self Defense (avoiding abusive faith communities and encouraging healthy ones), Oppression in the Bible, and Science & Faith.
And there is one lesson covering the 5 Solas of being Lutheran.
How can I share information about this curriculum with my church council or education team?
A Scope & Sequence handout, with a few Frequently Asked Questions, is available for download on the Purchase page of this website. A sample lesson, "Commandments about God," is also included.
Which version of the Lutheran Study Bible should I suggest my students use?
Really any of the editions will work, though some of the Bible Study Appendix directions include page numbers which may not be accurate in the Enlarged Print and Ebook editions. I like the hardcover edition because they're nice and sturdy. Just make sure your students are getting the Augsburg Fortress Bible, and not the Concordia Publishing Bible! Blue cover, not brown.
Can I use this with another Bible, not the Augsburg Fortress Lutheran Study Bible?
Yes, however, the Bible Study Appendix at the back of the book, to help you guide the Bible study for each lesson, will be significantly less useful to you, since there are lots of references in there to specific margin notes and background material included in that Bible. Grace Alone uses the NRSV translation unless otherwise specified.
Can I use this without a copy of the Small Catechism by Martin Luther?
Yes, you can use this book without your own copy of the Small Catechism. But if you realize you want to look at it anyway, there is a free version available online. After working through Grace Alone, perhaps you will want one!
Is this a "no prep" curriculum?
No. I don't really think there could be such a thing. Anyone leading confirmation will want to read the next lesson at least a week in advance. Sometimes the discussion question will say, "and now you'll have an opportunity to ask questions anonymously!" and you'll need to have index cards available that week. And of course you'll want to do some extra prep for Lectio Divina when that comes up, or have certain things in mind when talking about death or Revelation.
There is no schedule for us to follow?
I personally used these lessons as part of a two-year program. How you break up the subjects is up to you, but if you're using Grace Alone for Confirmation instead of with a group of older students, I have a few suggestions.
So how do I lead a session with this?
I suggest starting each lesson by sharing highs and lows from the week around the table.
Then go into the lesson- I expect the students to read the lesson in advance, it isn't that much. So for each section I would give a quick 2-3 sentence summary, and then ask the discussion question. Most of the discussion questions should offer at least a few minutes of conversation.
After all the sections and discussion questions are finished, it's time for the Bible study (see the Bible Study Appendix in the back).
If there is time you can look up the hymn listed for the week and check it for new vocabulary words, reword the lyrics to make sure you understand what they mean, and listen to the melody.
Finally finish the session with asking around the table what each person will be praying about this week (an individual or group of people, situations, animals, etc.,) as I find that greatly increases the habit of regular prayer, and close with a prayer for all those prayer topics and the Lord's Prayer, or maybe the Apostles' Creed if the students are working on that.
Where's the PowerPoint presentation to go with this?
There isn't one. PowerPoint, 90% of the time, is used to do 1 of 2 things: either to emphasize bullet points, or to act as a script for the leader. Bullet points work against the foundational concept of this curriculum; that the world is a complicated place and our faith has a complex and nuanced place in our life in the world. Also, with Grace Alone, the leader doesn't need a script, the focus is on discussion! The other 10% of the time, they're used as a presentation outline, despite being terribly formatted for an outline. Grace Alone doesn't need an outline, because each lesson section is already so short!
Try thinking of it this way- without a PowerPoint to look at, participants have two choices of what to look at- others in the group, or the book. You're encouraging community, or encouraging reviewing the material. (Or reading the Bible, if you're at the Bible study section of the lesson.) Those are good options!
What kind of difficult topics does this book address?
Racism and sexism, and their history in and out of the church, are both addressed a few times. The process of how crucifixion actually killed Jesus is explained in some detail, though not in a gory way. Several unpleasant things that the church has done are discussed. Points of theology and culture that have split denominations over the course of the last thousand years are discussed as well. Abusive families and faith communities are acknowledged to exist.
The 2009 vote to ordain people in same-gender relationships and officiate same-gender marriages is mentioned about twice. These sections stick to the historical facts of how the vote worked, and what is ELCA current policy for rostered leaders. I certainly encourage leaders to discuss the interaction of faith and LGBTQA+ identity with their students, in an honest, prayerful, and I hope affirming, manner.
While I considered adding a related lesson in this book, I also know that your class's current context will have a lot to do with how you'll need to approach it. Even if a "one size fits all" lesson could be formulated, I don't know that I'm the person to do it.
My hope is that this book could be used in congregations in any setting. All of these topics, and how they relate to our connection and equality to one another in baptism, are good conversations to have in any faith community, and there are many resources out there to help.
What are the Bible studies geared towards?
The goal is that the students will start reading the Bible more deeply than, "And so this story tells us that God wants us to be nice to each other, the end." They will come to see that different people will read the Bible differently, that not every question about the Bible has a simple yes-or-no answer, and that the Bible has a wide variety of authors, goals, and genres within it. The Bible studies are not meant to be a tour through the Bible that will teach them the main characters and story arcs. That said, if you keep adding context to each Bible study as you go, they will have read a lot of important Bible passages by the end of the program and should be more familiar with finding things in their Bible.
If you are looking for a "tour through the Bible" curriculum to use with Grace Alone, I suggest Augsburg Fortress's Echo the Story curriculum, which is a 36 session guided tour of the Bible. If your students have low Bible literacy, doing Echo the Story along with Grace Alone could work very well together, although I did not design Grace Alone to accompany Echo the Story.
What does "An unofficial resource for the ELCA" mean?
This resource is not created or published by the ELCA, but is written by an ELCA pastor (Rev. Katherine Rohloff) and is intended for use by congregations and members of the ELCA.
I don't know the answer to a discussion question in the lesson?
Most of these questions don't have a single correct answer. A few discussion questions have some guidance offered under that lesson's section in the Bible Study Appendix.
You list these Bible passages to study with each lesson but I need help?
Have you looked in the back of the book at the Bible study Appendix? Don't forget to make room for the Holy Spirit, and be ready to say, "I don't know" where necessary.
Why don't you give a format for Lectio Divina instead of just directing us to the internet?
This is one of those things people have very strong opinions on, and I don't claim to be an expert in this format of Bible study, though I think it's a good one to introduce people to. My format is pretty loose and relaxed, other people get very persnickety about it. There are a bunch of helpful guides online, or you can ask other faith leaders in your community if they have a favorite way of going about it.
I am not in the ELCA/not in the USA, can I use this book?
You may find it helpful in a variety of ways, and I hope you do! But there will be parts of it that don't quite suit you.
I'm having trouble with the Augsburg Fortress Lutheran Study Bible Ebook?!
I am not an Augsburg Fortress employee and I've never actually used the ebook, you'll need to contact their customer support at 1-800-328-4648.
I'm having trouble with the Small Catechism App?!
I am not an Augsburg, Google, or Apple employee either. However, I will point out that there's a free version and a paid version- the paid version has some extra things in it that are nice, but not strictly necessary for Grace Alone. Whether or not the person running your confirmation program feels it is necessary is up to them. The app should be available in both the Android and Apple app stores.
I have found a typo or error!
Please let me know at: [email protected]
The Small Catechism section has 4 lessons on the 10 Commandments, 3 on the Apostles' Creed, 3 on the Lord's Prayer, and 4 on the Sacraments (what we do, and what God does, for both baptism and communion).
The Church History lessons cover the Early Church to the Great Schism, the Reformation, Lutherans & WWII, Slavery and the Bible, and ELCA History.
The Faith Structure lessons cover ELCA Structure & Ministries, Career Ministry, Other Lutheran Denominations, Other Christian Denominations, and Other Religions.
The Church Calendar lessons cover the Season of Pentecost Holidays, Seasons Related to Christmas, and Seasons Related to Easter.
The Faith Life lessons cover the Priesthood of All Believers, Spiritual Disciplines, Stewardship, Worship Whys (a tour through Sunday worship), and Special Services (healing, marriage, and funeral services).
The Special Topics lessons cover Lutherans & the Bible, The End of All Things (death & Revelation), Spiritual Self Defense (avoiding abusive faith communities and encouraging healthy ones), Oppression in the Bible, and Science & Faith.
And there is one lesson covering the 5 Solas of being Lutheran.
How can I share information about this curriculum with my church council or education team?
A Scope & Sequence handout, with a few Frequently Asked Questions, is available for download on the Purchase page of this website. A sample lesson, "Commandments about God," is also included.
Which version of the Lutheran Study Bible should I suggest my students use?
Really any of the editions will work, though some of the Bible Study Appendix directions include page numbers which may not be accurate in the Enlarged Print and Ebook editions. I like the hardcover edition because they're nice and sturdy. Just make sure your students are getting the Augsburg Fortress Bible, and not the Concordia Publishing Bible! Blue cover, not brown.
Can I use this with another Bible, not the Augsburg Fortress Lutheran Study Bible?
Yes, however, the Bible Study Appendix at the back of the book, to help you guide the Bible study for each lesson, will be significantly less useful to you, since there are lots of references in there to specific margin notes and background material included in that Bible. Grace Alone uses the NRSV translation unless otherwise specified.
Can I use this without a copy of the Small Catechism by Martin Luther?
Yes, you can use this book without your own copy of the Small Catechism. But if you realize you want to look at it anyway, there is a free version available online. After working through Grace Alone, perhaps you will want one!
Is this a "no prep" curriculum?
No. I don't really think there could be such a thing. Anyone leading confirmation will want to read the next lesson at least a week in advance. Sometimes the discussion question will say, "and now you'll have an opportunity to ask questions anonymously!" and you'll need to have index cards available that week. And of course you'll want to do some extra prep for Lectio Divina when that comes up, or have certain things in mind when talking about death or Revelation.
There is no schedule for us to follow?
I personally used these lessons as part of a two-year program. How you break up the subjects is up to you, but if you're using Grace Alone for Confirmation instead of with a group of older students, I have a few suggestions.
- For a two year program, you might start with the Pentecost Calendar lesson, do the Creed, Sacraments, Church History, and Special Topics lessons, and finish with the 5 Solas lesson one year; and then the next year do the Commandments, Faith Structure, Faith Life, and Lord's Prayer lessons, with the Christmas and Easter Calendar lessons placed appropriately within those.
- I wouldn't use the 5 Solas lesson as the first lesson of the year, it might make a nice wrap-up lesson though.
- I would also suggest scheduling the Lord's Prayer lessons near the end of a programming year, Lectio Divina works best with a group that is already comfortable together.
- If you want students to memorize the Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and Apostles' Creed, I suggest doing the Creed lessons one year and the Prayer and Commandments lessons the other year. Memorizing the Creed tends to be noticeably more difficult for students than the other two.
- You might want to schedule the Church Calendar lessons near when those holidays and seasons happen during the year- the Christmas lesson just before Advent begins, the Easter lesson just before Lent begins, and the Pentecost lesson either at the start or the end of the year.
- Some topics you'll want to keep together- each group of lessons for the Lord's Prayer, Creed, or Commandments, for example- but others can be easily separated, like the Church Calendar lessons or Special Topics.
- You may want to give your students a bookmark, if they're using paper copies of the book, to keep track of which lesson they'll be covering the following week.
- You'll probably also have other things in your schedule- snow days, Lenten services, service project days, etc. Not to mention an intro session and an end-of-year pizza party! (The pizza party is not a required part of the curriculum. If you would rather have pancakes, that's fine.)
So how do I lead a session with this?
I suggest starting each lesson by sharing highs and lows from the week around the table.
Then go into the lesson- I expect the students to read the lesson in advance, it isn't that much. So for each section I would give a quick 2-3 sentence summary, and then ask the discussion question. Most of the discussion questions should offer at least a few minutes of conversation.
After all the sections and discussion questions are finished, it's time for the Bible study (see the Bible Study Appendix in the back).
If there is time you can look up the hymn listed for the week and check it for new vocabulary words, reword the lyrics to make sure you understand what they mean, and listen to the melody.
Finally finish the session with asking around the table what each person will be praying about this week (an individual or group of people, situations, animals, etc.,) as I find that greatly increases the habit of regular prayer, and close with a prayer for all those prayer topics and the Lord's Prayer, or maybe the Apostles' Creed if the students are working on that.
Where's the PowerPoint presentation to go with this?
There isn't one. PowerPoint, 90% of the time, is used to do 1 of 2 things: either to emphasize bullet points, or to act as a script for the leader. Bullet points work against the foundational concept of this curriculum; that the world is a complicated place and our faith has a complex and nuanced place in our life in the world. Also, with Grace Alone, the leader doesn't need a script, the focus is on discussion! The other 10% of the time, they're used as a presentation outline, despite being terribly formatted for an outline. Grace Alone doesn't need an outline, because each lesson section is already so short!
Try thinking of it this way- without a PowerPoint to look at, participants have two choices of what to look at- others in the group, or the book. You're encouraging community, or encouraging reviewing the material. (Or reading the Bible, if you're at the Bible study section of the lesson.) Those are good options!
What kind of difficult topics does this book address?
Racism and sexism, and their history in and out of the church, are both addressed a few times. The process of how crucifixion actually killed Jesus is explained in some detail, though not in a gory way. Several unpleasant things that the church has done are discussed. Points of theology and culture that have split denominations over the course of the last thousand years are discussed as well. Abusive families and faith communities are acknowledged to exist.
The 2009 vote to ordain people in same-gender relationships and officiate same-gender marriages is mentioned about twice. These sections stick to the historical facts of how the vote worked, and what is ELCA current policy for rostered leaders. I certainly encourage leaders to discuss the interaction of faith and LGBTQA+ identity with their students, in an honest, prayerful, and I hope affirming, manner.
While I considered adding a related lesson in this book, I also know that your class's current context will have a lot to do with how you'll need to approach it. Even if a "one size fits all" lesson could be formulated, I don't know that I'm the person to do it.
My hope is that this book could be used in congregations in any setting. All of these topics, and how they relate to our connection and equality to one another in baptism, are good conversations to have in any faith community, and there are many resources out there to help.
What are the Bible studies geared towards?
The goal is that the students will start reading the Bible more deeply than, "And so this story tells us that God wants us to be nice to each other, the end." They will come to see that different people will read the Bible differently, that not every question about the Bible has a simple yes-or-no answer, and that the Bible has a wide variety of authors, goals, and genres within it. The Bible studies are not meant to be a tour through the Bible that will teach them the main characters and story arcs. That said, if you keep adding context to each Bible study as you go, they will have read a lot of important Bible passages by the end of the program and should be more familiar with finding things in their Bible.
If you are looking for a "tour through the Bible" curriculum to use with Grace Alone, I suggest Augsburg Fortress's Echo the Story curriculum, which is a 36 session guided tour of the Bible. If your students have low Bible literacy, doing Echo the Story along with Grace Alone could work very well together, although I did not design Grace Alone to accompany Echo the Story.
What does "An unofficial resource for the ELCA" mean?
This resource is not created or published by the ELCA, but is written by an ELCA pastor (Rev. Katherine Rohloff) and is intended for use by congregations and members of the ELCA.
I don't know the answer to a discussion question in the lesson?
Most of these questions don't have a single correct answer. A few discussion questions have some guidance offered under that lesson's section in the Bible Study Appendix.
You list these Bible passages to study with each lesson but I need help?
Have you looked in the back of the book at the Bible study Appendix? Don't forget to make room for the Holy Spirit, and be ready to say, "I don't know" where necessary.
Why don't you give a format for Lectio Divina instead of just directing us to the internet?
This is one of those things people have very strong opinions on, and I don't claim to be an expert in this format of Bible study, though I think it's a good one to introduce people to. My format is pretty loose and relaxed, other people get very persnickety about it. There are a bunch of helpful guides online, or you can ask other faith leaders in your community if they have a favorite way of going about it.
I am not in the ELCA/not in the USA, can I use this book?
You may find it helpful in a variety of ways, and I hope you do! But there will be parts of it that don't quite suit you.
I'm having trouble with the Augsburg Fortress Lutheran Study Bible Ebook?!
I am not an Augsburg Fortress employee and I've never actually used the ebook, you'll need to contact their customer support at 1-800-328-4648.
I'm having trouble with the Small Catechism App?!
I am not an Augsburg, Google, or Apple employee either. However, I will point out that there's a free version and a paid version- the paid version has some extra things in it that are nice, but not strictly necessary for Grace Alone. Whether or not the person running your confirmation program feels it is necessary is up to them. The app should be available in both the Android and Apple app stores.
I have found a typo or error!
Please let me know at: [email protected]
