The Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality Report (summary) includes a recommendation, which was adopted by Synod 2022, to “encourage the churches to make use of the curriculum prepared by Pastor Church Resources (PCR), in conjunction with members of the committee, to help small groups study and discuss aspects of the committee’s report which may be controversial.” From November 2020 to June 2022, nearly 2500 people met in more than 300 small groups across more than 80 CRC congregations to participate in Challenging Conversations listening circles. These circles helped participants listen deeply to each other and to the Human Sexuality Report as they prepared for Synod to meet in June 2022. Pastor Church Resources has now launched Challenging Conversations (2.0): Next Steps Discernment, a revision and expansion of Challenging Conversations intended to help you hold grace and truth as you engage the report or, having already engaged the report, as you discern and decide what Synod’s decision means for you or your church.

Whether you are interested in a discernment process (Next Steps Discernment) or small group engagement with the Human Sexuality Report (Challenging Conversations Toolkit), the same Next Steps Discernment training is the best place to start. The Next Steps Discernment resource itself includes a robust appendix of five sample sessions, taken from Challenging Conversations Toolkit, to be used by a church that simply wants to listen deeply to the Human Sexuality Report and deeply to one another, without necessarily making any kind of decision. The training provided by Shalem, though it will include some more on discernment, will nevertheless be exactly what your small group facilitators need to lead the five sessions well.

To learn more, check out crcna.org/pcr/nextsteps.

Para registrarse para el entrenamiento en español, y organizar un grupo, regístrese aquí.

To sign up for a facilitator's training and organize a group, register here (English) or here (Español).