Week 16 Question 2: Outside Group Observation Evaluation

I really enjoyed the outside group observation project as I chose the Leadership Training and Development group at the Vintage Park Church of Christ congregation. I am a member of this congregation but I am not a member of that group but I had always been interested in what went on. So, I chose it for this assignment. The group was all about leadership within the church, (preachers, teachers, etc) but the principles I learned could also definitely apply to other aspects of life other than church or religion.

I noticed that the group was pretty diverse (age, gender, ethnicity) so I paid close attention to see how this effected each group meeting. However, the group seemed to interact equally regardless of their differences and this was a very comforting trait of theirs. They use many principles in the Bible such as “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Bible, Galatians 3:28) to help them with any issues that may arise regarding differences.

In both group meetings we read the Bible to see different uses of leadership. These examples can easily be implemented into our everyday lives because the principles are very realistic and moral. I marked each of the books and chapters of the Bible we went over so I can later reference them in use them in not just church related activities, but also: school, work, sports, and etc.

The only thing that I was frustrated with was that many people talked over each other. Everyone was very interested in the concepts we covered regarding leadership (being a leader not a commander) which is a good thing, but they did not always allow each other to speak give their whole inputs. When I would start hearing someone giving valid information and examples, someone would cut them off and give their input. I thought it was rude but I know that they did not mean it to be rude. I feel like if there was a little more order this would not have been an issue.

Overall this assignment was the highlight of my semester. It is very rare that I get an assignment where I get to interact with others outside of the class, and watch the concepts I learned apply themselves. Seeing many of the things I learned in this course being lived gave me pleasure. I have taken classes before where I always thought to myself “how is this going to help me in the future?” or “where is this ever applied?” But in this class, everything I learned is very relevant to our everyday lives and this outside group project just confirmed that for me!