Temporary Relief From Transgender School Policy, Carson-Newman U Participates in Archeological Dig, Growing a Small Group Class

Iowa parents have temporarily blocked a public school policy requiring their children to use the preferred pronouns of their transgender classmates and share bathrooms with them or face expulsion.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Parents Defending Education (PDE) a preliminary injunction Sept. 29 blocking enforcement of the Linn-Mar Community School District’s Administrative Regulations Regarding Transgender and Students Nonconforming to Gender Role Stereotypes policy.

Challenged is a Linn-Mar school board policy disciplining and even expelling students who don’t acknowledge a transgender student’s new identity by pronouns, bathroom use and other circumstances. The policy would punish offending students for “misgendering” another student by intentionally and persistently refusing to respect a student’s gender identity.
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A child-sized ring, measuring only about 1 cm. in diameter, tells the story of a distant past, but also the future of a university program.

The gold circular object inlaid with a turquoise stone, is one of several items discovered during an initial groundbreaking excavation project in the northern Judean Desert – more specifically, the ruins of Herod the Great’s desert fortress, Hyrcania.

Carson-Newman University, in support of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archeology and in collaboration with the American Veterans Archeological Recovery (AVAR), spent part of this summer on the site. The effort is already yielding significant results. The earliest phase of the fortress, located on a remote, commanding hilltop, dates to the late second or early first century B.C.: the Hasmonean dynasty. It was later rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great. No methodological or scientific archeological excavation had ever taken place at the location – until now.
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In a Baptist Press Toolbox article, small group consultant Ken Allen offers some tips on way to grow or strengthen a small group or Sunday School class.

1. Teach a good lesson each week. For a class to grow, the teacher must do a good job. We need quality teachers to make quality disciples. Involvement of the members during teaching time is critical.

2. Welcome people into your Sunday School class. Ask people to come, ask with others (together), and ask everywhere. Remember, people will have questions about attending. Answer as many of their questions as possible without them asking.

3. Invite people to a get-together monthly. If you make people part of the life of the group, you will not be able to keep them away from Bible study.

4. With fellowship events, it’s not about the event, it’s about being together. What you do the first three times won’t be all that much fun. After that, just about anything will be fun.
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