TEACHING BY THE CASE
Dean Merrill
July 1, 1987
Adapted with permission from Creative Teaching Methods, (c)1985 Marlene D. LeFever (Cook).
Case studies are used widely in legal, medical, and, increasingly, in theological education. What makes them valuable? And how can case studies be used most effectively in a local congregation?
First, Garth M. Rosell, vice-president, dean, and professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, presents the case for cases.
The soil had started to crack under the hot summer sun. Thirsty animals huddled together in the shade. For weeks there had been no sign of rain. The rugged Ohio farmers, their crops and livestock now gravely endangered by the terrible drought, could think of little else as they gathered for worship that Sunday morning in 1853.
Into the pulpit came their pastor. Under his arm was an umbrella. Setting it down by the chair, he began to pray: "Lord, we do not presume to dictate to thee what is best for us. Yet thou dost invite us to come to thee as children to a father, and tell thee all our wants. We want rain! Unless thou givest us rain, our cattle must die . . . and the harvest will come to naught. It is an easy thing for thee to do. O Lord, send us rain. Send it now!"
Before he had finished his preaching, there came the unmistakable crack of thunder and the sound of rain against the roof. Charles G. Finney paused in his sermon. Then, as the congregation quietly wept, he began to sing:
"When all thy mercies, O my God,
My thankful soul surveys,
Uplifted by the view, I'm lost,
In wonder, love, and praise."
This little incident, like so many other events that dot the landscape of Scripture and Christian history, has helped me over the years to understand something of the character of God and the ...
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