Sensible Shoes Leader's Guide

Sharon Garlough Brown

• Publisher: IVP Formatio
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780830828746
• eBook ISBN: 9781514003633
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Sensible Shoes is an unusual novel, blending a fictional story with nonfiction teaching elements. Some readers view it only as a story of four characters on a journey. Others say yes to a deeper level of reading, embracing the opportunity to take a "sacred journey" along with the characters, by opening themselves to the Spirit's work and attending to God's invitations.

The Sensible Shoes Leader's Guide offers two ways to invite readers into a deeper journey: first, there are resources here for a twelve-week small group experience through the Sensible Shoes Study Guide. Each week you'll be provided with a few prayer prompts for your work as a leader, tips for facilitating the group, and behind-the-scenes information about the characters and their journeys that can be used as opening materials for your sessions.

The second set of resources in this guide relates to leading a retreat based on Sensible Shoes. After years of creating and speaking at Sensible Shoes Retreats, spiritual director Sharon Brown offers here content to help you design the ideal space for your context as you gather people in longer sessions to experience this material. In addition to one-day, weekend, and online program outlines, there are many creative ideas from leaders of groups who have used Sensible Shoes for retreats over the years.

Sensible Shoes was written for the purpose of bringing God's healing and spiritual transformation into the lives of readers traveling in community. Is there an invitation here for you to bring this message to your community?

Also available: Sensible Shoes Leader Kit and Sensible Shoes Participant Kit, with everything you need for a small group or retreat experience.

Introduction

Experiencing Transformation

I’m often asked whether the degree of transformation the characters experience in Sensible Shoes is “realistic.” Based on what I witnessed in the first Sensible Shoes Club, yes—even in a relatively short amount of time. But our group began with an important gift: every single person who committed to the group had a common longing for creating and guarding a safe space where we could be unmasked and unafraid with one another and with God. Our souls are timid creatures, and we will not come out from hiding and name what is true if we think we will be rejected, judged, condemned, or gossiped about.

As the leader of the group, it was important for me to model authenticity and vulnerability as much as possible so that others felt free to share as well. It was also important to keep reminding the group of our commitment to be trustworthy stewards of one another’s stories. In essence, what we said to each other was this: “By the grace of God I will be for you what I long for you to be for me.”

As a leader you’re invited to consider your own spiritual formation, not just as you read and reflect on the material in the book, but also as you lead others in reflection and conversation. Each week you’ll be provided with a few prayer prompts for your work as a leader, tips for facilitating the group, and behind-the-scenes information about the characters and their journeys. Feel free to share these “bonus features” about the characters or my writing process, perhaps as an opening or icebreaker. Since the purpose of your meeting is for spiritual formation and prayer, however, watch for how group members may be tempted to divert conversation into a book club discussion rather than an exploration of how the characters are serving as windows and mirrors to see God and yourselves more clearly.

Because of our group’s commitment to transparency, we grew to trust one another deeply. Not only were we able to receive comfort as we honestly named struggles, losses, and grief, but we were also able to receive the assurance of God’s love and grace as we confessed sin, shame, failures, and regret to one another. James speaks the truth when he tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other so that we can be healed (James 5:16). Our group met together nearly every week for five years. To this day, I speak with deep gratitude and awe about what the Lord did in us, for us, and through us.

I pray God’s blessing upon you as you say yes to the journey in community. May the Lord reveal himself to you in life-giving, transformational ways. May he fill you with grace, give you courage, and empower you with his Spirit. And may you experience profound healing and joy as you keep company with him, together.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many people should be in the group? Ideally, no fewer than four and no more than twelve. My original Sensible Shoes Club had twelve, and it worked for us. But we met for two and a half hours every week, which gave plenty of time for prayer and conversation. Larger groups might wish to gather together at the beginning of a session, then subdivide into smaller groups, each with a designated facilitator, for conversation and prayer. If you subdivide into small groups, remain with the same group for the whole study.

Do I need to be a trained spiritual director or ministry leader to facilitate a group? No. Though it might help if you’ve already had experience leading a group, the best gift you bring is your own pursuit of God and your openness to the Lord shaping and forming you, not only in the past but also as you participate in the study.

Is it important for people to already know each other well when the group starts? No. Even groups that have been together a long time might find that this study leads them into unfamiliar, even uncomfortable territory of deep reflection and conversation. If you don’t have an established group, don’t be afraid of inviting people who wouldn’t normally choose to connect with one another. Diversity of age, experience, and background can be a rich gift.

Do we need to meet weekly? Though the twelve-week study is designed for weekly group interaction, some groups meet every other week. However, since there is so much content to process, I don’t recommend combining multiple weeks into a single session. You’ll be best served by taking the journey as slowly as you need to, even if that means a longer time commitment.

Do we need to have one designated leader for the group, or can we rotate facilitation? Do whatever best serves the desires, dynamics, and gifts of your group. If there is one designated leader for the entire study, that leader can discern whether to participate fully in the discussion by sharing personal insights, or whether their role is primarily to moderate discussion and encourage others to share their experiences.

Should we allow new people to join our group after we begin? Approach this prayerfully, as each group will be different. While adding a group member for the second session likely won’t create much upheaval, I recommend having an honest conversation during your first session to see whether members are open to this. If you add new group members, have one-on-one conversations before their first meeting to summarize your opening session and talk about their hopes and expectations for the study. It’s difficult (though not impossible) to add new people after several sessions, not only because the trust level has been established in the group but because groups inevitably begin to shorthand their experience together, potentially causing a newcomer to feel disoriented or excluded.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Each participant will need a copy of Sensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey and the Sensible Shoes Study Guide. Participants can decide whether they prefer to read the whole book first or read only the designated chapters each week. (Many people discover that the second reading of the book yields invitations they didn’t notice the first time around.)

Set up your meeting space so that everyone is on the same level and seated in a circle if possible, as a table between you creates a barrier. Try to eliminate distractions in the environment, and ask everyone to silence and put away any devices.

Before group members begin the week one study, send a welcome email to highlight these elements from the Study Guide introduction:

• Please bring a Bible, pen, and notebook to each session. The Sensible Shoes Journal, a lightly-lined notebook, which includes quotes from the book, serves as a good travelogue for the journey.
• Don’t worry if you don’t have time or capacity to answer each question every day. Answer the ones you’re able to answer. Even if you don’t feel prepared for the group session, come anyway. (You will likely need to repeat this reassurance and invitation many times throughout the study.)
• To frame each day with the Word, first read the Scripture text (marked in bold in the exercises). Then journal your responses to the questions.

Leader’s Notes on Each Session

Week One

BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIEW

When I started writing my manuscript in 2008, I knew there would be four characters who would meet at a retreat center, but I knew nothing else about them. So I asked the Lord to help me see one thing that had happened to each woman when she was a little girl so I could understand where she was stuck or struggling as an adult. As I prayed, images and scenes emerged: Meg hunting for the bells, Hannah concealing her sorrow over her “fixed” teddy bear, Mara being picked last for a team, and Charissa not getting the highest score on a math test. (Charissa’s flashback would eventually be moved to a later chapter in the book.)

The cover of Sensible Shoes reflects the importance of childhood experiences in shaping and forming us. I gaze at the top photo and wonder, Who is the little girl sitting on the suitcase? Where has she come from and where is she going? And is anyone traveling with her?

As a contrast to the solitary journey of the child, the bottom photo represents the invitation to community and depicts hope as we travel together. None of the characters is physically portrayed by the women in the photo. (Readers are often confused about this and try to figure out who’s who.) But note how the woman on the far left lags a few steps behind, while the woman to her right extends her hand to urge her forward. Those women could be any of the characters at any stage of their journey. They could be us as well. Along the journey we will experience reluctance and hope—sometimes simultaneously!

EXPLORING THE LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE

Because of her professional training and ministry experience, Hannah is likely to become the default leader of the gr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Welcome
• Part One: Leading Small Groups
• Part Two: Leading Retreats
• Also Available
• About the Author
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright