There are two levers for moving men. One is fear and the other, interest

The interest of the students is a one wild, untamed and elusive matter which controls the path to where the instruction will fall. It is a feather which has the power to tip the balance of the weighing scale between success and failure. It is a determining factor to whether the approach will be effective or not. So for the teaching-learning process to be productive and utterly successful, the teacher, instructor or facilitator must capture this intangible creature and keep a firm hold of it for it may fuel the engine of your train named â€Å"Instruction† towards the station on the avenue of accomplishment and goals. Or it may head for the worse and suffer a catastrophic derailment which is our dear students’ ignorance of what we intend to teach them which defines a real teaching fiasco. To remedy such dilemma, you must lubricate your gears with the grease of â€Å"Variations†. With doing this, we are aiming to smoothen the rotation of wheels of the lesson on the axles of the objectives we have set for the meeting. By means of conducting varied teaching methods, incorporated with series of corresponding assessment tools with appropriate instructional materials, we may ensnare and nail our students’ interest on the lesson so deep that maneuvering our way to success will be as easy as eating pie during tea time. Once we have mesmerized our students’ attention, we can gain an overwhelming boost of motion and accelerate the pace of productivity of our instruction so effective we can attain, or even surpass our educational objectives and come up with a much desirable outcome. Our teaching methods and strategies shall depend on the capabilities and needs of our students. The learners shall be at the apex of our considerations for they are the center of the teaching-learning process. The effectivity of our strategies depends on how much our learners gained from us. We are much likely to be triumphant if our students acquired a ton of knowledge from us. It will mean that we have succeeded on our aim to distribute our ideas to them. This is a way of flourishing their minds to which we are going to reap a bountiful harvest of creativity and imaginative thought in the future. Just like in farming and agriculture, in order for our farmers to produce more crops, they practice different kinds of methodologies in planting, maintaining and harvesting, integrating different sorts of techniques to come up with a new innovative way to cultivate crops. Then if we try to transfer this thought in Education, our teachers arrive at the idea of using different types of teaching approaches and techniques so that they can increase the level of the Philippine Education compared to the overwhelming standards of International Schooling. By integrating different ways of teaching, we envision to proliferate the amount of knowledge we give our students because through the use of varied methods, we can maximize our very limited time for instruction.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 3. BIG DAY

My own eyes flew open. I lay shivering and gasping in my warm bed for several minutes, trying to break free of the dream. The sky outside my window turned gray and then pale pink while I waited for my heart to slow. When I was fully back to the reality of my messy, familiar room, I was a little annoyed with myself. What a dream to have the night before my wedding! That's what I got for obsessing over disturbing stories in the middle of the night. Eager to shake off the nightmare, I got dressed and headed down to the kitchen long before I needed to. First I cleaned the already tidy rooms, and then when Charlie was up I made him pancakes. I was much too keyed up to have any interest in eating breakfast myself – I sat bouncing in my seat while he ate. â€Å"You're picking up Mr. Weber at three o'clock,† I reminded him. â€Å"I don't have that much to do today besides bring the minister, Bells. I'm not likely to forget my only job.† Charlie had taken the entire day off for the wedding, and he was definitely at loose ends. Now and then, his eyes flickered furtively to the closet under the stairs, where he kept his fishing gear. â€Å"That's not your only job. You also have to be dressed and presentable.† He scowled into his cereal bowl and muttered the words â€Å"monkey suit† under his breath. There was a brisk tapping on the front door. â€Å"You think you have it bad,† I said, grimacing as I rose. â€Å"Alice will be working on me all day long.† Charlie nodded thoughtfully, conceding that he did have the lesser ordeal. I ducked in to kiss the top of his head as I passed – he blushed and harrumphed – and then continued on to get the door for my best girlfriend and soon-to-be sister. Alice's short black hair was not in its usual spiky do – it was smoothed into sleek pin curls around her pixie face, which wore a contrastingly businesslike expression. She dragged me from the house with barely a â€Å"Hey, Charlie† called over her shoulder. Alice appraised me as I got into her Porsche. â€Å"Oh, hell, look at your eyes!† She tsked in reproach. â€Å"What did you do? Stay up all night?† â€Å"Almost.† She glowered. â€Å"I've only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella – you might have taken better care of my raw material.† â€Å"No one expects me to be stunning. I think the bigger problem is that I might fall asleep during the ceremony and not be able to say 1 do' at the right part, and then Edward will make his escape.† She laughed. â€Å"I'll throw my bouquet at you when it gets close.† â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"At least you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane tomorrow.† I raised one eyebrow. Tomorrow, I mused. If we were heading out tonight after the reception, and we would still be on a plane tomorrow†¦ well, we weren't going to Boise, Idaho. Edward hadn't dropped a single hint. I wasn't too stressed about the mystery, but it was strange not knowing where I would be sleeping tomorrow night. Or hopefully not sleeping †¦ Alice realized that she'd given something away, and she frowned. â€Å"You're all packed and ready,† she said to distract me. It worked. â€Å"Alice, I wish you would let me pack my own things!† â€Å"It would have given too much away.† â€Å"And denied you an opportunity to shop.† â€Å"You'll be my sister officially in ten short hours†¦ it's about time to get over this aversion to new clothes.† I glowered groggily out the windshield until we were almost to the house. â€Å"Is he back yet?† I asked. â€Å"Don't worry, he'll be there before the music starts. But you don't get to see him, no matter when he gets back. We're doing this the traditional way.† I snorted. â€Å"Traditional!† â€Å"Okay, aside from the bride and groom.† â€Å"You know he's already peeked.† â€Å"Oh no – that's why I'm the only one who's seen you in the dress. I've been very careful to not think about it when he's around.† â€Å"Well,† I said as we turned into the drive, â€Å"I see you got to reuse your graduation decorations.† Three miles of drive were once again wrapped in hundreds of thousands of twinkle lights. This time, she'd added white satin bows. â€Å"Waste not, want not. Enjoy this, because you don't get to see the inside decorations until it's time.† She pulled into the cavernous garage north of the main house; Emmett's big Jeep was still gone. â€Å"Since when is the bride not allowed to see the decorations?† I protested. â€Å"Since she put me in charge. I want you to get the full impact coming down the stairs.† She clapped her hand over my eyes before she let me inside the kitchen. I was immediately assailed by the scent. â€Å"What is that?† I wondered as she guided me into the house. â€Å"Is it too much?† Alice's voice was abruptly worried. â€Å"You're the first human in here; I hope I got it right.† â€Å"it smells wonderful!† I assured her – almost intoxicating, but not at all overwhelming, the balance of the different fragrances was subtle and flawless. â€Å"Orange blossoms†¦ lilac†¦ and something else – am I right?† â€Å"Very good, Bella. You only missed the freesia and the roses.† She didn't uncover my eyes until we were in her oversized bathroom. I stared at the long counter, covered in all the paraphernalia of a beauty salon, and began to feel my sleepless night. â€Å"Is this really necessary? I'm going to look plain next to him no matter what.† She pushed me down into a low pink chair. â€Å"No one will dare to call you plain when I'm through with you.† â€Å"Only because they're afraid you'll suck their blood,† I muttered. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, hoping I'd be able to nap through it. I did drift in and out a little bit while she masked, buffed, and polished every surface of my body. It was after lunchtime when Rosalie glided past the bathroom door in a shimmery silver gown with her golden hair piled up in a soft crown on top of her head. She was so beautiful it made me want to cry. What was even the point of dressing up with Rosalie around? â€Å"They're back,† Rosalie said, and immediately my childish fit of despair passed. Edward was home. â€Å"Keep him out of here!† â€Å"He won't cross you today,† Rosalie reassured her. â€Å"He values his life too much. Esme's got them finishing things up out back. Do you want some help? I could do her hair.† My jaw fell open. I floundered around in my head, trying to remember how to close it. I had never been Rosalie's favorite person in the world. Then, making things even more strained between us, she was personally offended by the choice I was making now. Though she had her impossible beauty, her loving family, and her soul mate in Emmett, she would have traded it all to be human. And here I was, callously throwing away everything she wanted in life like it was garbage. It didn't exactly warm her to me. â€Å"Sure,† Alice said easily. â€Å"You can start braiding. I want it intricate. The veil goes here, underneath.† Her hands started combing through my hair, hefting it, twisting it, illustrating in detail what she wanted. When she was done, Rosalie's hands replaced hers, shaping my hair with a feather-light touch. Alice moved back to my face. Once Rosalie received Alice's commendation on my hair, she was sent off to retrieve my dress and then to locate Jasper, who had been dispatched to pick up my mother and her husband, Phil, from their hotel. Downstairs, I could faintly hear the door opening and closing over and over. Voices began to float up to us. Alice made me stand so that she could ease the dress over my hair and makeup. My knees shook so badly as she fastened the long line of pearl buttons up my back that the satin quivered in little wavelets down to the floor. â€Å"Deep breaths, Bella/7Alice said. â€Å"And try to lower your heart rate. You're going to sweat off your new face.† I gave her the best sarcastic expression I could manage. â€Å"I'll get right on that.† â€Å"I have to get dressed now. Can you hold yourself together for two minutes?† â€Å"Urn†¦ maybe?† She rolled her eyes and darted out the door. I concentrated on my breathing, counting each movement of my lungs, and stared at the patterns that the bathroom light made on the shiny fabric of my skirt. I was afraid to look in the mirror – afraid the image of myself in the wedding dress would send me over the edge into a full-scale panic attack. Alice was back before I had taken two hundred breaths, in a dress that flowed down her slender body like a silvery waterfall. â€Å"Alice – wow.† â€Å"It's nothing. No one will be looking at me today. Not while you're in the room.† â€Å"Har har.† â€Å"Now, are you in control of yourself, or do I have to bring Jasper up here?† â€Å"They're back? Is my mom here?† â€Å"She just walked in the door. She's on her way up.† Renee had flown in two days ago, and I'd spent every minute I could with her – every minute that I could pry her away from Esme and the decorations, in other words. As far as I could tell, she was having more fun with this than a kid locked inside Disneyland overnight. In a way, I felt almost as cheated as Charlie. All that wasted terror over her reaction†¦ â€Å"Oh, Bella!† she squealed now, gushing before she was all the way through the door. â€Å"Oh, honey, you're so beautiful! Oh, I'm going to cry! Alice, you're amazing! You and Esme should go into business as wedding planners. Where did you find this dress? It's gorgeous! So graceful, so elegant. Bella, you look like you just stepped out of an Austen movie.† My mother's voice sounded a little distance away, and everything in the room was slightly blurry. â€Å"Such a creative idea, designing the theme around Bella's ring. So romantic! To think it's been in Edward's family since the eighteen hundreds!† Alice and I exchanged a brief conspiratorial look. My mom was off on the dress style by more than a hundred years. The wedding wasn't actually centered around the ring, but around Edward himself. There was a loud, gruff throat-clearing in the doorway. â€Å"Renee, Esme said it's time you got settled down there,† Charlie said. â€Å"Well, Charlie, don't you look dashing!† Renee said in a tone that was almost shocked. That might have explained the crustiness of Charlie's answer. â€Å"Alice got to me.† â€Å"Is it really time already?† Renee said to herself, sounding almost as nervous as I felt. â€Å"This has all gone so fast. I feel dizzy.† That made two of us. â€Å"Give me a hug before I go down/7Renee insisted. â€Å"Carefully now, don't tear anything.† My mother squeezed me gently around the waist, then wheeled for the door, only to complete the spin and face me again. â€Å"Oh goodness, I almost forgot! Charlie, Where's the box?† My dad rummaged in his pockets for a minute and then produced a small white box, which he handed to Renee. Renee lifted the lid and held it out to me. â€Å"Something blue,† she said. â€Å"Something old, too. They were your Grandma Swan's,† Charlie added. â€Å"We had a jeweler replace the paste stones with sapphires.† Inside the box were two heavy silver hair combs. Dark blue sapphires were clustered into intricate floral shapes atop the teeth. My throat got all thick. â€Å"Mom, Dad†¦ you shouldn't have.† â€Å"Alice wouldn't let us do anything else,† Renee said. â€Å"Every time we tried, she all but ripped our throats out.† A hysterical giggle burst through my lips. Alice stepped up and quickly slid both combs into my hair under the edge of the thick braids. â€Å"That's something old and something blue,† Alice mused, taking a few steps back to admire me. â€Å"And your dress is new†¦ so here – â€Å" She flicked something at me. I held my hands out automatically, and the filmy white garter landed in my palms. â€Å"That's mine and I want it back,† Alice told me. I blushed. â€Å"There,† Alice said with satisfaction. â€Å"A little color – that's all you needed. You are officially perfect.† With a little self-congratulatory smile, she turned to my parents. â€Å"Renee, you need to get downstairs.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† Renee blew me a kiss and hurried out the door. â€Å"Charlie, would you grab the flowers, please?† While Charlie was out of the room, Alice hooked the garter out of my hands and then ducked under my skirt. I gasped and tottered as her cold hand caught my ankle; she yanked the garter into place. She was back on her feet before Charlie returned with the two frothy white bouquets. The scent of roses and orange blossom and freesia enveloped me in a soft mist. Rosalie – the best musician in the family next to Edward – began playing the piano downstairs. Pachelbel's Canon. I began hyperventilating. â€Å"Easy, Bells,† Charlie said. He turned to Alice nervously. â€Å"She looks a little sick. Do you think she's going to make it?† His voice sounded far away. I couldn't feel my legs. â€Å"She'd better.† Alice stood right in front of me, on her tiptoes to better stare me in the eye, and gripped my wrists in her hard hands. â€Å"Focus, Bella. Edward is waiting for you down there.† 1 took a deep breath, willing myself into composure. The music slowly morphed into a new song. Charlie nudged me. â€Å"Bells, we're up to bat.† â€Å"Bella?† Alice asked, still holding my gaze. â€Å"Yes,† I squeaked. â€Å"Edward. Okay.† I let her pull me from the room, with Charlie tagging along at my elbow. The music was louder in the hall. It floated up the stairs along with the fragrance of a million flowers. I concentrated on the idea of Edward waiting below to get my feet to shuffle forward. The music was familiar, Wagner's traditional march surrounded by a flood of embellishments. â€Å"It's my turn,† Alice chimed. â€Å"Count to five and follow me.† She began a slow, graceful dance down the staircase. I should have realized that having Alice as my only bridesmaid was a mistake. I would look that much more uncoordinated coming behind her. A sudden fanfare trilled through the soaring music. I recognized my cue. â€Å"Don't let me fall, Dad,† I whispered. Charlie pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly. One step ata time, I told myself as we began to descend to the slow tempo of the march. I didn't lift my eyes until my feet were safely on the flat ground, though I could hear the murmurs and rustling of the audience as I came into view. Blood flooded my cheeks at the sound; of course I could be counted on to be the blushing bride. As soon as my feet were past the treacherous stairs, I was looking for him. For a brief second, I was distracted by the profusion of white blossoms that hung in garlands from everything in the room that wasn't alive, dripping with long lines of white gossamer ribbons. But I tore my eyes from the bowery canopy and searched across the rows of satin-draped chairs – blushing more deeply as I took in the crowd of faces all focused on me – until I found him at last, standing before an arch overflowing with more flowers, more gossamer. I was barely conscious that Carlisle stood by his side, and Angela's father behind them both. I didn't see my mother where she must have been sitting in the front row, or my new family, or any of the guests – they would have to wait till later. All I really saw was Edward's face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind. His eyes were a buttery, burning gold; his perfect face was almost severe with the depth of his emotion. And then, as he met my awed gaze, he broke into a breathtaking smile of exultation. Suddenly, it was only the pressure of Charlie's hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle. The march was too slow as I struggled to pace my steps to its rhythm. Mercifully, the aisle was very short. And then, at last, at last, I was there. Edward held out his hand. Charlie took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward's. I touched the cool miracle of his skin, and I was home. Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. We'd asked Mr. Weber to make only one small change. He obligingly traded the line â€Å"till death do us part† for the more appropriate â€Å"as long as we both shall live.† In that moment, as the minister said his part, my world, which had been upside down for so long now, seemed to settle into its proper position. I saw just how silly I'd been for fearing this – as if it were an unwanted birthday gift or an embarrassing exhibition, like the prom. I looked into Edward's shining, triumphant eyes and knew that I was winning, too. Because nothing else mattered but that I could stay withhim. I didn't realize I was crying until it was time to say the binding words. â€Å"I do,† I managed to choke out in a nearly unintelligible whisper, blinking my eyes clear so I could see his face. When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious. â€Å"I do,† he vowed. Mr. Weber declared us husband and wife, and then Edward's hands reached up to cradle my face, carefully, as if it were as delicate as the white petals swaying above our heads. I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine. His golden eyes looked as if they would have tears, too, if such a thing were not impossible. He bent his head toward mine, and I stretched up on the tips of my toes, throwing my arms – bouquet and all – around his neck. He kissed me tenderly, adoringly; I forgot the crowd, the place, the time, the reason†¦ only remembering that he loved me, that he wanted me, that I was his. He began the kiss, and he had to end it; I clung to him, ignoring the titters and the throat-clearing in the audience. Finally, his hands restrained my face and he pulled back – too soon – to look at me. On the surface his sudden smile was amused, almost a smirk. But underneath his momentary entertainment at my public exhibition was a deep joy that echoed my own. The crowd erupted into applause, and he turned our bodies to face our friends and family. I couldn't look away from his face to see them. My mother's arms were the first to find me, her tear-streaked face the first thing I saw when I finally tore my eyes unwillingly from Edward. And then I was handed through the crowd, passed from embrace to embrace, only vaguely aware of who held me, my attention centered on Edward's hand clutched tightly in my own. I did recognize the difference between the soft, warm hugs of my human friends and the gentle, cool embraces of my new family. One scorching hug stood out from all the others – Seth Clearwater had braved the throng of vampires to stand in for my lost werewolf friend.

Plan of Discipleship Essay

Introduction In due course of ministering to the body of Fairway Church it has become apparent that there is a greater need for discipleship among the un-churched and the de-churched of the surrounding community. It is therefore, the goal  of this exposition to introduce, clarify, and expound the goal of the discipleship ministries of Fairway Church in said context. This action must be seen as imperative not only to the church but also in the broader context of mission as a whole. It is the hope therefore, in the following curricular plan that there would be adequate space and definition given to the following areas of concern: Scriptural Foundations Core Ministry Values Behavioral goals (including Slogans and Visuals) Measurable Objectives Base Path of Development (Measurable Steps) Encompassing Vision Statement Identification and description of characteristics of the target group. Action Plan Scope and Sequence Plan Budget and Communication Tools and Techniques Through the further defining and examination of the above factors the goal of this curricular plan should be well established in the collective efforts of the church as a whole. With this in mind one should be capable of appreciating and desiring to continue in the work of discipleship at Fairway Church. Furthermore, it should be noted that discipleship is no easy task, yet it is a worthwhile one. It should be the overarching goal of the local church as well as individual believers to be involved in the representative work of Christ in the local context. The command has been given, the call has been sent out, as individual followers the response therefore, must be to follow well and seek to make other followers. Scriptural Foundations Perceiving, therefore, a need for valid and comprehensive discipleship it is the desire of this program to integrate Scriptural content into a practical outreach format. It should therefore, be the purpose of this expositional section to deal with the Scriptural foundations of the below development of  a discipleship strategy. This must be done through a successful examination of the call, the example, and the sacrifice of Christ as well as the model of Paul. First, one must see that Jesus has given a call to make disciples. If the local congregation does not understand the basic imperative of Christ toward discipleship, there is no hope that a successful model might be attained. This call is expressed nowhere more clear than in Matthew 28:9 which states to the followers of Christ, â€Å"Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.† 1 It should be seen that the goal of the disciple-follower should be to make other disciple-followers. This must not be compromised; it is the foundational block of any successful discipleship strategy. Furthermore, one must seek to gain an understanding of Christ’ example of discipleship. Here one must dissect the concern as to the question of, â€Å"Why?† Why does one make disciples? Although, it can easily be seen that Christ commanded this in the above passage, there is more to this than a mere call to do something in Christ’s name. As Francis Chan states, â€Å"God wants us to pursue certain actions, but as we put God’s commands into action, our motivation makes all the difference.† 2 A student of scripture must understand that discipleship is at the heart of Christ Himself. In reality Christ held a special call to make followers. This can be seen nowhere better than in Matthew 4:18-22. One reads: â€Å"While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, â€Å"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.† Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.† 3  This passage is key in understanding the example of Christ as he sought to create and lead disciples. Christ called people to come and follow Him. The local church should be about the same business as they seek to reach the culture around them for Christ. This is more than a command, it is a lifestyle exhibited primarily by Christ. Next, one who seeks to be a disciple must embody the sacrificial life of Christ. This does not dictate that one must seek to die in order to follow Christ. However it should lead believers to understand the call to live sacrificially even unto death, if necessary. Dietrich Bonheoffer points this out by stating that, â€Å"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.† 4 This does not mean that Christ calls men to be killed but rather to live sacrificially. The idea is the same when one sees in Luke 9:23-24 that Christ calls people to live sacrificially. The student of this text reads, â€Å"And he said to all, â€Å"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.† 5  This passage is also a key in the concept of successful discipleship strategy. In short, the believer must be willing to live as if a cross was their goal. The disciple should understand that ultimately following Christ leads to the death of self. Without this understanding there is no means to successfully accomplish the objective of creating solid disciple-followers of Christ. Lastly, one should see the practical applications to the above theological themes concerning discipleship. This is nowhere exhibited more fully than in Pauls’ ministry to the Philippians. Paul states in Philippians 3:17 concerning the church that, â€Å"Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.† 6 This should be seen as directly related to the nature of disciples as followers. Paul is pointing to himself as an acceptable example for disciples to follow. This point is of great importance in that it is attainable to the average believer. The individual congregant of a particular church should seek to embody this model in any effort to be a disciple-making disciple. Individuals should seek to create followers of themselves and in this lead others to Christ. Core Values With firm scriptural texts established one should further seek to develop  and implement the core values of discipleship. These values are highly important in the forming of vision and the continuation of a successful disciple making structure. The local church must be seen as central to this and should be placed in context of discipleship structures. It is therefore, the hope of this expositional section to place the local church at the center of effective disciple making. In this context one should see that the core values of discipleship in the local church congregation should include a healthy understanding of, engaging culture (mission), organic relationship building, accountability, and lastly reproduction. These core concepts should sit at the center of the discipleship efforts of Fairway Church. First, the congregation should seek to understand the reality of the culture in which the church exists. The current culture is one in which most seem to be hostile toward Christianity. The spectrum shows it obvious that, â€Å"Christian faith is quickly losing traction in Western culture, not only as a result of unchristian behavior, as significant as that is, but because we haven’t recognized our new reality and adapted.† 7 The path forward is defined by how the local body interacts with this culture.  Interaction must be seen as key. Considering discipleship and the way in which the church engages culture dictates their ability to reproduce disciples. Tim Keller, speaking of the Israelites, and their engagement of Babylonian culture gives three options. These options are: â€Å"Move into the city and lose your spiritual identity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don’t move into the city and keep your spiritual identity†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Move into the city and keep your spiritual identity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  8  It is frightful to think of the number of churches that embody the first two models in the modern context. Furthermore, it should be seen that Gods model for cultural engagement is one in which believers engage culture. One reads in Jeremiah 29:7 that believers should, â€Å"seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.† 9 The situation is one that is  clear. Church people should not live in isolation of culture, in fact, individual believers should be engaged with culture yet not lose their spiritual identity. The church must be engaged with the world around it. This must be a core value of any successful discipleship strategy. In connection to the above idea of engagement, the local church should seek to understand the value of organic relationship building. It is through relationship that community is formed and this concept must be seen as central to the very nature of being Christian. This was the practice of the early church in Acts. One reads in Acts 2:42-45 the following: â€Å"And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.† 10  The idea is one of community. Here the church must be about building relationships in community. Through engaging culture the gospel becomes attractive and as relationships are developed there should be people added, first, in areas of common interest and then as firm followers of Christ. In the context of relationship building there should also be an aspect of accountability. It should be noted that the ultimate goal of successful discipleship is to make people accountable to Christ first and each other as an outflow of the primary relationship with Christ. This however, must be linked to healthy accountability in relationship. Some may refer to this as creating healthy boundaries. Although, this may seem abstract to many, in its exposition it should become clear. Some may find it offensive to even suggest that disciple makers should consider relational boundaries. However, this is important in two ways. These ways are easily seen as maintaining proper doctrine and picturing proper Christian love. First, one must see that doctrinal boundaries must be maintained. As Jonathan Leeman points out, that the church is rampant in its, â€Å"loss of doctrinal, boundary making thinking,† 11 furthermore, that this loss is linked to allowing churches to, â€Å"veer toward number-counting or Spirit-chasing (or both)†. 12 This has ultimately led the church to see an influx of people. Yet, also there is a lack of spiritual maturity or ability to reproduce disciples. This must be seen in direct connection to the cultural phenomena of, â€Å"individualism, consumerism, and a reluctance to commit, and skepticism toward all forms of dogma† 13 The goal however, should be in relationships to picture the opposite of this mentality. The goal should center on accountability and self sacrifice, healthy boundaries and love from a biblical context of community. Furthermore, it should be understood that in picturing proper, restorative love in community is essential. The culture to which disciples will be sent is one intoxicated by love. This is a problem, in that the predominant cultural perception of love is so often implied upon the church and furthermore, Christ. It is expected that Christ is all accepting rather than concerned about belief or accountability. Restorative ministry in a community context must be fleshed out in a context of Gospel transparency. The church cannot disciple sinners with out loving them enough to picture this model in relationship. Hold true to doctrine and do not compromise for the sake of â€Å"love†. Lastly, one must seek to operate a framework of discipleship that can be reproduced. The church in too many cases has tied itself to structures that cannot be reproduced on an individual level. It is key to understand that, â€Å"Reproduction ensures that a movement will live past its founding stages.† 14 This must be acknowledged in greater depth. Jesus understood the need for reproductive discipleship and so should the modern church. The model of Jesus must be seen as the most successful model in that he understood and implemented a strategy of reproduction centered on a small handful of original disciples. Robert Coleman notes this in his book the Master Plan of Evangelism by stating the following: â€Å"His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes but with men whom the multitudes would follow†¦ Men were  to be His method of winning the world to God. The initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to His life and carry on His work after He returned to the Father.† Jesus understood the value of organic reproduction. The local church as well should seek to embody this. However, it seems this has not been the goal in much of the historical efforts of discipleship. Behavioral Goals Discipleship as Frank Viola states is, â€Å"a lifestyle—an authentic journey with the Lord Jesus and His disciples.† 15 Therefore, any process seeking to make disciples should desire to integrate fully a successful plan of curriculum. This curriculum should hold a clear-cut concept of behavioral goals. As Mitchell states, â€Å"Step number one in developing the curricular plan is establishing both institutional and individual goals and expectations.†16 This must be assessed if discipleship is to be accomplished. An overarching goal statement should be established to guide the educator as they seek to lead and make disciples. The goal then of this curricular plan must be seen as follows: To make disciples capable of living on mission, in journey, and reproductive in nature. This goal statement should be seen at the heart of successfully making disciples. However, the statement in itself is incapable of fleshing out the reality of this goal. There must be an expectation of personal goals accompanying the discipleship goal statement. Behavioral goals should be built around the framework of this statement. These goals should follow as well the model seen in the core ministry values. Individuals in the discipleship structure should be encouraged to integrate the following principles into their lives on a daily basis: Engage Care Build Reproduce Individuals should be encouraged to integrate these behaviors in their own  lives on a daily basis. The terminology of Scripture should point this out. One reads in Matthew 28:19 that the call is to, â€Å"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,†17 The point of â€Å"going† is better conveyed in the Greek, which reads as, â€Å"πΠ¿Ã ÃŽ µÃâ€¦ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ 18This therefore is defined as, â€Å"to lead over, carry over, transfer, to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one’s journey.†19 This must be seen as important in the behavioral goals of a discipleship effort. Individuals must be encouraged to integrate the four core values into a lifestyle of evangelism, rather than the more common structure of catapulting oneself into culture. Such an effort is often times defined by congregants in the form of confessional faith alone. The goal should be to integrate people into the journey before ever assessing the nature of their salvation. Salvation should be the goal yet; it should not be the point of the spear. Far too many have presented Christian community as transactive, whereas it should be seen as transformative in nature. The above format however may be seen as drastically different than the model shown in the historical model of church. Individual disciple-followers should begin to acknowledge that the need is not to go â€Å"on mission† but to â€Å"do life† as mission. There should be a language component to this shift. An individual slogan therefore could be stated simply as, â€Å"Keep Calm and Disciple on†. The goal of such a slogan is two fold. The desire should be to create a common language as well as a framework for motivation in a comfortable and familiar style. This must be understood in order to fully integrate discipleship into ones life. Furthermore, there should be a visual component to this as well. This visual can be seen in the following: . The above visual should be seen as key in the integration of material into the teaching and educative principles concerned with behavioral objectives. The form can be utilized as a further tool to incorporate and engage the culture at large concerning the building of relationships. This must be seen as key in the implementation of the above described discipleship structure. Therefore, it should be assessed that the behavioral objectives of this  discipleship strategy are to lead others to integrate the â€Å"engage, care, build, reproduce† strategy into their lives. Individual disciple-followers should be lead to, engage culture, care for their communities, build relationship through that caring, and reproduce disciples from those relationships. These are the behavioral objectives of this strategy and are essential to its implementation. Measureable Objectives Measurable outcomes should also be seen as important to the accomplishing of valuable discipleship structures. The question of what expectation is held by the leadership of Fairway Church for the individual disciple-followers is important and should be well defined at the onset of the structure. Dietrich Bonheoffer stated in his classical work Life Together that as believers, â€Å"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans†¦Ã¢â‚¬  20 This quote should help individual leaders as they seek to integrate measurable objectives into a successful framework for discipleship. Successful discipleship should create disciples willing to have their lives interrupted by Jesus. The measurable outcome in conclusion should be centered on the ability of individuals to live in such a way that discipleship is accomplished regardless as to the inconvenience to their personal lives. It should therefore, be noted that at the end of this discipleship course individuals should be integrated into community and motivated to form community in whatever context available to them. These measurable outcomes must be placed as central to the success of this plan of discipleship. Each component must be seen more in depth as to understand the importance of each. First, one must see the importance of individuals being integrated into community. Darrin Patrick notes this in his book For the City in a remarkable way. After noticing the large amount of non-believers in his congregation Patrick also noted that they (leaders), â€Å"learned that what stood out to people was the context of challenging, biblical teaching in the context of a community of people who seemed to genuinely care for one another and spend time together.† 21 This is for the purposes of this paper a  successful picture of what it means to integrate people into valuable community. This integration however, must be driven toward further goals. Next, one must be capable of thinking sacrificially to accomplish the goals of engaging and reproducing. This must be seen in the context of community. Darrin Patrick exhibits this point by describing the establishment of the fifth campus of his church â€Å"The Journey†. Darrin notes that, â€Å"we launched our fifth campus, which started because of the heart of a member of our church who owned a thrift store and desired a place for people who frequented there to go to church.† 22 This must be seen as an embodiment of the measurable outcome of being motivated to form community. The individual disciple saw a need in community, as a result a new congregation was started and discipleship was carried on. In summation concerning the point of measurable outcomes leadership should assess individuals in their ability to be part of community and their ability to form community. A successful disciple-follower will reproduce the discipleship model in different context outside of the original community. This must be seen as the most important measurable objective of this discipleship structure. Base Path of Development (Measurable Steps) A base path of development should also be considered at this point in the development of a discipleship structure. These steps should be assessed on both a corporate and an individual level. The larger context of the local church should benefit from the advancement of discipleship efforts. This would be the measurable steps assessed in the corporate context. However, it should also be seen that assessment on an individual level is needed. Furthermore, the benefit to the church is not one of a superficial nature. The church itself should be seen as being reproducible. The goal is to build from smallest to largest. The smallest being individual disciples and the largest being the reproduction and continued proliferation of church planting movements. The symbiotic relationship that exists between the corporate and the individual nature of discipleship is seen by the statements of Dennis McCallum who disciples through a process of, â€Å"using one-on-one or one-on-two relationships to h elp people who have only recently met Christ and need help just getting started at the most rudimentary  level.† 23 However, this is also integral to the model of reproduction. The above quote points to the greater implication of multiplication. McCallum goes on to point that; â€Å"Each home church in Xenos seeks to replicate itself within one to four years, depending on the type of group. To succeed, the home church must raise up a new team of leaders and double the size of the group.† 24 In short, it should be seen that a measurable outcome in the discipleship process of Fairway Church it the reproduction rate of both discipleship groups and church plants. As one evaluates the outcomes of developing disciple-followers there must be an emphasis placed on the corporate reproduction as well as the individual reproduction of disciples. As individuals are encouraged to â€Å"disciple on† there should be an understanding that an organic structure driven toward reproductive fellowships (i.e. church in whatever context) must be realized. Therefore, it must be noted that two measurable outcomes must be considered. First, are individuals making disciples? Second, are these disciples forming relational fellowships built around the tenants of church? If these two outcomes are not seen leadership should re-assess and equip individual disciples to continue by other means. This is key to the understanding of measureable outcomes in the context of the above discipleship st ructure. Furthermore, individuals should be encouraged to be experimental in their application of biblical teaching in the context of discipleship. One reads in the book the Trellis and the Vine concerning this theme: â€Å"†¦just as some sort of framework is needed to help a vine grow, so Christian ministries also need some structure and support. It may not be much, but at the very least we need somewhere to meet, some Bibles to read from, and some basic structures of leadership within our group.† 25  It should therefore, be embodied in the relationship between structure and organic growth that a supportive leadership model gives guidance but not directives. The goal should be to keep first things first in the context of community application. There should be a solid vein of doctrinal agreement, leadership authority, and oversight. However, this does not mean that the communities are manipulated to look alike in any context. A vibrant community of faith should be one in which the practical application of doctrinal belief binds a community together rather than driving them apart. Encompassing Vision Statement Furthermore there should be an encompassing vision for any discipleship structure. The vision of a group must be well defined in order to keep the group as a whole motivated and driven toward a goal. A successful leader will continually measure the progress of the group. This leader should also be willing adjust the methods used as needed. Transformative leadership is leadership that must not be fixated with plans but capable of accomplishing goals through working and changing with the group. Vision, it seems should be viewed in a dualistic nature. Vision can be a catalyst or a nail in a coffin. Darrin Patrick notes this in his book Church Planter. He comments that a pastor without grace is a man characterized as, â€Å"a blind man elected to a professorship of optics, philosophizing upon light and vision, discoursing upon and distinguishing to others the nice shades and delicate blendings of the prismatic colours, while he himself is absolutely in the dark!† 26 It must be seen therefore, that vision can be very dangerous if given from the wrong perspective and through the wrong person. However, this should not lead one to think it unwise to have vision. Paul is noted as have thought strategically about vision. In short, it must be seen that vision does not trump strategic thinking and strategic thinking does not cancel out the value of vision. One reads concerning this that, â€Å"Paul had two checks in his spirit and an open vision, but it wasn’t until he concluded—put all these things together cognitively—that he knew where the Spirit was leading.† 27 It should be therefore, that the leader of a discipleship effort should seek to combine an open vision with cognitive practical thought. Therefore, in considering the above exposition concerning the proposed discipleship structure of Fairway Church there should be a desire to define a vision built in the notion of Paul. This vision should be moldable as well as practical. At this point individuals should see the following vision statement as functional as well as doctrinal and spirit formed. Fairway Church discipleship exists to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to all those outside the walls of this church. We will live missionally, give sacrificially, and never stop encouraging others to join us on our way to Jesus. This vision should be implemented to encourage individuals to successfully accomplish the goals of discipleship. In conjunction with leadership on a personal level it is hoped that people will be motivated toward replicating the discipleship structure on their own. Identification and Description of Characteristics  of the Target Group The target group of this discipleship model is two fold. These two groups are best and most easily identified as follows: Church Attenders and believers  Un-churched and De-churched peoples Each of the above groups listed groups possess its own challenges as well as concerns. However, the success of this structure must be gauged in its ability to mesh the two together. First, one must integrate the existing resources of people and facilities toward accomplishing a greater understanding of evangelism in the context of discipleship. Ed Stetzer speaks of this by emphasizing the importance of a successful, â€Å"evangelistic strategy. â€Å"28 he points out that such a strategy, â€Å"requires stages, helping people move from the ranks of the inactive and unreached to being active followers of Jesus Christ.† 29 Therefore, these steps must start with those who already believe. Furthermore, this provides great comfort to the leader. Community in this seed group or core group will help not only to build new leaders but also give courage to the one in place. As the group develops and begins to implement the strategy of discipleship momentum will build and individuals will become bolder in their discipleship efforts. Second, one must seek to broaden the base from which the discipleship efforts can begin to take shape. This stage would further develop the core values of engagement and relationship building. In a sense this stage would be the branching out stage. Individuals from the core would be encouraged to engage, care for, and build relationships with their community. In this  process these individuals would seek to understand and acknowledge the individuals that can be identified with the un-churched and the de-churched. This however, may seem a daunting task. However, when placed in context it should be seen that this task, although daunting, could be accomplished. One term seems to predominantly describe those that remain outside the church. The term of post-modern has taken on a prolific hatred in the contemporary American church. Yet, the hope remains that through engaging this culture there can be Gospel work accomplished. First, one should understand what a â€Å"post-modern† person is. Stanley Grenz notes that post-modernism is, â€Å"a questioning, and even rejection of the Enlightenment project and the foundational assumptions upon which it was built, namely, that knowledge is certain, objective, and inherently good.† 30 In examining this definition the church may react rather than respond. However, the church should ask itself whether this shift is necessarily a bad thing. Gabe Lyons notes that over all, â€Å"Americans are spiritual, but they have begun to seek spiritual experiences outside the framework of traditional religions.† 31 If this is the case than why should the church be frightful of reaching out to engage this cultural shift? In a sense should not such a culture find value in Christian community? Not to say that Christian community should bend to accommodate but that a mentality defined by, â€Å"Think, hence I am† 32 by its very tenant, accommodates one who acknowledges Christ. Therefore, the church should seek to engage this group in an effort to integrate them into greater biblical community. The question is well phrased when reading, â€Å"What if it’s (the post modern culture) actually a harnessable wind that can refill the sails of our faith?† 33 Action Plan An action plan should further the discipleship effort of Fairway Church. This plan should be all encompassing as well as directed toward the context of each individual target group. The following steps should be taken in the goal to accomplish successful discipleship in the congregation of Fairway Church. The activities should be seen the context of two activities of a Biblical context. These activities can be defined as net casting and pulling  in the nets. First, one should see the first steps of the action plan as a net casting activity. These steps include the cultivation of existing believers and the utilization (pulling in) of such to broaden the discipleship pool. In a sense one is casting nets into the relevant communities in order to find the workers for discipleship. These individuals are then brought into the discipleship conversation as a means to parlay such resources toward the greater community. In this step of action one seeks to find where God is already working an d align themselves in an effort to have greater community impact toward making disciples of the un-churched and de-churched. Second, this step should be repeated on a broader scale. It is in this second step of action that one should look for areas in which the church can truly make a difference. In this context Christians should be encouraged to build relationships by engaging the culture around them. The net casting in this step is defined by the individual disciples living on task and on journey in their community context. Continual long-term engagement should be encouraged at this point. Furthermore, this second step should be defined by the individual efforts of disciples to become more involved in the lives of those outside the church. Although, disciples should be encouraged to invite disciples to Christian activities the main point is to form valuable organic relationships with those in the community. This step is hugely important to the continual development of discipleship efforts. Scope and Sequence Plan Scope and sequence planning should be seen as important as well. In such an assessment there should be adequate evaluation given to the curriculum, calendar, and personnel needed to accomplish the goals of the discipleship efforts. It is in this portion of development that one may see the options as limitless. However, for the sake of being organic it should be noted that scope and sequence planning should be a minimalistic activity. Curriculum must be seen as standardized. Regardless, as to which group or facet of the discipleship structure, there should be a successful implementation of curriculum. It is the suggestion of this paper that there should be an emphasis placed on book studies. These studies however, should be developed from practical to theological and from larger group to smaller. As individuals who already self identify as disciples arise in congregations they should immediately be integrated in a cohort structure of discipleship training. The curriculum for such a group should be focused on training and empowering these individuals to cast nets for themselves and train future disciples. Each cohort should last no more than six weeks and should consist of a high level of accountability. These groups should be no more than six participants in number. This number should allow for adequate leadership and training. In this context there should be a practical book such as For the City by Darrin Patrick and Matt Carter. In conjunction to this there should also be a Theologically significant book such as The surprising Offense of Gods Love by Jonathan Leeman. To second these efforts there should also be practical training involved. Each disciple should also be engaged for up to three weeks after the initial cohort. Each disciple-follower would be encouraged in this time to begin a personal outreach to his or her local community. Creativity would be emphasized and applauded. The leader of the cohort would be there only in a supportive role. Budget and Communication Tools and Techniques A budget plan should also be taken into consideration. However, with an emphasis on an organic model and structure, the budget should also be very minimalistic. Within the confines of such a structure the main cost would be book materials. Although individuals can be encouraged to buy the books there should be adequate understanding on the part of leadership. Books should be purchased in bulk and distributed at cost to leaders of individual groups. This budgetary model should be seen as helpful in several ways. However, the lower the cost the more likely reproduction will be. Individual participants should be encouraged to take ownership of the discipleship model and its proliferation. Too many churches have launched into discipleship efforts with an emphasis on church structural centrality. This in turn has made the portrayed model barren not easily reproduced. This mistake should be avoided  at all cost. Bibliography Bevins, Winfield. Grow: Reproducing through Organic Discipleship. Resurgence , 2009. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York , NY: Harper Collins , 1954. Bonhoeffer, Detrich. The Cost of Discipleship . New York , NY : Thouchstone, 1959. Chan, Francis. Multiply: Diciples Making Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2012. Coleman, Dr. Robert E. The Master Plan of Evangelism . Grand Rapids , MI: Revell Books , 1993. Descartes, Rene. Discourse on the Method and the Meditations . New York , NY: Cosimo, Inc, 2008 ESV Study Bible. Wheaton , IL: Crossway Bibles , 2008. Grenz, Stanley J., interview by Rogier Bos. Next Wave Interview (1999). Leeman, Jonathan. The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline . Wheaton , IL: Crossway Books , 2010. Lyons, Gabe. The NExt Christians: Seven Ways you Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World. Colorado Springs, Co: Multnomah Books , 2012. Marshall , Colin , and Tony Payne . The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything. Kingsford : Matthias Media , 2009. McCallum , Dennis , and Jessica Lowery . Organic Discipleship: Mentoring Others Into Spiritual Maturity and Leadership. New Paradigm Publishing , 2006. Patrick , Darrin, and Matt Carter . For the City: Proclaiming and Living out the Gospel. Grand Rapids , Mi: Zondervan , 2012. Patrick, Darrin. Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission. Wheaton , IL: Crossway, 2010. Patrick, Darrin, and Carter Matt. For the City: Proclaiming and Living Out the Gospel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Scrivener, Fredrick. Interlinear Greek New Testament Bible (Kindle Edition). 2010. Stetzer, Ed. Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2007. Gospel [in] Life . Performed by Timothy Keller Redeemer City to City . Viola, Frank. Finding Organic Church. Colorado Springs , CO: David C. Cook.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Essay

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - Essay Example In this novel, Oscar is a character that can not maintain a physical relationship with a girl because of his obesity. (Diaz) has emphasized that sex is the fundamental element that an individual must exhibit in order to be a Dominican male. Dominican male in the novel has been described as an individual that has charm, physical attraction, and virility. All of these qualities have been replaced in Oscar’s persona by his obesity. Other characters in the play like Yunior and Rudolfo are able to make girlfriends and maintain a physical relationship with them because they are smart, and have captivating looks. Thus, Diaz has placed a lot of emphasis upon the significance of looks of men. When Oscar’s mother, Belicia reaches puberty and develops large breasts that appeal to all the boys around her, she chooses to date nobody but the most handsome boy in the school named Jack Pujols. The fact that this happens between the year 1955 and 1962 reinforces the concept that menâ₠¬â„¢s beauty has not just recently gained importance, but has been of significance for a long time in the past. Clare Spurrell has expressed the consequences of obesity on the physical relationship in her article Obesity and relationships. Spurrell supports the notion that people have been weight conscious for long. â€Å"Since the 1960s the population as a whole has become more sedentary with greater hours spent in front of the television, and an increasingly automated lifestyle† (Spurrell 1). ... The idea compares well with the issue of obesity in the present age. Proponents of obesity control programs are of the view that obesity lowers an individual’s confidence level and may put the individual into social exclusion. In a society that stereotypes obesity as a symptom of sloth, overindulgence and a lack of self-control, sufferers are often left with feelings of social exclusion and isolation. Even more so in a relationship, the psychological implications of the 'fat stereotype' can be equally disruptive. (Spurrell 1). Diaz and Spurrell have both maintained that obesity has negative effect on people’s physical relationships, though Diaz has gone a step further by not letting Oscar make love with anyone because of his obesity whereas Sara and her boyfriend, do make love with one another, but their relationship is complicated by the obesity that both suffer from and eventually, they part ways. Oscar develops several affairs in the novel by Diaz, though the intimac y never grows up to the physical level. First, Oscar finds Ana Obregon in the SAT preparation class. He finds her attractive and the two make friends with each other. However, Ana is taken over by Manny because he is physically intimate with Ana unlike Oscar, who is only good in conversing with her. Later, Oscar finds Jenni Munoz, a Puerto Rican girl. He does the same to her what he did to Ana i.e. kill the time speaking to her and never making love. Because of that, the end of their relationship is also like before. Jenni finds a boyfriend and breaks all ties with Oscar. Once again, Oscar is left alone. Break up of Ana and then Jenni with Oscar as well as the breakup of Sara with Jonathon essentially tells that sex is fundamental to the survival and sustainability of a relationship.

Listening Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Listening Assignment - Essay Example ue Note Label recording company and it had a unique characteristic of being comprised of young players such as Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan who played for the band in their early twenties . The band leader Art was commonly known for his hard hitting style of drumming and together with his band he made a revolution of bebop and later oversaw its transition into hard bop style of jazz (Lesslie 23). They toured many parts of the world such as the Netherlands, Japan, France and Belgium where they enjoyed a large fan base. In 1958, the band made a memorable live performance in Brussels Belgium where they performed tracks such as â€Å"Just By Myself†, â€Å"Moaning†, â€Å"I Remember Clifford†, â€Å"A Night In Tunisia†, â€Å"It’s You or No One†, â€Å"Whisper Not†, and â€Å"NY Theme† (Lesslie 36). This paper will focus more on the performances of the first four listed tracks, giving a vivid description of the performance, the various jazz styles the players incorporate in each of the tracks and also the role of the instruments used in the tracks. â€Å"Just By Myself† was a live jazz performance in 1958 by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in Olympia Paris. A Benny Golson’s composition, â€Å"Just By Myself† was the opening performance of the Olympia concert. The band members are looking sharp with black suits. The five-minute performance starts right on the melody by a powerful drumming by the band’s leader and drummer Arthur Blakey who is rested sitting behind a Gretsch sparkle set. The song’s style is soft jazz and the piano sets the mood for smooth transitions of the bass guitar and the piano. Lee Morgan is the first soloist, his pitch and tone is spot on for twenty-year old musician. Benny Golson’s who is the second soloist starts with his famous long lines and quickly progresses with short quicker ones. He appears forceful, but rich in content. Bobby Timmons who is the final soloist appears more boppish than usual, but his skill on the keys is exceptionally

Tescos Competitive Marketing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tescos Competitive Marketing Strategy - Essay Example As the discussion highlights  Tesco commenced its trading activities in 1924in UK and as on date, it is having more than 2979 stores in UK, and it earned net revenue of  £43 billion in 2012 with UKs net profit being  £ 2.5 billion in 2012. In UK, Tesco is the leading supermarket and about one-third of UK’s selling space and 66% of total sales all the supermarkets in UK are catered by Tesco. Tesco is having hypermarkets, convenience stores and superstores.From this paper it is clear that  Tesco’s core strategies are as follows: to concentrate more on the UK’s core ; to become the world leading retailer in online   sales and stores; Tesco is a market leader in food items and wants to be stronger in other products also; to concentrate to develop the retail services in all our markets; to develop and own high-value brands.  Tesco is having its operations in the following countries viz. USA, Europe –Turkey, Czech Republic , Poland ,Hungary, Slovakia and Republic of Ireland, Asia – India , China , South Korea , Malaysia and Thailand.  In the last two decades, Tesco had witnessed teething issues in its aggressive marketing plans.   Tesco witnessed a fall in sales due to well structured and impregnated supermarkets in the UK, a lot of impediments in getting plan approval for its large superstores, witnessed cutthroat competition from Safeway, Asda & Sainsbury.  Tesco’ growth and success over the past three decades rest upon its transformation of image and strategy.. Tesco has to change its marketing strategy to sell various kinds of customers namely lower, middle and upper class consumers with an inclusive offer stratagem, and their market strategy is to sell high quality products at a realistic price. In 1998, it introduced the finest range of premium products and was followed by the introduction of Tesco’s Organic range, which was introduced in 2006. Later, it introduced Tesco’s Healthy Living â€Å"range of products and in 2008, it introduced â€Å"Value â€Å"range products to attract the price-conscious clients, mainly to meet the confronts thrown by the recent economic recession. Tesco is able to attain high revenues by developing a vast range of own brands. Tesco has shifted its core business strategy to maximise the customer’s value from that of maximising shareholders’ value. (Aaker & McLaughlin 2010:128). Tesco has evolved a diversification strategy footed upon on four core areas: expanding and innovating in the main UK grocery market and diversify into segments like convinient stores; expanding into non-food businesses like health, clothing , beauty , DVDs , CDs and diversified into developing into its own non-food Value and Finest ranges; diversified into retail service provinces like personal finance for utilities and telecoms by signing joint ventures with local players ; it concentrated into its international expansion, which successfully accounted for one-fourth of its sales in the year 2008-09 . (Aaker & McLaughlin 2010:128). Global Positioning According to Sheth, a company’s marketing strategies should be fine-tuned in the phase of

Concert Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Concert Review - Essay Example With her live performance of Are You Alright?, Mama You Sweet, Unsuffer Me, Learning How To Live, Come On, Wrap My Head Around That, and Fancy Funeral, I could essentially point out suitable comparisons with Kath Bloom, Carole King, Courtney Love, and Kenia somewhere along the quality, tempo, and Lucinda's way with her vocals. Coming from a background chiefly resigned with rhythm and blues, punk, and some influence of modern jazz, at first it seemed like I was drawing a blank and couldn't grasp or make sense of the objective and persuasion that go with her type of music. Eventually, as I got myself to sincerely pay attention to the substance and its rhythm, I began to feel psychologically seduced to perceive how sensible it could get in relation to my own genre and environment of artistic inclinations. In the middle of the concert, I could say that I had yielded to an 'acquired taste' of her rare lyrical creation with which to ride along spontaneously. For a moment, while getting mod erately moved at my seat some five meters from the overwhelmed stage, I was seriously enamored to anticipate every detail following the course of Williams' singing â€Å"Unsuffer Me.† The justice done to this song conspicuously surpassed critical expectations based upon the delighted response I and the rest of the audience could not help expressing as if we were suddenly struck by an excruciating but meaningful realization of life. To me, it mostly came as a surprising attempt of reconstructing creativity with literary ballad that makes one suppose it can be patterned from the style in Annie Lennox, Dido or Alanis Morissette's music to converge with an amount of solemnity Sarah Maclachlan is known for. Through her genius instrumental arrangement and choice of words and theme altogether, Lucinda managed to take me to the track of recognizing poetry in the social dimension of the song's content beyond rhythmic exertion. The figurative aspect of â€Å"Unsuffer Me† is some thing that can be attributed to Bob Dylan's rhetoric technique of putting across a warm and thoughtful mood with a mildly outrageous sentimental effect. In the majority of the aforementioned pieces played, there had been mixtures of country rock, ballad, and blues which sounded modern enough for perhaps a fraction of diverse culture in this age yet I feel they possess certain elements that are key to paying respect to the classical worth of their roots. L. Williams only had a few words to speak in between performances and her introduction of each song was so reserved that it was adequately justified by her light yet intellectually aggressive performance. As she strove to fulfill the concert's aim of marketing the essence of West, it makes me wonder who among the contemporary artists under her category and influence would carry on the legacy or be challenged to at least enhance potentials by innovating to achieve the level of significance and quality Lucinda devotes for her compositi on to deserve as she sees fit. Hers is a kind of music which, in my understanding, does not instantly conform to being released without attaining the intended refinement of every consideration by the musician-artist. Williams' original composition in her West album I think is