The Names of God PowerPoint presentation offers a tremendous amount as it is impressive in its scope with Biblical content. Speaking with the author, I understand it was initially created for use with adults and parents during a VBS. I initially consider this resource in light of Vella’s 12 principles of learning then offer some of my own thoughts. Reflection on needs assessment clearly took place as Fred knew the adults who would gather and assessed usage of scripture and means of presentation to best deliver this study. Creating a safe environment for this study would likely be through a covenant conversation at the beginning establish ground rules of interaction. Sound relationship was embodied through presentation of material by a fellow adult to a group of peers. Sequence was taken into account laying a Scriptural base before calling for personal opinion. It is largely incumbent on the participants to move to action as there is not an express call to action through this resource but very likely that it might encourage one to deeper study the scriptures to learn more about God. Learners are subjects in their own learning through spending time understanding their own responses to names of God and also to reflect on who we are to God. Feelings are engaged in the previous process of considering oneself in light of God’s word. The immediacy of this study is rooted in the degree to which understanding of our relationship with God motivates us to share what we know about him with others. The roles in this resource are centrally a leader to mediate the pace of the slide and encourage discussion. Teamwork would likely manifest between participants. Participants would be engaged through looking up the scriptures referenced. This is to be commended as rather than having all the scriptural text included in the body of the power point (and it would have been a lot of scripture) it encourages the participant, or at the very least, one within the study group, to look up the reference. It is not clear what the immediate accountability would be after participation in the study but perhaps a follow up to ask what names and attributes had been most visible to a participant in the time between learning sessions.

I found this resource compelling for its Scriptural integrity, for its versatility (use part(s) or all), and for its dedication to spur reflection in participants. Steeped in Scripture references, this would be a fantastic resource to get participants into reading the passages where the name of God is found or a reference to our relationship with God. Versatility in that the presentation is broken into three parts: 1) Who is God?, 2) Who is God to you?, and 3) Who are we to God? Each subset of slides could be used for smaller discussion. Rather than just engaging the cognitive arena of learning it offers plenty of opportunity to engage the affective realm of learning by asking the learner to play a role in their own learning through reflection on what names and attributes of God most resonate with them i.e. who is God to you?

Only one minor word of caution, prior to leading this, I would encourage a leader of this study to engage in a careful reading of the presentation in order to understand the theological approach of the presentation and accommodate their community’s Biblical proficiency and theological inclinations.

Personally, I learned a lot and commend this resource for those looking for a great study of the names and attributes of God.