The Daniel Plan
£22.79 (Approx)
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Overview
What does it say on the tin?
40 days to a healthier life. Feast on something bigger than a fad.
This six-session video-based, small group study from Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman is centered on five essentials that will launch your journey to health: faith, food, fitness, focus and friends.
With support from medical and fitness experts, Pastor Rick Warren and thousands of people from his congregations started on a journey to transform their own lives. It’s called The Daniel Plan and it works for one simple reason: God designed your body to be healthy and he provided everything you need to thrive and live an abundant life.
This small group study is a vital component of The Daniel Plan because it emphasizes the powerful community component of the program. As Dr. Mark Hyman says, ‘community is the cures’ for healthy living.
The Daniel plan small group study teaches simple ways to incorporate healthy choices into your daily lifestyle. This four-color study guide includes biblical inspiration from Pastor Rick, instructions from our doctors and wellness experts, practical food and fitness tips, and much more.
What do you get?
Cropped A4 glossy Study guide book plus DVD. Six sessions:
- Faith: Nurturing Your Soul
- Food: enjoying God’s Abundance
- Fitness: Strengthening Your Body
- Focus: Renewing Your Mind
- Friends: Encouraging Each Other
- Living the Lifestyle
Also available, and recommended, are The Daniel Plan App, www.danielplan.com, plus accompanying books The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life and The Daniel Plan Journal.
Who is it for?
Adult small groups, Enquiring, Beginning, Growing. Older youth who are interested in creating holistically healthy life patterns.
Review
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What is the overall quality of material presentation?
Great DVD and study guide resource that brings practical and biblical inspiration for getting holistically healthy – in faith, food, fitness, focus and friends. Very easy to use.
How clear are its aims and outcomes?
Video has clear clips that spell out the aims, vision and content of the sessions. Each session has a brief introduction to the topic.
How accessible are the leader's notes?
One study guide book for all. Clear and friendly notes for leaders, to explain the rationale for the subject, and for good group leading. Colourful and engaging with lots of photos. Simple format of brief Outline of each session; Coming together (introductory questions and catch-up time); Learning Together (video teaching segment, around 25 minutes); Growing Together (processing the teaching via a few questions for discussion); Better Together (practical applications and Next Steps); Praying Together. Appendix contains more Daniel Plan resources and FAQs. Big design makes it look a little simplistic, but the content is far from that.
Who could lead it?
Easy to use video and studies, with simple follow through questions etc. Leader would need, however, to be enthusiastic about, and committed to, the overall vision.
How helpful are the participants' resources?
Attractive books with lots of colour, space and photos. Notes pages. Main points and relevant Bible quotes are included. The super-large layout and, for example, spaces to fill in missing words, may be off-putting for some people. But the content is spot on. Nutritional guidelines, plans and tips included.
How good is any digital material?
Pastor Rick Warren does some fairly straight-forward biblical teaching, seated at a table, mixed with his own story. Easy to listen to. Short ‘Move of the week' video clips suggest simple beginning physical moves, and ‘Recipe of the week' shows healthy food recipes. Although some of it is USA-based, it is easily transferable to UK context – and would at least inspire discussion for alternatives. Lovely background to other interviews – eg with the doctors involved in the Plan – and the recipe ladies. All the women seem to talk extremely fast for some reason … and then there's that enviable, constant sunshine.
How much prep will I have to do?
Important to prepare the group for the Plan, and get willingness – this is not the sort of resource to be sprung on an unsuspecting group! The Appendix material needs reading and video, session notes engaged with.
Is there website support? Links?
Good website has additional material and inspiration, but the much-mentioned App links are not yet available. www.thedanielplan.com.
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How well does it encourage interaction with the group?
Emphasis on doing the Daniel Plan together. Statistics given to support this – group members get much better results. Good opportunities for discussion.
How well does it cater for a variety of both learning and delivery styles?
Good mix of video, discussion and application, prayer. As noted, the style of the study guide is big and bold, and a tad school-book-like, but the content is great.
How adaptable is it to my situation?
Assumes a starting point of low engagement with physical health, and inspired by health concerns related to being overweight. Realistic about the challenge of getting healthy from this point, and encourages small step progress. ‘Recipes of the week' will be a long way from many people's current diet, so this small step theory will be important. Health focus is well balanced with the emphasis on friendship and community. Some people may already be a long way down the healthy route already, but the biblical approach would still be engaging. Might be good to beware of any smug attitudes!
How well does it encourage people to work together in applying the material?
A good strength of this resource. Group honesty and application is encouraged, eg finding a fitness buddy, a shopping buddy, and praying together for success in these practical steps forward. Group Activity suggested for every session. Inspirational.
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How much of the material is Bible-based?
Each session biblically based. Masses of relevant references within the talks, and printed out in the study guide.
How well is the biblical material presented and used?
Solid biblical basis for taking care of one's body, presented well by Pastor Rick and backed up through other interviews, eg with doctors. Good questions encourage engagement with this material.
How well does it apply biblical material to everyday life?
All the suggestions for getting healthy in every way are based on biblical principles, in the video teaching, and spelled out in the study guide. Very well integrated.
Is there a particular theological perspective?
Evangelical.
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How well does it inspire people towards whole-life discipleship?
Underlying conviction that getting holistically healthy is an essential part of discipleship. ‘The heart behind the movement' is the response to the first commandment to love God with all that we are.
How well does it encourage and enable people to grow in their faith?
Dependence on God for help to engage with the Daniel Plan. Challenge to integrate the physical, emotional, health and spiritual; and submit to God in all.
How well does it stretch faith and vision of God and his purposes?
‘The reason I want you and I to be healthy is because it will give us more energy to do the things God wants us to do' (Pastor Rick). The big vision for this is communicated well throughout the material. No excuses!
How well does it connect with real life issues?
Practical and thorough motivation to get healthy for good reasons: ‘[to] glorify God physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually' (Sean Foy). Video interviews and tips in them and the book are straight-forward, doable and realistic. No perfectionism, just progress.
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|How well does it encourage personal evangelism?
Not a focus.
How well does it encourage local or network-based community involvement?
Huge focus on doing this together, and biblically-based study on the value of friendship. Lots of encouragement to join in with community sport etc.
How well does it connect with global issues?
If obesity is a global issue, then this resource connects with it extremely well.
How well does it encourage global mission?
Not a focus.