The Bible assigns parents the responsibility for the spiritual nurture of their children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Ephesians 6:4). I can envision a world where parents taught God's Word to their children from their earliest days with such dedication and consistency that Sunday School lessons were unnecessary. That's not the world I see, however.
Instead, I find that families today benefit from age-appropriate Christian education for their children. Call me old-fashioned, but I suspect that the tradition of "graded" (that is "separated into grades") Sunday School classes and intergenerational (all ages together) worship that has served our church body for a century or more did not come about by accident. It is a good thing.
A speaker at the recent conference of the National Association of [LCMS] DCEs applauded the "new" pattern in a large SoCal non-denominational megachurch of once a quarter having all age groups set aside their age-segregated worship in order to worship together. (I was disappointed that she didn't know her audience better.) And I've seen congregations, and at one time served one, where at least occasionally all ages would join together for intergenerational Sunday School experiences.
I think intergenerational Sunday School lessons can be wonderful, but I know they take a lot of work; they are not very common; and I don't get very many requests for material to serve that model. I think the traditional Sunday School has relevance and purpose.
But I would encourage you to think about how your church supports families in their role as the primary teachers of the faith.
What resources do you provide so that parents can do their job well? (Such as the Story Bible or My Devotions)
How clearly do you articulate the expectation that parents will teach their children about the Christian faith at home?
What training do you provide to assist parents in this responsibility? What more could you do?
God's blessings as you teach parents to teach God's Word to His children!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Orthodox
Orthodox: conforming to established doctrine especially in religion
Heterodox: contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religionShould orthodoxy be a benchmark for your Sunday School? Orthodox material? Training for your teachers? It make sense to me that what is taught in our Christian education agencies should be congruent with our beliefs. How else will the faith be accurately taught? For example, if the material we use omit the correct teaching on Baptism, how will the children we teach know of its importance and its power? If the material we teach is at its root moralistic, what prevents the children we teach from believing that they have the power in themselves to be good Christians who please God by their righteous living?
What constitutes orthodoxy for Sunday Schools in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod? A great question and fodder, perhaps, for another post.
Who has the responsibility in your congregation to make sure that orthodox material and doctrine are taught? The pastor accepts this responsibility when he is called to the congregation. He is free, of course, to delegate this responsibility, or to share it with others, but a system where individual teachers can teach "whatever they want" does not seem likely to contribute to orthodoxy.
I pray that this concern is not brushed off by those who find it intrusive. Some may suppose that my first or even only concern is selling the curriculum that I believe is orthodox. Rather, I strive for the goal that I hope you share: that every student hear the Good News of God's grace and love in Christ Jesus every Sunday and grow in faith in Him.
God bless you as you teach God's children His Word!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Broken
I am in the middle of reading one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time: Broken: 7 "Christian" Rules that Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible.
In this book, Jonathan Fisk (RevFisk on YouTube.com) examines seven counterfeit rules that many churches today teach as doctrine but that have no basis in Scripture.
Others have lamented the drift of young people away from the Church. Fisk lays out some of the false promises some churches make to their young people and explores God's Word as it touches on each area. You will find these teachings in churches near you, or perhaps even in the glitzy material someone has chosen for your Sunday School.
None of these false doctrines is new; they have been around for centuries. But all of them find expression in contemporary American religion. You will learn to identify and avoid:
Where do you see one or more of these seven "rules" at work in your church or community?
If you agree with Rev. Fisk's assessment of the false doctrines we need to oppose, how will you change how and what you teach?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
In this book, Jonathan Fisk (RevFisk on YouTube.com) examines seven counterfeit rules that many churches today teach as doctrine but that have no basis in Scripture. Others have lamented the drift of young people away from the Church. Fisk lays out some of the false promises some churches make to their young people and explores God's Word as it touches on each area. You will find these teachings in churches near you, or perhaps even in the glitzy material someone has chosen for your Sunday School.
None of these false doctrines is new; they have been around for centuries. But all of them find expression in contemporary American religion. You will learn to identify and avoid:
- Mysticism
- Moralism
- Rationalism
- Prosperity
- Ecclesiology
- Lawlessness
- Worship of Self
Where do you see one or more of these seven "rules" at work in your church or community?
If you agree with Rev. Fisk's assessment of the false doctrines we need to oppose, how will you change how and what you teach?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Do No Harm
It is a basic assumption in the moral and ethical systems of many bodies, organizations, and professions (for example, in the Hippocratic oath familiar to many in the medical profession), that we human beings not deliberately harm others. It is implied in the Commandment "Do not kill." And it is worth consideration by those who choose the material to be used in their Sunday School classes individually or as a leader.
Surely we want to "do no harm" to the children, youth, and adults who join us in studying God's Word. We do not want to place in the hands of students or untrained volunteers material that will mislead them or contradict the clear teaching that God gives salvation through faith in the work of Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin.
It always amazes me that some Sunday School leaders, pastors, and directors of Christian education don't get it.
How does your church insure that the material you teach each Sunday "does no harm"?
God's blessings as you teach His children His Word.
Surely we want to "do no harm" to the children, youth, and adults who join us in studying God's Word. We do not want to place in the hands of students or untrained volunteers material that will mislead them or contradict the clear teaching that God gives salvation through faith in the work of Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin.
It always amazes me that some Sunday School leaders, pastors, and directors of Christian education don't get it.
How does your church insure that the material you teach each Sunday "does no harm"?
God's blessings as you teach His children His Word.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Immanuel, God with Us
On this Eighth Day of Christmas, it's worth remembering that God is still Immanuel, "God with us."
Yes, He is with us "in the broad sense," a spiritual/Spiritual sense suggested by Luke 1:28 or perhaps Matthew 28:20.
But He is more specifically with us "in the narrow sense," in the Means of Grace, in the Word He has given us, the Holy Scriptures and the "Word made flesh," and in the Sacrament of the Altar where Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine.
We (and the children we teach) cannot see or touch the Spirit or the spiritual Jesus, but we can hold the Word in our hands as we teach, knowing that it comes from God Himself. We taste and see the elements of the Lord's Supper knowing that by God's Word "this is My body . . . blood."
Jesus is "God with us" in Word and Sacrament, in each Divine Service, in each Sunday School lesson. That's a powerful promise from Immanuel!
God's blessings this year as you teach God's children His Word.
Yes, He is with us "in the broad sense," a spiritual/Spiritual sense suggested by Luke 1:28 or perhaps Matthew 28:20.
But He is more specifically with us "in the narrow sense," in the Means of Grace, in the Word He has given us, the Holy Scriptures and the "Word made flesh," and in the Sacrament of the Altar where Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine.
We (and the children we teach) cannot see or touch the Spirit or the spiritual Jesus, but we can hold the Word in our hands as we teach, knowing that it comes from God Himself. We taste and see the elements of the Lord's Supper knowing that by God's Word "this is My body . . . blood."
Jesus is "God with us" in Word and Sacrament, in each Divine Service, in each Sunday School lesson. That's a powerful promise from Immanuel!
God's blessings this year as you teach God's children His Word.
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