I'm sad at how frequently I hear leaders in Christian education---directors of Christian education, pastors, even synodical and district folks---freely admit to using or recommending non-Lutheran Sunday School material. Their admission is usually coupled with the assurance that they "correct the theology" in the material before allowing it to be used.
I wonder what that "correcting" looks like? Do they write a document pointing out the theological errors and suggesting ways the teacher could include the Gospel and teaching about God's Word and Sacraments? Do they hand-write clear Gospel statements onto each of the student leaflets? Do they use a black marker to cross out each activity that teaches moralism or points students to a source other than God's son as the answer for sin and the power for Christian living? Do they conduct training sessions with each of the teachers to show what is specifically wrong with the material? Do they re-write the teacher guide material so that the heterodox material is not available for the teacher to use?
I know from twenty-plus years of experience how difficult the task of correcting theology in curriculum material can be. I suspect that the assurances I hear about such correction is more wish than reality.
My advice? Don’t put non-Lutheran material into the hands of your volunteers and, for heaven’s sake, don’t send it home with children. You know the proverb that says, "One picture is more powerful than a thousand words." Non-Lutheran printed material (the picture) placed in the hands of teachers, children, and families will speak more loudly than any “theological correction” (the words) you give verbally or in other written material. It will actually teach them bad theology both in the classroom and afterward as the material finds its way into the home.
God bless you as you teach His Word, His clear Law-and-Gospel Word, to His children!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
The Worship-Education Dilemma
Twice in the past week, I was reminded of the challenges that churches create for themselves by scheduling worship and Christian education simultaneously.
I gave this advice to a DCE (who, as it turned out, did not need it): "Do not schedule worship and education simultaneously. Even when the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Families will be tempted to cut back to one hour. Adults miss Bible class, children miss worship, everybody loses. I know that facilities cost money and when attendance grows that middle hour looks attractive for worship as well as education. My advice is don’t do it."
And I heard our senior pastor at the congregation where I am a member, during the sermon at the 9:30 a.m. worship service (and all others), the admonition that parents should not choose to worship at a time that precludes their own attendance at Bible class or deprives their children of the opportunity to be in both worship and Sunday School. (I'm sure he did not miss the irony that he was preaching in a service that take place during the congregation's Sunday School hour.)
Wise congregational leadership will address the issues raised by a crowded sanctuary in ways that will not have a negative impact on Christian education for adults and worship attendance for children. How else will children learn to worship than by doing so with their parents? What kind of example for valuing the study of God's Word is given by parents who do not study God's Word along side of, at the same time as, their children?
There will be a definite cost to keeping the hours of worship and Christian education separate. In spiritual terms, however, I believe it will be less than the cost of placing worship and Sunday School in competing time slots.
God bless you as you enable God's children, children and adults, to study God's Word.
I gave this advice to a DCE (who, as it turned out, did not need it): "Do not schedule worship and education simultaneously. Even when the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Families will be tempted to cut back to one hour. Adults miss Bible class, children miss worship, everybody loses. I know that facilities cost money and when attendance grows that middle hour looks attractive for worship as well as education. My advice is don’t do it."
And I heard our senior pastor at the congregation where I am a member, during the sermon at the 9:30 a.m. worship service (and all others), the admonition that parents should not choose to worship at a time that precludes their own attendance at Bible class or deprives their children of the opportunity to be in both worship and Sunday School. (I'm sure he did not miss the irony that he was preaching in a service that take place during the congregation's Sunday School hour.)
Wise congregational leadership will address the issues raised by a crowded sanctuary in ways that will not have a negative impact on Christian education for adults and worship attendance for children. How else will children learn to worship than by doing so with their parents? What kind of example for valuing the study of God's Word is given by parents who do not study God's Word along side of, at the same time as, their children?
There will be a definite cost to keeping the hours of worship and Christian education separate. In spiritual terms, however, I believe it will be less than the cost of placing worship and Sunday School in competing time slots.
God bless you as you enable God's children, children and adults, to study God's Word.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
What Is Sunday School For?
How's that for a basic question? How would you answer? The answer you give, and the answers the members of your congregation give, to that question will say a lot about the philosophy behind your entire Christian education ministry.
I can think of three significant purposes for Sunday School.
Evangelization
The Sunday School is, first and foremost, a weekly opportunity to share the "evangel" (Greek for "good news") about Jesus Christ with adults and children. It is a vital message for Christians and non-Christians alike. If the Good News is not shared, if the material used teaches moralism or works righteous or only law, you are wasting everyone's time and doing more harm than good.
Education
It is not without reason that we call is "Christian education." The more we know about the Bible's message, and the better we understand it, the more our faith is nurtured and our vocation encouraged. Biblical literacy is a great defense against false doctrine and spiritual ruin.
Socialization
For children, just as for adults, the habits of weekly attendance at worship and Bible study and daily devotion and prayer are encouraged through the social and service connections we find with other congregation members. Children who know and enjoy being with their Sunday School class mates will attend more frequently, and even urge their parents to take them to church. Studies reveal that member who have at least five points of connection in the congregation will be more active and contribute more time and treasure to its welfare.
What other purposes come to mind for Sunday School?
Sunday School is not the only place that these purposes can be achieved. The family has a "first line" responsibility for nurturing children in the faith, teaching the Holy Scriptures, and bringing children to worship. But nearly every family I've encountered looks to the Church for support and assistance in these tasks.
God bless you are you teach His children His Word!
I can think of three significant purposes for Sunday School.
Evangelization
The Sunday School is, first and foremost, a weekly opportunity to share the "evangel" (Greek for "good news") about Jesus Christ with adults and children. It is a vital message for Christians and non-Christians alike. If the Good News is not shared, if the material used teaches moralism or works righteous or only law, you are wasting everyone's time and doing more harm than good.
Education
It is not without reason that we call is "Christian education." The more we know about the Bible's message, and the better we understand it, the more our faith is nurtured and our vocation encouraged. Biblical literacy is a great defense against false doctrine and spiritual ruin.
Socialization
For children, just as for adults, the habits of weekly attendance at worship and Bible study and daily devotion and prayer are encouraged through the social and service connections we find with other congregation members. Children who know and enjoy being with their Sunday School class mates will attend more frequently, and even urge their parents to take them to church. Studies reveal that member who have at least five points of connection in the congregation will be more active and contribute more time and treasure to its welfare.
What other purposes come to mind for Sunday School?
Sunday School is not the only place that these purposes can be achieved. The family has a "first line" responsibility for nurturing children in the faith, teaching the Holy Scriptures, and bringing children to worship. But nearly every family I've encountered looks to the Church for support and assistance in these tasks.
God bless you are you teach His children His Word!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
What Drives Technology Adoption?
A long discussion in a business meeting today prompts me to ask: "What drives adoption of technology in the local Lutheran Sunday School?" That answer to that question will obviously vary by location. It will also change depending on whether you talking about technology that serves the Sunday School leader, the teacher, or the student.
But here is the central issue: is it better for Concordia Publishing House to meet the customer's current preferences in terms of technology? Or should we work to move the customer to new levels of accepting and using technology, knowing that it is in the customers best interests?
Should we push our customers into using technology?
It is likely that we can provide better resources for less cost to the customer through technology: by offering product in downloadable form rather than print, or on CD, or on DVD. We can, and occasionally do, point the customer to resources available from Internet sources that enrich the educational process. But much of that is not cost-effective until there is a certain level of acceptance is reached within our customer base.
For example, in 2011, CPH offered our annual children's Christmas service products as "download only" resources. Sales fell below the previous year's, and we have numerous customers who complained of inability to access the services through the Internet; we even wound up duplicating CDs by hand of the "downloadable" product and mailing them to some customers. A sizable percentage of our annual sales of this product still come from people who order CDs rather than download the files from our Web site.
Should we wait until all our customers are ready?
One thought is that if the customer really likes and wants the product, and we offer it as downloadable only, the customers will eventually come around. They will learn the technology and processes that allow them to have the product. Of course, some of them may just go elsewhere for a comparable product.
Now in 2013, most computers sold this year will probably not even have a CD-drive. New data for that computer is almost always downloaded, and often wirelessly at that. It seems that our customers will eventually come around to downloadable resources. Do we do them any favors by delaying our own adoption of that technology?
So, I wonder . . .
Given a choice, would you rather receive a CD of music and printable files or download those resources directly to your computer from our Web site? Why?
If a product you are interested in is available only as a downloadable resource, would you buy it or would you look for something else?
How long do you think it will be until you'll be comfortable with download? Today? Next year? Never?
God bless you as you use technology to teach God's children His Word!
But here is the central issue: is it better for Concordia Publishing House to meet the customer's current preferences in terms of technology? Or should we work to move the customer to new levels of accepting and using technology, knowing that it is in the customers best interests?
Should we push our customers into using technology?
It is likely that we can provide better resources for less cost to the customer through technology: by offering product in downloadable form rather than print, or on CD, or on DVD. We can, and occasionally do, point the customer to resources available from Internet sources that enrich the educational process. But much of that is not cost-effective until there is a certain level of acceptance is reached within our customer base.
For example, in 2011, CPH offered our annual children's Christmas service products as "download only" resources. Sales fell below the previous year's, and we have numerous customers who complained of inability to access the services through the Internet; we even wound up duplicating CDs by hand of the "downloadable" product and mailing them to some customers. A sizable percentage of our annual sales of this product still come from people who order CDs rather than download the files from our Web site.
Should we wait until all our customers are ready?
One thought is that if the customer really likes and wants the product, and we offer it as downloadable only, the customers will eventually come around. They will learn the technology and processes that allow them to have the product. Of course, some of them may just go elsewhere for a comparable product.
Now in 2013, most computers sold this year will probably not even have a CD-drive. New data for that computer is almost always downloaded, and often wirelessly at that. It seems that our customers will eventually come around to downloadable resources. Do we do them any favors by delaying our own adoption of that technology?
So, I wonder . . .
Given a choice, would you rather receive a CD of music and printable files or download those resources directly to your computer from our Web site? Why?
If a product you are interested in is available only as a downloadable resource, would you buy it or would you look for something else?
How long do you think it will be until you'll be comfortable with download? Today? Next year? Never?
God bless you as you use technology to teach God's children His Word!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Who Is My Neighbor?
Okay, so here's another "Gospel" question: "Who is my neighbor?" That's the right question!
A lawyer in Jesus' day (that is, one who studied Mosaic law) asked Jesus this question in Luke 10:29. The episode begins in verse 25 with the lawyer "putting Jesus to the test."
What Jesus teaches through this familiar parable is all Law. It was told to teach this lawyer, who Luke says "was seeking to justify himself." It is told to show the man his need for a Savior from sin. No one loves God with all her heart; no one loves his neighbor as himself. We are all in need of a Savior.
Jesus does a neat job, though of showing that "neighbor" is a two-way word. The man who fell among robbers needed a neighbor ("one who shows mercy" according to the biblical lawyer). The Samaritan we call good was a neighbor ("one who shows mercy") to the man. But that Samaritan also needed a neighbor, as did the Samaritans who rejected Jesus' ministry in Luke 9:51-56. They needed the "One who shows mercy."
To one who is seeking to justify himself or herself, the parable of the Good Samaritan reads as pure Law; he or she will be condemned. But to the one who, by God's grace, is looking for neighbor, who knows the impossibility of keeping the Law, and who asks "Who is my neighbor? Who will show mercy to me?" God sends His Son.
God bless you as you teach God's children His Word of mercy and grace!
A lawyer in Jesus' day (that is, one who studied Mosaic law) asked Jesus this question in Luke 10:29. The episode begins in verse 25 with the lawyer "putting Jesus to the test."
What Jesus teaches through this familiar parable is all Law. It was told to teach this lawyer, who Luke says "was seeking to justify himself." It is told to show the man his need for a Savior from sin. No one loves God with all her heart; no one loves his neighbor as himself. We are all in need of a Savior.
Jesus does a neat job, though of showing that "neighbor" is a two-way word. The man who fell among robbers needed a neighbor ("one who shows mercy" according to the biblical lawyer). The Samaritan we call good was a neighbor ("one who shows mercy") to the man. But that Samaritan also needed a neighbor, as did the Samaritans who rejected Jesus' ministry in Luke 9:51-56. They needed the "One who shows mercy."
To one who is seeking to justify himself or herself, the parable of the Good Samaritan reads as pure Law; he or she will be condemned. But to the one who, by God's grace, is looking for neighbor, who knows the impossibility of keeping the Law, and who asks "Who is my neighbor? Who will show mercy to me?" God sends His Son.
God bless you as you teach God's children His Word of mercy and grace!
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