A fellow editor at CPH, responding by e-mail to a customer, gave me a handle on the big short-coming of so many Sunday School curricula on the market these days, including some that are very popular even in LCMS churches.
These Sunday School materials dwell almost exclusively on "first article" theme: "God is good." "God cares for you." "God loves you."
Don't get me wrong! I confess the First Article of the Apostles' Creed just as loudly as I do the second and third. But as my colleague pointed out, the truths of the First Article are essentially natural knowledge about God, things we can know without having to even read the Scriptures, teachings that can be affirmed even by many non-Christians. Sunday School material that dwells exclusively on the First Article will miss entirely the saving nature of Christ and the blessings of life nurtured by Word and Sacraments.
I'm proud to be part of a team that publishes a Sunday School curriculum, Growing in Christ, and teaches the truths of the Second and Third Articles as well as the First, one where Christ is the center of each lesson, even those in the Old Testament, and where Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar are not avoided.
How was Jesus taught in your Sunday School classroom this past week?
Thanks for all you do to teach God's children His Word.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Callahan's Second Key
I started last week running through Kennon Callahan's Twelve Keys to an Effective Church and will continue the list this week. (But I can't promise to do them order; who knows what other topics may intrude.)
Callahan's second key is Pastor and Lay Visitation. He includes here visits to the unchurched, newcomers, constituents, and members and proposes they be done weekly.
If we tranlate this key to the Sunday School level, we need to consider a few issues.
Is visitation a "lost art"? That's how Callahan describes it in his book (which, you will remember, was published in 1983). And what constitutes a "visit"? To be sure, there is a very different dynamic in a phone call or e-mail contact than a face-to-face contact, and I would suggest that face to face is always better, if it is possible. Yes, it requires time and effort, but when teachers and Sunday School leaders take time to connect with those who attend, or who could attend or used to attend, Sunday School, they can expect fruit. Every ounce of effort expended by your church will be noticed, and almost certainly appreciated, that the people you visit.
You're not ready yet to commit to personal visits. Then commit to phone calls, or personal e-mails (not group posts, please), and strive to make the consistently under some or all of the following circumstances:
Commit to it. See if it makes a difference in your ability to teach God's children His Word.
Callahan's second key is Pastor and Lay Visitation. He includes here visits to the unchurched, newcomers, constituents, and members and proposes they be done weekly.
If we tranlate this key to the Sunday School level, we need to consider a few issues.
Is visitation a "lost art"? That's how Callahan describes it in his book (which, you will remember, was published in 1983). And what constitutes a "visit"? To be sure, there is a very different dynamic in a phone call or e-mail contact than a face-to-face contact, and I would suggest that face to face is always better, if it is possible. Yes, it requires time and effort, but when teachers and Sunday School leaders take time to connect with those who attend, or who could attend or used to attend, Sunday School, they can expect fruit. Every ounce of effort expended by your church will be noticed, and almost certainly appreciated, that the people you visit.
You're not ready yet to commit to personal visits. Then commit to phone calls, or personal e-mails (not group posts, please), and strive to make the consistently under some or all of the following circumstances:
- first-time visitors and attenders (those who have attended your Sunday School for the first time, whether they are visitors from the community or families who are considering church membership.
- new enrollees (those who have expressed a commitment to your Sunday School, filled out the registration form, signed on the dotted line, should be welcomed and a concerted effort made to get to know them better, figure out who they might be hooked up with for support, and determine what other resource they might benefit from in the congregation)
- absentees (Set a bench-mark here: absent one week, absent two weeks in a row, absent three weeks. Don't be shy! Say "We noticed you [your child] have [has] not been in Sunday School and wanted to see if there was anything amiss, anything we could do to get you back." You may get an excuse; you may get an earful; you may be able to provide significant support and assistance; you may just prod the lazy sinful nature to come again to God's house to hear about His grace and love.
Commit to it. See if it makes a difference in your ability to teach God's children His Word.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Keys to an Effective Sunday School
More than twenty-five years ago Kennon Callahan authored a wonderful book that shaped much of my thinking about how a congregation works. It is titled Twelve Keys to an Effective Church and it is still available in limited quantities. It is worth reading.
His "twelve keys" are also worth looking at in terms of Sunday School.
The first key in his list of twelve is one of six relational keys "Specific, Concrete Missional Objectives." Simply put, if you don't know where you are going, any road is as good (or bad) as another; you have a great chance of wandering endlessly.
Specific, because until you can state your objective(s) briefly and clearly, you have little hope of meeting them.
Concrete, because if you can't actually envision the end result, describing it in tangible ways, you cannot really plan to go there.
Missional, which I always thought was an odd word, pushes your objectives out of the selfish and maintenance oriented realm into the world of Christian service.
How would you describe the objectives for your Sunday School? Are they written down? Are they specific, concrete, and missional?
I would love to hear about them! As the weeks unfold, I'll strive to unpack the other eleven "keys" as they related to Sunday School.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
His "twelve keys" are also worth looking at in terms of Sunday School.
The first key in his list of twelve is one of six relational keys "Specific, Concrete Missional Objectives." Simply put, if you don't know where you are going, any road is as good (or bad) as another; you have a great chance of wandering endlessly.
Specific, because until you can state your objective(s) briefly and clearly, you have little hope of meeting them.
Concrete, because if you can't actually envision the end result, describing it in tangible ways, you cannot really plan to go there.
Missional, which I always thought was an odd word, pushes your objectives out of the selfish and maintenance oriented realm into the world of Christian service.
How would you describe the objectives for your Sunday School? Are they written down? Are they specific, concrete, and missional?
I would love to hear about them! As the weeks unfold, I'll strive to unpack the other eleven "keys" as they related to Sunday School.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Active Training
Your teachers are a key link between your curriculum (hopefully a good one) and your students. It will pay to train them as much as they are willing to be trained.
It used to be that weekly (or at least monthly) teachers' meetings were the norm for Sunday Schools, just as weekly rehearsals were normative for choirs. In addition, quarterly training courses and regional workshops, and an annual or triennial national conference, were provided. These days it is rare that I hear of a Sunday School that offers a teachers' meeting once a quarter.
Your staff may be small enough, or so hard to assemble, that regular face-to-face group training seems impossible. What can you do? First browse the collections of ideas I offered in June 2011; you'll find it here.) Then consider what you can do one-on-one.
God bless you as you help others teach God's children His Word.
How do you provide training for new or continuing teachers?
What resources have you found most helpful?
It used to be that weekly (or at least monthly) teachers' meetings were the norm for Sunday Schools, just as weekly rehearsals were normative for choirs. In addition, quarterly training courses and regional workshops, and an annual or triennial national conference, were provided. These days it is rare that I hear of a Sunday School that offers a teachers' meeting once a quarter.
Your staff may be small enough, or so hard to assemble, that regular face-to-face group training seems impossible. What can you do? First browse the collections of ideas I offered in June 2011; you'll find it here.) Then consider what you can do one-on-one.
- Send an article to your teachers and meet briefly to discuss it after Sunday School or in individual phones calls with your staff. You'll find many to choose from at teachersinteraction.cph.org under "Read Some Featured Articles."
- Spend a few minutes before class reviewing the features of the teacher guide and other resources with each teacher, one each week.
- Invite teachers to suggest areas of need, locate and provide resources, and follow up by phone to discuss them.
God bless you as you help others teach God's children His Word.
How do you provide training for new or continuing teachers?
What resources have you found most helpful?
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