Sticky Lessons

I recently fielded a critique from a pastor who was concerned that students in their Sunday School were not retaining the lessons that were being taught. He suspected that the curriculum was at fault. That was hard to hear, but it gets me thinking.

What Makes a Lesson Stick?
What are the keys to memorable lessons? How can we teach so that children retain the stuff we want them to learn? What is is that we want them to remember in the first place?

Gospel First
It is enough, I think, that children come away from Sunday School convinced that God loves them, that Jesus sacrificed Himself so that their sins are forgiven, their life restored, and a place prepared for them in heaven. Yes, I'd love for them to know how to live as God's children. I'd like them to be able to replay the Bible account and provide accurate details, even a week, month, or year later. I'd like them to be able to connect the Bible account to a chronological framework of the Bible, understand its context, and know the broader narrative for which it is a part. But it is enough if the children can honestly sing, "Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Memorable Classroom Moments
What will make the lesson memorable? The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but some that top the list: connect the lesson to the child's life, be relational, involve emotional content, know and cater to the students' preferred learning styles, start with things the students know and add on that foundation with new knowledge that makes sense.

Repetition and Review
Moving knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is a subject worth tackling on its own and one that I won't try to write about with some personal study (not enough parked in my long-term memory). But repetition and review are tried and trued techniques. Our Growing in Christ lessons include some deliberate review tools and procedures. I wonder how many teachers skip them? The lessons I edit probably do not have enough specific instructions about review lessons from the last week or the weeks before that. That may be an oversight worth correcting. Growing in Christ repeats most Bible accounts on a three-year cycle; a student who is faithful in attendance will study a lesson three or four times in the course of his or her Sunday School career, each time in an age-appropriate way, building on previous knowledge. That review will reap a harvest. All review, however, depends on that faithful attendance. If I review a lesson three times, but the student is present only once, that's not much review.

So, I'm bold to ask:
What do you do to make Bible lessons stick?

What more can we do as your publisher to make memorable moments happen in your classroom?

God bless your efforts to teach God's children His Word!

Theology Matters

Those simple words come from my wife, who has joined me at CPH in the editorial division as editor of VBS and family life materials: "Theology matters."

Curriculum choice cannot be just a matter of which publisher promises the least amount of preparation time, the flashiest promotion material, the coolest gadgets, or the lowest price. If you choose material based on prep time, printing, gadgets, or cost, you may miss the essential purpose of Christian education.

The goal of a Lutheran Sunday School is not to entertain the children or go easy on the budget. It is to share the truth of God's Word through balanced teaching of Law and Gospel. We want to proclaim forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation through Jesus Christ every week. If we want a curriculum that gets the job done, theology matters.

Why is this message so hard to communicate or, for some, to hear?

How is the Gospel touching lives around you as you teach God's children His Word?

Building Attendance

A conversation is occurring in another forum about helping families with small children and teens make it to both church and Sunday School in the face of busy lives.

Here was my contribution to that exchange:

Thanks to all of you for your concern in this area. It strikes me that the issue is the same for families with teens and those with small children, for families without children, singles, seniors, and . . . you get the point. The issue is priorities.

Satan works to crowd God out of our lives or marginalize Him (The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis is an interesting read on this point).

Duty used to be a relatively strong motivator for many families; not so much any more. Guilt can work for some and for a time, and preaching both Law and Gospel is what the Church is all about. But if you are going to preach the Law, it is essential that it be followed with honest Gospel, or the result will be resentment not joyful service.

I would suggest that we haven't done a very good job in the Church in the past twenty years of effectively communicating what Sunday School is all about. Why should parents and others make Sunday School a priority over sports, breakfast out, and yes even sleep? Each Sunday we have the opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament through Sunday School and the Divine Service. Such encounters prepare us, adults and children alike, to live as God's children in the world.

What are some ways to help marginal families understand this?

Bless us, Lord, as we teach God's children His Word.

What Do You Do with a Very Small Sunday School?

I'm getting hungry for some fresh statistics about Sunday School in the LCMS. I guess I'm going to have to bug our marketing people for some survey data.

The trend that I'd like to test with some research is that I'm hearing more concerns and comments these days from very small Sunday Schools, congregations where Sunday School is often one group of mixed-age children studying with just a single adult.

Needless to say, this often requires a high degree of flexibility in all areas: a teacher who can "roll with the punches" and teach a lesson for preschoolers or preteens, or perhaps one of each in that day's class; students who will endure the awkward initial moments when there are no friends in the class and no else his or her age; a curriculum that can shift with the flow of students and still work effectively.

Here are some things I know in my heart will be true about such a Sunday School.
* The teacher will be the key to its success. I know this because it is true of every Sunday School classroom. The personality, preparation, and practice of the teacher will outweigh other variables. What should you do? Invest the position of Sunday School teacher with high honor and importance. Pursue the very best candidate, even if it means enlisting the person who might otherwise be an elder, choir member, or leader of the women's group. Make Sunday School the highest priority.
* This Sunday School will require significant investment. It will more expensive to provide materials; the cost of the teacher's resources will be divided among just a few students. It will require people resources. What should you do? Don't short-change this critical ministry. It will be tempting to cut back and try to get by without good materials, especially if attendance is sporadic.
* Attendance will fluctuate. And the impact of even one family being gone may be huge. What should you do? Emphasize good communication, so that teachers have every opportunity to prepare for those who will be attending, rather than those who didn't come this week. Send unused student material to absent families to review at home; this is a great excuse to encourage and educate parents.
* God will be present and bless the study of His Word! The class that consists of just one teacher and one student, even if it lasts only 20 minutes because many activities are skipped or go quickly, is still the opportunity to teach one of God's children His Word. What should you do? Give thanks, make the most of even the smallest opportunity, and pray that God will send more children next week who are hungry to hear the Word.

God bless!

Will you use PowerPoint in Sunday School?

I'm not the cutting edge technology person I once thought I was. More and more, I'm relying on others for assistance in the technological parts of my work. But I'm striving to grow.

I'm doing workshops now using PowerPoint outlines. It really is a helpful tool.

The new Cross Explorations curriculum from CPH will offer several PowerPoint resources. The Explore openings will be available as PowerPoint programs, including the songs with linked music. The Express Music sessions will have the option of recorded music, lyrics on PowerPoint, and lyric PowerPoints with linked recordings. These resources, of course, will be beneficial only to congregations where projection systems are in place allowing the PowerPoint resources to be displayed in the assembly area or classroom.

To be frank, we don't really know how many of our customers will find those resources helpful or how many will simply be frustrated. I'm looking forward to the mail.

The point I'd like to make is this: technology is here to stay. To the degree that we fail to use it in Christian education, we risk being marginalized by the students and families for whom technology is fully integrated into their daily lives.

* What resources do you think our publishing house should be offering in digital formats or with digital components?

* Do you use projected PowerPoint resources in your Sunday School? When and how?

* What should be our top priority in this regard?

God's blessings as you use technology to teach God's children His Word!