Orthodox

Orthodox: conforming to established doctrine especially in religion

Heterodox: contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion

Should 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!