Who Does the Work?

The lesson for this Sunday in the CPH Sunday School materials is about Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It teaches clearly how our students can tell whether they are hearing the Gospel or a false religion. It is all about who does the work.

Baal
The worship of Baal and all other false god's is easy to recognize. Idolatry requires me to do a lot of work. Baal's prophets sang and danced and prayed and even cut themselves with knives, seeking to gain their god's attention and favor. They did all the work; Baal did nothing. If your students leave your classroom with a larger burden than when they arrived, they didn't hear the Gospel.

True God, True Gospel
The Gospel is good news because it tell us who really does the work. Not us. We are sinful. Our work is flawed, half-hearted, selfish, or nonexistent. We do not love God with our whole heart or our neighbors as ourselves. God does not require our work, our compliance with His Law, our sacrifice. God provides the sacrifice that will fulfill His righteous Law, and His provides the gift of His means of grace, His Word and Sacraments, that we might believe and trust in Him. He shows and tells His love, sends Jesus to pay for our sins, He gives us the gift of faith in His Son through His Spirit, and through His Word and Spirit He keeps us in that faith.

Lift Their Hearts
You have the opportunity this week to lift the hearts of your students, to lighten their burden. Help them leave their load of sin at the foot of the cross. Tell them the truth of God's love and forgiveness. Send them away with His peace and joy.

What a privilege! God bless you as you teach His children His Word.

Callahan's Fifth Key to an Effective Church: Strong Leadership

(Back in 2011, I started a series of posts based on Kennon Callahan's 1983 volume, Twelve Keys to an Effective Church. My contention then, and now, is that these keys can be directly applied to your Sunday School in beneficial ways. You can see the first four posts in this series by typing the work "Callahan" into the search line above.)

Callahan calls the first six of his twelve keys "relational keys"; these characteristics impact the connections church and Sunday School participants establish with the church and with one another. He also calls them "satisfiers," things that contribute to the learner's sense of well-being and success.

Strong Leadership Resources
The strength of leadership in the Sunday School is demonstrated in three significant ways.

1. The presence of capable volunteers to lead the institution and to teach in its classrooms.
2. The existence of strategic objectives that guide those leaders.
3. Complementary relationships between the volunteer leaders and the pastors and staff.

Capable Volunteers
I've written before in this blog about the enlistment of volunteers. Let me just say here that ideals leaders are (1) able (that is predisposed by temperament, background, and ability to do the job they are enlisted for), (2) trained (no leader or teacher has all the skills and knowledge necessary from day one; training opportunities suited to the individuals interests, needs, and schedule are vital), and (3) supported (that is, given the tools, appreciation, and feedback that will ensure success).

Strategy
Teachers and leaders benefit immensely when they know the specific goals toward which they should strive. Two or three objectives are better than ten. The best objectives are those that are written, owned (constituents have input as they are formed and are offered a chance to "buy into" them), specific and measurable, and realistic (that is, theoretically possible in the time frame allowed). (Check out the first post in this series to hear more.)

Staff Leadership
The pastors and other staff called to or employed by the congregation are vital to every organization that seeks to be effective in carrying out the church's mission. The Sunday School will succeed only to degree to which the efforts of the staff and volunteers are aligned. It is important then that the pastor know and care about the Sunday School, understand and guide its mission, and support its effort . . . and that the Sunday School leaders and volunteers be aligned with and support the pastor.

Strong leadership does not happen accidentally. If you're reading this blog, you have an interest and at least some influence for Sunday School in your congregation. You can identify an area that needs improving and work, through your resources and relationship, to see it happen.

God bless you in those efforts to see that His children are taught His Word.

What is the best way to involve your pastor in your Sunday School?

How does your congregation enlist leaders and teachers for your Sunday School?

Dear Lord . . .

Hear our prayer on behalf of the Sunday School. In Your grace and mercy . . .

• Grant that all churches find children in their midst with whom to share Your Word.
• Grant to all churches willing servants to teach and direct the Sunday School.
• Bless pastors with both the desire and ability to make Sunday School a high priority in the congregation's ministry.
• Bless congregations with an abundance of gifts to support Sunday School with excellent resources.
• Teach discernment to Sunday School leaders to recognize the errors of moralism and works righteousness and to seek an appropriate balance of Law and Gospel as they choose curriculum for their teachers.
• Give parents both the desire to see their children in Sunday School each week and the willingness to attend Sunday School each week themselves.
• Give all who teacher Your Word wisdom and understanding, both of the Word and of the students they teach, so that their lessons might be effective in building Your kingdom.

We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

Just One Minute

How long would it take you to improve your Sunday School experience next week? To engage your students a little better in the study of God's Word?

Just one minute! Really. Try it. Spend one minute right now. Here are some possible one-minute "tasks" to consider.

• Pray for one of your students, the first one who comes to mind.
• Think of an activity that always seems to perk up your students and make a note (written or mental) to incorporate it into your next lesson.
• Type an encouraging e-mail to a teacher, student, or parent. (A phone call would be good too, but that might take three minutes.)
• Read the key point for your next lesson and try to commit it to memory.
• Read a Bible verse, one from the lesson text or a favorite, and consider how it applies to you and your students. "What does this mean?"
• Write one sentence about the importance of Sunday School and send it to your pastor or church secretary for inclusion in the bulletin.

Yes, even a little bit of effort can make a difference.

I'm curious, though. What did you do with your minute?

God bless you, every minute, as you teach His children His Word!

What Are You Teaching? or What Are They Learning?

Too often Sunday School teachers and leaders focus too much of their attention on the question "What shall I teach?" than on the question "What will/did my students learn?"

The "teaching" question is admittedly an important question. It is the starting place. It is where so much can and does go wrong as churches make choices about curricula or teachers make choices about activities. Without a great plan for "what I will teach," any lesson has a low chance of success.

But the "learning" question is really the crux of the matter. If I don't take time to know, to assess, what my students learn, I may well have wasted my time as a teacher. The students may have been overwhelmed, bewildered, and clueless, unable to make sense of the material, but too polite to say so. They may have been bored to tears and tuned out completely.

How do I know what they've learned? One of the easiest ways is to ask them. Dialog is a time-honored and reliable method of assessment, but it is not the only one. "Draw me a picture." "Tell me the story." "Let's take this simple quiz." All are possibilities.

How do you know they learned what you intended to teach?

What is your most successful means of assessment?

God's blessings as you teach His children His Word!