Value versus Cost

What is the connection between the value we assign to something and its cost?

Some might think that the more something costs (a diamond ring, for example, or an oil painting), the more valuable it will be to the person who possesses it.

For all too many Sunday School leaders today, I fear that the reverse is true: the less the Sunday School material costs, the more value it will have for the leaders in question.

I'd love to be proved wrong, but I don't believe that trends toward black and white reproducible student material and free curriculum available on the Internet are all about improved educational experience for the students. It seems to be about cost.

No one needs multi-carat diamonds or Van Goghs to teach God's Word. The ideal, it seems to me, is to find the best material (in theological and educational terms) that you can afford.

Sacrificing educational and theological quality for lower cost has significant negative potential.

God bless you with wisdom to make good curriculum choices as you teach His children His Word.

Music's Place in the Sunday School

The music of Christmas is ringing in my ears, literally and figuratively.

On this eve of the Nativity celebration, I've been to church every day for almost a week. I've heard traditional hymns accompanied by piano, organ, and orchestra; I've heard contemporary renditions of familiar and unfamiliar Christmas music sung by a guitar-led praise band and by a throng of children singing to a contemporary recorded accompaniment track. As I type this blog post, I'm listening to an eclectic list of Christmas music used as part of "The Advent Project," a devotional site produced by Biola University.

Where Are You Headed? Where Are You Going?
Note that these are two very different questions. The first is very intentional. The second allows considerably more latitude and indifference; the place you arrive is not necessarily your intention.

Have you considered what your congregation intends as it offers music in the Christian education program and opportunities for worship led by or for its children? It occurs to me that, for all too many families in our churches, the breadth of exposure to sacred music is extremely narrow. Music, especially the Church's music, may rarely be heard in the home, except as required in this season as sound track for the seasonal episodes of one's favorite TV series or program. This puts the Church in an interesting position on Sunday morning as it forms the perception and practice of sacred music for this generation and the next.

I will leave for another time the rationale for one kind of content over another. (I do caution though that, whether by design or accident, the Sunday School's choice of music will lead somewhere.) Let me offer though at least three things to consider as you choose Sunday School music, in this season and others.

• Variety: Through the centuries, thousands of musicians and song-writers have expressed their faith through music, in all kinds of settings, cultures, and circumstances. Use at least some of your Sunday morning music time to acquaint children with music expressions that are not new, but are new to them. 
• Accessibility: Provide opportunities for music participation that are geared to every age level and ability. Teach small children refrains and short segments of liturgy. Let those who cannot sing accompany music with percussion, hand chimes, and other musical instruments. Encourage participation by everyone, and join in with the children as they sing.
• Quality: Seek always to provide the best possible music experience, and challenge children to always contribute their best vocal and musical talent. Emphasize beauty, not just volume.

Martin Luther is quoted as saying, "He who sings prays twice." Let music express the Gospel, and remind the children you teach that our music is a gift of praise to God.

God's blessings as you teach God's children to sing His Word.

Choosing Curriculum (with a nod to Pastor Pete Jurchen)

I follow Pete's blog (Parish Education Group) because Pete does his homework and then distills what he has learned in a way that make sense for us in the Church. His focus is often adult Christian education, but his recent post could be very helpful to Sunday School leaders for all age groups. Pete highlights and comments on "5 Considerations When Choosing Curriculum"; you can read the whole post here.

I'd like to comment briefly on these considerations.

1. Best Practice for Knowledge. "The curriculum should be chosen by a team of people who know what they're doing and know something about what is the best content out there." It strikes me that the definition of best content may be crucial here. Sunday School is, at its heart, theological education, so the involvement of the congregation's theologian-in-residence (the pastor) would seem important. Curricula that are relational and interactive but teach heresy are not the best choice.

2. Collaborative Within the Community. "Get the stakeholders involved," not to hijack the decision, but to inform the decision makers and to inform the constituents through the decision-making process. From my perspective this can be an opportunity to educate the parents, students, and congregation members about the goals for Sunday School and the criteria being used to make the choice.

3. Focus on the Essentials. "There's way too much to try to learn in the time allotted, especially in the parish. If you had to focus on just a few essential learning goals, what would they be?" I would ask, does the curriculum seek to teach what you desire that the students learn? For Lutherans, this would seem to beg for a focus on the Gospel of salvation through Christ in every lesson, and on the Means of Grace through which God promises to share that Gospel.

4. Results Orientation. "Whatever is chosen to do should be measurable." If this is to really be a focus, I suspect the average Sunday School has a long way to go. How does the learning that takes place in the classroom become visible to those outside . . . parents and congregation members? Open houses, bulletin boards, hallway displays, Sunday School art shows . . . . What other great ideas do you have?

5. Continuous Improvement. "What's now needed  . . . is an ongoing commitment to that excellence." This presupposes a level of evaluation by teachers and leaders that, I fear seldom takes place. The simple question would seem to be "Based on this week's experience with this curriculum, how can we make next week even better?" Our culture today would seem instead to ask only, "How could this be easier?" The questions seem to be at odds.

Thanks, Pete, for helping us think on these things.

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

Doctrinal Review, a Huge Asset

From time to time, I am asked about the impact of doctrinal review on the products we produce at Concordia Publishing House.

For those who are unfamiliar with the process, every thing that we publish at CPH is reviewed to ensure its faithfulness to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions before it is published.

• The reviewers are appointed by the office of the president of the synod. They are chosen for their theological credentials and assigned reviews for material that is within their area of knowledge and expertise; the reviewers for children's material are different from those who review our Concordia Commentary Series, for example.
• The process is completely anonymous; the reviewer is not given the names of the authors or editors of the material they review and the editor does not know who the reviewer is. All communication is handled through a highly discrete doctrinal review clerk at CPH. 
• Material can be determined to be "in agreement with Lutheran doctrine," "in agreement, but here are some suggestions for improvement," or "not in agreement" with specifics noted, suggestions made for correction, and a requirement that the reviewer see the material after it has been corrected.
• Material is never subjected to "second opinions." Once approved, the material (a hymn text, for example) may be used many times, but it is not resubmitted each time; reviewers are not invited to critique one another.
• Finally, a reviewer's decision can be appealed, but only to Synod's doctrinal review commission. Such appeals are very rare and are almost never made by the publishing house. Our goal is always to bring our material into compliance with the reviewer's decision.

It can also be noted that CPH has an internal "doctrinal review" system for artwork we commission for use in our curricula and books. Editors familiar with biblical culture ensure that illustrations depicting biblical or liturgical people and scenes do so accurately.

I've worked under this system for over twenty years, and have grown to appreciate it. On a few rare occasions, I have chaffed at having to revise an activity to accommodate a reviewer's concern. Far more often, I have given thanks that a reviewer helped me speak clearly or rescued me from putting material in print that could mislead someone or teaching something in error. The doctrinal review process guarantees that what our material teaches is the truth according to God's Word, not the truth according to Tom Nummela.

Far from having a negative impact on our ability to produce excellent material, the doctrinal review process guarantees that the material you purchase from us is the best we can make it.

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

Thanks!

Thank You, God, for . . .

• Thousands of volunteers who teach Sunday School each week.
• Parents who bring their children to church each Sunday for worship and Bible study.
• Parents who teach the Christian faith to their children as part of their daily family routine.
• Dorothy and Carl Felten, neighbors who reached out to my brother and me during our childhood to make sure we had the opportunity to attend Sunday School. Dorothy taught my Sunday School class for at least five years in a row; Carl provided transportation and regular incentives to keep us coming back (yea for Dairy Queen!).

Thanks, God, for the blessing of teaching Your children Your Word.