What's It Worth?

What is a solid, Lutheran Sunday School worth to your congregation?

Sadly, for too many Lutheran congregations, the answer seems to be, "Not very much." They run what Seth Godin calls "the race to the bottom," choosing just-barely-good-enough material for the lowest possible cost.

Color printing? Never mind that realistic biblical and life-application art contributes significantly to student engagement and the message that the stories in the Bible are not just stories, but historical events. Color printing is too expensive.

Sound doctrine? That's nice, but theologically trained editors and careful publication processes add measurably to the cost of material. I'm not sure that the children, parents, educational leaders, or pastors care all that much.

There are a few things for which people are still willing to pay more for the quality of a known brand over the lower-priced generic. A cell phone. An engagement ring. Coffee. Is Sunday School among them? It depends on what you value.

God bless you as you teach God's children His Word.

Teaching God's Children

The task of teaching God's children His Word is shared. Certainly parents bear the primary responsibility for providing for this Christian education of their children through their personal instruction at home and by bringing their children to the Divine Service, participating in Sunday School, and enrolling their children in a Lutheran school if one is available to them.

And of course, the Lutheran congregation shares this responsibility as it administers the Sacraments, especially Baptism, operates a Sunday School for all ages, and institutes a Lutheran school for the education of the children of the congregation and community.

It is a partnership. It involves mutual accountability. The congregation may at time need to remind parents of their responsibility to take advantage of the Christian education opportunities. And at times, the parents may need to remind the congregation of its responsibility to maintain high standards of instruction and curriculum in the Sunday School and other Christian education agencies.

At the end of the day, at the end of time, I doubt that excuses will serve. We didn't have enough money. I was too busy to volunteer. The material they used in Sunday School was boring. God commands that His children be instructed in His Word (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). And He promises to use such instruction to bless His children (Isaiah 55:10-11).

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

The Impact of the Children's Christmas Service

The annual Children's Christmas Service is a wonderful tradition. (This year CPH has released To Us a Child Is Born, a classic service by Lisa Clark and organized around the gorgeous new Christmas song. Check it out!) It provides an opportunity for in-depth instruction about the Nativity during preparation, and for children to share the Gospel with family, congregation, and community.

Plan carefully, though, to ensure that preparing for this service does not detract from Sunday School's chief purpose, to instruct children in that Gospel. Limit the use of Sunday School time for rehearsal; never skip the Sunday School lesson completely. Use the songs the children will sing in the service as part of your Sunday School openings or closings for several weeks before the service. Encourage parents to step up, helping their children learn songs and speaking parts at home.

Then smile as those lambs, angels, shepherds, Wise Men, and Holy Family speak and sing the Gospel in the days before Christmas, sharing "the blessed gift of heaven!"

God bless you as you teach His children the Christmas Gospel.

Things You Won't Hear from a Lutheran Educator

Lutheran educators are those who truly understand Lutheran theology and care about teaching the Bible accurately according to the Lutheran Confessions. You will not hear them say . . .

• "This is good material, but use your Lutheran filters." Material for Lutheran Christian education will be fundamentally Lutheran, created with a Lutheran world view.
• "I use XXX Publisher's material, but I tweak it to be more Lutheran." Lutheranism is not a tweak. Heterodox material with a little Lutheranism added is still heterodox material.
• "The material we use is not Lutheran, but it is solid Christian material. It is good enough for Sunday School." Where will Sunday School students learn about discerning Law and Gospel, understanding their vocations, and the benefits of the Sacraments? What will they gain from a steady diet of moralism and works righteousness?

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Be Careful What You Promise Your Volunteers

I've heard it said in a business context, "Under-promise and over-deliver." That's, of course, to counter the natural tendency of some to "over-promise and under-deliver."

"Over-promising," when it comes to volunteer enlistment is deadly. "It's easy!" "The curriculum does the work for you!" "You can just show up and teach." "The kids in this class are all angels."

Nor is "under-promising" a road to successful enlistment.

It seems that your mother was probably right: be honest, do your best, take responsibility, and forgive failure.

Be honest. Tell your potential volunteer exactly what you think the task will take. Tell them what skills and abilities you see that they have to do the task successfully. And be honest about what you will do to help them.

Do your best. Do everything you can to help your volunteer succeed. Provide orientation and training. Stand alongside the volunteer and coach through their first couple classes. Check back to see how they are doing. Don't short-change them in terms of providing all the necessary resources.

Take responsibility. If things don't go well at some point, be ready to support and defend the volunteer, and to assist in getting things back on track. If the volunteer decides to step down, offer sincere thanks, free from guilt, and learn from the experience what you can do better next time.

Forgive failure. Both in the volunteer, and in yourself. In this fallen world, things don't always work out. God forgives our failure; so should we.

Know that every minute and every dollar you invest in a volunteer to help them succeed is worth it, because the task you share has eternal results: forgiveness, life, and salvation for God's children.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Hidden Costs of Free Material

I know that churches face tight budgets. I pray fervently that congregations would be spared making choices between increasing the sub-standard pay for their church workers or purchasing quality material for their Sunday School. The lure of free Sunday School material may be hard to resist.

But consider these hidden costs of free material.

• Loss of color art. Free material is usually all black and white. Gone is the full-color art work, craft pages, and stickers found in material that costs something. Loss of art results in less realism, and less comprehension.
• Cost of photocopies. Most free material is available through Internet download or perhaps as files on a CD; it offers exclusively reproducible student material. The local church is on the hook to print no only the teacher guides, but also all the student material. And, as most church workers know, copies on the church copier are not really free.
• Expectation of quality. There is a subtle price we pay in what we expect of free material. "Okay, there are some typos, but it's free." "Well, no, it's not really Lutheran, but it's free." "It's a little more work for our leaders and volunteers, but it's free."
• Weak theological content. This one deserves to be mentioned again. I have yet to see free Sunday School material with strong biblical, Christ-centered, truly Lutheran content.
• Lack of doctrinal review. This is the reason, of course, for weak doctrine: no free Sunday School curriculum offered today goes through the doctrinal review process used by all entities of The Lutheran Church---Missouri Synod.  

Is it truly worth using free material if it fails to teach God's clear Word of Law and Gospel? Near the end of his reign King David was moved to offer a sacrifice in thanks for God's compassion in the face of David's sin. Ironically, the sacrifice was made in the spot that would eventually become the location of Solomon's temple. David bought both the place of sacrifice and the wood and oxen from a Jebusite named Araunah, though Araunah had offered to give them to David for free. David's response? “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).

God bless you are you teach His children His Word.

What Is the Best Price for Sunday School Material?

I hear it all the time. "We can't afford to buy that curriculum for our Sunday School."

So, I have to ask, "What is the right price for Sunday School material?" For too many churches, pastors, DCEs, and Sunday School leaders the quick answer will be "Free."

The question behind it all is "How much is it worth to you? How much do you value it?" For a small Sunday School, the cost for each child could amount to $12-$15 dollars each quarter. A larger Sunday School may have a slightly lower per pupil cost with more children in each classroom. That price has not changed dramatically over the past 20 years, though it has increased some as costs for other things have risen.

If Sunday School is perceived only as an expense, the cost will always be too high. But if Sunday School is seen as an investment in the spiritual lives of children, your children, the value would seem to be priceless, worth any cost. That argument will never convince an accountant, but it might be worth discussing with those whose responsibility it is to provide Christian nurture for children. Does the Sunday School material you use bring eternal value to children?

Therein lies the real cost of free material, or low priced material. It that material is not rich in the Gospel, the pearl without price, it may be "worth less," that is, worth every penny you didn't pay for it.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

How Does Video Fit?

It seems more and more that video is an integral part of the Sunday School experience in some churches. What can video do?

• It can tell the Bible story or part of the story.
• It can introduce a concept.
• It can provoke critical thinking.
• It can prompt discussion.
• It can illustrate life application.
• It can explain content.

It seems there would be some obvious rules guiding the use of video in Sunday School.

• It should present Scripture accurately.
• It should support clear teaching of Law and Gospel.
• It should assist the teaching role, not replace it.
• It should be integrated into the lesson through introduction and follow-up discussion. 
• It does not need to be long; usually 2 or 3 minutes is enough.
• It should not be used merely to entertain.

Our current Sunday School materials are supported in the middle school and high school levels by carefully selected, brief video clips. You can find them on the Concordia Publishing House channel on YouTube, or you can access easily through our Sunday School website (browse to cph.org/sundayschool, click "Tools," and scroll down to "Middle/High School Videos"; they are arranged by Old Testament units). And it is likely that video will be a component of the next generation of Sunday School material from CPH.

How do you use video in your Sunday School?

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Equipping Teachers

What kind of training and support do you provide your Sunday School teachers? Your answer to that question will speak volumes about how willing people are to volunteer for that position.

Do you . . .

• provide a job description?
• have a prospective teacher shadow an experienced teacher?
• walk a new teacher through his or her first lesson preparation?
• provide informative material?
• offer regular teacher meetings for discussion and preparation?
• host quarterly or annual workshops for teachers?
• send teachers to training events?
• follow up after the first lesson to encourage and assist?

Fear of failure is one of the biggest deterrents for most first-time volunteer teachers. If you offer a teaching position to a new volunteer, promise to do everything in your power to help him or her succeed, and then keep your promise.

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

Let the Children Come to Me

Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Mark 10:14

Not, "Let the children come to soccer." Not, "Let the children come to have fun." Not, "Let the children come when we feel like it."

"Let the children come to Me." The Church wastes its time when it tries to entertain children on Sunday morning; the world offers far better entertainment. The Church wastes its time when it fails to point out the eternal, spiritual difference between participating in sports and hearing the Gospel. The Church wastes its time when it offer Sunday School material that does not consistently teach the Law and the Gospel each week, showing students their sin and pointing them to their Savior.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word, as you bring them to Him!

Simple Steps to Combining Classes

Occasionally, low attendance or absent teachers make it necessary to teach a broad range of children in a single group.

 

Since Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations are unified curricula, you can successfully teach a broadly-graded group of children when attendance is low. Here's what I would suggest to accomplish this.

 

Give each student the lesson leaflet appropriate for his or her grade/age.

• Teach from the teacher guide that matches the leaflet used by the majority of the students, or the guide that hits the middle of your age-range.
• Prepare your lesson ahead of time using this guide, but have the guides for the other levels handy to switch out or adapt activities to best suit your students' needs.
• Accommodate varying reading ability by assigning reading only to volunteers; be alert for words that need to be defined for younger children.
• When the guide directs students to do activities in the leaflet, have the students work in groups that share a common leaflet, or adapt the activity so that it can be done without the leaflet.
• If you have extra time in class, allow the students to complete any leaflet activities that they did not get to do during the lesson. Or, encourage them to do these at home.

God bless you as you teach His children is Word.

Seeds of Faith Podcasts

Many teachers are using Seeds of Faith podcasts as part of their lesson preparation each week. The podcasts are usually recorded in the week prior to the lesson's “normal” use. So congregation who are running ahead of that schedule won’t be able to access the latest podcast. In addition, only the “Recommended” quarter is getting new podcasts.

However, you can access archived versions from previous years. Here’s how:

•             Click on “Tools” on the cph.org/sundayschool website.
•             Scroll down to display the “Seeds of Faith Podcast” link and click on it.
•             Click on any podcast in the list on the right half of the page; it does not matter which one.
•             When that podcast’s page displays, there will be a “Search for” box under the Growing in Christ logo. Type the title of the lesson or the Bible passage you are teaching in that box and search.
•             The podcasts related to that title or passage may be “stacked” in the resulting page. If the lesson you are teaching is not the first one, you can probably scroll down a ways to find it.

 If you have difficulty, one of the editors will be delighted to assist; just send a note to sundayschool@cph.org and we’ll send you a link.

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

Sunday School on Labor Day Weekend?

Did you have Sunday School this past Labor Day weekend? If you did . . .

• You shared God's life-giving Word with some children.
• You demonstrated a commitment to life-long Christian education.
• You showed visitors your church's commitment to children's ministry.

You didn't have Sunday School? Plan on it for next year, and on other holiday weekends, for all the reasons above. Sure, you can . . .

• Combine classes as needed.
• Rotate teaching responsibilities so that some teachers always get a break.
• Organize something special, like strawberries and ice cream after class. 

But don't miss an opportunity to teach God's children His Word!

What Can You Improve?

Sunday School success is rarely a result of wholesale revision. It is more often achieved through incremental progress.

What change might you consider this year in your Sunday School to make it better?

• Re-stock the supply cabinet?
• Give the Sunday School rooms a face-lift? (refresh faded and torn bulletin board contents, paint the walls, wash windows, remove broken or unused toys and furniture)
• Recruit parents to "just be present" in the classroom, one parent each week? (It gives parents a glimpse of what goes on in Sunday School, supports good student behavior, and may lead to some substitute or full-time teaching.)
• Establish a Sunday School e-mail newsletter?
• Purchase those Teacher Tools packets for your teachers?
• Push for a 10% increase in the Sunday School budget?

What one thing could you do this year?

God bless you as you teach His children His Word.

Who Is My Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37 is one of the most compelling of Jesus' parables, and one of the most difficult it seems for Sunday School teachers and Christian educators to "get right." At the heart of the difficulty lies one of the central doctrines of Lutheranism, the correct distinction between Law and Gospel.

In its biblical context, this account is all Law.  A "lawyer," that is a Jew who was well-versed in the Jewish religious regulations, wants to test Jesus, and asks a law-based question: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" We are quick to condemn the priest and the Levite for their failure to do what is right for the beaten man. And we marvel at the loving actions of the despised foreigner who is willing to do the right thing. Then, God forbid, we are tempted to teach our Sunday Schools students to go and do likewise.

Dividing Law and Gospel is all about who is doing the work. We see clearly that the lawyer is looking to the Law for his salvation. "What shall I do"---and later, "desiring to justify himself"---these are Law questions. And Jesus' responds to the lawyer with Law answers: "Do this, and you will live"; "Go, and do likewise."

But Jesus is not teaching salvation by works here. He is making it clear that those who seek to justify themselves by their works are setting themselves up for failure. If salvation is a matter of loving one's neighbor as much you love yourself, and if everyone is your neighbor, you're sunk.

Jesus also gives us the opportunity to see a beautiful Gospel truth in this passage. The lawyer asks, in essence, "Who must I be a neighbor to? Who must I love? Who must I show mercy to?" After telling the familiar story, Jesus asks a very different question: "Who proved to be a neighbor? Who is your neighbor? Who loves you? Who has shown mercy to you?"

There is the Gospel! It's not about what we do! It is about what Jesus has done! He was despised by men in our place; He paid the price for our healing and care.

Go and do likewise? Yes! But before we can be the good Samaritan, we must see ourselves as the man who fell among robbers, the one who needs and receives mercy that we do not deserve, cannot earn or repay. Before we are neighbors to those around us, we are neighbors with Jesus.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"?

I would think that even the most novice pastor, teacher, or DCE in the LCMS, and---by God's grace---our Christian education teachers and leaders as well, would know there is something wrong with this song, something fundamentally un-Lutheran and therefore spiritually dangerous about using it in Sunday School or VBS to instruct children. Lutherans understand that before our conversion by the Gospel, through the proclamation of the Word and administration of Baptism. The Bible describes this in two ways. We are dead in sin (Ephesians 2), unable to love or "decide" for God. We are "enemies of God" (Romans 5), unwilling to love or choose Him. But God is love chose us. Our salvation is completely God's work.

And make no mistake, the songs we sing, the materials we send home to parents, and the signs we post in our buildings teach theology just as much as the words the teachers say.

Christian education material that fails to teach the Gospel clearly is not appropriate for use in a Lutheran congregation.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Two Things Times Three

Two things I heard today on the radio:

1. Adult obesity is formed through simple, early habits like preschoolers going to bed early (a habit that reduces late night snacking).
2. Retirement plans require retirement planning.

Two things every parent wants for their children:

1. To live a happy, healthy life.
2. To exhibit lifelong faith and have eternal life.

Two things every congregation should build into their vision statement and the fabric of their ministry:

1. Strong faith in youth and adults is formed through lifelong---cradle to grave---participation in worship, study of God's Word, and service to my neighbor.
2. Sunday School is a tool---yes, only one tool among many, but a strong tool---to assist families and individuals grow in faith.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

What Shall We Teach about Government?

The upcoming American national holiday on July 4 and the daily outpouring of media coverage of the United States presidential election raise the question of how a Lutheran Christian should react to, and teach about, the role of government in our lives.

St. Paul makes it clear in Romans 13:1-7 that government is established and holds its authority by God's gracious provision. Christians are called upon to uphold, obey, and pray for those who rule over us in all things, unless those in authority seek to require us to act against God's will. Even corrupt or inept authorities can act as God's agents for the protection of society and citizens.

So we teach, by word and example, that those in authority should be respected. We live as good citizens, seeking to improve our neighborhood, city, state, nation, and world; we vote, serve on juries, and hold elected office when called to do so. And we pray for health, safety, wisdom, and grace for all those in authority over us, even when we do not agree with their words or actions.

We can look to the examples of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther who sought the welfare of those who imprisoned and enslaved them, even as they served the one true God.

God bless our nation and its leaders! And God bless you as you teach His children His Word.

Fall Preparation Checklist

It's the middle of June. It's time to be thinking about "rallying" your Sunday School troops. Here are some points to consider.

• Set your "Rally Day" or "Christian Education Sunday." Plan with your pastor to emphasize Sunday School, recognize and commission teachers for their service, and (if you have not already done so) advance students to the next grade. Resources for Rally Day can be found at cph.org/sundayschool under "Sunday School Tools."
• Choose your curriculum (Cross Explorations or Growing in Christ, check them out at cph.org/sundayschool) and verify your order. The fall material is available on July 1.
• Choose your "path." New CPH customers can choose either a "Recommended Path" (Old Testament in the fall, followed by two New Testament units in the winter and spring) or a "Chronological Path" (starts in the fall with Old Testament 1 and continues straight through the Bible). Continuing customers should be aware that the Old Testament 2 unit was recently offering in fall 2016; if you choose the chronological path, these lessons may be overly familiar to your students.
• Enlist teachers for the fall. Work to have two adults in each classroom; it's easier than you think.
• Contact every eligible family by phone, mail, or email to encourage enrollment in Sunday School.
• Tour your Sunday School classrooms and list physical improvements: painting walls, new flooring, cleaning the windows, repair/repaint/replace tables and chairs, remove faded/torn posters, etc.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Is the Bible God's Word?

A major flaw in the curriculum produced by many publishers, including some Lutheran publishing companies other than Concordia Publishing House, is their view of Scripture.

Orthodox Lutheran Christians believe that the entire Bible is God's inspired, inerrant Word. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV). The entry of sin into the world came through a denial of the authority of God's Word ("Did God actually say . . . ?" Genesis 3:1 ESV).

It makes a difference in virtually every Sunday School lesson we teach that we affirm the authority of God's Word, for if the Bible cannot be trusted in some details, how can it be trusted in the matters of forgiveness, life, and salvation through the God-man Jesus Christ?

God bless you as you uphold His Word and teach it to His children.