Faith: Our Work? or God's?

"Faith is a divine work which God demands of us; but at the same time He Himself must implant it in us, for we cannot believe by ourselves." Martin Luther (Luther's Works, American Edition, 1959, 1987 CPH).

So often, this is the point at which heresy creeps in to our teaching of saving faith, for we see believing as our work, what we do in response to God's Word. But, on account of sin, we are enemies of God, unwilling and unable to believe in Christ as our Savior. But, "the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith" (Small Catechism,
Third Article).

What a gift! The very thing that God demands of us, He gives us! Thanks be to God!

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

That Pesky Lesson about Potiphar's Wife!

One of the toughest criticisms I get as a Sunday School editor hinges on the inclusion of "those awkward stories" in the sequence of lessons we create.

It is made more difficult because we have promised our customers a unified curriculum, that is, the same Scripture text is taught at all levels of our material, early childhood through adult.

The stories with violence net us a few messages from customers each year; the stories involving sex generate even more. Joseph's temptation to sexual sin with Potiphar's wife. David's sinful actions resulting from his lust for Bathsheba. Why don't we just skip these awkward lessons and spare the teacher awkward moments in class? There are several reasons.

• They are part of God's Word. They are often integral to the salvation narrative. They teach important lessons about God's plan for us and His love and forgiveness.
• Sensitivity to these lessons varies greatly from place to place and teacher to teacher. We leave it to the local teacher to make adaptations they need to be comfortable teaching the lesson.
• Those issues about which the Church fails to speak are seen as "fair game" by the world and Christians alike. If we fail in Sunday School to teach what God's Word says about sex outside of marriage, homosexual sexual activity, divorce, and other "tough issues," we leave our children to learn their values in these areas from the world.

Wait! Shouldn't those things be taught in the family by the child's parents? Absolutely. So also should all other lessons that are taught in Sunday School. Our role is to support and supplement the Christian education provided by the home.

So what should the Sunday School teacher do? Know your students and their parents. Communicate with the home whenever there may be concerns. Adapt every lesson to local conditions and sensitivities. But, please don't fail to . . .

Teach God's children His Word!

Count the Cost?

"The only things we spend time and money on are things that we believe are worth more than they cost." Those words were written by Seth Godin in his blog, who describes himself as "a writer, speaker and an agent of change"; you can read the whole post here.

Essentially, he says that when we claim things cost too much, we are really saying we don't believe they are worth what is being asked in payment.

In my opinion, Mr. Godin has put his finger on what is looming as a crisis for Christian education in the LCMS. Sunday School is no longer valued as it once was as an institution for teaching the Gospel. Perhaps there other models for Christian education that will flourish, that is, be seen as worth the cost in dollars, staff time, volunteer commitments, and parental investment. I'm not seeing it however.

Your challenge is clear. If you want to build up your Sunday School, you need to strengthen its reputation for value. You need to convince others---your pastor, parents, church leaders, budget-setters---that Sunday School is worth it!

God bless you as you work to make a priority of teaching God's children His Word.

We Don't Need Sunday School?

"Our children go to our Lutheran Day School."
"We go to church as a family every Sunday."
"We have mealtime devotions."
"We read and discuss Bible stories every night with our children before going to bed."
"We don't need to participate in Sunday School do we?"

My coworker Peter said it well, "Can we ever get too much of God's Word?"

Thanks for teaching God's children His Word in Sunday School!

Where Are the Champions?

Two recent comments about Sunday School stick in my mind as I return this this blog after a bit of time away. (Nothing wrong, just too much to do and too little to say.)

First, my friend and coworker Loren commented that a renewal of Sunday School in our church body had to come through training and invigorating pastors, especially new pastors, about the vital importance of Sunday School in the life and health of the local congregation.

Then, Darryl Wilson (The Sunday School Revolutionary) said it perfectly: pastors need to be champions for Sunday School.

If the pastor is not firmly behind Sunday School in his congregation

• good teachers will be hard to find.
• good material will be a expensive burden instead of a valuable investment.
• good families will find other ways to spend their time.

Yes, pastors have a lot of important responsibilities in their congregations---supporting Sunday School is one of them.

Are you a pastor? Know that God, through His Word and Sacraments as well your members prayers and assistance, is your source of strength. Be a Sunday School champion.

Are you a church leader? Encourage and empower your pastor to actively lead and support your Sunday School. Help him be a Sunday School champion.

Are you a Sunday School teacher or parent? Thank God in prayer for your pastor, and thank your pastor in person for his leadership in the congregation. Encourage him and offer your tangible assistance and support. Pray for your Sunday School champion.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Choose Your Dates

The most visible change in Concordia's Sunday School materials starting this fall is the absence of assigned dates. In the long term, this is a boost to good stewardship, both for the customer and for the publisher.

With a little planning, there can be

• No unused lessons.
• Flexibility in scheduling.
• Fewer purchases of teacher materials.

You can:

• Teach the lessons in order. In the winter 2015 quarter, the Church will celebrate Christmas while SS is studying the events leading up to Christmas. If they start on the first week of September and teach every week, The Birth of Jesus will be taught on January 10th. The Sunday School can use the Church Year Worship Kit and Church Year Connections to connect to the church’s worship and simply say “We’ll study that event in a couple of weeks.”
• Skip a couple of lessons in the “before the Nativity”sequence. Most congregations probably skip a Sunday or two each year anyway.
• Start a couple of weeks early. School starts in many places in mid-August. If SS starts on August 23, the Christmas lesson would hit on 12/27.
• Save a couple of the Old Testament 2 lessons to be taught later.

Use a chart like the one below to inform teachers of the best dates to use the lessons. Watch this space for more about the changes you'll see in the fall.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Sunday School Material Without Dates

What would your Sunday School material look like without dates?
When would you use it if nobody told you?
What would be the advantages to "date-less" curriculum?
What drawbacks would need to be overcome?
What additional resources would you need?

These are not rhetorical questions. Starting this fall the popular Sunday School material from Concordia Publishing House, Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations, will no longer have dates. I'll unpack some of the rationale and reality around that decision in future blog posts.

Change is not always comfortable however, so I'm devoting the next few weeks to talking through this exciting change in our material and what it will mean for Sunday School teachers and directors.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!