to return to your place in the text.To read endnotes, click on the the note number, then click on the
Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a
family) answered, "Thou shall not kill."(1) Good answer.
Most people will agree that education is important and that
religious education is equally important. It was Franklin D.
Roosevelt who said, "To train a man in mind and not in morals is
to train a menace to society." A recent national poll shows that
92% of Americans who go to church and even 68% of those who do
NOT go to church want their children to receive religious
instruction. It is not unusual to see young couples returning to
church after years of inactivity once a baby comes along. They
stand before God and the congregation at the child's baptism,
promise to raise their little one in the faith, then bring that
young life to church and Sunday School from week to week because
they WANT the spiritual values that have shaped our civilization
kept alive. God bless `em!
Israel understood that. Religious instruction was not
thought of as simply a measure of faithful piety; it was regarded
as insurance against national disaster. It was a guarantee that
the people would never forget God's standards for right living,
and that their ancient faith would never die. According to our
lesson in Deuteronomy, one of the most sacred duties the people
of God have is that of passing on the faith from one generation
to the next. "These commandments that I give you today are to be
upon your hearts. Impress them on your children..."
The early church understood the same thing. Paul wrote his
son in the faith Timothy: "If you point these things out to the
brothers [and sisters]"...if you instruct them..."you will be a
good minister of Christ Jesus."(2)
The church TRIES to do the job. All but the tiniest of
congregations offer some sort of Sunday School program. But we
would have to admit that much of what passes for "education" in
Sunday School would never be tolerated in the public school.
Two lawyers were bosom friends. Much to the amazement of
one of them, the other became a Sunday School teacher. He
protested, "I'll bet you don't even know the Lord's Prayer!"
"Everybody knows that," the other replied. "It's `Now I lay
me down to sleep!'"
"You win," said the other admiringly, "I didn't think you
knew so much about the Bible."
A few years ago an alarming study of Sunday Schools in
mainline churches was released.(3) It was entitled, "Effective
Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant
Congregations." It surveyed 11,122 people (including 1,923
Presbyterians) in 561 congregations in six denominations - the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, The Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church of
Christ, the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church,
USA (us). The three-and-a-half year study found that "Effective
Christian Education is the most powerful, single influence
congregations have on maturity of faith." In fact, one of the
authors of the study said, "Christian Education matters much more
than we expected. Of all the areas of congregational life we
examined, involvement in an effective Christian Education program
has the strongest tie to a person's growth in faith and to
loyalty to one's congregation and denomination...this is as true
for adults as it is for adolescents."
What do they mean by "maturity of faith?" The researchers
listed eight components. A person with mature faith ---
These are the eight dimensions of a mature faith according
to the study. Does that sound like you? If it does, you are one
of the few. The study reports, "For most adults faith is
underdeveloped, lacking some of the key elements necessary for
faith maturity."
All is not lost though. The study concluded that some
congregations (although not nearly enough) do help people grow
and mature in their faith. The research mentions a half-dozen
factors. Listen to them and see if they describe your church.
Here they are:
1. Members grow in a congregation that encourages questions,
challenges thinking and expects learning. Do we do that here at
First Presbyterian? I hope so. My only concern is that phrase
"expects learning." I expect you to learn, but do you expect you
to learn?
2. The congregation successfully recruits members to volunteer
to help people in need. Do we do that here? Is there any
ongoing mechanism to encourage people to serve those who need
help? We feed folks at the Sharing Place every week. There is
the Farmers Market, our new Hope Tutoring Center. I doubt that
we have any lack of willing workers, but I wonder if we have been
offering enough opportunity. After I have been here a bit
longer, I will find out.
3. Members perceive that their Sunday worship is of high
quality. I hope so. We who are charged with arranging things
try to make this a worthwhile hour. But can it be improved?
Probably.
4. Members see their congregation as warm and friendly. Is
First Presbyterian GENUINELY friendly? Do newcomers really feel
welcome? Truth be known, this congregation has had the
reputation of being a COLD church, but that is changing FAST!
Congratulations! You are a very FRIENDLY bunch, and more and
more people are finding that out. Keep up the good work.
5. Members personally experience the care and concern of other
members. Is that the case here? If a member of this church
finds his or her life tumbling in, can that one count on you and
you and you and you for support? I hope so.
And 6. The congregation has an effective, formal Christian
Education program including Sunday School classes, Bible studies,
adult forums, family events, music and drama programs and new
member classes. According to the study, this factor - formal
Christian Education - has twice the impact of THE OTHER FIVE
COMBINED in helping someone grow in the faith. In other words,
if you are serious about Christian discipleship, there is NOTHING
that can do the job better than being a part of a class. How
about that! We have them here for you. We offer a variety of
opportunities - Sunday School kicked off today, Kirk Nite gets
underway this Wednesday - and by the grace of God, we will be
offering even more. Christian Education is the responsibility of
each one of us - both as life-long students and life-long
supporters.
Emphasize LIFE-LONG. One of the myths about Christian
Education that absolutely must be stamped out is that this is a
ministry for children. I remember visiting a parishioner of one
of my former congregations in the hospital. Bill was a member of
a men's Sunday School class, and he and I were talking about
another class member who was also in the hospital - Bill wanted
to know how Ken was getting along and was telling me about the
wonderful dinner Ken had cooked for several friends (including
Bill) not too long before.
A nurse walked in during our conversation, heard that both
these men were part of a Sunday School class, and laughed. "At
your age?" she chuckled.
Bill, who was 70, replied, "You're never too old to learn."
Amen! If mainline folks are going to grow in their faith, more
and more will have to understand that.
No doubt, many of you have read Robert Fulgham's wise and
witty, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.(4) I
think that when it comes to faith development, we could
paraphrase that and say, "All I really need to know I learned in
Sunday School." I have an article in my files with that title(5)
and it points out several things that you and I learned that were
basic to our faith from the time we were able to understand the
mother tongue.
We learned that "God is great and God is good." God is big
and strong and mighty and there is nothing my God cannot do. God
made this world. God made the animals and the birds. God made
you and me.
We learned "Jesus Loves Me." You have probably heard the
name Karl Barth, probably the best theologian of the twentieth
century. He was asked near the end of his remarkable career to
state the most significant truth he had come across in his
lifetime of study. After a moment of thought he is reported to
have answered, "Jesus loves me; this I know, for the Bible tells
me so." Sunday School taught, "For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son..." We learned that Jesus is
living and dying proof of God's love for you and me.
We learned, "Jesus loves the little children, all the
children of the world; Red and yellow, black and white, they are
precious in his sight; Jesus loves the little children of the
world." We who lived through the sixties remember the Civil
Rights struggles of the decade. We remember the assassinations.
We remember the race riots and the tear gas. But if we ever gave
thought to that Sunday School song that we sang, we knew that
things had to change. Fortunately for all of us, changes have
come - not finished yet, but on the way.
We learned "The B I B L E, yes, that's the book for me. I
stand alone on the word of God, the B I B L E." There are many
good books in the world, but there are none like THE good book.
It has been called a Christian's Owner's Manual. That was one of
the lessons of Sunday School.
We learned, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it
shine." We believe, because of what we learned in Sunday School,
that we have a mission in this world. The gospel is good news
and it demands to be shared - it deserves to be shouted from the
housetops, printed on balloons, slapped on billboards, chanted at
ballgames, scrawled across the sky. Can't do all those things?
We learned in Sunday School that one of the best ways to share
the gospel is by the way we live.
Sunday School taught us so much. "The Lord is my Shepherd,"
Abraham and Isaac, David and Goliath, perhaps even "Thou shalt
not kill thy little brother." Basics. But there is more to
life, more to Christian discipleship, than just the basics.
There is so much more we have to learn if we want to grow in
faith. And I know just the place. See you Wednesday at Kirk
Nite and next Sunday in Sunday School.
Amen!
1. http://lists.spunge.org/funny-bone/archive/msg00488.html 2. 1 Timothy 4:6 3. Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, "What Makes Faith Mature?", Christian Century, 5/9/90, pp. 496-499 4. (New York: Villard Books, 1989) 5. from Presbyterian Survey, 9/90, pp. 22-24
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