Last night in small group, the subject of curriculum came up. One parent had asked if it was possible for the church to align curriculum across the church so what the children learned was what the adults were learning. I guess the net goal was to make the "so, what did you learn in church today" question easier to discuss.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deu 6:7
Another parent chimed in. Apparently, their child had been taught that witches were real. You could hear the intake of breath. "Oh, you need to report that, we don't believe that here." I had to raise my hand. "Perhaps," I started, not to sarcastically, "that they read the 'suffer not a witch verse.'"
The SG leader wisely got the discussion back on track. I was not trying to derail the class, but, the subtext of my message was clear (at least to me). Or church's constitution makes no stand on the existence of witches. However, it does make a stand on the authenticity of the bible. Logic (at least what passes for it in my noodle) says "if we believe the bible to be true, and the bible says not to suffer a witch, then, ergo, there must be witches to not be suffered."
You can tell who they are because they weigh the same as a duck.
Ok, so I was being a smart alec. But the point that got lost was it is the parents, not the church, that need to teach the Bible to our children. The Sunday School teachers should be our partners, reinforcing what we have taught our children and not the other way around.
3 comments:
Chuck, I'm glad that there is at least someone out there that gets it. The parents have the responsibility for raising their children, not the schools or the church, but the parents. Your last line - "The Sunday School teachers should be our partners, reinforcing what we have taught our children and not the other way around" hits the nail on the head.
I have always felt that parents should be the main educators...it saddens me to see so many kids whose parents have no clue about their children's schooling, religious or otherwise.
You lost me on the comment about the duck, though. You will probably have to explain that one to me.
Great post, Chuck. What an awesome responsibility--raising a child. Perhaps some folks prefer to have someone else do it so that later (I won't say inevitably), when the child has problems, that parent can then have someone else to blame.
I believe that God holds us responsible for our children. Period. That's a very serious thing.
It's fathers like you, Chuck, that embody the spirit of Deuteronomy 6 and truly teach your children. One day they will rise up and call you blessed.
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