The Jack Stockton recitation is very nice. It is basically the text to a song by the duo Aaron Jeffrey. I’m not convinced that this young man has a particularly deep understanding of how Jesus can be found in every book of the Bible since he is merely reciting something someone else has written. And, in listening to the recitation, I’m also not convinced that the writer has nailed it either.
But neither of those things are your point – your point is that you’d like your kids to have a deep understanding of the books of the Bible. I agree – although I would suggest that many of the adults in our congregations would also struggle with just such an assignment!
Fortunately there are some excellent resources available to help us learn these things. One that I particularly like is The Jesus Bible Storybook by Sally Lloyd-Jones. It is outstanding. But you should also be aware that the curriculum produced by Faith Alive Resources is created so that students will get a deep understanding of the Bible in context and also from a Reformed and Christ-centered perspective. I think if you look carefully at any of their curriculums, including the new Dwell and also the new We, designed for intergenerational gatherings, you will be quite impressed with how theologically sound they are.
Colin – you’re right – this is a trend that is popping up in many places and I, for one, think it is a dangerous one. I’m not suggesting that parents should not train their children in the Lord but the task of the church is to do MUCH more than just train parents. The church is a community of faith and I have a responsibility to know and to teach the children in my church too. The trend you point to is that churches do little more than give parents the tools they need to do the job – in fact in many of those churches they have gotten rid of Sunday School and replaced it with parent training. I think that is a shirking of the vows we make at baptism and misses the point of what it means to be in community together. I would suggest that this is in conflict with a reformed perspective of who we are as a faith community and our understanding of the covenant.
We certainly should be a resource to parents but that is only part of it. I very much think that children need to see the faith of people other than their parents too. In fact, this matches up with what we know about faith development theory – that the circle of influence gets bigger as children grow. This trend of throwing everything to the home also basically eliminates children from church life. That damages the church as well as the children. We need to be all God's people together and Sunday School is one of the places that happens best, especially when adults get to share their faith with the kids as they share the nuts and bolts of the lesson.
I know that this D6 movement has taken root in some places – I just hope it fades quickly.
Posted in: Jack Stockton Wonderful Presentation on Christ Throughout the Bible
The Jack Stockton recitation is very nice. It is basically the text to a song by the duo Aaron Jeffrey. I’m not convinced that this young man has a particularly deep understanding of how Jesus can be found in every book of the Bible since he is merely reciting something someone else has written. And, in listening to the recitation, I’m also not convinced that the writer has nailed it either.
But neither of those things are your point – your point is that you’d like your kids to have a deep understanding of the books of the Bible. I agree – although I would suggest that many of the adults in our congregations would also struggle with just such an assignment!
Fortunately there are some excellent resources available to help us learn these things. One that I particularly like is The Jesus Bible Storybook by Sally Lloyd-Jones. It is outstanding. But you should also be aware that the curriculum produced by Faith Alive Resources is created so that students will get a deep understanding of the Bible in context and also from a Reformed and Christ-centered perspective. I think if you look carefully at any of their curriculums, including the new Dwell and also the new We, designed for intergenerational gatherings, you will be quite impressed with how theologically sound they are.
For use at home, look at the Nurture blog http://www.nurturekidsfaith.org/ has some great suggestions.
Posted in: What's The Point?
Colin – you’re right – this is a trend that is popping up in many places and I, for one, think it is a dangerous one. I’m not suggesting that parents should not train their children in the Lord but the task of the church is to do MUCH more than just train parents. The church is a community of faith and I have a responsibility to know and to teach the children in my church too. The trend you point to is that churches do little more than give parents the tools they need to do the job – in fact in many of those churches they have gotten rid of Sunday School and replaced it with parent training. I think that is a shirking of the vows we make at baptism and misses the point of what it means to be in community together. I would suggest that this is in conflict with a reformed perspective of who we are as a faith community and our understanding of the covenant.
We certainly should be a resource to parents but that is only part of it. I very much think that children need to see the faith of people other than their parents too. In fact, this matches up with what we know about faith development theory – that the circle of influence gets bigger as children grow. This trend of throwing everything to the home also basically eliminates children from church life. That damages the church as well as the children. We need to be all God's people together and Sunday School is one of the places that happens best, especially when adults get to share their faith with the kids as they share the nuts and bolts of the lesson.
I know that this D6 movement has taken root in some places – I just hope it fades quickly.