Church Curriculum?
I'm unpacking the idea of church. Not the universal one; not the global body of Christ. But the local one, the corporate one, the one that has an annual budget and a building to match.
I'm mulling over new millennium questions, wondering what it would take for the North American church to change to better address the realities of our current society. I'm not talking about bending to the "Christian bookstore" trends in church dynamics. Rather I'm pondering how to transform our way of doing things to be more effective, more Christ-like, more God-glorifying.
We live in a world in which "relevancy" and "engagement" are buzz words. We are told it is "All About You." So we cater church the same way, creating age-specific programs that are exciting and fun, hoping somehow the Gospel message will stick. We segregate people from each other and stick them with like-aged people, with similar mindsets. We throw in a few mentors, thinking that will be enough. We forget the power of mixing the generations, the older with the younger, where senior experience can mingle with youth vitality. We discourage dialogue and encourage passive listening to seminary educated sages as our primary corporate act of worship. And we have no way to assess if we are learning anything.
Is it just me, or does this seem very short sighted?
The fact is, Bible School attendance is on the decline. More and more youth elect not to attend a Bible School after completing high school. There are many reasons for this, some of which are the rising cost of education and the low viability of a career once graduating from Bible School. However, if this trend continues, the local church will need to take on more and more responsibility to educate its members and adherents in the ways of Christ. This does not equate to more engaging sermons with spectacular digital media to match. Neither does it equal updating our websites or posting Tweets so the younger generation can follow us. I'm referring to teaching smaller communities of believers strategically, intentionally and within the context of reality.
Over the course of my life as a Christian, I have attended eight different churches of various denominations. Each church has celebratory strengths and glaring weaknesses. None were perfect. And God has used ALL in my spiritual growth. I am very thankful for each and every one of these churches.
Yet, very few were strategic when it came to education. Many of these churches had vision or mission statements, which can be an excellent step towards strategic planning. But, when it came to teaching, the shotgun approach was used (i.e. the hasty use of a wide range of techniques that are non-selective and haphazard*). I'm not implying that the church leaders put absolutely no thought in what they were doing. But over time, I got the impression that leaders planned year to year. For example, one year the church studied two books of the Bible, the next year there was a sermon series on marriage & family, and the next year after that was famous (infamous?) "Purpose Driven Church" movement. I find it very difficult to remember an example where the leaders had a five year plan as to what they felt their members or adherents needed to know to be healthy Christians who loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength AND loved their neighbors as themselves (and if they did, it wasn't communicated to the masses).
Now, I do not want to underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. There are times when a Pastor or Leader feels the prompting of God to address a particular topic with his or her congregation. I am 100% behind that Pastor or Leader. Be obedient. And trust God for the results. Speak and teach with passion. And yes, I ultimately believe God is in control and that He will equip the followers of Christ if we diligently follow Him.
But, does a healthy Christian need to know about Biblical history OR apologetics OR theology OR evangelism OR hermeneutics OR whatever else Bible schools teach their students? If so, how do we teach people so they actually retain knowledge (as opposed to hearing it once and then going off to eat at the Sunday buffet)? How do we plan for this learning? How do we evaluate people's spiritual achievement?
I am a teacher by profession. And when I teach, I am required to use a provincial curriculum guide to inform my teaching and evaluate my students. Periodically, the provincial curriculum guides are updated to better equip our learners. What if churches or denominations did the same thing? Would that make us more effective in our faith? Would that translate to more people coming to know Christ as their Saviour and Lord for now and eternity? Or would it just be another exercise in futility, another church-in-a-box initiative that will fade in a couple of years?
Truly, I don't know. But I dare to ask.
*Source: Dictionary.com
I'm mulling over new millennium questions, wondering what it would take for the North American church to change to better address the realities of our current society. I'm not talking about bending to the "Christian bookstore" trends in church dynamics. Rather I'm pondering how to transform our way of doing things to be more effective, more Christ-like, more God-glorifying.
We live in a world in which "relevancy" and "engagement" are buzz words. We are told it is "All About You." So we cater church the same way, creating age-specific programs that are exciting and fun, hoping somehow the Gospel message will stick. We segregate people from each other and stick them with like-aged people, with similar mindsets. We throw in a few mentors, thinking that will be enough. We forget the power of mixing the generations, the older with the younger, where senior experience can mingle with youth vitality. We discourage dialogue and encourage passive listening to seminary educated sages as our primary corporate act of worship. And we have no way to assess if we are learning anything.
Is it just me, or does this seem very short sighted?
The fact is, Bible School attendance is on the decline. More and more youth elect not to attend a Bible School after completing high school. There are many reasons for this, some of which are the rising cost of education and the low viability of a career once graduating from Bible School. However, if this trend continues, the local church will need to take on more and more responsibility to educate its members and adherents in the ways of Christ. This does not equate to more engaging sermons with spectacular digital media to match. Neither does it equal updating our websites or posting Tweets so the younger generation can follow us. I'm referring to teaching smaller communities of believers strategically, intentionally and within the context of reality.
Over the course of my life as a Christian, I have attended eight different churches of various denominations. Each church has celebratory strengths and glaring weaknesses. None were perfect. And God has used ALL in my spiritual growth. I am very thankful for each and every one of these churches.
Yet, very few were strategic when it came to education. Many of these churches had vision or mission statements, which can be an excellent step towards strategic planning. But, when it came to teaching, the shotgun approach was used (i.e. the hasty use of a wide range of techniques that are non-selective and haphazard*). I'm not implying that the church leaders put absolutely no thought in what they were doing. But over time, I got the impression that leaders planned year to year. For example, one year the church studied two books of the Bible, the next year there was a sermon series on marriage & family, and the next year after that was famous (infamous?) "Purpose Driven Church" movement. I find it very difficult to remember an example where the leaders had a five year plan as to what they felt their members or adherents needed to know to be healthy Christians who loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength AND loved their neighbors as themselves (and if they did, it wasn't communicated to the masses).
Now, I do not want to underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. There are times when a Pastor or Leader feels the prompting of God to address a particular topic with his or her congregation. I am 100% behind that Pastor or Leader. Be obedient. And trust God for the results. Speak and teach with passion. And yes, I ultimately believe God is in control and that He will equip the followers of Christ if we diligently follow Him.
But, does a healthy Christian need to know about Biblical history OR apologetics OR theology OR evangelism OR hermeneutics OR whatever else Bible schools teach their students? If so, how do we teach people so they actually retain knowledge (as opposed to hearing it once and then going off to eat at the Sunday buffet)? How do we plan for this learning? How do we evaluate people's spiritual achievement?
I am a teacher by profession. And when I teach, I am required to use a provincial curriculum guide to inform my teaching and evaluate my students. Periodically, the provincial curriculum guides are updated to better equip our learners. What if churches or denominations did the same thing? Would that make us more effective in our faith? Would that translate to more people coming to know Christ as their Saviour and Lord for now and eternity? Or would it just be another exercise in futility, another church-in-a-box initiative that will fade in a couple of years?
Truly, I don't know. But I dare to ask.
*Source: Dictionary.com