(I found this article on the blod Red Letter Christians)
Sunday school. It was one of the main reasons I enjoyed church as a child. As a young adult, it sometimes still is. But there’s a conversation brewing: Does Sunday school have a future? I think so, though it may not involve Sunday or school.
Sunday school has and will continue to look different for churches across the country. Since its creation in 18th-century England, some congregations have followed Sunday school’s traditional form — to teach children the Bible, protecting them from becoming casualties of social sins.
Today a wide range of Sunday school practices exist for all ages, including Bible studies, small groups and social gatherings. No matter what Sunday school looks like, it most broadly includes applying Scripture to our lives. For it is through imaginatively considering and applying God’s Word that we begin to love each other, our neighbors and God — which is at the heart of spiritual formation.
So while some call this Sunday school, others call it “Christian education.” No matter the name, it’s spiritual formation. Since modernity’s original creation of Sunday school was premised on a cultural need — to provide school for children — it seems we must likewise reinterpret it in our postmodern, post-Christendom context.
In 21st-century America, we’re in great need of a deeper, broader understanding of the Gospel, an understanding that is countercultural and runs against societal hegemony. At its core, it seems we need a call to conversation — honest dialogue on the world’s biggest spiritual and moral issues. Let’s face it, these conversations might happen more often than just on Sundays or in scholastic settings. In fact, they already are.
**I would love to hear your thoughts on Sunday School...how has it played a role in your life? Is it outdated or underestimated?
Way of the Pastor,
Joe Drew
