(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 Is it outdated or underestimated?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
I think sunday school is a really important part of society, in today's world people can barely see the boarders between good and evil. Sunday school draws the line that defines these boarders. Whether it is outdated or underestimated i think sunday school is something we can't let die. Showing our children the correct path in life will keep our society strong. Its our responsibility to set the example for the next generation, every church should have a sunday school.
ReplyDeleteSunday School can be Inspiration or it can be innoculation.
ReplyDeleteIf cirricula full of glossy, pretty pictures are used by teachers who are Bible-illiterate, Sunday School can deliver enough anti-bodies of ignorance to 'protect' the students from any true confrontation with sin and the Living God.
BUT, if a real Christian is teaching, and uses the Bible, and the gifts he or she has been given, with the energy and excitement of the Spirit within, then the students just may catch a breath - inspiration - and grow into the truly new life.
Bible-literacy - and the lack thereof - is the most serious issue of our culture.
I know young adults who can list the 10 commandments and the twelve disciples...yes, they are singing them...songs they learned in Sunday School...but how mwny adults do you know who can do that?
Does this knowledge matter? YES.
Does it save? Not he who has it, but it might helpopen another to the Good News!
I love Sunday School, and use only the Bible and a stack of dictionaries. Words have meaning, and we take it one word at a time. We actually have a lot of fun.