Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Responding to a Tragedy as a Sunday School Leader
Our hearts are broken for the families who lost children and loved ones this month in Newtown, Connecticut. We pray for them as well as for government leaders, first responders, the local church leaders and the school teachers and workers who have been involved in helping the people of that community.
Sunday School teachers can fulfill a special calling in such a moment of tragedy. We carry the burden and the privilege of teaching and speaking into people’s lives in moments of pain, loss, and confusion. Leaders in Bible times often shared a word from the Lord that was appropriate to the crisis at hand and we will often have a similar ministry. Let me offer some do’s and don’ts for you to consider as the people in your class respond to such unimaginable tragedies.
Do pray publically for those who have experienced the grief firsthand as well as those who are trying to make sense of things in your class. Include yourself in the prayer—being careful not to give the impression that you are above feeling the pain associated with the crisis.
Don’t try to turn it into a political issue or use it as an opportunity to share your pet peeves and opinions. We cheapen the deaths of the victims with such rants. This isn’t the time for getting on the soapbox.
Do listen to the expressions of hurt and the emotions that are being shared. Allow there to be moments of tears. Also listen carefully to the questions that are being asked—especially the children. With children, give brief short answers. Be careful not to over answer their questions with long theological explanations. They really just want assurance and hope--so do the adults.
Don’t use the crisis as a way of scaring people into a spiritual decision. Such decisions are generally superficial and based on the emotion of the moment rather than a real conversion or renewal. Certainly we are always ready to respond to a sincere seeker no matter when they come to us, but using a tragedy to manipulate someone is not likely a method the Lord would approve.
Do assure people that our church does have security precautions in place to help protect people while they are here. We have a person who is the director of church security. The halls are monitored regularly and the doors are either locked or they are manned during Sunday School and worship.
Don’t pretend to have all the answers. It is proper to explain that there is evil in the world and that evil happens because people refuse to let God control and direct their lives. But we should not pretend that we know why this incident happened to these people in this town. Remind them that this was not from God and that He is not responsible for bad things that happen to innocent people.
Do continue on with the teaching of your lesson. You can discern if you need to give the class a little more time than usual for prayer and interaction, but God’s Word has an amazing way of providing comfort and insight that we may have never imagined. I am constantly amazed at how God will allow His Word to speak to each individual in our congregation in ways I never expected when I was preparing the message. The Holy Spirit is so good at taking the lesson you prepared and causing it to speak to each person’s individual needs—trust Him with that.
Monday, December 3, 2012
The Power of a Leader's Kindness
In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her six year-old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams—now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, “Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?” Billy said, “Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.” Mom smiled back and said, “Let's see if we can make your wish come true.”
Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an Honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat—not a toy one—with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast.”
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was overjoyed. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the emergency squad, and even the Fire Chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news.
Having his dream come true with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, Billy was so deeply touched that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night, however, all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition. The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?”
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window. Sixteen fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room! With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, “Chief am I a real fireman now?” The chief said, “Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand.”
The kindness of a leader in a person’s life can bring amazing joy and have a profound influence. You may not realize it, but as a Sunday School teacher, you may have that kind of influence over the people in your class. Your encouraging words and acts of kindness can touch a life deeply.
Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an Honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat—not a toy one—with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast.”
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was overjoyed. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the emergency squad, and even the Fire Chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news.
Having his dream come true with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, Billy was so deeply touched that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night, however, all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition. The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?”
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window. Sixteen fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room! With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, “Chief am I a real fireman now?” The chief said, “Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand.”
The kindness of a leader in a person’s life can bring amazing joy and have a profound influence. You may not realize it, but as a Sunday School teacher, you may have that kind of influence over the people in your class. Your encouraging words and acts of kindness can touch a life deeply.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Why be Part of a "Denomination?"
Perhaps you heard about the lady who went to the bank to have a large check cashed. The teller went through some of the usual questions when cashing a large check. “May I see your driver’s license?” she asked. “Can you confirm your social security number?” the teller continued. After several such questions the teller finally asked, “What denominations would you like?” The lady responded, “Just one—I’m Baptist!”
I am part of a generation that regularly questioned “the establishment.” It is no surprise then that such an attitude has impacted the church today. Many Christians today have somehow gotten the idea that being part of a denomination is less spiritual or un-cool. They view the denomination as an impersonal institution that drains resources and provides little in return. They don’t see the value in being affiliated with other churches of like faith through a denomination.
Technically, Southern Baptists are not a denomination—we are a convention. We do not have a top-down structure. Each of our churches is independent and self-governing. We share a common confession of faith, but the only creed we embrace is the Bible itself. We see value in voluntarily cooperating together as individual churches for the sake of the kingdom of God. Being a part of the Southern Baptist Convention provides three things we think are important.
First, being Baptist gives us an identity that people can relate to. People know that being Baptist means that we believe the Bible is the foundation for what we believe and how we live. We do not base our beliefs on traditions or someone’s experience or what is most popular at the time. Being Baptist means we believe each congregation is self-governing and does not submit itself to any overseer but Christ Himself. It means that we are committed to voluntarily cooperating with like-minded churches in mission endeavors to take the gospel to the world.
Second, being part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) makes resources, training and personnel available to us. We have regional Association and State Convention staff members who are committed to serving churches like ours. These ministers have expertise, experiences and wisdom to share that help strengthen local congregations and assist them in being on mission with God. In addition, our convention provides ministry resources through LifeWay Christian Resources as well as other agencies within our convention.
Third, being SBC allows us to take part in the world’s greatest missions program. We support thousands of missionaries in various places around the world. Some of these missionaries are nearby, some are in North America, some are overseas and some are in the remotest parts of the earth sharing Christ, planting new churches and strengthening believers. By supporting these missionaries cooperatively as we do, we can provide a steady, dependable income for the missionaries themselves, and also resources for the work they are doing.
No one I know of believes that Baptist are the only ones who believe the Bible and believe in missions. There are many Bible-believing churches and organizations in the world and we are happy to be part of God’s universal church made up of all those who have professed the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But there is value in being a Baptist. As we combine our Bible-based theology with our form of church government and our cooperative missions strategy, we are a unique group of Christians. It is an identity and a heritage we humbly embrace.
I am part of a generation that regularly questioned “the establishment.” It is no surprise then that such an attitude has impacted the church today. Many Christians today have somehow gotten the idea that being part of a denomination is less spiritual or un-cool. They view the denomination as an impersonal institution that drains resources and provides little in return. They don’t see the value in being affiliated with other churches of like faith through a denomination.
Technically, Southern Baptists are not a denomination—we are a convention. We do not have a top-down structure. Each of our churches is independent and self-governing. We share a common confession of faith, but the only creed we embrace is the Bible itself. We see value in voluntarily cooperating together as individual churches for the sake of the kingdom of God. Being a part of the Southern Baptist Convention provides three things we think are important.
First, being Baptist gives us an identity that people can relate to. People know that being Baptist means that we believe the Bible is the foundation for what we believe and how we live. We do not base our beliefs on traditions or someone’s experience or what is most popular at the time. Being Baptist means we believe each congregation is self-governing and does not submit itself to any overseer but Christ Himself. It means that we are committed to voluntarily cooperating with like-minded churches in mission endeavors to take the gospel to the world.
Second, being part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) makes resources, training and personnel available to us. We have regional Association and State Convention staff members who are committed to serving churches like ours. These ministers have expertise, experiences and wisdom to share that help strengthen local congregations and assist them in being on mission with God. In addition, our convention provides ministry resources through LifeWay Christian Resources as well as other agencies within our convention.
Third, being SBC allows us to take part in the world’s greatest missions program. We support thousands of missionaries in various places around the world. Some of these missionaries are nearby, some are in North America, some are overseas and some are in the remotest parts of the earth sharing Christ, planting new churches and strengthening believers. By supporting these missionaries cooperatively as we do, we can provide a steady, dependable income for the missionaries themselves, and also resources for the work they are doing.
No one I know of believes that Baptist are the only ones who believe the Bible and believe in missions. There are many Bible-believing churches and organizations in the world and we are happy to be part of God’s universal church made up of all those who have professed the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But there is value in being a Baptist. As we combine our Bible-based theology with our form of church government and our cooperative missions strategy, we are a unique group of Christians. It is an identity and a heritage we humbly embrace.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Going Deeper in our Bible Teaching—Part Two
What does it mean to “go deeper” in our teaching. We know it isn’t using big words or excessive details. It isn’t teaching a seminar-type lesson with a few proof-texts thrown in to make it sound spiritual. It isn’t being mystical or using syrupy emotionalism. It isn’t forced symbolism or spiritualizing a text to say something it was not intended to say. But what does it mean? Let me offer a few thoughts on the subject.
Going deeper is meeting with Jesus and allowing Him to transform our lives. It is reading and teaching the text with the intent of having an encounter with Him. It is expecting and experiencing Him speak to us through the Bible passage. It is helping our class members to see Jesus Christ and the overall redemptive plan of God to save those who call upon the Lord in faith. As Jesus speaks to us from the passage it will almost certainly result in a change of motivation, thinking and/or behavior in our lives. As Jesus speaks through His Word, it will almost certainly call us to being on mission with Him in some specific way and spark thoughts on specific action-steps, as the Holy Spirit prompts and motivates us. All this without ever explaining the 12 different ways a certain Greek word is used!
Going deeper is discovery of those things in God’s Word that set Christianity apart from any other belief system. As Jesus spoke to the two disciples walking to Emmaus after the resurrection, He used every major section of Old Testament to point to Himself! As we study the Passover, we see Jesus and His plan of salvation. As we teach about the Ark of Noah, we see Jesus providing a shelter from the wrath of God. As we meditate on the coronation of King Solomon, we see a picture of crowning Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. As we explain the various prophecies of the Bible, we give understanding as to each one relates to God’s overall plan of salvation and provision of forgiveness. Our teaching of the Old Testament should be different that what is taught in a synagogue, because we know Jesus is the Messiah! Our teaching of the New Testament should be different than what is taught by the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, because we know the identity of Jesus and we have an understanding of the Triune nature of God.
Going deeper is allowing the Lord to use His word to examine and search our lives for sin and hindrances to a closer walk with Him. If I am reading the Word and noticing what others ought to be doing, there is a real good chance that I am not going deeper at all. In the Prodigal Son story, there is the Elder Brother who illustrates the problem. We must read the Word with a sincere request that the Holy Spirit use it to examine our deepest motives. Paul told Timothy that the Word should teach me, rebuke me, correct me and instruct me in righteousness. If I see only how the Bible rebukes others, I have a severe case of immature, spiritual near-sightedness.
Going deeper is connecting spiritual applications to the work of Jesus Christ. Paul often demonstrated this. He told husbands, not just to love their wives, but to love their wives as Christ loved the church. He instructed servants to serve their overseers as they would serve the Lord. He taught wives to honor their husbands as the church honors Jesus. When Peter spoke to pastors about their ministry, he related it to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. None of the New Testament writers got too far away from the message of the cross in their teaching—it is a good practice for us as well.
Going deeper is meeting with Jesus and allowing Him to transform our lives. It is reading and teaching the text with the intent of having an encounter with Him. It is expecting and experiencing Him speak to us through the Bible passage. It is helping our class members to see Jesus Christ and the overall redemptive plan of God to save those who call upon the Lord in faith. As Jesus speaks to us from the passage it will almost certainly result in a change of motivation, thinking and/or behavior in our lives. As Jesus speaks through His Word, it will almost certainly call us to being on mission with Him in some specific way and spark thoughts on specific action-steps, as the Holy Spirit prompts and motivates us. All this without ever explaining the 12 different ways a certain Greek word is used!
Going deeper is discovery of those things in God’s Word that set Christianity apart from any other belief system. As Jesus spoke to the two disciples walking to Emmaus after the resurrection, He used every major section of Old Testament to point to Himself! As we study the Passover, we see Jesus and His plan of salvation. As we teach about the Ark of Noah, we see Jesus providing a shelter from the wrath of God. As we meditate on the coronation of King Solomon, we see a picture of crowning Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. As we explain the various prophecies of the Bible, we give understanding as to each one relates to God’s overall plan of salvation and provision of forgiveness. Our teaching of the Old Testament should be different that what is taught in a synagogue, because we know Jesus is the Messiah! Our teaching of the New Testament should be different than what is taught by the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, because we know the identity of Jesus and we have an understanding of the Triune nature of God.
Going deeper is allowing the Lord to use His word to examine and search our lives for sin and hindrances to a closer walk with Him. If I am reading the Word and noticing what others ought to be doing, there is a real good chance that I am not going deeper at all. In the Prodigal Son story, there is the Elder Brother who illustrates the problem. We must read the Word with a sincere request that the Holy Spirit use it to examine our deepest motives. Paul told Timothy that the Word should teach me, rebuke me, correct me and instruct me in righteousness. If I see only how the Bible rebukes others, I have a severe case of immature, spiritual near-sightedness.
Going deeper is connecting spiritual applications to the work of Jesus Christ. Paul often demonstrated this. He told husbands, not just to love their wives, but to love their wives as Christ loved the church. He instructed servants to serve their overseers as they would serve the Lord. He taught wives to honor their husbands as the church honors Jesus. When Peter spoke to pastors about their ministry, he related it to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. None of the New Testament writers got too far away from the message of the cross in their teaching—it is a good practice for us as well.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Going Deeper in our Bible Teaching—Part One
This may sound strange to you, but I have not always a big fan of “going deeper” in the Sunday School class. I have always felt that we have a tendency to teach over the heads of most of our people as it is. People are not as deep in the Word as we imagine them to be. And if we are reaching new people in the classroom on a regular basis, we need to “keep some of the cookies on the lower shelf” for people newer to the faith. I am also a little suspicious of what people mean by “going deeper.” I’d like to write a couple of articles about this so stay tuned for part two, but let me begin today by looking at what we do not mean by going deeper in our teaching.
Going deeper is not using bigger words and providing more information. I have heard it said that a scholar can make a simple idea sound complex, but a good communicator can make a complex idea sound simple. I’d rather be a good communicator than to try to impress people with my 50-cent words and my profound vocabulary. And do we really need to spend more than two-thirds of the class time talking about all the details of the Egyptian religious belief system in order to teach how God demonstrated His great power over the Egyptians during the exodus in the days of Moses? We may learn a lot of interesting things in our preparation of the lesson, but not all of it will be useful in the classroom. A few interesting facts can go a long way to improve your lesson and avoid boredom, and at times we do need to use important theological words to communicate spiritual truths, but information overload is not going deeper.
Going deeper is not becoming a biblical guidance counselor. I have been to seminars and conferences where the teacher doesn’t really teach the Bible, but rather sprinkles in a few verses here and there to back up their opinions and advice on how Christians ought to think, feel or live. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe every Bible lesson needs to have clear points of application to our lives, but these practical applications should come out of the Bible text. The difference is our starting point. If we start with a point of advice and then look for a way to make the Bible fit our preconceived insight, we have done a disservice to God’s Word and to our students. It is not our goal to merely help people to have strong self-esteem and to be nice to others. The goal of spiritual maturity is to become like Christ and to become biblical Christians.
Going deeper is not making the Bible or spiritual truth sound mystical. A person in our church recently shared with me how a relative gave her a special stone that had been prayed over and that holding on to this stone was supposed to bring blessings. She kindly replied that she didn’t need a prayer stone, because she could go straight to the solid rock of Jesus Christ! I have also heard people doing something similar with prayer cloths and “blessed” oil or water. This is more like superstition than something deeply spiritual. People who make the Bible sound like an episode of the Twilight Zone are not going deeper—they are just being weird.
Going deeper is not spiritualizing a passage or turning it into a metaphor. One example of spiritualizing I have heard was when a preacher used Acts 27:29 as his text. It says there that the sailors dropped four anchors to avoid some rocky places. And so the rocky places became the trials of life and the dangers of sin and he turned the four anchors into the anchor of prayer, the anchor of church attendance, etc. Some may think this is deeper teaching, but it is not. In fact if we are true to the text, the sailors later are seen casting off the anchors (vs. 40)—that really causes problems with a lesson that turns biblical details into metaphors for life.
Going deeper is not using bigger words and providing more information. I have heard it said that a scholar can make a simple idea sound complex, but a good communicator can make a complex idea sound simple. I’d rather be a good communicator than to try to impress people with my 50-cent words and my profound vocabulary. And do we really need to spend more than two-thirds of the class time talking about all the details of the Egyptian religious belief system in order to teach how God demonstrated His great power over the Egyptians during the exodus in the days of Moses? We may learn a lot of interesting things in our preparation of the lesson, but not all of it will be useful in the classroom. A few interesting facts can go a long way to improve your lesson and avoid boredom, and at times we do need to use important theological words to communicate spiritual truths, but information overload is not going deeper.
Going deeper is not becoming a biblical guidance counselor. I have been to seminars and conferences where the teacher doesn’t really teach the Bible, but rather sprinkles in a few verses here and there to back up their opinions and advice on how Christians ought to think, feel or live. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe every Bible lesson needs to have clear points of application to our lives, but these practical applications should come out of the Bible text. The difference is our starting point. If we start with a point of advice and then look for a way to make the Bible fit our preconceived insight, we have done a disservice to God’s Word and to our students. It is not our goal to merely help people to have strong self-esteem and to be nice to others. The goal of spiritual maturity is to become like Christ and to become biblical Christians.
Going deeper is not making the Bible or spiritual truth sound mystical. A person in our church recently shared with me how a relative gave her a special stone that had been prayed over and that holding on to this stone was supposed to bring blessings. She kindly replied that she didn’t need a prayer stone, because she could go straight to the solid rock of Jesus Christ! I have also heard people doing something similar with prayer cloths and “blessed” oil or water. This is more like superstition than something deeply spiritual. People who make the Bible sound like an episode of the Twilight Zone are not going deeper—they are just being weird.
Going deeper is not spiritualizing a passage or turning it into a metaphor. One example of spiritualizing I have heard was when a preacher used Acts 27:29 as his text. It says there that the sailors dropped four anchors to avoid some rocky places. And so the rocky places became the trials of life and the dangers of sin and he turned the four anchors into the anchor of prayer, the anchor of church attendance, etc. Some may think this is deeper teaching, but it is not. In fact if we are true to the text, the sailors later are seen casting off the anchors (vs. 40)—that really causes problems with a lesson that turns biblical details into metaphors for life.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
What Sunday School Leaders Do
In my experience working with various Sunday Schools across Ohio and other states, it has become clear to me that many Sunday Schools and Sunday School classes have been working on autopilot for many years. There are people serving in many Sunday Schools who are content to manage the status quo. There is little effort to reach new people or grow the ministry. In fact, I have run into some who reject the idea that the mission of the Sunday School is to reach new people for Christ.
I’ve had teachers in other churches openly reject the idea that a Sunday School leader has any responsibility when it comes to the spiritual growth, the numerical growth and the ministry of their class. It has been said, “It is my job to grow the class deeper, and it is God’s job to grow the class larger.” While that may sound deep, and even a little spiritual, it simply isn’t true! There is no biblical basis for such a comment. It has been my experience that the difference between a growing Sunday School and a stagnant one is the willingness of pastors, teachers and workers to accept responsibility in three key areas. It’s what Sunday School leaders do.
Accept responsibility for the maturity of the class. I have discovered along the way that I cannot force anyone to grow up as a Christian. Some folks decide to remain spiritual babes no matter what we do or say. I can, however, do my part to provide an environment for growth. Anyone who has ever had a garden understands the concept. Only God can make the plants grow, mature and bear fruit. But when the gardener gives time and effort to prepare the soil, provide a safe, sunny spot and water the plants regularly, the Lord is much more likely to grow the seedlings into healthy, reproducing plants. As Sunday School leaders, we are to provide regular prayer, biblical, interesting teaching and a personal interest in the spiritual growth of our enrollees.
Accept responsibility for the ministry of the class. Each Christian has been given spiritual gifts and abilities in order to minister to one another in the church. Each Christian is also called to be on mission with God in various ways. A leader doesn’t wait for someone else to get the class involved in ministry to one another. If an enrollee is sick, a leader takes action to meet the need. If a member has been absent, a leader initiates involvement in the absentee’s life. Waiting for someone else to do the ministry usually means someone “falls through the cracks” and they eventually stop attending.
Accept responsibility for the growth of the class. Growth is not a matter of luck or some mystical blessing. Of course only God can save and bring spiritual development to a person, and there are things beyond a teacher’s control like job transfers, illnesses and people relocating to another town or state. But God blesses the hard work of outreach, a good spirit in the class and competent teaching. These are things a Sunday School leader can influence. When we do our part, we can confidently trust the Lord to do His part.
I realize it is difficult to accept these responsibilities as a Sunday School leader. There is a lot depending on the success of your class. I am reminded of James 3:1 that says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Sometimes it is easier to let someone else carry the burden of responsibility, but then again, there is nothing quite so fulfilling as seeing God use you to impact lives for His glory. Thank you for serving and accepting the task the Lord has given you.
I’ve had teachers in other churches openly reject the idea that a Sunday School leader has any responsibility when it comes to the spiritual growth, the numerical growth and the ministry of their class. It has been said, “It is my job to grow the class deeper, and it is God’s job to grow the class larger.” While that may sound deep, and even a little spiritual, it simply isn’t true! There is no biblical basis for such a comment. It has been my experience that the difference between a growing Sunday School and a stagnant one is the willingness of pastors, teachers and workers to accept responsibility in three key areas. It’s what Sunday School leaders do.
Accept responsibility for the maturity of the class. I have discovered along the way that I cannot force anyone to grow up as a Christian. Some folks decide to remain spiritual babes no matter what we do or say. I can, however, do my part to provide an environment for growth. Anyone who has ever had a garden understands the concept. Only God can make the plants grow, mature and bear fruit. But when the gardener gives time and effort to prepare the soil, provide a safe, sunny spot and water the plants regularly, the Lord is much more likely to grow the seedlings into healthy, reproducing plants. As Sunday School leaders, we are to provide regular prayer, biblical, interesting teaching and a personal interest in the spiritual growth of our enrollees.
Accept responsibility for the ministry of the class. Each Christian has been given spiritual gifts and abilities in order to minister to one another in the church. Each Christian is also called to be on mission with God in various ways. A leader doesn’t wait for someone else to get the class involved in ministry to one another. If an enrollee is sick, a leader takes action to meet the need. If a member has been absent, a leader initiates involvement in the absentee’s life. Waiting for someone else to do the ministry usually means someone “falls through the cracks” and they eventually stop attending.
Accept responsibility for the growth of the class. Growth is not a matter of luck or some mystical blessing. Of course only God can save and bring spiritual development to a person, and there are things beyond a teacher’s control like job transfers, illnesses and people relocating to another town or state. But God blesses the hard work of outreach, a good spirit in the class and competent teaching. These are things a Sunday School leader can influence. When we do our part, we can confidently trust the Lord to do His part.
I realize it is difficult to accept these responsibilities as a Sunday School leader. There is a lot depending on the success of your class. I am reminded of James 3:1 that says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Sometimes it is easier to let someone else carry the burden of responsibility, but then again, there is nothing quite so fulfilling as seeing God use you to impact lives for His glory. Thank you for serving and accepting the task the Lord has given you.
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