Wow! You take a Blog Break and.........
I finally had time to read blogs today and I was amazed to find such conversation on kids in church. It is technically my "job" to have the answers in this area, but I don't.
I do read a woman's blog from Kentucky who has a section of her blog entitled "What do we do with the kids?" It's a community Blog by a House Church group in her area. You can get to it from www.lizcreech.blogspot.com.
I am trying to attach part of a discussion that goes along with what Andy, Greg & Amy were saying- we'll see if it works. It is long, but I think it's good.
Here it is..........................
It deals with teaching children the Bible, or more accurately, immersing children in a Biblical worldview. (Sorry, this is probably going to be long). Traditionally, churches and Christian parents (I'm speaking from an evangelical perspective here) have taught their children a Christian worldview through a number of different ways. The classic Bible stories (Creation, Noah and the Ark, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and so forth), the 10 Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, statements of morality distilled from scripture (the Golden Rule, "Turn the other cheek"), exposure to some kind of worship liturgy, and most importantly a clear presentation of the gospel aimed at coaxing out a sinner's prayer. There are other ways to be sure, but these are some of the main ones used by most evangelical churches.
So what's the problem? Well, to begin to answer that question, let me state some assumptions. First of all, the Bible is frequently viewed in Christian culture as a Holy Book of Inspiration or Instruction. Sort of like a "Holiness for Dummies" manual. There are many reasons for this, but the result is that the Bible is often sought out only in times of crisis or for an answer to some problem in life. So, you have the countless editions of the Bible written to some specific audience to meet some specific need: the Teen Bible, the Men's Bible, the Spirit-Filled Bible (as if other Bibles are not), the Divorcee Bible, and on and on. But most Scripture was never intended to be read like this. On the contrary, Scripture was passed orally from generation to generation in narrative form. The vast majority of the Bible (the Law, the Prophets, the Gospels, and even the Letters) is in the context of a story. And, these aren't just isolated, atomized stories that don't relate to each other (as if it were God's Book of Fables). These stories (or Letters or Prophecies) conjoin to form one, marvelously complex yet elegant story of God's relationship with humanity. Unless the Bible is viewed through that lens first - the over-arching narrative from Adam to Abraham, Moses to Mary, Jesus to John - it kind of becomes whatever you want to make it - a book of rules, a series of disjointed fables, an instruction manual.
Okay, so assuming we view Scripture as a Story that we are partaking in now, how does this affect the way we teach our children about this Story? Where do we start? Do we give them a series of fables? Do we teach them the law? Do we distill everything down to "timeless truths"?
Instead, what if we started by teaching them the general "Story of God and His People" first? In broad strokes, paint for them a picture of who God is, how he created us, how we sinned, why he created a People, and then the climax - Jesus, and the last chapter - the Church. Then and only then, as they start to get a handle on the larger story, begin to fill in the blanks. Answer the obvious questions that will come up: Why did Adam and Eve sin? How did God create a People for himself? What did Jesus do when he was on earth? Give them the classic stories, tell them about the 10 Commandments. Everything you teach from that point forward will be in the context of a story they already know and one they believe they are actually a part of.
There are many implications to this, but I've bored you long enough already. N.T. Wright has greatly influenced my thinking about Scripture as Story. He can be very long and very boring too, but he has some great things to say. Anyway, I'd love to hear some feedback.
bish@whatischurch.com
-Mike Bishop
posted by Amber Bishop at 7:33 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Most kids know about the presence of God. We the adults teach them to leave it behind. As adults they desire to re-capture the mystery of Jesus and spend the rest of their adult lives trying to find what they left behind as kids.
posted by Jimmy Chalmers at 3:26 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Thanks Alan. It is always encouraging to hear people thinking these things through. I often look in the Bible and see what children there sat through and what they were a part of ... and I marvel! I get asked many questions but one question rarely gets asked.... "How can we bring our children into the reality of the presence of Jesus" No child (or adult or young person) gets bored in the manifest presence of Jesus ..I have seen many amazing things happen when this happens in many nations (including the USA!!!)
So perhaps I could kick off that question: "How can we bring our children into the manifest presence of Jesus?" I am interested in responses cos then I can use them as I travel!!!!!!!!!! (sorry if you have already discussed that ..just give me a resume!)
I finally had time to read blogs today and I was amazed to find such conversation on kids in church. It is technically my "job" to have the answers in this area, but I don't.
I do read a woman's blog from Kentucky who has a section of her blog entitled "What do we do with the kids?" It's a community Blog by a House Church group in her area. You can get to it from www.lizcreech.blogspot.com.
I am trying to attach part of a discussion that goes along with what Andy, Greg & Amy were saying- we'll see if it works. It is long, but I think it's good.
Here it is..........................
It deals with teaching children the Bible, or more accurately, immersing children in a Biblical worldview. (Sorry, this is probably going to be long). Traditionally, churches and Christian parents (I'm speaking from an evangelical perspective here) have taught their children a Christian worldview through a number of different ways. The classic Bible stories (Creation, Noah and the Ark, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and so forth), the 10 Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, statements of morality distilled from scripture (the Golden Rule, "Turn the other cheek"), exposure to some kind of worship liturgy, and most importantly a clear presentation of the gospel aimed at coaxing out a sinner's prayer. There are other ways to be sure, but these are some of the main ones used by most evangelical churches.
So what's the problem? Well, to begin to answer that question, let me state some assumptions. First of all, the Bible is frequently viewed in Christian culture as a Holy Book of Inspiration or Instruction. Sort of like a "Holiness for Dummies" manual. There are many reasons for this, but the result is that the Bible is often sought out only in times of crisis or for an answer to some problem in life. So, you have the countless editions of the Bible written to some specific audience to meet some specific need: the Teen Bible, the Men's Bible, the Spirit-Filled Bible (as if other Bibles are not), the Divorcee Bible, and on and on. But most Scripture was never intended to be read like this. On the contrary, Scripture was passed orally from generation to generation in narrative form. The vast majority of the Bible (the Law, the Prophets, the Gospels, and even the Letters) is in the context of a story. And, these aren't just isolated, atomized stories that don't relate to each other (as if it were God's Book of Fables). These stories (or Letters or Prophecies) conjoin to form one, marvelously complex yet elegant story of God's relationship with humanity. Unless the Bible is viewed through that lens first - the over-arching narrative from Adam to Abraham, Moses to Mary, Jesus to John - it kind of becomes whatever you want to make it - a book of rules, a series of disjointed fables, an instruction manual.
Okay, so assuming we view Scripture as a Story that we are partaking in now, how does this affect the way we teach our children about this Story? Where do we start? Do we give them a series of fables? Do we teach them the law? Do we distill everything down to "timeless truths"?
Instead, what if we started by teaching them the general "Story of God and His People" first? In broad strokes, paint for them a picture of who God is, how he created us, how we sinned, why he created a People, and then the climax - Jesus, and the last chapter - the Church. Then and only then, as they start to get a handle on the larger story, begin to fill in the blanks. Answer the obvious questions that will come up: Why did Adam and Eve sin? How did God create a People for himself? What did Jesus do when he was on earth? Give them the classic stories, tell them about the 10 Commandments. Everything you teach from that point forward will be in the context of a story they already know and one they believe they are actually a part of.
There are many implications to this, but I've bored you long enough already. N.T. Wright has greatly influenced my thinking about Scripture as Story. He can be very long and very boring too, but he has some great things to say. Anyway, I'd love to hear some feedback.
bish@whatischurch.com
-Mike Bishop
posted by Amber Bishop at 7:33 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Most kids know about the presence of God. We the adults teach them to leave it behind. As adults they desire to re-capture the mystery of Jesus and spend the rest of their adult lives trying to find what they left behind as kids.
posted by Jimmy Chalmers at 3:26 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Thanks Alan. It is always encouraging to hear people thinking these things through. I often look in the Bible and see what children there sat through and what they were a part of ... and I marvel! I get asked many questions but one question rarely gets asked.... "How can we bring our children into the reality of the presence of Jesus" No child (or adult or young person) gets bored in the manifest presence of Jesus ..I have seen many amazing things happen when this happens in many nations (including the USA!!!)
So perhaps I could kick off that question: "How can we bring our children into the manifest presence of Jesus?" I am interested in responses cos then I can use them as I travel!!!!!!!!!! (sorry if you have already discussed that ..just give me a resume!)
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