For some time now many Christians have been home-schooling their children, because they don't trust our increasingly secular educational institutions. Is it possible that our church Sunday School systems are even more dangerous to our children?
We send our highly impressionable children to a Sunday morning class and assume they are learning about God and all things Christian; yet it has been my experience to realize at a later time that what the teacher taught my children was not scriptural, but rather a mass indoctrination of that churches many traditional and narrow-minded viewpoints.
Sunday School teachers are often selected because they raised their hand when the elders were looking for prospective teachers, and not because they have even the remotest ability to teach. Too often the elders don't make it a point to attend these teachers classrooms occasionally to determine the teachers ability, and what is being taught. I taught for several years and not once did an elder attend my class to determine my ability to teach, or even what, or how, I taught the children....this is not good!
Sunday school classes if conducted properly, and supervised, can be a great source of spiritual learning for all of us, but classes promoting the wrong agenda can be outright dangerous. Our children are often bombarded week-after-week with a lethal dose of biased opinions that may color their thinking for many years. There are some great Sunday School teachers out there; I'm not talking about you!
Just as some parents are home-schooling their children because they don't trust our educational institutions, it may be time to home-school our children on Sunday mornings in lieu of risking their impressionable minds to a Sunday School teacher who is not qualified, or is sending the wrong message about our relationship to Jesus.
The Sunday School system should be something you don't have to fret with; something you can rely on to teach your children about Jesus; something that is monitored by the elders for its scriptural and ethical content. Perhaps we take it for granted that when our children are in Sunday School they are in good hands. Why not insure your children's spiritual health by checking these classes, talking to the teachers, and questioning the children about what they are being taught.
7 comments:
Amen brother let it be so. My children and now my Grandchildren do not attend sunday morning schooling for that very reason, not because I believe it is wrong to teach sunday school in Church, but because I believe sunday school is taught wrongly in church.not all but most that I have witnessed. I believe we should demand even more qualified teachers in the church, than in the schools, there is a lot more at stake here. it is a sensitive subject when explaining why you don't want your children taught at the same church you attend. I just say we take that responsibility at home, seems to satisfy the question. and you can't attend every session.
My cousin grew up in a large church in a semi rural town. After she graduated from college, she went back to the town to teach school. She also voulunteered to teach Sunday school, but was quickly dismissed because...she listened to instrumental Contemporary Christian music.
Sad, she would have been an excellent teacher to those kids.
Laymond...
I was expecting to receive some flak about this post. Pleased that at least someone agrees with me. :)
Like you, I'm not against Sunday Schools, just how awful they are occasionally staffed, and the agendas promoted.
I know some great teachers, but they normally teach the "big people" and leave the children to the less qualified.
Hoot...
"...dismissed because...she listened to instrumental Contemporary music." Wow!!! And I thought my "church" roots were restrictive and oppressive.
It never fails to shock me just how far some mainline conservative
Churches of Christ will go to promote and protect their personal opinions.
Probably wouldn't let her teach because a boy might be in the class, and that just wouldn't fly!
I won't argue with you with you either! I think the Sunday school system is pretty broke. I wonder if it might be something that worked in the 50's, but well, it's not the 50's any more?
JB...
I keep waiting for someone to jump down my throat about being an unchristian reprobate that doesn't believe in Sunday Schools!
After some bad experiences with the Sunday School system I once again decided to try it; right off the bat the teacher tried his best to brainwash me with his "we are the only true church" philosophy. In retrospect I should have immediately walked out of the class and joined the kindergarten kids in cutting out paper dolls of Paul and Moses.
The Sunday School system is a late comer in the religious world, and certainly not mentioned in the scriptures, but some Christians think your awful if you fail to show up for the morning classes.
((Some people might think I am awful))
I think you have the wrong blogging friends if you wanted someone to jump down your throat!
Instead I think we are jumping on your band wagon!
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