Be Ye Doers. . . Of The Word!

Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." One of the key concepts in this familiar passage is: TEACHING. To make disciples we must first do some teaching to make disciples and the verse further says we are to teach obedience. "Make disciples of all nations." When we hear those words we think of the world. . . taking the Gospel to the world. . . teaching, baptizing, and teaching.

There is one area where we need to teach, baptize, and teach with more urgency and authority. It is a place where the stakes are high. It is right in our own backyard. In fact, it is our own backyard. What kind of a job are we doing teaching our own children?

We frequently talk about how important it is for a person to become an immersed believer before he reaches adulthood. The older people are, the more set in their ways they become. Proverbs 22:6 gives us the admonition to train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Therefore, we usually work hard to present the Gospel and to baptize our children while they are still young. But, let us consider: What kind of foundation do our young people have? How deep can the foundation be of a child? Isn't it a monumentally important task to teach after baptism? Is it any wonder that we see so many weak, immature, ignorant Christians in our churches? Why do so many who were "grounded in Christ" end up falling away?

Education encompassing knowledge and wisdom is the foundation that is solid enough on which to stand. That kind of education comes from the Word of God. But... it must be taught. Teachers are usually hard to find for children's church school classes. Many who do teach do so because "no one else will" or because they have a child or grandchild in the class. It is no wonder that this is the case. In most churches. accepting a church school class is signing up to teach for life or until burn-out. And it is a job with absolutely no support from anyone in the church.

Teaching is an energy draining activity, especially when one is doing a good job and especially when one is teaching children. Why aren't our teachers allowed to teach for a limited time? All Christian adults have some spiritual needs that can only be met by being a part of an adult group. It is unhealthy to be out of an adult class for years at a time. Teachers should be allowed to teach for a limited time. Even professional public school teachers have a summer break. What's wrong with having more than one teacher per class, dividing the time and responsibilities? The reason some teachers don't do well is simply the result of burn-out; they need a break.

The support we give church school teachers is little and far between. Frequently, training is an "everything you need to know about teaching" meeting on one Sunday afternoon. Some adults may have good rapport with young people, but still need some help developing the skills to be a good teacher. Teacher training should be a continuous goal of the church. Workshops could be coupled with social events throughout the year. Congregations could join together, having as leaders the professional educators in the churches. Even a support group where teachers might meet to talk about and share problems would be beneficial. Teachers are not effective when they receive no support, when they are left on their own.

A good teacher will only go so far if the curriculum is weak. We need to look at the curriculum our churches use and see what messages we are sending to our children. After church one Sunday, I asked my ten-year-old daughter what she had learned in church school that day. She told me a story about a boy and his dog, and then she said to me, "I don't know what that has to with the Bible." Neither did I. If we are claiming to be a New Testament church, standing on the Bible, why are we using curriculum that doesn't emphasize Bible use? Even if a story is told that has "Bible principles," shouldn't it be related directly to the Bible and shouldn't Bibles be opened and read? I believe so. I think every child should have his Bible every Sunday and use it. Our curriculum had better teach Biblical truth and correct doctrine. We, as the elders, church school superintendents, and parents must read and pursue the materials before we allow them to be taught. That can't be done on the Saturday night before the Sunday morning we will teach. It is also ludicrous to think that just because we have always trusted a certain publisher, that allmaterial from that publisher is Scripturally correct. Check it out! Poor curriculum promotes confused and ignorant believers who are unable to stand up for what they believe. As adults we don't automatically accept everything said in a sermon, we read our Bibles, we see if the Truth has been spoken. Should we do anything less for our own children?

There is a definite advantage in a church's writing its own curriculum. If each New Testament church is supposed to be autonomous, who knows better what our children need to learn than we do? Some problems can be anticipated and resolved by the presentation of the material. For example, many adults are not familiar enough with the Old Testament stories to tell them in detail or know where they occur. To teach material like this to children, it must be presented in an organized manner. In a church school, the stories might be prioritized according to grade level. Then, each story would be presented three times: One, to be introduced; two, to be studied; three, to be mastered. All these steps might take place in the same year or in three different years. Such a set of presentations gives a child a chance to actually retain the story. The results of such a curriculum would be a young populace with a working knowledge of the Bible. Without a planned curriculum, we end up trying to teach doctrine to adolescents who don't know the qualifications for elders or where to find them.

The first teacher with whom every child comes in contact is his own parents. The church teaches our children on Sunday and Wednesday. That leaves five other days that we should be teaching. The words God spoke in Deuteronomy about His commands still are pertinent today. Impress them (His commands) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. In other words, all the time! We need to be prepared, selective, and discerning. There are three ways we parents can help our children learn. We can be careful about the books we buy them; we can model behaviors we want to instill; and we can constantly be vigilant in checking out what our children are exposed to.

We may not be able to walk into any Bible bookstore, pick up a Bible or Bible storybook, and buy it. We must ask: What does it say? Do we agree with the doctrine? Is the Bible translated or paraphrased? Are the pictures deceptive? Some books show Jonah being swallowed by a whale, though that is not exactly accurate. Some books show the creation, but it doesn't follow the order in Genesis. We don't want to present our children with inaccurate information. The world does a good enough job of that. Some Bibles have marginal notes which indicate that baptism is not necessary, it is not for the forgiveness of sins, and it does not save us. Nothing should substitute for reading directly from the source... God's Word. Even if we read the Bible storybooks to our children at bedtime, we should open the Bible and find the story, allowing our children to interact with the Word of God. In this way, children will truly come to know the Bible as the Word of God.

What about us? Can we ask our children to do what we don't do? In a recent survey, adults who attended church as children but do not attend now, were asked why they quit. The number one answer was though their parents took them to church, the children thought the parents were just being perfunctory and it wasn't really meaningful to the parents. And we think children don't notice things like that. All Christians should be reading and studying their Bibles daily, trying to learn and obey. Our children are a reflection of us, of our spiritual lives. What kind of a reflection will our children be? Will they be like Jehoshaphat, one of the kings of Judah? 2 Chronicles 20:32 says: "He (Jehoshaphat) walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD." King Asa had done a good gob as a parent because his own son was a reflection of his obedience to God.

We want to know what our children are learning at school. Every day parents ask, "What did you do at school today?" When we discover they aren't learning, we become upset, frustrated, anxious, angry, concerned. We go to see the teacher, we go to the principal's office, we may even show up at a school board meeting. Why don't we act the same way about our children's spiritual education? What they learn on Sunday should concern us; we should be discussing it with them. And when we are not satisfied, we should talk with the teacher, the church school superintendent, or perhaps go to the elders.How important is the spiritual development of our children? It may sound trite, but when the bark is stripped away, a person without good English skills can still spend eternity in Heaven, but the most knowledgeable person in the world without Jesus Christ is lost forever.

Through my reading and understanding, I believe that one of the greatest aspects of a New Testament, Restoration Movement, Church of Christ is that it stands only on the New Testament church. No man-made creeds. No constitutions. Just the Bible. Then, I must believe that every immersed believer has a responsibility, an obligation to study on his own and obey the Word. Allowing no one to do it for him. Accepting no one's interpretation of Scripture. One of the biggest threats to our churches is an ignorant membership. The majority of the next generation of believers will be our children.

A generation of children has grown up who don't, and sometimes can't, read and study the Bible. They are ignorant of the Word and content to be that way because they know no other. God cannot be pleased. This is not part of His plan. Let us begin being responsible and obedient and teach those closest to us the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ and the way to eternity in Heaven. Bring back the Bereans!

Bruce Armstrong is Evangelist with the Fairview Christian Church