image by Michael Parzuchowski from Unsplash ...or in your life, for that matter. Qualifier: I speak from the perspective of a young single adult who has no young siblings or children living with me, (unless you count two guinea pigs!) but who has been teaching Sunday School for several years, and also spends the rest of my week teaching children of assorted ages! These are just some thoughts I have developed, watching how adults interact with children--myself included--and seeing what has been helpful (and not!) for the children in a spiritual context. 1. Help them develop a love for reading the Bible. Help them see the excitement and fascination in the stories, the beauty of how the Old and New Testament reinforce and reflect and complement each other, the person of Christ as unfolded across both books as Messiah, King, Healer, Friend, Saviour. Help them to see the human, personal, side of the characters, to go beyond what may seem to them as stiff and formal words, to feel for them. I remember how a major change in Sunday School Bible reading happened when I started to unpack the Bible passages, not just as static factual events with a moralistic ending, but as stories which featured people very much like us, with feelings and thoughts and weaknesses and strengths like us. How God worked in their lives and spoke to them, just as He does to us. How they struggled to serve Him, how they made mistakes, how they learned to love Him--through joy, grief, shame, repentance, as we did. The children used to go through the motions of reading, sounding bored (especially those who had already read the story before) yet when I asked them to summarize what they had just read, they couldn't. I realized right then and there that just because they could read the verses aloud without physical difficulty didn't mean they actually understood or benefited from it from the content itself. So every few verses I would stop to summarize what happened, taking pains to help them imagine and relate to the characters, the situations, the conflicts/tensions, the ironies (I suppose my lit degree came in handy here.) To help them appreciate and engage with the passage. Often, when they relate to the stories, when they start to feel and respond together with the characters, they grasp a lot of the spiritual truths on their own, instinctively; without needing me to hammer it in "ok now this is the interpretation, the take-away lesson." Often, they voluntarily give me examples of similar situations in their own experience, drawing parallels between the Bible stories and their own lives, so that the "application part" comes naturally. I'll always remember how, after we discussed what it meant to not have any idols, one little girl said suddenly with an enlightened face, "It's like my korkor (older brother) with his hair!" And that's how they truly remember what they learned. Once they've engaged with the Bible, not just as a fun story, but reflecting truths that apply and can be seen in their own everyday lives, even within the limited circle of their short life experience. And if you're not a parent or a Sunday School teacher and you're wondering how on earth this relates to you--you could always ask them about the Bible stories they've read, who's their favourite character and why; tell them about your own, what part of the Bible you enjoyed reading this week... Heck, be creative. 2. Encourage them to pray often, to feel comfortable and safe and loved talking to God, to share their fears and thoughts sincerely and naturally with Him. Give them opportunities to sincerely and simply pray, without making them self-conscious or overly aware of formalities; don't insist they close with "in Jesus's precious name" or tell them they "can't" pray for their pet hamster. Children learn quickly. They watch how you pray, they remember what you impress on them when it comes to how or what to pray about. They develop their own idea of what prayer means, and that reflects their idea of God, how they relate to Him. From how you pray, does it come across as a duty, as a formal speech, as a ritual...as talking with a beloved Father and Friend? 3. Show them by your own example what the love of Christ means. Children are basically humans at the stage where they are the most receptive to love, and the lack of love. I mean, I think I'm pretty receptive to affection too, but in the nursery class I'm teaching now, the kids in the front row will start kissing my knees and trying to sit on my lap when it's storytime. !!! Often, they are the most sensitive and appreciative of love, and as a Christian, you have the opportunity to show them through your example the gentleness, long-suffering, forgiveness, and self-sacrificial love that Christ demonstrated for us. So that when you tell them about Christ, they can imagine from their experience what such a love means. Be kind. Take time to play with them, to listen to them, to talk to them. 4. Treat them seriously--purposefully avoid hypocrisy. All right, this is a very big and complicated topic. I think I didn't manage to articulate it very well but I hope the main jist of it gets across anyway, because I feel it's very significant. Listen to them, with respect for what they are trying to say, even when they're not good at articulating their thoughts yet. You'd be surprised how many insightful or unexpectedly probing, important questions/thoughts are going on inside that little head, once you sit down and take the patience to listen to the stammering, the pauses, the garbled syntax and confused references. And don't talk down to them. I have realized, from watching others interact with children, and then changing how I interact with them--that there is a fine line between being playful/having fun and talking down. (If I manage to come up with a litmus test for that I'll add that to this post.) It's surprising how differently the same child will speak, act, and relate to you once they know that you take them seriously, that you don't see them as a cute stuff toy or kitten that only knows how to play and be teased (and some of them then go on to milk that to their advantage, manipulating adults and "acting cute" shamelessly. Unhealthy much? Go figure.) This sounds weird, but really there is so much unconscious hypocrisy and insincerity--taken for granted even--in the way grownups interact with children. Children appreciate sincerity and humility a lot more than we give them credit for. You might think they're particularly gullible, but on the flipside, doesn't that show how much more they value and expect sincerity/honesty? Whenever I share about my failures, or from my personal experience, I can really see them respond--they are responding to the fact that you're putting yourself on the same level as them, not playing the adult-talking-condescendingly-to-little-kids-that-I-clearly-see-as-inferior-to-myself card, or adult-ostenstatiously-dumbed-down. Which is a long title, but pretty much sums up a lot of adult-child interaction I have seen and experienced myself. There is something very damaging in encouraging the idea that adults are always 'better', and having reached some supernatural realm of perfection (which already comes quite naturally to children in their propensity to adore and admire and emulate; they are actually more used to humility than most of us) especially since the very way we define 'perfection', by implication, is often problematic. One of them asked me if I cried when my pet died and I told them frankly, yes. They were surprised, and quiet for a while. "But you're an adult already," one of them pointed out finally, and I realized that to them, being an adult meant you were invincible, invulnerable, all capable. Oh darlings, who are we kidding? Likewise, if you take this together with the many instances of hypocrisy, insincerity, and even falsehood with which many adults treat children (think promising rewards/telling scary stories/manipulative love--"If you're a naughty boy Mommy won't love you anymore..." and all the times we let them get away with stuff because they're cute)--well, it's depressing. What kind of security are we teaching them to have? What kind of standards are we depicting? I remember, even as an older child, how damaging it was when another child got away with destroying/breaking one of my belongings, simply because his mom refused to make him apologize. She dismissed it with a flippant "oh dear, but he's just a kid, never mind lah, huh? You're the jiejie (older sister), you just don't mind it ok?" I remember looking at that child, listening to what his mom was saying, and the expression on his face as he absorbed the fact that he could get away with something he obviously knew was wrong, as long as he played his cards right. Again, having a friend refuse to let go of my stuff toy dog when it was time to go home, because he liked it. His mom, instead of telling him off, asked me to give it to him; "it's just a toy, you've still got others". I didn't want to, and I thought it was very rude and greedy of him--I expected his mom to make him return it, and when instead she asked me to give it to him, I felt a very strong, if confused, sense of injustice and betrayal. But because it was An Adult asking me I didn't dare to say no. I cried myself to sleep that night, even though it was "just a stuff toy", and I had "so many others!" No. NO. Take them seriously. Teach them to be honest, sincere, fair, and reliable by your own example. Don't dumb down for them. Don't have lesser moral standards for them just because they're kids. Don't dismiss their feelings or thoughts just because they may seem less important, or may not be well articulated. Don't underestimate the impact that you have in how they see themselves, and how they learn to interact with others. 5. Teach them to desire a relationship with Christ, and be aware that your Christian witness affects how they define what it means to be a Christian. Help them to see, even as there is so much for them to learn--Bible stories, Scripture memory, worksheets to complete, catechisms to learn--that the most important thing is for them to believe in Jesus. The Gospel, in its most beautiful and most simple essence, should never be missing from the mass of Sunday School lessons and sermons and quiet bedtime talks. Its preeminent place should never be uncertain. Ask yourself--calling myself a Christian, what kind of impression, on what it means to be a Christian, would a child who knows me get from my life? I know many dear older Christians who have helped me in many ways, but I especially appreciate those who showed me that being a Christian didn't mean having to constantly keep up to a specific image. Or always be on the lookout for reasons to disapprove of something. Or being unable to enjoy the simpler things in life. Or relate to people who didn't agree with your worldview. Come on, before I was converted I had the idea that after being baptized you couldn't be playful and make jokes because somehow it meant you weren't properly saved. How messed up was that, and yet that was the unspoken impression I'd received and formed. 6. Be comfortable with talking about spiritual things with them, and encourage them to ask you questions on what they're unsure of. I'm not sure how much of an issue this is with you. Most of us feel rather awkward discussing spiritual things with other adults. It could be worse, or easier, to do so with a child, depending on you. But most people don't bother to, because they assume that children can't understand/appreciate such thoughts. Don't mentally shelve them on the Jesus Loves Me This I Know level of theology! Be open to, and encourage them to ask questions about spiritual things. Be forewarned though; that probably means some very probing questions you'll have to think over and even study up on before you can answer. I remember when I was seeking, how it felt so unnatural and difficult to ask questions, even though I so badly needed answers, because I had never been in the habit of talking about these things with the older Christians in my life. Whereas this would be notoriously challenging to start with teenagers, it's different with children, who often have less expectations on what is "normal/awkward," less inhibitions, and much more trust/honesty in expressing their curiosity or questions. If they ask you questions about faith, about the Bible, encourage them, don't make them feel stupid or heretical; share from your own experience. The first time one little girl in my class asked me--she wasn't from a Christian background, so she didn't feel as much inhibition--"How do we know God is real?" I was struck by the reaction she got from the others, all from Christian homes and upbringing. They stared at her in shock and one of them nudged her to indicate she'd asked a taboo question, something akin to heresy. No, no, NO. I asked them one by one how they knew God was real, and they all gave pat textbook answers that rang hollow. I probed deeper and sure enough, they eventually acknowledged that they weren't really sure why those were the answers, they weren't very convinced, though they felt bad for doubting or feeling this way. That meant having to abandon the current lesson plan for a How Do We Know God is Real series, but it was worth it. We made some real connections that day, had some serious and insightful discussions. I hope they learnt not to be afraid to ask questions, to study the Bible, and get help when they needed it without feeling ashamed or guilty. They're not children for very long. Treasure this chapter of life when they're at this stage. There are many blessings and opportunities in it, both for you and them.
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Student life as a young Christian can be one of the most bewildering and challenging periods of your life. There are so many new things--challenges, mostly--clamouring for your attention. Uncertainties, ambitions, all the enjoyments of life; and often, so many priorities you haven't quite sorted out for yourself, or at least in application, yet. Add on top of this all these challenges in a spiritual aspect, and overwhelming would be a good summary. (Of course, this has a point. Youth is the best time for facing challenges creatively and courageously, rising to meet them with energy, spirit, and hopefulness. Though to be frank I don't think most young people feel exactly brimming over with energy, spirit, and hopefulness. More like ceaselessly dog paddling just out of your depth, your toes grazing the pool bottom every now and then giving you a fleeting sense of stability; other times your whole head goes underwater and the chlorine stings the inside of your nose.) At this point in life, whether it's angsty teenagers or young adults struggling to adapt to the label 'young adults,' life and maturity largely boils down to navigating that fine balance between our often conflicting desires to be independent, and to be dependent. (At least, from my own personal experience; a lot of the stress I experience stems from managing priorities. Fellow young adults, please correct me if I'm generalizing.) Whichever one applies most in your case. Maybe that means being emotionally and psychologically strong. Or financially independent. Or being able to handle all the stuff that life throws at you without feeling stressed or lost (read: impossible.) We look to adults/older Christians both as role models, as people who had successfully survived/navigated this period of life and more or less (at least comparatively) seem to have found their own feet and a measure of stability and strength--spiritual or otherwise. At the same time, we struggle how exactly to define our relationship to adults, wanting to not have to depend on them, yet simultaneously still needing some guidance and help in our goal to achieve the sense of stability and security we associate with them. It's complicated. This explains why, though it certainly shows love and care for your child if you cover them with concern and pre-empt their every need, it also reaffirms your child's awareness of how dependent that makes them, and simultaneously reaffirms their desire to be independent. We want ultimately to be treated as equals, but we're still vulnerable enough to need some TLC now and then. If you keep that paradox in mind, you won't feel so confused or resentful why we respond sometimes in the ways we do, and you'll be more able to give us the help we need. And forgive us, when we react ungratefully or ungraciously or just plain incomprehensibly. Or realize that perhaps the ways you thought you were helping us might be backfiring, despite your good intentions. Whether you're a parent trying to care for the spiritual life and wellbeing of your child, or a kind soul reaching out to students in your church/life, here are some ways that I've personally found encouraging and helpful in my own time as a student. 1. Care for their physical needs. This may mean little care packs of study snacks, oranges to help ward off colds and flus, herbal soup to boost focus during those all-nighters, buying them their favourite coffee, providing a quiet place to study, or a ride back to save on travelling time. Be creative with the gifts and resources God has given you. As a student, dollars matter so much. Food is vastly important. 2. Communicate and pray faithfully for them. Keep track of the big challenges in their lives so you can support them during those critical times, whether it's finals or waiting for results to be out, or knowing when they're stuck in a nightmarish group project with horrible team members. Let them know you're available when they need to talk, and be sensitive to gage when they do need help. Text them short, simple encouragements that don't require lengthy answers in reply. I remember feeling almost a sense of dread having to muster up the time and energy to give a detailed update on myself, when it wasn't a good time. Is this just an introvert thing? I think not. On communication: Communication is a two-way thing. It's unfortunate, but just because you want us to confide in you doesn't automatically mean we will be as effusive and appreciative as you might think we ought to be. We may have inhibitions about opening up to adults, or fears on how you might judge us, or simply not feel ready to make ourselves vulnerable. And we've probably all had bad experiences/memories of condescending adults. Children get the worst of this, I'm telling you. Have you heard the way some adults talk to kids? Even I cringe. The worst part about opening up to someone is when they leap to conclusions and assume that they know exactly what it is, and how we should resolve it, full of I-am-older-and-more-experienced-than-you-so-I-automatically-know-better. And we creep away even more confused, unsettled, wondering if we were arrogant to dare to think otherwise, and mentally vowing never to expose ourselves to this kind of situation again. As with any other relationships, don't come to communication and interaction with a sense of entitlement, which usually arises when our motivation is dutifulness rather than sincere love and respect. I'm guilty of it myself! 3. Help us by giving us the perspective we often are too near-sighted to see. This is one of the great benefits of being older--you have a much more mature and far-sighted perspective of decisions, priorities, and events. Without downplaying and dismissing the emotional and psychological significance of things which seem to be the end of the world to us, help us to see an alternative, that life doesn't have to go exactly as we think it has to, or other people tell us it has to, in order to live a happy and productive life that glorifies God. Or, help us to have more balanced experience and perspective on life. Help remind us that life isn't all about grades, success, (add in word of choice) but that simple things like cooking your own food, playing with children, sweating it out over sports, laughing with friends, a bunch of flowers, beautiful music, and a walk outside remind us why we were created, and by Whom. 4. Take an interest in our friends, the people in our lives, what we feel is important. 5. Encourage us by affirming our growth, abilities, and gifts. Constantly being made aware of our limitations and shortcomings, we deal with insecurity, feeling incompetent, internal and external expectations for ourselves, criticism--ah, I won't go further, it sounds like a pity party; I've written on the pressures of growing older elsewhere. Encouragement goes a long way. Especially at this time when we're still discovering who we are, or who we want to be. When we're struggling to do everything required of us and be more, be better than who we were yesterday. Most of all, God bless you for your kindness in wanting to help us during this bewildering and challenging, if fulfilling time of life. I saw a quote once which I've been trying to live out since, and which I think aptly sums up much of the thoughts in this post: be who you needed when you were younger. I sat down to finish this article (it was just an idea, a few bullet points and a title) and the first thought that came to my mind was, "Should I dare to do this?" After all, it's been several consecutive years of teaching Sunday School/not attending a regular Bible study and perhaps that means I'm not a good authority on the subject. Yet, I think the transition from student to teacher and the distance with which I've been able to observe, from afar, has helped me better appreciate and (hopefully) benefit from Bible Study--something I hope I can prove when I have the chance! It's not easy to lead a class, whether you're teaching or facilitating. Let me first say a word on facilitating--that modern take on teaching which is supposed to encourage participation, interaction, and pro-activeness. That's the rosy ideal behind the idea. Usually it results in horribly awkward silences and a traumatized facilitator who ends up babbling wildly, painfully aware that he/she isn't supposed to be talking so much, why isn't anyone saying anything, this lesson was a failure, an epic failure, and what made anyone think facilitating a class was easy? I'd rather go to the dentist! At least they don't expect you to talk. Talk, people, talk!! Why won't you talk??! From this you can probably tell I've had my share of facilitating failures (could that be considered a pun, or would it more correctly be a sort of zeugma, by the way?) I think realizing this is probably the first step to being a good student, to improving your classroom experience (since my small church rents classrooms in a school, that's completely accurate; but I suppose this does apply to non-spiritual classes as well, so.) At the risk of sounding like Christianized link bait, (see title of post!) I humbly offer some simple tips you probably already knew: 1. As a student: Be involved. This sounds like something you'd get from your school counsellor or some college help book like Cal Newport's How to Win at College, but it's true. After all, Bible study isn't that much different from any lecture in school. One person stands up before the rest and is expected to impart pure distilled wisdom within the specified amount of time. That's high expectations, though. I've hardly met many people or even books (my teachers, growing up; textbooks or otherwise) who can do this. In reality, the student's response is just as important as the teacher's input. So before you sit down and routinely succumb to the mysterious muteness and stagnation that attacks so many Bible Study students, I suggest you embrace this thought of the day: (a la all those peppy motivational individualist corny sayings that appear on the classroom whiteboards) YOU determine how much you benefit from your bible study class. As a student, when you walk out of the class feeling like you didn't gain anything, it's easy to blame that on the facilitator/teacher's skills. However, if you ever become a facilitator/teacher you'll realize how hard it is to generate interactive discussion without the proactive help of at least several people in the class, which I call your backbone. I just experienced this first-hand at church camp leading one of the discussion groups. I could have hugged and wept tears of gratitude for the several brave souls who backed me up and kept the discussion going, and together enabled an atmosphere that encouraged others to feel less intimidated/crippled, to share what they thought. Even the best teacher in the world needs backup. Don't let those questions become the long, horribly uncomfortable silences everyone (and most of all, the teacher/facilitator, trust me on this) dreads. Just open your mouth. You don't have to have a earth-shattering insight which draws from three different philosophies, a conspiracy theory, five world religions, and cross-references from six different parts of the Bible. Even if it's just to answer the obvious, in-your-face questions; realize you're doing everyone a favour by helping us move on. As a student, you never have a passive role. We are not little vessels lined up waiting to be filled with capital K Knowledge (or Facts, to properly quote Hard Times.) Though undoubtedly that would be a much easier way to learn. 2. As a facilitator: Make your questions specific. Address people directly. Take turns, going around, so everyone has a chance to answer, rather than always leaving it in the air for anyone to take. People are usually too awkward and hesitant to answer if you throw the question into the air; they feel exposed and apologetic to claim it (me.) Or, break down the question into manageable, specific questions. Bible Study questions are almost always big sprawling abstract questions, which are good for discussion; but people usually need help to be brave enough to tackle such tough spiritual food. So cut the steak into bite size pieces for them. You might want to consider having a balance of easy and hard questions/different types of questions, so as to encourage different people to speak, especially if there are some who have less Bible knowledge under their belt, or are just less confident. Also, it gives people have time in between to think--but still stimulates them, unlike those deadly silences which in all my lifetime have only proven to impede rather than improve brain activity. In Sunday School I've realized-- by necessity--that different children have different gifts/ways of thinking, because I have a considerable age range in my class. In order to make sure some don't get left out because they're quieter/don't know as much about the Bible/don't think or process things in the same way as the rest I try to have a balance of what types of questions I ask. So we have comprehension questions (after reading the Bible passage, I ask them to retell in their own words), we have stimulating questions ("What do you think David should have done? Did he do the right thing?") and we have application questions where I ask them to give me an example from their own lives, or in our modern context. I shall never forget one little girl who contributed thoughtfully to our discussion on idols, "Oh, it's like my brother and his hair." Pro tip: Overcome your fear of getting a tough question you don't know how to answer by addressing it honestly (please don't wing it.) Don't be afraid to admit you don't have an answer. Backup resource--establish a "Parking Lot" where all those tough questions are put, so you can take your time to follow up; or--bonus--appoint someone to be in charge of that. 3. As both student and facilitator: Know your ultimate goal. For example, to me as a Sunday School Teacher my ultimate goals are to install in the children awareness of their need for Christ, an understanding of the person of God and themselves in relationship to Him, and a passion to read and study the Bible for themselves. I would think that likewise as a Bible Study teacher or facilitator your ultimate goal would be to stimulate and encourage people to read, study, and think through the Bible with interest and a desire to learn, rather than just spoonfeed knowledge and theology into them--which cultivates passivity and the lack of application, leading to stagnated spiritual growth. To accomplish that (the motivation to learn, not the stagnation of spiritual growth) is in itself a great step. You need to pray for the Holy Spirit's help to work in those hearts and bless the time they spend, whether on their own or together, studying the Word (something I need to start doing for my kids.) If you're a student, you should also probably have a more specific goal than a vague walk-out-of-Bible-Study-feeling-on-spiritual-cloud-nine/feeling-spiritually-smart. After all, Bible Study is most effective when it doesn't just take place on Sunday in church, but is still happening the rest of the week, on your own. 4. As both student and facilitator: Be vulnerable. Share from your personal life. Another Sunday School anecdote; sharing about my own experience and temptations, whether my conversion or examples from my life, really enabled me to connect with the children. Being honest about my failures and doubts helped them to share about their own, and--I hope--to have a more accurate understanding about what it means to be a Christian, about what all those theological truths about God mean when they're applied to life. On a side note, I think it's important, especially for children who grow up in Christian homes. I think I'm not wrong to say that many such kids are actually misled--despite sound theological teaching! think me, who knew about total depravity and sanctification and yet still struggled with this!--to think that being a Christian means becoming almost perfect, because of the overwhelming "Sunday behaviour" they see in the adults around them, or the unconscious, internalized emphasis on external behaviour they've grown up with. Back to the topic. I believe this also encourages direct personal application of what we learn to our lives. It's safe and non-threatening if we do our little study keeping all the lines we draw comfortably within the context of that Bible story or that historical period. Vulnerability--and more than that, actual transformation--is when we dare to draw the line with the marker from the page to where we are now. 7. As both student and facilitator: See each other as friends. Your relationship should continue, be based on the world outside of the classroom, not just limited to that one hour you're together inside the same room. When you care for and know each other, it's easier to discuss difficult topics or different opinions, easier to open up and share. When you can see each other first as people and fellow Christians--each with our own baggage of failures, weaknesses, prejudices, blind spots, and differing gifts--rather than simply in your respective roles as "teacher" and "student," with all the respective expectations and pitfalls that go with those roles, you communicate better. Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness. Psalm 119: 33-40 The church is meant to be so much more. Not an institution. Not a social club. Not even a social welfare center. In our confusion and our muddled attempts to do what is right, we hurt others, we hurt ourselves, we damage the witness we have of Christ. We forget that the church here on earth is meant to be a shadow of the perfect community and fellowship we'll have in Heaven, which surely should make us sit up and reconsider what type of church we're creating and cultivating now. We get lost in the petty morass of what music, what Bible version, what clothes, what ministries we use to define ourselves, I sometimes wonder if God experiences the divine equivalent of a face palm when He see us so busy and so obsessed with creating and maintaining our own idea of what church should be like, and all the while--perhaps--it's so far from what He intended for us. And meanwhile we're so busy, so self-righteously pleased with our efforts. Search the Scriptures 1 Tim 3:14-4:5 took an interesting approach by focusing on the qualities we should aim for as a church, not just for church leaders. 1 Timothy 3: 14-15 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly...that you may know how to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth... The truth. Are we as a church concerned with the truth of the gospel rather than how palatable it is? (and this, to me, is a huge challenge personally--to "not be ashamed of the Gospel," especially now when political correctness is so significant) Am I, as an individual Christian and a church member/goer, grounded in and concerned with the truth, with examining and studying the Bible, thinking over and discussing what I hear? How important are the sermons and what we learn in Bible Study? When I was small the main point of church was tea break, the time to play and have nice snacks like chips and sausages which you mightn't get at home much. I'm still learning to readjust what I see as the focal point of Sunday worship, which often easily becomes areas of service, or people you want to catch up with. Ephesians 2:19-22: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Note the repetition of 'together.' Unity. This is such a tricky word. So often we tend to define Christian unity simply by how well everyone gets on with each other in church. It is such an abstract concept that we settle for the absence of obvious conflict and often forget to examine what this Christian unity is supposed to be based on anyway. If unity is merely everyone smiling and shaking hands during tea break how are we any different from a Meet the MP session or a wedding reception? What is our basis for Christian unity? Christ is our center, the reason we are together, the bond between us. Not because we have similar backgrounds or similar culture. Not because of similar personalities or hobbies. These things help, of course; they are staple to the forming of human relationships; but unlike other friendships they should not be the foundation here. In this case, sometimes they become distractions. As such, diversity in the church is a blessing because it highlights how Christ is central to the relationships in it. Conformity or similarity so easily replace Christ and we end up getting on so well--only because we all believe in homeschooling or we share a mutual passion for fine coffee (though obviously there is nothing wrong with either.) Show me a church where you have people from all different walks of life, ages, backgrounds, income brackets, races, languages even, and I believe that's fertile ground for relationships truly based on a love for Christ, for the cultivation of truly Christ-like love, which is characterized by grace. Think about this for a second. This has some very sobering applications on the way we see difficult or different people in church. Likewise, the repetition of "together"--being built together, fitted together--reminds us that our spiritual growth is supposed to be a collective event and not one that takes place in isolation, as the architectural analogies highlight. Though we ought to take individual responsibility for our spiritual growth, God's greater plan places us within the context of a church, our individual growth as inevitably tied to the collective growth of the church--both because the church ought to facilitate our growth, and because we should contribute to the church's. 2 Cor 6:16-18 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." No idols--something we can only accomplish by cultivating a passionate love and worship of God. These temptations are always there, even as a church; our idol might be expanding our congregation, or being thought well of, or having more full time workers etc. On a personal level--how do we contribute to the culture and atmosphere in church, do our conversations reflect and reinforce the idols of everyday life? Do we create a community or environment which is conducive to and condones petty, habitual sin, the consuming pursuit of idols, from pornography to people-pleasing? We need to encourage each other, to grow in loving God before we can truly get started on destroying the idols consuming us. From Annie Dillard's "Church" "The higher Christian churches - where, if anywhere, I belong - come at God with an unwarranted air of professionalism, with authority and pomp, as though they knew what they were doing, as though people in themselves were an appropriate set of creatures to have dealings with God. I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed. In the high churches they saunter through the liturgy like Mohawks along a strand of scaffolding who have long since forgotten their danger. If God were to blast such a service to bits, the congregation would be, I believe, genuinely shocked. But in the low churches you expect it any minute. This is the beginning of wisdom." |
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September 2021
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