Who Is Teaching The Children?
March 26th, 2008 | by Scott |I remember being in 2nd or 3rd grade and sitting in a VBS class and being told a story that really messed with my head. It went a little something like this:
Little Johnny was a mischievous little boy. His mother would always try to help him make good choices and be a good little boy. But Johnny wouldn’t listen. Although his mother loved him and tried to teach him the way he would, punishing him when appropriate.
One day Johnny did something wrong and his mother punished him. Johnny got so angry at the punishment that he went and grabbed a kitchen knife and killed his mother. He then cut her up into little pieces, placed her in a garbage bag and went out to bury her.
As he was carrying the bag with his mother he tripped and her heart fell out of the bag. As he was lying there the heart said to him, “Are you OK, Johnny?”
Even though he had killed her, she still loved and cared for him. It’s the same with Jesus. We killed him but He still loves us.
That twisted story messed with my head. Of course, I went home that night and told my mom that I loved her. No way would I carve her up with a butcher knife!
Years later I would go on to work for a Christian publishing company writing and (primarily) editing Sunday School curriculum. I would often wince at how theologically poor the material was. I remember once coming across a passage that my boss had written in the 4-5 curriculum that stated that if we ever failed to forgive someone that God would take all the sins that He had forgiven us for and place it back on us.
Needless to say I am very nervous about what our girls are taught. We have already had to battle canned curriculum and overzealous teachers. When in Waco our 5 year old received a coming to Jesus from a face painter sponsored by an area church. They have also been taught that they can only attend a Church of Christ.
Although we have not had to battle that here we are very skittish about it. What they are taught now is hard to shake off in the coming years. The image we paint of Christ and of faith is essential.
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10 Responses to “Who Is Teaching The Children?”
By Jennifer S on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
At least you remember something.I only remember the stories told on felt. Sunday school was just so boring to me.
By Krister on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
I work with children, so I get pretty worked up about this topic and the fact that the majority of the curriculum for children is not developmentally appropriate, nor is it respectful of children’s inherent spirituality. I’ve been using Godly play in my work as a chaplain, and I have to say that for kids between 3-11 I can’t think of anything more spiritually meaningful and formational than Godly play. Jerome Berryman wrote a book by that title, and he and Sonja Stewart put together a workbook that outlines lessons for each Sunday.
I hate that we’re trying to explain atonement theory to kindergardeners. It simply makes no sense to me. I felt sad reading your story and feel frustrated about how little attention we pay to children’s ministry and children’s education. They have so much to teach us if we will only listen.
By Scott on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
Krister, thanks for the recommendations. I’m going to look into them. One of the things that I experienced first hand was that the vast majority of children’s curriculum was woefully inappropriate, either theologically or through quality.
By Robin on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
What a horrible story. I worried about my kids in public school, not sunday school. Public school was hard enough to deal with.
By Matt on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
That is one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever heard…
By Scott on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
Maybe this is why I am so messed up
By JTB on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
Scott, that was my comment and I retracted it because I thought it would be too mean coming from someone else.
I don’t remember anything nearly so twisted from my own Sunday school upbringing. But teaching the toddlers at CCfB is definitely an exercise in theological consciousness-raising. (God punished all the mean people with the flood? And as my fellow teacher has pointed out…why is everybody white in these pictures, and where are the women?) Now I get why Mom always wrote her own curriculum for every class she taught as every church we ever attended.
By hermit greg on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
A few years ago I was handed a set of VBS puppet show scripts that characterized the African American puppet as a stupid ne’er do well. (He was black because his name was Tyrone. The others were, of course, David, Jules, and Genevieve.) I promptly rewrote the script.
By Doug Freeman on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
Scott, who was the teacher in vbs that used that story?
By Scott on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
JTB, it wouldn’t have bothered me at all. And you are right. I think most canned curriculum is subpar and far better to prepare your own.
HG, puppet skits are the worst theological offenders. At least in my book.
Dad, I’ll tell you the next time we talk. I don’t want to out them here.