The church has decided to do another vacation Bible club in my trailer park this summer. Because of my work schedule I will be unable to directly participate but I went to the planning meeting to look over the materials.
Since they are expecting a wide age range in terms of participants, from preschool to later elementary, finding a one-size-fits-all curriculum is a challenge. Furthermore, though this did not come up in the planning session and I did not bring it up, they will be basically dealing with children who come from impoverished environments, where reading and education in general is not valued, kids whose basic form of entertainment means being plopped down in front of a screen and passively watching. Kids who do not have, and have not been asked to develop, any type of attention span. For example, how long should the "story" be, 10 minutes? 5 minutes?
I don't envy them. They are going to attempt to teach concepts to these kids that I as an adult have trouble dealing with. There was so much I wanted to ask but did not. Are they prepared for questions from these kids? When I was young, you didn't question your teachers when it came to religious matters. Kids today haven't been brought up with the same inhibitions. And many of these kids haven't even been brought up in religious homes.
The lesson starts out with how to become a child of God. First of all, does the child know and understand the concept of God? While there is no direct mention of hell or damnation in these materials, it is implied that unless you follow the steps outlined in the lesson plan, you are NOT a child of God. What if some kid who has a little more on the ball than say some of the others asks, "If I am not ALREADY a child of God, then what am I?" How do they plan to answer that in a non-threatening way?
I've been watching the show "Hell on Wheels" about the building of the transcontinental railroad and there is one scene where the preacher's daughter and a Cheyenne convert are talking about their mothers who have both passed away. The preacher's daughter says her mother is in heaven. The Cheyenne says his mother is also. "Was she a Christian?" the preacher's daughter asks. "No," replies the Cheyenne. "Then she is not in heaven," declares the preacher's daughter and that ends the conversation. Are my friends from church prepared to go that far with these little ones?
They talked about the possibility of some of these kids being "saved." Again, given the age group of most of these children, do they really understand the meaning and significance of what they have committed themselves to? If I have a parrot and I teach that parrot to say "I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior," is that parrot saved? Of course not, they would say, the parrot doesn't understand what it is saying, furthermore it doesn't have a soul to be saved. But let little five year old Kayla or Cameron lisp those words and Hallelujah! there is no further questioning. They are now a Child of God. They are now saved. Well, who doesn't want to be a Child of God, especially when there are fun games and all these nice adults smiling with approval? Who, except the most willful and defiant, would say no? And how long would such an individual be tolerated in Bible Club anyway?
But the game is given away a little further into the materials when the concept of obeying God is introduced. And since God no longer speaks directly to people the way He did in Bible times (and even then He only spoke to a chosen few), obeying God translates into obeying the people around you, like parents and teachers and religious leaders. And this is exactly where and how we get into "legalism" which I discussed in my previous blog. It's not necessary for children to understand the Cross and salvation as long as they understand God Wants You To Obey Those Who Are Over You.
Now I am not against obedience and discipline. Sometimes you have to follow the rules even if they don't make sense at the time. Sometimes it is hard to see the big picture and where all these supposedly pointless rules lead. And sometimes rules are pointless and there is no big picture. The hard part, for children, is learning the difference because learning the difference simply isn't taught. And it is definitely not there in my church's Bible club materials.
This summer we are doing "Annie" at my community theater. For many of these children it is the first time they have been introduced to theater discipline. In the theater, they are learning, you cannot do what you want when you want. You have to follow instructions. Some are more resistant to others, based on their age, learning ability, and temperament. But gradually they have learned that by putting themselves aside they are contributing to a much greater picture, something that they and their families will be proud of. They are beginning to understand what it is all about and why these things are important. They are not being told to blindly obey without having a stake in the outcome. This is their play and they are the ones who are going to make it happen. This is something they can see. And in the end I think it will be much more meaningful to these children than the Bible Club will be to the children of my neighborhood.
Since they are expecting a wide age range in terms of participants, from preschool to later elementary, finding a one-size-fits-all curriculum is a challenge. Furthermore, though this did not come up in the planning session and I did not bring it up, they will be basically dealing with children who come from impoverished environments, where reading and education in general is not valued, kids whose basic form of entertainment means being plopped down in front of a screen and passively watching. Kids who do not have, and have not been asked to develop, any type of attention span. For example, how long should the "story" be, 10 minutes? 5 minutes?
I don't envy them. They are going to attempt to teach concepts to these kids that I as an adult have trouble dealing with. There was so much I wanted to ask but did not. Are they prepared for questions from these kids? When I was young, you didn't question your teachers when it came to religious matters. Kids today haven't been brought up with the same inhibitions. And many of these kids haven't even been brought up in religious homes.
The lesson starts out with how to become a child of God. First of all, does the child know and understand the concept of God? While there is no direct mention of hell or damnation in these materials, it is implied that unless you follow the steps outlined in the lesson plan, you are NOT a child of God. What if some kid who has a little more on the ball than say some of the others asks, "If I am not ALREADY a child of God, then what am I?" How do they plan to answer that in a non-threatening way?
I've been watching the show "Hell on Wheels" about the building of the transcontinental railroad and there is one scene where the preacher's daughter and a Cheyenne convert are talking about their mothers who have both passed away. The preacher's daughter says her mother is in heaven. The Cheyenne says his mother is also. "Was she a Christian?" the preacher's daughter asks. "No," replies the Cheyenne. "Then she is not in heaven," declares the preacher's daughter and that ends the conversation. Are my friends from church prepared to go that far with these little ones?
They talked about the possibility of some of these kids being "saved." Again, given the age group of most of these children, do they really understand the meaning and significance of what they have committed themselves to? If I have a parrot and I teach that parrot to say "I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior," is that parrot saved? Of course not, they would say, the parrot doesn't understand what it is saying, furthermore it doesn't have a soul to be saved. But let little five year old Kayla or Cameron lisp those words and Hallelujah! there is no further questioning. They are now a Child of God. They are now saved. Well, who doesn't want to be a Child of God, especially when there are fun games and all these nice adults smiling with approval? Who, except the most willful and defiant, would say no? And how long would such an individual be tolerated in Bible Club anyway?
But the game is given away a little further into the materials when the concept of obeying God is introduced. And since God no longer speaks directly to people the way He did in Bible times (and even then He only spoke to a chosen few), obeying God translates into obeying the people around you, like parents and teachers and religious leaders. And this is exactly where and how we get into "legalism" which I discussed in my previous blog. It's not necessary for children to understand the Cross and salvation as long as they understand God Wants You To Obey Those Who Are Over You.
Now I am not against obedience and discipline. Sometimes you have to follow the rules even if they don't make sense at the time. Sometimes it is hard to see the big picture and where all these supposedly pointless rules lead. And sometimes rules are pointless and there is no big picture. The hard part, for children, is learning the difference because learning the difference simply isn't taught. And it is definitely not there in my church's Bible club materials.
This summer we are doing "Annie" at my community theater. For many of these children it is the first time they have been introduced to theater discipline. In the theater, they are learning, you cannot do what you want when you want. You have to follow instructions. Some are more resistant to others, based on their age, learning ability, and temperament. But gradually they have learned that by putting themselves aside they are contributing to a much greater picture, something that they and their families will be proud of. They are beginning to understand what it is all about and why these things are important. They are not being told to blindly obey without having a stake in the outcome. This is their play and they are the ones who are going to make it happen. This is something they can see. And in the end I think it will be much more meaningful to these children than the Bible Club will be to the children of my neighborhood.
