CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Church Leadership

Adapting Ministry to the Rising Generation

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By David Nelson

Editor’s note: Equip for Ministry will be featuring selected churches in the PCA excelling in the ministry of making kingdom disciples. The following article features First Presbyterian Church of Stanley, NC., Dan King senior pastor. The article by David Nelson, associate pastor of Christian education and discipleship,was written at the request of EfM. Our thanks to David for his assistance. We asked him to highlight their ministry to the rising generation. We commend them for their vision and desire to begin the discipleship process in the early years of their covenant children’s lives.

Adapting Ministry for the Rising Generation


People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16 1

While Jesus’ disciples try to keep little children in the background, Jesus elevates them to the status of kingdom role models. Jesus loves children! What is it about children that Jesus adores? Like Him, they’re humble, meek, trusting, dependent, untainted by the world, loving, accepting of others, not proud or boastful. When Jesus says, “Let the little children come to Me… for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these!” He’s saying, “these are My people, this is what My people are like! AND, they’re important to Me!… don’t disrespect them, push them aside, or keep them in the background. In fact, you should hold little children up as role models, because they’re like the people in heaven!”

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In America, younger and younger children have ever-growing access to anti-Christian philosophies through school, TV, internet, music, and contact with “well-read” friends. Our children’s potential saturation with ideas contrary to Christian ideals is greater than it has been at any time in history! Author Marva Dawn writes:

My experiences over thirty years of working with thousands of young people in churches and schools, convocations and camps make me especially troubled about children in Christian families, members of the Church, residents of God’s household. How are our children being formed? Do they know themselves primarily as citizens of the kingdom of God? Do we and our offspring look, act, talk, and think like people who are shaped by the narratives of our faith, by God’s Revelation? 2

In recent years First Presbyterian Church has seen the truth of Dawn’s concern; therefore, we stepped up our efforts to confront this rising tide of ideas which compete for our children’s hearts and minds. In so doing, we’ve grown in our estimation of children. We have greater ability to see our children as Jesus sees them; kingdom role models most worthy of blessing, time, energy, primary ministry resources, dignity and respect.

In response to that challenge, we’ve worked to improve all of our children’s ministries. Changes are made with an eye toward equipping our children with the answers and attitudes of the Christian world and life view necessary to help them navigate the anti-Christian philosophies they’ll engage in the future and, which we’ve learned, they already encounter to a much greater extent than we realized.


What are some things we do to equip them, and ourselves, in this battle for hearts and minds?

Children’s Ministry Coordinator – three years ago, a member with years of experience working with children accepted our invitation to become our volunteer Children’s Ministry Coordinator. She used training from the 2004 CEP Children’s Ministry Conferenceto create a Sunday school class, “Totally Equipped,” to prepare new teachers for service; to give helpful advice toward our “Image Bearers” ministry design (below); and to provide helpful encouragement in all our children’s ministry endeavors which continue to develop.

Image Bearers – As we grew in awareness of the need to purposefully capture our children’s heart and minds at a younger age, we decided to create opportunities, in addition to Sunday school and Vacation Bible School, to develop the Christian world and life view of our younger children. Under God’s direction we created a children’s ministry to help our first through fifth grade children grow in: 1) Their ability to give an answer for their hope in Christ (apologetics); 2) Their vision for and ability to make disciples; and 3) Their ethic for Christian service.

In Image Bearers, we use an innovative model that enables a few adults to successfully provide this ministry. The basic concepts we follow: 1) All the children stay together the whole time; 2) One adult leads games, one provides a snack, one leads music, and one teaches the lesson and provides a lesson-enhancing activity or service project; 3) For music, teaching, prayer, service projects and disciple-making – children divide into family groupswith an equal balance of children from all grades; 4) We teach interactive lessons at a third grade level where older children are coached by adult leaders to help the youngest children and thus gain experience and vision for disciple-making.

Sports Outreach and Recreation (SOAR) – In 2004, our 16-year-old youth sports outreach ministry went to a year-round status as we added our fourth sport – Spring soccer. A concept that arose with our soccer league was the idea to change from a head coach/assistant coachmodel to a sport coach/prayer coachmodel. The sport coachdevelops athletic and team skills, while the prayer coachensures prayer, team devotions, and spiritual encouragement occur at every game and practice. This change has improved spiritual aspects of our whole ministry! At our recent basketball finale, we registered over forty first-time commitments to Christ – the largest single SOAR event harvest we’ve ever seen! Upholding the truth of Christ by elevating the gospel among these young people is reaping great rewards!

Strategic Planning for Children’s Ministry – In May of 2006, a retired businessman used his skills to lead a First Presbyterian Church team of fifteen through a Strategic Planning Session for Children’s Ministry. In our planning session we produced a Mission Statement, a Vision statement, and an Action Plan for children’s ministry while evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Our strategic planning continues to bear fruit as we’ve formed a Children’s Ministry Team to focus on continued improvement and promotion of children’s ministry in our congregation.

We thank God for where He’s taken us in recent years. We’re learning to be more like Jesus who said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these…” And then He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. We look forward to God’s continued leading in this fight for the hearts and minds of His youngest people! We’re grateful to be a part of it!

1 From the The Holy Bible, New International Version, Zondervan,

The Church’s Great Challenge

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The PCA, as a biblically reformed church, has a particular perspective on the Church and the kingdom. Being reformed in doctrine requires a strong commitment to covenant theology, and covenant theology gives special attention to the rising generation in its implementation. God has instructed us to make kingdom disciples by teaching his people to observe all that he has commanded, and that definitely includes our children and grandchildren, “that the next generation might know them, and the children yet unborn,”(Ps. 78:6). One of the things that makes the PCA distinct in this process is its focus is not simply on programs for the children and youth, but in helping them from the earliest to know what it means to be a child of the covenant and member of God’s church and kingdom and the difference that makes in the way a person thinks, lives, and perceives all of reality.

CEP Targets the Rising Generation


The fact that the PCA’s Strategic Planning Committee has identified this as one of the four areas of their focus indicates that our theology really does play the major role in determining our mission as a church. Though much of the PCA’s ministry to the rising generation is done locally, five PCA committees and agencies have ministries that reflect God’s commands regarding the next generation. Ministry to the rising generation has and continues to be a high priority within the PCA. It is and has always been the focus of Christian Education and Publications with its role of emphasizing the process of making kingdom disciples that know what they believe and why and are able to stand strong and firm in that faith.

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Recognizing the need to carry out God’s command regarding the next generation because they are tomorrow’s leaders in the church, home, community, and world, the goalis to assist local churches and parents in the process.The CEP staff regularly evaluates the situation regarding the rising generation. Through the training and resources we attempt to assist, coordinate, and make available those ingredients to fulfill our Lord’s assignment. For example, our annual children’s ministry, WIC, and YXL conferences are some of the training opportunities that we offer. CEP sets its focus to enable churches and families to be more affective not only in their own spiritual growth, but in their children and grandchildren as well.

Periodically, we bring together selected people across the church with particular expertise in children and youth ministries to brainstorm, discuss, and identify those areas that must be on the agenda. For example, we are in the process of developing a profile of what a typical PCA teenager, graduating from high school, should look like–what should they know, be, and do to serve God in his kingdom? This hopefully will assist churches and leaders to develop a process of moving them toward that goal.

Young people are facing some extremely difficult but important issues morally and ethically, especially in areas such as biotechnology. This is made more difficult because scientists operating in this area generally accept a dualistic view of life that separates values and morals from their work. Their mantra tends to be “if we can do it, it is alright to do so.” This manner of operation has already caused many problems that we have to face. Our young people must be taught and encouraged to think from a biblical perspective and have God’s thoughts as their guide.

CEP begins with covenant children through its Sunday school, teacher training, and commitment to help churches and parents in discipling children and youth. More than 60 percent of PCA churches are using our Sunday school curriculum from Great Commission Publications. CEP regularly trains and assists teachers and church leaders in developing their Christian education or discipleship program. Leaders of children’s ministries, as well as youth leaders, meet regularly for training opportunities conducted by the CEP staff. CEP offers counseling and consulting to churches and individuals involved in this ministry. CEP focuses on intensive, in-depth training for selected teenagers with leadership potential from across the denomination, helping them develop a kingdom framework with a biblical world and life view.

Resources are supplied from CEP’s staff, regional trainers, bookstore and electronic media to help local churches disciple the rising generations. Conferences on Christian schooling are an ongoing part of CEP’s ministry as well. CEP will be partnering with Briarwood Presbyterian Church to present a conference on Christian schooling. Check our website for details about that conference to be held June 2007 at Briarwood in Birmingham, AL.

A major focus of our mission of “discipling God’s covenant people” has been training older men and women to disciple the younger generations. CEP makes available to local churches and presbyteries training and resources to assist in making kingdom disciples. Producing resources and training defines CEP’s role in equipping for this task.

Christian Education and Publications will continue to expand its training and resources. Specifically, CEP will intensify efforts:

  • to bring together the church, home, and school as they minister to the rising generation. At our annual children’s ministry conferences we offer workshops on that topic. We are presently teaching at several cooperating seminaries.

  • to study the trends relating to the culture of the rising generation to assist churches in their discipleship ministry.

  • to give attention to the multicultural needs in the PCA, relating to training and resources.

  • to facilitate more effective ministries among women and men, as they relate to the rising generation. That was the theme of our recent 2006 WIC Conference in Atlanta with 4,000 participants.

PCA Committees and Agencies Target the Rising Generation


Not only does CEP have a key ministry to the rising generation, so does Covenant Collegeby educating college students to become more intentionally kingdom-oriented. All of Covenant’s career paths are focused on preparing students to see the totality of the Christian life and how to integrate their faith in all that they do. The college focus is to disciple students with a kingdom perspective and a biblically reformed world and life view.

Covenant College and CEP are presently partnering with our unique summer Youth Excelling in Leadership (YXL) conference for high school students. This conference attracts key teenagers from local churches who spend a week on the Covenant College campus. They are taught a biblical world and life view perspective and how that impacts their lives daily. Covenant College has also agreed to offer some scholarship assistance for college to those who participate in YXL. Covenant College is a valuable resource and we are pleased to be able to work with them in jointly ministering to the rising generation.

Covenant Theological Seminary is another PCA agency realizing the need to challenge and equip their students to consider fulltime ministry to children and youth. The seminary offers opportunities to study today’s youth culture both in urban and rural context as part of students’ training. It demonstrates a strong commitment through the youth ministry track to train people for this ministry and has worked with us in that task.

Ridge Haven, our PCA conference center, is also committed to the rising generation through its facilities and programs by bringing together cooperative efforts with other PCA committees, agencies, presbyteries, and local churches in this task. These efforts are seen in its summer camps and conferences, weekend retreats, and special events such as YoWAW (jointly sponsored by several of our committees and agencies for high school students).

Reformed University Ministries is another indication of the PCA’s commitment to the rising generation. RUM establishes ministries to college students in their environment to help them know the meaning of being a kingdom disciple and seeing all of life under the Lordship of Christ. They develop opportunities through both corporate and personal ministries to students, some of whom are struggling with a variety of things such as postmodernism, the rugged individualism of Western thought, and the need to be involved in ministry either in the local church or other areas of opportunity.

RUM sets forth a clear message and ministry that seeks to connect the rising generation with solidly biblical and reformed theology with special emphasis on their place in God’s kingdom and especially in his church.

Mission to the World is also a part of helping churches expose their young people to other cultures and ministry needs through its short term missions programs. Thousands of PCA young people have been able to experience another culture through their ministry.

Conclusion


We are attempting to impact the rising generation throughout the PCA by reflecting a clear priority to minister to them. As the committee responsible for coordinating discipleship by providing training and resources, we believe we have never faced a more challenging moment where the rising generation is concerned. With the obvious revival in spirituality, Christianity is viewed as only one among many options. With the dualistic philosophy permeating our Western churches and society in general, the Lordship of Christ is not clearly understood. Connecting Sunday with the rest of the week is not the focus. In this context, the future offers a multitude of opportunities. We have a growing sense of challenge to minister to the rising generations, plus, we are becoming more and more aware that we can be more effective working together than alone. It is true that the whole is larger than “the sum of its parts,” and that is clearly evident as we think of the rising generation.

We will continue to challenge local churches to focus on discipling all their people, especially their younger generations, with a kingdom world and life view. Our role is to encourage, challenge, and assist you in that process.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt 18: 1-6).

Does Curriculum Make a Difference?

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chd-inside.jpgI am responding to two related questions below that focus on curriculum, the main topic in this edition of Equip for Ministry. One is what difference does it make what curriculum we use in our church? A second question has come from pastors who basically ask, why should I get involved in the curriculum used in the church? Several years ago in a random sampling, I found that only one-fourth of the pastors queried knew what curriculum was being used in their Sunday school.

Let me respond briefly to both questions before more elaboration. Curriculum choice becomes an extremely important question. If you read the lead article by Dave Matthews on curriculum evaluation, you will see its importance. So much of the materials that are put together in curriculum format, especially for Sunday school and other Bible study materials are either heavily moralistic or legalistic, generally reflecting a theology that is at odds with our Reformed and covenantal doctrines. Paul told Titus in the discipleship process to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Solid, biblically Reformed curriculum will avoid the simplistic and erroneous moralism and legalism so prevalent today. It will focus on God and his kingdom perspective, focusing on a creation, Fall, and redemption motif.

In response to the pastors’ questions, as the teaching elder in the church, it is your responsibility, as we will note below with the session, to be certain that what is taught is in accord with sound doctrine, particularly our biblically Reformed distinctives. That’s what Paul says to Pastor Titus and by implication to us today. But even from a pragmatic view, we have dealt with too many churches over the years where conflict has developed over the contrast between what is being taught from the pulpit and what is being taught in the Sunday schools and other Bible studies. I remember one church that we worked with having five adult Sunday school classes. One class was taught by a charismatic, another by an old-fashion fundamentalist, one by an knowledgeable dispensationalist , another younger couple’s class that was broadly evangelical, and one of the five that was distinctively Reformed taught by a seminary graduate. The church was an eclectic mess. I would describe the pastor as a classical Calvinist, but he would not interject himself into that part of the church’s ministry. I don’t have to tell you what that church had to go through before the session finally stepped up to the plate, hopefully from our encouragement, and dealt with the problem.

We have so little time in the church to disciple God’s people that we cannot afford to be theologically eclectic in our approach. There is enough confusion, especially with our younger generation, with today’s education systems, television influence, and the internet.

As Dennis Bennett references in his “Equip Tip” article in this issue, do not confuse curriculum with ends or objectives. The purpose of curriculum is to be a means to an end. It should assist the discipling process, including the leader/teacher, with ideas, information, activities, and good biblical exegesis. We do believe and encourage local churches to clearly define their objective in all the educational/disciple training programs to assure and insure accountability and meaningful evaluation.

The Presbyterian Church in America Book of Church Order (BOCO) chapter 12-5d states that the Session oversees the life and ministry of the church (with pastoral leadership), which includes all of its parts. It must approve the activities related to each group, including the people and study materials used in its ministry programs, especially its educational/discipleship activities.

To apply that oversight principle, approving materials that are not at cross-purposes with the churches mission and philosophy of ministries is essential. We noted some of our experiences above with one example. Whatever the church does as a whole or through its various groups must contribute to the overall accomplishment of the church’s mission.

The teachings throughout the church should also support the mission and direction of our PCA churches; therefore, the materials (curriculum) used must be consistent with Scripture. This is the most basic element in choosing curriculum or materials, though this is not intended to suggest that all studies have to basically Bible studies, though the Bible must be at the heart of the curriculum.

The materials used should be supportive of our confessional position, as set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger, and Shorter Catechisms in order to under gird the idea that as a PCA congregation we do represent a certain biblical, theological and philosophical perspective which should be woven throughout the ministry, and to insure that what is taught from the pulpit ministry will be carried throughout the church’s life.

The materials or curriculum should also be spiritually helpful to those using them. For example, they should reflect good solid exegesis and teachings that are consistently with sound doctrine. Remember that is the biblical principle!

We should be certain that the materials and people involved in the education/discipleship process are able to apply those resources to their specific situations so that the students, young and old, will have more of a kingdom perspective.

Last, whatever curriculum we choose, it should be clear and easy to use. Not only should the author’s purpose and intent be clear and attend to the above suggestions, but the students should be able to use them without too much difficulty. Christian Education and Publications has a network of regional trainers that are regularly assisting local churches with things like planning and teacher training. They can be scheduled from the CEP office by calling 1-800-283-1357.

Evaluating Your Sunday School Curriculum

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]by Dave Matthews
(Article from September 2006 issue of Equip)

Graeme Goldsworthy in his book, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture: The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching, has a section on “The Preacher’s Christian Education Program.” He mentions that a manifesto, or creed, for a local church program of adult Christian education (and I would add for all age levels of Christian education) might look something like this:

We believe:

  • That every believer in Jesus Christ is part of the body of Christ.
  • That God calls us to express this fact through fellowship with a local congregation.
  • That God gives to every believer spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body.
  • That God calls every believer to serve by using gifts and talents.
  • That believers need to be equipped for such service through teaching and training.[1]

Part of the church’s responsibility of equipping teachers for a ministry in the church is to provide them with the proper curriculum. While it is a challenge for most church leaders to understand and know how to use curricula, some churches do not even desire to use curricula.

“We don’t need curriculum. We just teach the Bible.” Whether or not it is articulated, this attitude sometimes exists in churches and Christian organizations. However, it usually results in inferior education. Good curriculum is designed to facilitate Bible teaching, not replace it. Therefore, an understanding of what curriculum is and how to choose and use it effectively is essential for Christian education.[2]

A major problem in churches today is choosing a curriculum that is biblically sound and faithful to a correct theological interpretation of Scripture—the redemptive-historical approach. Many churches, independent and denominational, use material that is broadly evangelical and user friendly without discernment of the curriculum’s focus.

There are several factors to consider in choosing Sunday school curriculum. One is the educational philosophy in the curriculum. Every curriculum has a bias toward certain philosophical underpinnings. Is the curriculum based on authoritarian instruction with little participation by the student, or does it adhere to discovery learning that makes the student an active participant in the education process through well laid out interest centers and behavioral objectives for its lessons? Most curricula contain both elements with one being more dominant. Churches need to choose which is more important. Do our teachers have the theological and biblical backgrounds to use more user friendly material, or do we emphasize theology with less user friendly material? While educational philosophy is important, theological considerations are critical. Robert Pazmino in Foundational Issues in Christian Education suggests the following (1) Does the theology of the publisher and curriculum writers agree with the theology of the particular church or ministry? Are theological concepts presented which are appropriate for various age levels and comprehensive in exposure? (2) Does the curriculum affirm the Scriptures as authoritative in the sense embraced by the particular church or community served? Is the whole counsel of the Scripture addressed in the sequence of the curriculum across the age groups? Besides the Scriptures, what other authorities functionally operate in curricular decisions?

It is interesting to look at examples of lessons in some of the more popular Sunday school curricula and compare these with those of Great Commission Publications, one of the few curricula with a redemptive-historical foundation. One popular curriculum on the market for over 50 years, in a series titled “Friends and Enemies, Security, Priorities,” has a life focus of “How to be good friends; security that comes from God; putting God first.” The core worldview questions in the curriculum ask, “How does God’s love and acceptance empower us to demonstrate His love through accepting others and sharing the good news with them?” A sample lesson from this curriculum for Grades 5-6, for the fall of 2005-2006, has a moralistic message. The character study is from I Samuel 18:1-4; 19:2-7, 20; 2 Samuel 1:9, and the teacher is to find ways David and Jonathan showed true friendship, discover reasons why people become friends, understand that God wants true friends to care for and protect each other and identify and plan ways to be true friends.

Great Commission’s lesson on Jonathan and David in the context of a fall curriculum,God Prepares a Kingdom for His, is titled “Rejoicing in God’s Plan.” The Scripture Basis is 1 Samuel 18-23. The Scripture Truth is that Saul’s jealousy and Jonathan’s loyalty to David reveal their attitudes toward God. The Lesson Aims state that by the end of the lesson students should be able to…

  • Compare the ways in which Saul and Jonathan respond to David.
  • Show how attitudes toward God’s anointed reflect attitudes towards God.
  • Assess their attitudes toward Jesus.

The Lesson Summary (summarized) is Saul rebelled against God’s anointed one and tried to kill him. On the other hand, Jonathan’s friendship and loyalty to David displayed his submission to God’s plan, even though it meant he would never be king. As God’s true Anointed One, Jesus came to be our king, to replace us as rulers over our own lives. Whether we are submitting to God’s plan or rebelling against it can be seen in our attitudes to God’s Chosen One, as well.[3]

Much Sunday school literature is moralistic rather than christocentric, the product of attempting to address a common challenge churches have‑-difficulty recruiting enough Sunday school teachers. An easy way to help solve this problem is to find the most colorful, visually appealing, teacher friendly curriculum without a careful analysis of its content. Much of these curricula have non-redemptive messages and is not as Christ-centered as needed, possibly leading the teacher to incorrect interpretation of the text. A problem common to both preachers and teachers is a failure to understand and apply redemptive aspects, and end up preaching or teaching moralism and human-centered messages. Dr. Bryan Chapell addresses this problem in his book, Christ Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon,

“The Menace of the Sunday School” is the title of a rather notorious portion of a book that sadly captures the essence of much evangelical teaching. In an effort to promote moral behavior and deter sin, the stereotypical Sunday school teacher implores children to be good little boys and girls so that Jesus will love them and take care of them. The stereotype is unkind and unfair, but it comes painfully close to characterizing much contemporary preaching that portrays God as a perpetual Santa Claus who is making a list and checking it twice to punish the naughty and reward the nice.[4]

Dr. Chapell states further that, “Messages that are not Christ-centered (i.e., not redemptively focused) inevitably become human-centered, even though the drift most frequently occurs unintentionally among evangelical preachers.”[5] He calls these messages “The Deadly Be’s’—messages that strike at the heart of faith rather than support it often have an identifying theme. They exhort believers to strive to ‘be’ something in order to be loved by God.” Several examples Dr. Chapell gives are “Be Like,” “Be Good,” and “Be Disciplined” messages that focus the attention of listeners on the behavior, accomplishments of a particular biblical character, or exhort believers to improve their relationship with God through more diligent use of the means of grace. The problem often lies not in what preachers (or teachers) say, but in what they fail to say. [6]

Many publishers gear their curriculum to an interdenominational market. Much of what popular publishing houses produce is good—Bible surveys, growing spiritually, Bible discovery techniques, along with several practical suggestions—but does not address the critical importance of correct interpretation. The cause of this interpretation problem, which leads to faulty Sunday school curricula, is lack of a redemptive-historical message as the foundation of the material. As a result, lessons in many curricula stand alone and are not part of the overarching theme of Scripture. Dr. Edmund Clowney says,

“The unifying structure of Scripture is the structure of redemptive history. The Bible does not have the form of a textbook, and the witness to Christ unfolds with the progressive epochs of revelation which in turn are grounded in the successive periods of redemption. Biblical theology recognizes both the unity and the epochal structure of redemptive history. …if we may so speak, we discover that each epoch has a coherent and organic structure and also that there is organic progression from period to period as the plan of God is revealed.”[7]

Many Sunday school teachers have hearts of gold and desire to teach the children, but lack the theological background for understanding the “big picture” of the Bible in its redemptive flow of history. A teacher’s presuppositions applied to a text for interpretation are central for communicating God’s truth. If the interpretation is not correct, the principles and applications will be headed down a wrong road in a nonredemptive context. The Bible is not an assortment of similar parts (verses) which, like pizza, can be dished out at random; rather, each text must be understood in its own historical context and in the light of God’s progressive revelation before it can be proclaimed as God’s authoritative word for contemporary congregations. Dr. Edmond Clowney, in Biblical Theology and the Character of Preaching, says, “Biblical theology, then, seeks to unlock the objective significance of the history of salvation. It focuses on the core of redemptive history in Christ. On the other hand it also opens up for us the subjective aspect, the religious riches of the experience of God’s people, and its relation to our own.”[8] [9] The redemptive-historical approach also helps present what Dr. Chappell refers to as a Fallen Condition Focus. The Fallen Condition Focus (FCF) is the mutual human condition that contemporary believers share with those to or about whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage for God’s people to glorify and enjoy him.[10] Identifying the FCF helps a sermon, or lesson, not to be anthropocentric.

Finally, the curriculum should be gospel-centered. Goldsworthy says, “We cannot begin to expand on such a set of principles (footnote 1) without first acknowledging again the centrality of the gospel. The life and ministry of the local church needs to be self-consciously gospel-centered if it is to maintain any kind of effectiveness for the kingdom of God.”[11] Even if one cannot see Christ directly in a passage, or as a type or allegorical comparison, the fallen condition focus should lead us to the grace we need through Jesus Christ. One of the greatest helps a church can give to its Sunday school teachers is to supply a curriculum that is gospel-driven from a redemptive-historical foundation. There are very few curricula on the market that have such a focus. The curriculum will not only help the students learn about the grace of God, but it will be a great tool to disciple the teacher as they spend time preparing a lesson.

 

 

[1]Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture: The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 129.

[2]Robert E. Clark, Lin Johnson, and Allyn K. Sloat, Christian Education: Foundations for the Future (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 495.

[3] Great Commission Show Me Jesus, The Junior Teacher’s Manual, “God Prepares a Kingdom for His People,”(Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publication, 1988), 23.

[4] Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, 2nded. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic), 297-298.

[5] Chapell, 288-294.

[6] Ibid, 289

[7] Edmund P. Clowney, Preaching and Biblical Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing), 75.

[8] Ibid., 78.

[9] Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988 (reprinted 1998)), 72.

[10] Chapell, 50.

[11] Goldsworthy, 129[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Lost Art and Practice of Family Devotions

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By Brad Windsted

Brad Windsted is Director of Children’s Ministry International www.childministry.com (CMI), a ministry endrosed by CEP, develops catechetical and reformed material for churches. Brad is the father of eight and grandfather of three children. He is also a Ruling Elder at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

No one has to tell me how busy they are as parents in this cyber/new millennium age. Two income homes are now the commonly acceptable and necessary economic structure of many Christian homes. The increasingly fragmented family finds it almost impossible to set aside any time for family fellowship let alone family worship. To have a meal together is now a cherished event reserved more for holidays and seldom seen during the week as conflicting schedules leave us with microwaved suppers and exhausted parents and children.

This environment presents the idea of family devotions as an anachronism from another “little house on the prairie” era of fireside family discussions. However, if one goes back to Bible-believing pastors who were concerned by the lack of “family worship” in their congregations in the mid-nineteenth century, here is what you would hear:

Along with Sabbath observance and the catechizing of children, family worship has lost ground. There are many heads of families, communicants in our churches, and according to a scarcely credible report, some ruling elders and deacons, who maintain no stated daily service of God in their dwellings. Thoughts On Family Worship by James W. Alexander, 1847

Pastor Alexander saw in a day much simpler than our own the need for family devotion time, yet lamented that fewer and fewer households were taking it seriously. In his classic book quoted from above, Pastor Alexander wrote lovingly of the benefits of family devotions on the individual preparing the devotions, the parents, the children, the church, relatives, the commonwealth (state or nation), and our posterity. I would commend this quick read, classic to anyone who needs to be persuaded that family worship or devotions is as needed today as it has been anytime in the history of the church.

The reasons we don’t and won’t do family devotions are as long and full as each day we have filled with lesser things. The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XXI Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day, paragraph VI states “…but God is to be worshiped everywhere, in spirit and truth; as, in private families daily, and in secret, each one by himself…” The book of Church Order of the PCA in chapter 63, “The Christian Life in the Home” states:

In addition to public worship it is the duty of each person in secret and of every family in private, to worship God….Family worship, which should be observed by every family consists in prayer, reading the Scriptures and singing praises or in some briefer form of outspoken recognition of God….Parents should instruct their children in the Word of God and in the principles of our holy religion. The reading of devotional literature should be encouraged and every proper opportunity should be embraced for religious instruction.

Our church’s fathers of the faith have recognized for years the necessity to build the family around devotions or family worship time. The great Presbyterian preacher of the eighteenth century, Jonathan Edwards, called each Christian home a “little church” as each father is a pastor to that small congregation within the greater church. To ensure our children see living examples of vibrant faith from the parents they must see it more than once a week on Sunday. As a part of elder visits to homes, one of the most probing (and embarrassing) questions to help determine if a family is growing in faith and in knowledge of Christ is to ask the parents about their private (quiet time) and family devotions. If there is nothing from Monday morning to Saturday night, the church is left with precious little time in Sunday school and worship to fill the spiritual void of a week of confrontation with the fallen world and our fallen natures.

So how does one become motivated to have, as Charles Spurgeon would say, “the want to, to want to.” I remember as a younger Ruling Elder in a Presbyterian church telling people on my elder shepherding list, that they should make family devotions a real priority in their families. If a member had the courage and perception to ask me how I did it for my young and growing family, they would hear a convoluted, “do what I say rather than what I do.” Yes, it was a high priority in my family that never got done. Of course, I could jog, read mountains of magazines (this was pre-internet days) and have lots of other mediocre excuses for not doing what I was trying to tell them was foundational to Christian living in the home.

PRIORITIES ARE WHAT WE DO. If we have time to check the weather report off Madagascar everyday on our internet (or other important news) don’t we have time to take our families before the Throne of Grace? Don’t say something is a priority in your life and yet let the lesser things crowd it out. Maybe for most of us a five-minute time of family prayer is all the time we have, but that is a start to something great.

Think about how quickly our covenant children come and go out of our lives. My children are now getting married and one by one they are leaving the home. It seems like yesterday that I was changing their diapers! Yet, if for around forty weeks out of the year (taking time off for summer, vacations and other unforeseen events) we have a brief family devotion, then in the twenty-odd years that God has placed them in my home and charge they would have had approximately 4000 opportunities to open the Word of God, to sing God’s praises and pray for theirs and other’s needs. But most important of all, my children would have an inheritance of daily communion with God and all the benefits that flow from it. They would have a family tradition that would come much easier then it did to me, who had no family tradition of growing up daily in the Scriptures and prayer.

A goal for family worship would be prayer, reading the Word of God and a song of praise or thanksgiving. Depending upon the age of the children, the materials can go deeper or be quite simplistic.

Now the difficult question of “how can this be done?” Fathers, you must take the lead. As in most spiritual leadership questions, your wife is hoping you will become motivated to take the lead. When you give up and give it to her to accomplish it will be much less profitable and your children will get the message, loud and clear, that family devotions are a low and expendable priority.

As I said above, start with something achievable. Decide if morning or evening would be better; before or after breakfast or supper. There are lots of helps available to guide us. Children’s Ministry International (CMI, www.childministry.com), of which I am the Director, has published comprehensive devotional guides to take busy parents through the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith with prayers, hymns/songs, Bible lessons, practical suggestions and other helps to allow one to go through the basics of our faith at their own pace. There are three small booklets that easily fit into the Bible. The PCA bookstore has other helps ranging from PCA Pastor Terry Johnson’s excellent book The Family Worship Book and Starr Meade’s work on family devotions and the Shorter Catechism.

Of course, there are lots other guides to family devotions and maybe you would want to start by reading a chapter from Proverbs or a Psalm daily. God has given us 31 chapters in Proverbs so you have a chapter a day and you will never get lost. If its the 21st of the month then read the 21st Proverb (or Psalm). See how God meets your efforts with real insights and practical advice for the day ahead. Listen as your wife and children share prayer requests. Write them down so you have a testimony of answered prayer. The big issue is whether this is really going to be a priority or let it be crowded out by good but less eternal things.

As Pastor James Alexander said in his classic book Thoughts On Family Worship, “Let other heirlooms perish, but let us not deny to our offspring the worship of that God who has been our dwelling-place in all generations.”

Christian Education – More than Just Sunday School

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dennis.jpgIt never ceases to amaze me that anywhere in the world you say “Christian Education” people automatically think of Sunday school. Is this the only education the church is engaged in? If so, we are in trouble. Let me explain.

I taught the Christian Education (CE) courses at the Bible Institute of South Africa for the last eight years. Our first class exercise was to list every activity and ministry of the church, from worship to soup kitchens, from Bible study to foreign missions. I then challenged them to tell me which one of these ministries is not in one way or the other CE! I challenge you to do the same, because the way you understand the educational ministry of your church will determine the depth of spirituality existent in your people. Disagree? Then the challenge is for me to prove my point.

Let’s look at some of the things that a church does. Let’s start with missions (either foreign or local). My contention is that both are a subset of CE! What do missionaries or evangelists do? They share the Gospel. What does it mean to share the Gospel? It means they teach or explain the meaning of the Gospel – this is CE! When there is a group of converts, a church is started and a church needs trained leaders. Training is CE! How about worship? Worship, done properly, is leading people to understand the importance of what they are doing. It is not only the sermon (which in itself is CE), but it is instructing the people to understand what they are singing and why. Too many services have become little more than the stringing along of many songs, with little attention to purpose or words. A well-thought service of worship is led by one who understands what it means to keep the people focused and aware of what they are doing. This too is CE!

Instead of going on and on through all the things a church does, let me instead challenge you to think about every ministry and activity of your church and see if they are not in actuality CE.

So what is the point of all this? Well, as in any good education program, there must be good planning. This is where many churches often fall short.

If you asked your child’s teacher the first day what she was going to cover that year, how would you react if the teacher told you that she had no idea yet, and that they will figure that out as they went along? Imagine twelve years of this. Would anyone ever get an education? Then why would we think we can do this in the church? Let me challenge you further.

Let’s look at your youth group. What are they being taught? Why? What is the plan? That is, what will they know, be, and do after three to four years? Or is your group like most groups, simply going along teaching one topic this week and another the next, somehow hoping (and maybe praying) that eventually somehow the youth will finally pull it all together by themselves and actually learn something – maybe something that will even affect the way they live their lives not only on Sunday but the rest of the week. Is this really what you want for your young people who will shortly be going on to university, where they will be confronted with philosophies that are not only not Christian, but in many cases anti-Christian? Have you really prepared them? This approach is like the teacher above with no plan.

Let’s look next at your Bible studies. What is being studied? Why are you having them do this study? What are you trying to accomplish in this group and study? What will they be able to know, be, and do? Think about this – if you have no objectives then your objective is to accomplish nothing. But you say, “our objective is to study the book of Romans.” Great! But what does that mean? If you ask that group at the end what they have learned about the book of Romans you might be shocked to learn that little was learned or remembered. Worse yet, little or nothing has happened to change anyone’s life. Should not the goal for any aspect of discipleship be changed lives (transformation)? If our only goal is to cover a book, or to make sure that we know a doctrine better, then true discipleship has not taken place. True discipleship is moving people ever closer (by the work of the Holy Spirit) to being like Jesus (Rom. 8.29). So I ask you again, in teaching of the book of Romans, what are your goals for seeing this group become more like Jesus? Will they see Jesus in every verse? Will they grow in their relationship to Jesus as a result of understanding Romans?