It is time.
My seven-year-old daughter asked me the other day for explicit religious instruction. I would be a counterfeit charlatan pastor if I neglected to do this. I am already reading through Genesis with her and a small group of children on Thursdays. She needs more.
For some time, I have known that I need to use PlainSpoken to do more doctrinal work. The intersection point is the Global Methodist Church’s Catechism. It was authored a while back. A few have attempted to teach through it from an adult perspective. However, I think a child’s vantage point would actually do the most good.
So now, on Tuesday mornings, I intend to sit down with my daughter, Susanna, to talk through the meaning and application of these convictions in the Methodist tradition. Sometimes we will probably be joined by her five-year-old brother, Jesse. Every week we will pray, quiz on previous questions, review the new question, and talk through the scripture readings that correspond with it.
Who is this for?
Me and Mine
Firstly, for my family. We need to be training in righteousness, and learning how to talk about holy things is key in that. My legitimacy as a pastor hinges upon my instructing and disciplining my children.
“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
- 1 Timothy 3:2-5
Other Adults
Secondly, it is for other fathers and mothers whose primary responsibility it is to train up their children in righteousness. The job is not only for pastors. Rather, every father and mother are in the position of primary spiritual instructor for their children. A parents who defers a child’s primary religious instruction to the pastor is neglecting their duties. Yes, laity should honor their pastors at home. But that means they should be instructing their children in a gospel that comports with what the pastor offers from the pulpit each week and in any private instruction the pastor gives children. The parent is a daily instructor.
I have noted over the years that many adults benefit from children’s sermons I offer in worship. It seems to me that many actually do better to have things broken down simply, and to have someone model childlike innocence in the face of divine knowledge. I believe many adults will benefit from listening to holy knowledge being passed on. My hope is that this benefit will be transmitted to others in Global Methodist local churches around the world. I hope adults learn to hunger for deep religious instruction for our children. Use me as a model for things you do or don’t want to do.
Other Children
Thirdly, this is for other children. It cannot and should not replace instruction from a child’s parents or pastor. Rather, this is ideally something children are exposed to alongside their own religious instruction. I imagine many children will enjoy watching Susanna’s and Jesse’s minds work. I hope that, as other children watch my children have the patience, energy, and passion for such things, that they too will desire to grow in this area.
What people should learn
People who engage in the series should learn a number of things, beginning with the plain language of the catechism. They should learn that a curriculum is not necessary to speak about holy things. Rather, one can simply sit and speak about holy things together with others without aid. The catechism will only be a springboard for authentic conversation, rather than a pretext for a canned message. This is something all people can and should have in their local churches and in their homes.
You should learn some language that you can lean upon to speak about your faith with friends, neighbors, coworkers, and enemies. The purpose of a catechism is to memorize it. So don’t just sit and watch or listen without inculcating yourself. Meditate upon these words. More importantly, meditate on the words of scripture that correspond to these summarized teachings.
Best-Case Scenario
If this series goes how it ought, then Susanna and I will be able to cover each question in almost a year-and-a-half. In that time, a solid crew of folks will come together to reclaim the practice of catechism and local church children’s instruction. I’m aware that children’s ministries and Sunday schools are offered everywhere. However, frankly, most of them do not equip children with an adult faith. Most churches have no idea the spiritual depth and hunger that children (and many adults) have. As folks engage, they will go deeper in faith, and they will minister to their local churches to do the same.
I also hope that my children will personally benefit in a number of ways. I will speak to that more in the future. For now, I would ask you just to pray for my children and me as we work to minister to this new denomination that we are coming to love and trust.
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