Getting Out of the Sunday School Mindset

For those who you who teach classes teenagers through adults...

Too many times we teach a lesson with the memories of our childhood Sunday school classes in mind. Let me explain - as a kid, most of us were taught the most basic information about a Bible story. The main characters, what they did, and a lesson. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it was instilling the facts into the heart of a child. It is on their level.

Side note: I have to warn though, from over-simplifying. Sometimes a story is so simplified that it is no longer accurate. A couple of weeks ago, an upper-elementary child was retelling me the story of Job - what they had just learned in Sunday school, but this version was so simplified and so dramatic, it was completely inaccurate. Other stories that come to mind are Hosea and the passage about the tower of Babel. (Rehash the stories in your own mind as you would tell them to a child, then go and read the passages in the Bible. A little different, huh?)

Now I totally understand that the way we teach children and the way we teach those who are more mature adults, is different. But it is our responsibility to teach a "story" Biblically and accurately - not in accordance with the traditional Sunday school lesson that we have heard our entire lives.

Here is an example: the Tower of Babel.

This is the story we hear and teach - Nimrod and his men built a tower to reach to heaven, to get to God, so they could be like God or overtake God. God got angry at their sinfulness and mixed up the languages, forcing the people to spread out.

But let's take a look at what the verses say.

Genesis 11:1-4

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

When I am reading the Bible, I like to reiterate what I just read, so that I can understand in layman's terms. Basically what we just read in this passage was that everyone on the earth spoke the same language. A group of them were traveling together, and decided to settle in the land of Shinar - which we know historically to be a very fertile and fruitful land. A good choice for a permanent home. Then they got together and decided to build a city and tower. This tower would be very tall, distinguished tower that would stand out as a landmark on the plain. (Like the Sears tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in NY) Why? They wanted to be remembered for their unique and unsurpassable feat, because they were concerned that they would be scattered across the planet. 

Don't take my word for it! You just read it in the verses above. So moving on...

Genesis 11:5-9

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

While they were building, God can down from heaven to check it. But He noticed a problem - the people were unified in a central location. This was in disobedience to His command to populate the earth, not just the plain of Shinar. As a punishment for their disobedience, God confused their language, creating multiple languages, so that those who were once unified could no longer understand each other, and they now had to scatter. 

The sin in this act was not the building of a tremendously tall building. The sin was in their failure to populate the whole earth as God had commanded. This is evidenced in their reason for building in verse 4 and in God's reason for punishment in verses 8-9. 

God doesn't reprimand or punish them for trying to access Him through man's ways or for establishing a new religion or worshipping inappropriately. 

Surely there is an argument for prideful behavior, and it is likely that Nimrod was not a godly man. But the fact is what we traditionally teach is not what actually occurred in this passage. 

The moral of the story here is to teach the Bible biblically. Use the Bible as your source, not your memory, not someone else's material. Be careful to keep the truth in all that you teach. 

Fellowship Required

"No man is an island."

We have heard that before, and we know that is the truth. But how many times does it feel like we are an island - totally alone, surrounded by a sea of people??

Far too often.

For a painfully long period of time in my life, I went to a church where the people all thought that they were their own little islands. Fellowship was not a necessary part of their lives. They didn't need friends. The lifestyle that resulted was very foreign to me, and I really struggled with it. Keep in mind I am the friendly girl from Big City, Northeast, settling into the vastly different culture of Small Town, South.

I felt like I was alone in life, in my spiritual life, even at church. It was painful and lonely. In fact that isolation that I felt was what inspired me to write a blog. I just wanted to fellowship with someone.

After many months of that lonely, isolated lifestyle, our situation has changed a little, and let me tell you...

Fellowship is required!!!

It's a necessary part of life. Now I know that some people require less fellowship than others, but it is still important. There needs to be people in your life whom you can speak with about serious matters, about fun matters, and about spiritual matters.

In the last two weeks, I have had more fellowship with such precious fellow Christians, than I have had in the last year. It has been so refreshing!

An older lady and spiritual mentor simply encouraged me to stay faithful to the Lord and shared some of her life experiences and how God has worked in her life. I was able to laugh a friend, catch up with another. Share burdens and trials, what I have learned and how I have grown, with another friend.

I have been spiritually encouraged and challenged. The fellowship has made an impact on my life in a way that I have not experienced for months. If there is anything that I have learned...

Fellowship is required.

Feeling at Home

When I moved it to Small Town, South, I knew that it was going to be culture shock. I knew that it was going to be tough. While I had lived in some polar-extreme places throughout the country, Small Town was going to be a really big change. I am a suburbs girl, and I was settling so far from the suburbs it was funny. Needless to say, the first couple of months I didn't feel at home.

Six months passed and I still didn't feel at home. Trust me it wasn't just moving away from close family and friends. My philosophy has always been family will always be there, and so will your closest friends... It was the culture shock. As one of my friends said, "You need a passport to go to that area." The food - beans, fried something, beans, and more greasy, fried something. The total lack of any friends or even people to talk to. The lack of convenience. (I still struggle with grocery shopping.)

How do you feel at home in a place that is clearly not home?

1.  Get to know the people. Invite them into your home for a simple dinner, chat, play games. (Playing games is really big here.) If they invite you into their home, don't turn down the offer unless you absolutely have to. Spend time talking to them before and after the church services. Make sure you are ready for the services before you get there, so that you can talk with the people. I like to stand in the lobby and greet people as they come into the building. Pray for them. After being at Small Town Baptist Church for sixth months, I still felt that I hadn't made much headway in getting to know the people in the church. They were so skeptical of my husband and I, but slowly, and I mean slowly, they started to come around.

2.  Be involved. It's kind of funny telling ministry-minded people to be involved, isn't it? Don't be so involved in the work of the ministry that you ignore the people of the ministry. So chat with the other lady in the nursery with you. Smile and chat as you serve food or pour beverages. Hand out bulletins or visitor packets. Always smile and always be friendly. You might have to be out of your comfort zone, but consider it an investment. Its an investment with a huge payday!

3.  Try new things. So yes, that new food sounds totally disgusting... And it tastes worse! But is it a local favorite. Just dig in once so that you can say that you have tried it. If people love doing a particular activity - like playing board games or hunting, join in! You don't have to do the new stuff all the time, but you certainly want to try it once. And you never know, you just might like it.

4.  Make memories. It's seems so simple and yet isn't all that easy to do. Get yourself a tour guide book for your state and a visitor's guide for your area... and become a tourist. (Check the local library!) Plan dates with your husband or your family to see the sights in your area. It's one of things that when you have lived in area for a while, you kind of forget to do. Find the historical sights. Visit the parks. Plan a picnic at the park. On a special day, spend some money and hit the tourist attractions. Just have fun exploring your area! Take pictures to record the memories. This is really important, especially if things aren't going well in your ministry. You will still have good and fun memories at that location. And because you have explored and gotten to know your area, you will feel more at home because of that personal connection.



Also, don't expect to feel at home overnight. I remember when my mom moved quite a distance away from the town she had lived in her entire life. It took her about four years to call our new area "home." When I moved to a different state in a different part of the country, I experienced the same type of thing. It took many, many months to feel at home. And we are still working at it.

Country Girl

So I am talking to this old man in the church, and he asked me if I knew that salt was a preservative.
Who doesn't know that? I did play Oregon Trails in elementary school. And I think that I learned about that in history class, and science class, and Bible class.
Of course, I said, "Yes."
This is where it gets funny - the old man told me that I must be a country girl because I knew that was salt was a preservative.
Yes, I did laugh... out loud.
I can honestly say that I have never been accused of being a country girl before.