Sunday School Thoughts

 Sunday School is an important part of any local church's ministry. It is a time to come down off of the platform and talk to the people. It is a time to answer questions that people may have. I learned basic Bible doctrine in Sunday School under pastor Wayman Mitchell. Sunday School is a time to explain doctrine that cannot be easily preached on.

Sunday school is not just another sermon. It should not be delivered in the same way as another preaching sermon would be. It is not a sermon where other people read your verses for you. It ought to be more than people reading out loud what everyone can read off of the screen.

Pastor Mitchell grew up in a time where teachers taught and the used a black board to write out important ideas or where they taught you how to spell certain words. So when pastor taught he used techniques that any student would be familiar with. He used a black board and chalk. He opened it up for questions. He began by asking what people remembered from the previous lesson. He did not waste time in retelling what he already told us. We were smart enough to follow him. We learned a lot from him.

If I were a teacher today I would be considered old fashioned. But in my day people learned. Or they dropped out.

If I was beginning a new adult Sunday School in my church I would put in the work to learn how to teach so that people learn. I would not dumb down my lesson so that the simplest person there isn't offended. Even if you dropped out of school you can learn how to teach.

The bible is a book of words. It has ideas. It has context. But it is first and foremost a book of words. Define the words and you are on the right track to understanding the context. Get a King James Bible and, ignoring the thees and thys and thous, read it. Study it. Make your office a study, not an office.

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Tim.2:15 NKJV

"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Tim.2:15 KJV

See, the KJV gives a better understanding of what God is saying. Paul was writing to pastor Timothy, not to everyone in the church. He was not catering to the feminist agenda.

One more thought. Maybe churches get too big to effectively teach adult Sunday School. Bigger is not better when it comes to teaching.