Jesus welcomed children and taught adults. We welcome adults and teach children. Someone’s got this backwards, and I don’t think it was Jesus.
This quote, from Marian Plant’s book, Faith Formation in Vital Congregations, caught my eye, and I knew I needed to read the rest of the book. Plant does an excellent job of looking at the whole area of Christian Education, or perhaps more appropriately called “Christian Formation.” It is an area of ministry in the church that I have always cared very much about.
Reading Plant’s book helped me integrate what I know I have known, but haven’t known how to accommodate, respond, or adapt to: “we are not in Kansas any more.” No longer are the church and society woven together in the same ways they were when I was growing up as a child. No longer do the schools and community life support the life of the church. This is most dramatic with the sports schedules, but is apparent in many other ways, too – with an increasing commitment to pluralism of all kinds. This presents an opportunity to create new and distinctive forms of formation.
In addition, Plant highlighted for me how parents and families are both exhausted and spiritually hungry. I have understood the exhaustion. I have sensed the hunger. Plant has challenged me to hold both of these needs together and find new ways to meet them. Rather than try to figure out how to “fit in” programs or lure kids to Sunday School, I think we need to shift the questions we are asking. How can we have God-sized hearts for parents? How can we meet the needs of the PARENTS who are trying to do all they can for their kids, recognize they can’t, and have many of their own spiritual needs that are left unmet?
I am most interested in hearing your thoughts and ideas about this.
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Great questions - and a great post. This was forwarded to me by my friend Andrea Moriarty (*who follows your blog).
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest that "christian formation," like "worship," serves a larger purpose and rediscovering that larger purpose will revitalize and re-calibrate our discipleship, worship, and spiritual formation from the inside out. The larger thing = God's Kingdom more realized on earth. If the church would take a more serious and proactive role in issues of justice, evangelism, and work towards the welfare of the cities they inhabit - I believe formation, education, and worship would all take on new and more powerful meaning. When we christians begin to view worship, formation, and education as consumables for our own well-being and self-interest, we lose the purpose and edge for which they exist. They, like we, are part of something larger than ourselves...God's Kingdom. So for me it's less about "how do we meet the needs of PARENTS" and more about "how do we enlist these parents in the powerful and life-changing movement of God"? IF we could do that better - we'd have more meaningful formation - powerful worship - and healthier homes.