THE NEGLECTED SUNDAY SCHOOL
(An article by Rev. Joe N. Njoroge)
The Lord Jesus walked in human body and ministered on this earth some 2000 years ago. He must have been a loving, cheerful and approachable person, especially to His disciples. But on one occasion, we read of how Jesus became angry with His disciples: “Some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the people to stop bothering him.
When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, "Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:13 – 14 Contemporary English Version)
This is the only record we find of Jesus being angry with His disciples. His anger simply shows us the importance and value Jesus attached to children. And believe you me, the Lord is still angry today at every person who denies children access to Him – whether that person is the parent, guardian or a church going Christian. Actually, the Christian of today invokes more wrath upon himself or herself when they deny their children access to the Lord. In the incident above, it was the disciples – the followers of Jesus, who were refusing the children to come to Jesus! And how many followers of Jesus today keep their children away from the Lord through negligence and ignorance? In particular, how many men know that it is actually their primary responsibility to lead their children to Jesus and not to leave the duty to the women only? Without turning this article into a sermon for now, let me only highlight a few truths concerning what a Sunday School ought to be.
IT IS MEN’S RESPONSIBILITY
The Bible teaches us that the head of the family is the man, that is, the husband or father. (God’s grace endows single mothers with ability to fulfill both roles and responsibilities of being the father and mother of their children). In the Old Testament, the head of the family also served as the priest and teacher in that family. It was therefore a God-given duty for the father to teach the children as indicated in Deut. 6: 2 – 7; 31:12 – 13; Psalm 78: 1 – 8; Prov. 22: 6, etc. Look at what it says in Ephesians 6: 4,
“And, ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (KJV emphasis added). Paul specifically tells fathers - not mothers, to bring up children in the Lord. But how many men today do that? How many teach in Sunday Schools? How many are even concerned with what or how our children are fed spiritually at home and in church? Have we not abdicated that divine responsibility and relegated it to the mothers or girls in the church? I dare say, God’s wrath is upon us men!
THE ORIGINS OF SUNDAY SCHOOL
It is believed that the first Sunday School was started over 250 years ago in England by a man called Robert Raikes (1736 1811). He started it as a school for poor boys in the slums who he otherwise saw as potential candidates for crime and other vices. He saw schooling as the best intervention, and the best available time was Sunday as the boys were often working in the factories the other six days. The textbook was the Bible, and the originally intended curriculum started with learning to read, and then progressed to the Bible Study. Only boys attended the schools at first, and then girls also joined later. Within two years, several schools opened in and around Gloucester, and by 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain were teaching weekly 1,250,000 children - approximately 25 percent of the population!
I once heard a saying that goes, “When you educate a man you educate an individual; when you educate a woman you educate a whole family.” I do not intend to argue about that quote if it applies to secular education. But from the above statistics on the development of Sunday School, I would like to believe that leading boys to Christ at an early age is equal to saving a whole nation. But who will lead boys to Christ? Only men can do that most effectively as demonstrated by Robert Raikes. When they are growing up, children – both boys and girls seek to identify with grown up role models. A boy can never find a role model in a woman, neither would a girl say she would want to become like a certain man when she grows up. Therefore, the reason we need men leading boys to Christ at home and in church is because we men need to set an example and be role models to the growing boys. The girls have plenty of examples and motivators at home and in church, but not so with the boys. When men neglect leading boys in Christianity, they create a subliminal impression in the boys’ minds that the things of God are only meant for women. This is why we lose most of the boys from church and Christianity as they become adolescents because they find no man to identify with in the church or things of God but women only. They are easily allured into crime gangs which are led by men, as that is where they can identify and feel secure.
STATISTICS
In obedience to God’s commands, Jewish men devote 325 hours per child per year. The Catholics give their children about 200 hours per child every year. But Protestants give a mere 17 hours per child per year! I will not mention how many hours are given to the Muslim child in their Madrassas. We seriously need to re-examine our concern for our children. We should not be surprised to see them getting lost to the world because that is the way we have left them to go uncared for. How many hours per week at least do you spend with your child discussing or teaching them godly issues? What takes the most hours of your child’s life? Is it electronic games, videos, movies, TV shows of every kind? Where are you dad when your daughter and your son need you most? Where are you when they go for their Sunday School classes? Where are you? Have you, like the disciples of old, been preventing your children and the children in church from Jesus’ touch and blessing? Please pray about it and ask the Lord to give you more time for your children, especially you my brother.
(Rev. Joe is a visiting minister, bible teacher, counselor and theologian)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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