Weekend Service

Lesson Topic: Basics of the Bible (Week 1 of 6)
Length of Lesson: Longer than Average
Quality of Lesson: Above Average
Attendance: Above Average

This week we started a new series from Doug Field's "Rooted" book. This book actually goes through some great theological and basic Biblical aspects that every first year ministry student should be reviewing, but it puts it in terms that a high school student could understand, or even a mature middle school student.

The problem I am having with this type of curriculum is that my teens seem bored out of their minds; they want fun all the time. I'm the type of person who likes structure - actually, I'm a bonefied Obsessive Compulsive maniac - but I realize the need for balance between fun activities and structured instruction time. The students in my ministry want to have a personal lesson that is delivered with just them in mind - they don't want to be taught like they are during the school day. My problem with this is that we in the church tend to diminish the importance of what we teach when we make the assumption that students shouldn't have to sit through a lesson about the Bible. These teens sit for about 30 hours a week in class listening to teachers teach them about everything from history to math but somehow the information we have to teach them in church is of lesser importance because we should not expect them to actually listen.

Now that I've stepped off of my soapbox, I think that this series is going to go well. I have come to the realization that I simply cannot please everyone and I should focus on those students who want to learn and they are my mission - they are who God is calling me to teach.