Christian Education

James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

Note here in the verse above that the Holy Spirit, through James the Apostle, does not say, "My brethren, let not many of you become learners." Rather, our Lord here teaches that those who are not well educated in the doctrines and history of Christianity and who have not been ordained into the teaching office of the church are not to take on the task of teaching in the church.

You see, a pastor is a teacher sent from God. And one of his primary responsibilities is to use Holy Scripture and sounding reasoning "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." The pastor is to rely on the Word of God (theology) and the wisdom that is handed down through history so that he can warn, lead, protect, instruct, and feed the sheep entrusted to him.

Yet, so many stay away from classes on church doctrine and history. Even though there are more educational opportunities and sources of information today than ever before, very few take the opportunity to study the historic doctrine and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Why do we practice closed communion? Why has pastor become so passionate about Lutherans sending their children to Lutheran schools? What has the LC-MS done to earn such sharp criticism by so many within our synod, including our own pastor? What’s wrong with the Church Growth Movement, contemporary and praise services, and synodical programs like Ablaze? How is the Christian suppose to think in regards to moral and political issues? What is a Christian suppose to do as a citizen of the United States? How do we know that Lutherans are right, after don’t Methods, Roman Catholics, and Baptists all go to heaven too? Is the country and church in as steep a decline as pastor says? The questions go on and on. And each time a question is asked and an answer is given, the answer either springs forth from ignorance or it arises out of a study of the Scriptures and an understanding of history.

Does this mean that only pastors have the right to ask and answer the questions? Are laity left only with blind trust? "Oh, our pastor said the synod is going terribly wrong. It must be so." No, this is not the way of the Church. Once equipped, the laity are every bit as capable of studying the Holy Scripture and history and evaluating our situation as a pastor. For example, when a lay person comes to understand "Gospel reductionism" and its effects, then he will be able to rightly identify programs based on such a notion.

Those who attend my classes know that I desire learned and informed members, members who study the Scripture, and who know history. For it is only when we know the full counsel of Holy Scripture and when we learn to see the patterns of history that we are able to accurately evaluate our own lives, congregation, synod, and church.

September is upon us and for churches all over the country, September is marked by "Rally Days" and "Christian Education Sundays." This is the month that the church in America has set aside to emphasize the need for Christian education, although fewer and fewer avail themselves of the opportunity. As one Lutheran theologian recently commented, the house is on fire, and the Lutherans sleep. This has not always been so.

The Church of the Lutheran Reformation has historically been the single greatest influence in shaping western education. It was Martin Luther who translated the Greek New Testament into the vernacular so that laity could study the Scriptures along the side of their pastors. It was Luther who called for and began reforming the school systems of Germany. He was the first to call for compulsory public education for both boys and girls. Johann Sturm, a Lutheran, introduced graded education in grammar schools through the university level. Friedrich Froebel, a Lutheran, is the originator kindergarten. The Lutheran Church used to be known as the singing and the teaching church.

Here at Immanuel, classes are rotated between three primary areas of interest. The first is the traditional Bible study wherein we "walk" through a book of the Bible. At the moment we are working our way through the Epistle to the Romans. The second type of class focuses on church history. The Confessing the Apostolic Faith class is an ever constant and evolving class on church history. Soon we will be looking at this history of American Lutheranism. The third type of class is topical. Here we study a particular topic or theme. For example, the doctrine of vocation or the use of water in the Old and New Testaments (presently underway).

We cannot teach sin away. But a general and well rounded Christian education makes a very big difference in the life of the believer. Students who attend Lutheran high schools are much, much more likely to remain faithful in their church attendance. The synod is badly fractured and some day, the congregation and her pastor may have to ask some tough questions and make tough choices. The burden is great. But it can be made easier if all are of the same mind; a mind set on the things above and not on the things of this world.

Pastor Craig S. Stanford