Get ready to be imitated

I have been reading Hebrews in the mornings, and was struck by these words:

'Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.' (Hebrews 13 v 7–8)

My 5-8s group starts again next week - I'd guess many of your groups do, too - which makes it a good time to be thinking about the Autumn term. The children and young people in our groups will watch us as well as listen to us. They will notice whether our lives back up what we say. They will watch how we relate to each other. And, if we are parents, they will watch how we relate to our children, too. They may not be consciously checking up on us - but they'll soon notice if we say one thing but do another.

The writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers to remember their leaders and imitate them. Don't we long that the young people we serve will 'imitate our faith'? - that they will put their faith in Jesus, as we have done, and aim to serve Him wholeheartedly. Hebrews then goes on to remind us that Jesus doesn't change. The Jesus we teach about in our groups is the same Jesus we read about in the Gospels, the same Jesus we see at the creation of all things (John 1 v 1-3, Colossians 1 v 16) and the same Jesus we look forward to praising throughout eternity. Jesus is constant - always faithful, always true.

Paul knew the importance of imitation. He wrote: 'Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.' (1 Corinthians 11 v 1). As we start a new term, maybe this is a good time to prayerfully think through what kind of example we are giving to our children and young people - to ask God to point out areas that need to change - and to pray for God's help in living lives that will honour Him, and reflect the truth of what we teach.

Are we ready to be imitated?

And... I saw all these animals, too

A few more photos from last weekend's safari. For some reason, every time I tried to upload these vertical photos from the laptop I was using in Joburg, they either came out sideways or crashed the computer!

So... they're a bit late, but I hope you enjoy them.

Yes, I really saw all these on Saturday!

What a fantastic treat - not only to be in South Africa, but to visit a game park. A friend took me to Pilanesberg National Park on Saturday. The painful bit was leaving at 5.00am (ouch) - but it was worth every minute of missed sleep. These photos were all taken by my friend during the visit on Saturday - and are just a few of the animals and birds we saw. Isn't God's creation brilliant!!

Brothers and sisters in Christ

I have just had a fantastic time with the students from Johannesburg Bible College (JBC). They start each day of teaching with a morning devotional. What a delight to pray, sing and read the Bible with brothers and sisters in Christ. The fact that I had flown for ten hours to the bottom of Africa to meet them made no difference - we were all part of God's one family. It was very moving to be with them.

Most of the guys in this morning's session are not directly involved in children's work. (I tried to encourage them to do some, of course!) So we looked at ways that they can make a difference to the children in their church. How can they help parents to take up their responsibility for the spiritual education of their children? How can they support and equip children's workers in their crucial role as Bible teachers? And of course we discussed my favourite proposition:

'Teaching the Bible to children is the same as teaching it to adults - but harder!'

They didn't all agree with me (I didn't expect them to) but we had a great discussion, and hopefuly it raised their awareness of the importance of children's work, and encouraged them to see children's leaders as Bible teachers.

On Thursday I'll be spending the morning with the members of the Women's and Children's Work course. After the fab time this morning, I can't wait to be with them! I'm also hoping to meet up with a few individual children's workers while I'm here. I'm hoping that I can be of encouragement to them - but also anticipating that they will have much to say to me that will prompt my thinking, and stimulate my own ideas on teaching the Bible to children. What a joy, that we all share the privilege of teaching God's living Word to children.

The same - but harder

'Teaching the Bible to children is the same as teaching it to adults - but harder!'

I like to pop this proposition in front of people and get them to discuss it (especially if they're NOT in children's and youth work). I don't actually mind whether they agree with me or not - I just want them to consider the possibility. Because, if I'm right, that has implications in a church, and should hopefully mean that children's workers are viewed differently.

I'm going to use this as a discussion starter next week at the Bible College in Johannesburg. It will be interesting to find out whether they agree with me or not.

Do you?

Excellence

I watched the National Youth Orchestra perform in one of the Proms on Friday evening (on my parents' TV). Back in January I had the joy of seeing them live, performing Britten's War Requiem. Both concerts were fantastic. During the interval, the BBC showed an interview with the conductor, talking about the intensive rehearsing they had done all day, every day, for the eight days before the concert. Why did they work so hard? To achieve excellence.

I'm currently reading 'The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School' by Aaron Reynolds, who used to be the artistic director for Promiseland (the children's ministry of Willow Creek Community Church in the States). I know that one of Willow Creek's key values is excellence, so I was interested to see how that plays out in Aaron's view of Sunday School. In part 1 of his book, it means memorisation and rehearsal. Aaron's view is that whoever is leading the session should memorise everything they are doing - not just what comes next, but the actual script. This leaves you free on the day to focus on how you are communicating with the children, and how they are responding, rather than trying to work out what to say. He also sees rehearsal as non-negotiable. Everyone involved with the session - the leaders, musicians, actors, technical team - does a complete run-through beforehand, usually either on a mid-week evening or on Saturday.

You can see, from the list of people involved, that Aaron is writing about a different scale of children's group to anything most of us experience. (I don't have a 'technical team'!) He also comes from a background where they will repeat this Sunday School programme three times in one day, to run alongside three adult services. It would, therefore, be easy to dismiss his views as less relevant for the UK scene - as well as being unrealistic for most teams of leaders. But are they?

I met an author during my trip who told me that 'excellence leads to inclusiveness'. We were talking about the quality of writing and illustrations in children's books, at the time - but doesn't the same principle apply? If a non-Christian family pops in to our church on Sunday morning, and the children's and youth groups are a bit below par that day, does it make it less likely that they'll come back? But if they sit in with their children, and see a session that oozes excellence, will that draw them back the following week? Does 'excellence lead to inclusiveness' - by including and drawing in those who are not Christians? Should memorisation and rehearsal be the norm we all aspire to? Is this a way of showing that teaching God's Word to children and young people is the most important thing we do all week? Or is it just applying secular values (and gloss?) to Christian areas of service, rather than remembering that it is the Holy Spirit who draws people to God?

'Excellence attracts people. Excellence inspire kids. Excellence honours God.' That's what Aaron Reynolds says. What do you think?

Good children's material?

Friends of mine founded the Johannesburg Bible College three years ago. This year they have begun a Women's and Children's Work course - and have asked me to do some teaching on it. I go in two weeks' time. (Both exciting and terrifying!) Two of the sessions they have asked for are: 'what to look for in good children's material' and 'how to write and produce good children's material'. I've been pondering about how these sessions might look different as a result of teaching them in South Africa, rather than the UK.

When I write children's material for the 5-8s at my own church, I can tailor it specifically for the group size, venue, timing etc. I also know the children, what their needs are and something about their spiritual understanding, all of which shapes what I write. When I write or edit material for publication, it needs to be much more flexible, to allow for a wide variety of groups using it. But even so, having spoken to a lot of children's leaders over the years, I do have a feel for what the variables might be in UK churches. But what about South African churches? Some of what I know here in the UK will translate across the water - but other things will be very different. I'll need to ask lots of questions, and be prepared to adapt according to what I find.

BUT one thing will be the same. For teaching material to be 'good', it must be Bible-centred. Not just based on the Bible - but shaped by it. And it must help children to engage with the Bible for themselves, and come to know God better through His Word.

I know that there is a shortage of South African material written in local languages (rather than English). Please pray for the students currently studying on this course - that God will equip them to write material that is faithful to Him and His Word, and that will be used by Him in many young lives. And please do pray that my contribution will be both encouraging and helpful. Thank you.