Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
It’s hard to believe, but my Son Daniel will be turning 7 this month, and Christine and I are finishing up our first year of homeschooling with him. Now, some have wondered if educating a child is a difficult endeavor: “Shouldn’t this be left to the ‘professionals’ with special degrees and training in education? And what about all the subject matter that you need to teach – science, math, reading, writing, history, foreign language…who alone is competent to teach them all?” Indeed, when we started this year, we felt a bit overwhelmed, but, to our pleasant surprise, we’ve actually found that the teaching of content is actually one of the easier aspects of homeschooling.
I may not be an expert in many subjects, but I like to think that my 40 years of living and learning on this earth has more than qualified me to instruct a young lad. Certainly, God thinks that I am qualified. (Ephesians 6:4) Consider for a moment the wisdom of God in giving us parents: Mom and Dad typically have a good 20-40 year head start on their kids. Add to this an unwavering devotion to and particular investment in the child, and voila! – the perfect teacher! This is why the Scriptures call on parents (and not professionals or volunteers) to bear the weight in training and instruction of their children.
“Even so, but what about subjects that you’ve never studied or learned, are you still competent to teach these?” Here is what I’ve discovered: all I need to teach any subject (even those I’ve never studied) is someone to tell me what to teach and in what order to teach it. After that, I can take it from there. That’s why I’m thankful for textbooks that take us through step by step, chapter by chapter. Many times, I’m learning (and re-learning) right alongside my son.
This is as true for reading, writing, and arithmetic as it is for the faith entrusted to us. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not too hard a thing for any Christian parent (even those with no theological training) to instruct their children in the faith. We do not need trained clergy, Sunday School teachers, or even youth pastors to do this work for us. (Though I am thankful for their assistance in this task.) All that most of us really need is for someone to tell us what to teach and in what order.
This is why I am so thankful for the Great Reformers in Church History, and most notably, Martin Luther, who was a pastor in 16th century Germany. Luther was appalled at the ignorance of church people of his day. He wrote:
"Mercy! Good God! What manifold misery I beheld! The common people, especially in the villages, have no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine, and, alas, many pastors are altogether incapable and incompetent to teach [so much so, that one is ashamed to speak of it]. Nevertheless, all maintain that they are Christians, have been baptized and receive the holy Sacraments. Yet they do not understand and cannot even recite either the Lord's Prayer, or the Creed, or the Ten Commandments; they live like dumb brutes and irrational hogs…"
Harsh words indeed, but to his credit, Luther did not merely bemoan the wretched state of the church, rather he set out to write a Catechism to help parents and pastors train their children. He provided a simple question-answer curriculum that would help even the most ignorant of households understand the Christian faith. He told them what to teach and in what order, and made the assumption that a willing parent could take it from there.
His Smaller Catechism covers a range of topics, but he begins with instructions on the Big Three:
1) The Ten Commandments (What God requires of us)
2) The Apostle’s Creed (What God has done for us)
3) The Lord’s Prayer (How God wants us to pray)
And this is exactly where we at MSBC are planning to begin as well. Beginning March 7, we will be starting an abbreviated Sunday School in the Chapel (9:30 – 10:00 am). Our goal will be to work together to learn and teach the Big Three over the next three months. If you’d like more information on this, we have put together a Parent Handbook and there are many other wonderful resources available (some of them free on-line). So, let us stop making excuses and pleading incompetence and get down to the business of bringing up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord.