Sometimes in the midst of a semester teaching students about preaching, I chase a rabbit or two. Ok, maybe three. One of those hares is the educational ministry of our churches. It comes up because sermons can’t be expected to carry all the freight; parishioners need other opportunities to learn Bible, theology, and such. When I’m chasing this rabbit, one of my favorite analogies is to compare the kind of education that happens in our churches with that of public schools.

Every February, for example, grade school kids learn about Lincoln and Washington, cutting out silhouettes of stove-pipe hats and cherry trees. It’s a great lesson about two key historical figures. But by the time they are in high school, these same kids are wrestling with how it is that some of our founding fathers were slave holders. In other words, the history gets more complicated, growing with the kids. Same for math, science, and so forth.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case in the education wing of the church, and I’m talking about churches in general. Little kids often hear about Noah’s ark, the charming tale of animals on a big boat. Wonderful stuff! Church nurseries are often decorated in that motif. But how many adults have wrestled with that story’s ambiguities, inconsistencies, and its powerful symbolism? Hint: It’s not a rainbow, but a bow (as in a bow and arrow) that is laid down, no longer aimed at the earth. That’s good stuff.
This fall I’m offering some classes on Sunday mornings as well as Tuesday evenings. Two of those classes seem especially pertinent to these reflections: “Don’t Know Much about the Bible” and “How to Read the Bible like a Seminary Professor.” (The schedule is posted on our website.) One is obviously more basic, the other more advanced, although people of all levels of biblical literacy might find both meaningful.

If you have ideas for future classes, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Unlike the curriculum in seminary where students don’t have many choices but have to take certain courses, I am most definitely interested in what interests you. Hope to see you in class.