I’m still helping us think through the question of parents discipling their children in ways shaped by the Bible’s vision… but when we talk about this, there are so many assumptions we have unthinkingly imbibed that need to be challenged. One of them is that children can’t do theology! We would rarely put it like that, but the outworkings of that assumption are fairly easy to spot. It comes out when we ‘just read our children Bible stories’. Why? Not that Bible stories are bad - they’re not. But why do we think that is all children need, or are capable of engaging with? And before you say it: yes, Jesus did use stories, and yes, stories are great teaching tools. But let me also say:
When Jesus used stories it was as much to hide truth as it was to reveal it (Matt.13:10-17). That’s important to realise. Stories that aren’t explained can darken as much as illuminate, confuse and much a clarify. JUST reading Bible stories to our children can be quite dangerous! It can leave them confused, drawing false conclusions, or developing inaccurate or incomplete half-ideas. That danger is exaccerbated when we only tell some of the stories.
The whole point of parables was that they needed to be explained: what is this teaching us about Jesus and His reign? The disciples came to Him and asked what the parables meant… and it is only when he explained them, or indeed as He explained ‘stories’ from the Old Testament that they become means of grace and revealers of truth. The stories on their own didn’t do that.
So yes, stories are great teaching tools… when they are explained! Otherwise, no, they’re not. When we read Bible stories to our children, it is critical that we are able to explain what they mean, and why they are being told. If your children are around Church, they are in a community that will help then make sense of the stories of the Bible… but that should be supporting and reinforcing what they are hearing consistently and systematically done at home.
And - at the risk of stating the obvious - stories only make up part of Jesus’ teaching ministry (and interestingly, the part of His ministry aimed largely at those not yet His disicples). There are extended sections of Jesus’ teaching without a story in sight. He spends long discourses explaining to His disciples the nature of reality, the reality of God, and the Church and the Kingdom, of discipleship and the Scriptures. Actually, it’s quite a long list - but the point is that we are selling our kids short if we only teach them the stories Jesus told. Or even the stories of what Jesus did. Or even the (His)stories of the Old Testament. These things need to be explained… and explained well, or we can leave our children ill-equipped for life as a follower of Jesus. We are to teach them the whole counsel of God.
Little Children can be Big Theologians. In our culture, we tend to assume that no-one can really be a theologian, least of alll children - but they might in fact be best placed to be the best theologians of us all (Matt.11:25). Here are a couple of things we’ve come across this week that really help us as we help our children grow to be those who understand the whole Bible.
This would be a great Christmas present, and fits brilliantly alongside a catechism. The story begins when two children stumble across a priceless treasure in the cold basement of a Cathedral. It is structured along the lines of a traditional theology, so it builds in helpful categories; but it uses analogies and word pictures, illustrations and examples to help younger children grasp abstract concepts.
And there is a companion album that goes along with the book, that celebrates the truths taught in the book in worship songs that the whole family can engage with!
You can buy the book - or at least find out more about it - here. And the accompnying album here.
I’ll be posting about anohter great resource next week.