Featured Sunday School materials

I'm not sure I know what quarterly you are talking about. I've only been in an SBC church for a few months so maybe I'm just not familiar yet.

Regardless, I think the pastor/elder should have the final say in what is used to teach. It should at the very minimum, not contradict what comes from the pulpit. To do otherwise would be purposely create disunity in the church.

(Obviously this assumes the Pastor/elder is orthodox and isn't teaching something aberrant or heretical)

 

Each church is free to decide the policies concerning Sunday School material, however...

...in the case that a teacher wants to use material outside the scope of what the church normally orders/uses, that teacher should be up-front with leadership about the material, so that the church would have the opportunity to screen it prior to use. This isn't to hamper the teacher in question, but it's so the church can have confidence in the material that's being used.

We do this (meaning Sunday school) together. No one should be "lone-wolfing" it. In other words, everything should be transparent. If someone desires to use other material, they should be up-front about it, and ready to make their case about it's use.

And then, in the end, it is up to the church - not the denomination - on which material to use.

 

Should the church make this decision? Yes.

Should the pastor make this decision unilaterally? No. (of course certain cases may make this decision credible and wise) but ultimately I think the church should be able to make a decision on the material being taught with the over sight of the pastor as well.

In a certain church I am aware of the pastor has gotten rid of anyone with talent. It wasn't and isn't based upon differing theologies either. SS teachers are removed from teaching due to their style (because people liked them and said so). Music leaders and musicians are chased out. Every decision is made by the pastor -- it is his way or the highway and he is in charge of everything. Appointing a SS superintendent is a fascade as they are not allowed to do asnything whatsoever accept what he tells them. These things are confirmed by testimony of deacons and individuals treated in this manner. Many leave the church after becoming aware of this. This is none but a 'Diotrephes' spirit and is sad.

That said, I think the LIFEWAY quarterlies are horrible.

By the way the teaching style of said pastor above is to read through the lesson word for word -- something he says he doesn't do -- yet does each time he teaches it. His protocol for other teachers is that they must get every single boring point of the lesson to the people or they're not a good teacher and are doing a poor job. What shallow thinking that is.

- Blessings

 

No.

We allow our Bible study teachers to use whatever curriculum or topics they desire once they've approved it with the minister overseeing their area. Some, usually older, still use Lifeway. However, none of our younger groups use Lifeway as there are better materials out there.

This has worked well for us.

 

Amy,
I am the Sunday School director of our church, a very small, conservative, older church. My idea is to let each Sunday School teacher use either the quarterly, Bible, or whatever material they come up with as long as it is Biblical. It works fine. For my small class, I teach right out of the Bible.

 

Amy, our church uses the Lifeway quarterlies, too. However, there is no rule that the quarterly, and that alone, is the only supplemental material used for SS Bible study. In fact, one of our younger adult SS classes doesn't use a quarterly at all. I sometimes sub for the regular teacher in another adult class. At no time have I been told what to teach. I use the quarterly for the scripture passages, but may or may not use the Instructor Guide, depending on the subject matter.

As a side note: Lifeway authors - some are good and some not so good in conveying the messages from the scriptures. When I was in a class using Explore the Bible, often wrote a note in the margin that read: The Bible DOESN'T SAY THAT! Made for some interesting topics of conversation when the class was underway. Personally, I'd have a hard time in a class that took a quarterly, any quarterly, as taught an author's opinion as gospel, as Gospel.

 

The thing about the quarterly to me is most of the material is based on opinion. What really gets me though, it the focal or emphasis section. Sometimes in the study of Old Testement books especially, entire chapters are given no attention with excellent spiritual lessons. The focal sometimes seems to be something I would have skipped, and put a focal on another set of verses. The main thing I do not like about the quarterly is another man made limiting factor. Someone up above, (not God) decides what books to study and how to cram them into a man made time division, ie, three months. So, many areas of the Bible get neglected, IMO.

We have one excellent SS teacher that uses the quarterly that figures out his own focal areas from the chapters given for the week, which to me is great. He is thinking for himself, with the guidence of the Holy Spirit of course.

 

Amy, sorry to hear about the situation at your Church. It shounds terrible.

A few years ago our Pasture asked most classes to use the Lifeway material with the intent that everyone in a family will be studying the same scripture and topic each week. My class averages about 30 attendees and we rotate teachers and there are varying levels of compliance among our teachers with the Lifeway quarterly.


Personally, I will read over the quarterly for the week I teach and use that as a starting point for the lesson. For example we went through a series on Leviticus and God's holiness a short while ago. I was the last of about five to teach on the subject so I ditched the quarterly and used the Bible to answer the question we began each previous lesson with: "Does the Levitical Law apply to Christians?" We bounced back and forth between Leviticus, 2nd Timothy, Acts, and Hebrews and I came away with a new appreciation and a better understanding for the Book of Hebrews after going through Leviticus. The Lifeway guide was weak to be honest but it can provide scripture and topics to focus a lesson on.


If we were told that we could not go off script and had to regurgitate the lesson from the Lifeway quarterly, I couldn’t teach. At times it is juvenile to the point of being insulting even in the Baby-Boomer/Empty Nester edition. Thankfully that hasn’t happened here.

 

I completely agree!