Generations In Faith Together

Investing in Our Children

Pastor Richard Mau is the Director of Lutheran Media in Australia for the LCA (Lutheran Church of Australia). It was a pleasure to meet with him during our tour of Australia and to hear about his passion for developing a“safe website” for young children.  A priority for the website is to continue research and development towards finding ways to introduce children to Jesus based on Bible themes.  He has poured many passionate hours into developing  www.happyland.com.au .  Click on the link and take a peek.

Recently Pastor Mau referenced a quote from Rita El Mounayer, the Director of Program Production and Host of a Popular Children's Program for SAT-7, the Official site for television service for Christians in the Middle East. I thought the quote was worth sharing with those of us who have a passion for reaching the next generation .

"If we don’t invest in young people, someone else will. Childhood is the most formative and most strategic stage of life. To shape an adult, we must reach a child."
Rita El Mounayer

Technology in the Church

My friend and I do not see eye to eye when it comes to using technology in the church setting. We recently stood together in the sanctuary of a church with a very rich, traditional look. It had oak paneled walls and lovely stained glass windows. The choir seating was behind the altar which stood on a slightly raised platform. There were two balconies. They had lovely brass railings. The back of the sanctuary could double as a narthex if two large oak panels were closed. The space had been renovated recently and the wood looked beautiful. In this newly renovated traditional sanctuary  there were two large, black TV monitors positioned on the wall on both sides of the altar. There were also four smaller monitors. Two positioned in the narthex area which I imagined could be used for overflow in the future and two facing the choir seating behind the altar.

My eyes zeroed in on the monitors and I turned to my friend and said, “Bob, what do you think of the monitors?” I knew his answer before I even asked. He was silent for a second and then replied, “I don’t like them.” I felt the two of us represented one of the most glaring divides in churches today. The divide is both generational and cultural. It is triggered by new, mostly visual and computer related technology. I have found that either people love it or they hate it. There doesn’t seem to be a middle of the road. The challenge is to find a way we, as a congregation, can come together with these differing views. Nothing should take away from the reason we come together each week. If it does, we should question whether or not we are truly using our time together wisely. We need effective tools to get God’s Word embedded in hearts and minds.

I, personally, would like to claim technology for God as a tool to share His Word. I do not think I’m alone. There is a key reason we should use every tool available. It’s to make disciples.

 “What is technology?” One definition from the Wikipedia online states “Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment.”

We have been using technology for years in churches. Without it, messages may not have been heard and special events would not have been recorded. There are microphones, cameras, organs, tape recorders, and more. Most churches have used technology in some way for at least two decades. I think the challenge today is the visual challenge. The screen, the projector, and computer technology as tools have moved us into an entirely new venue in the church.

Five percent of the human brain is dedicated to processing sound. Twenty-five to thirty-three percent is dedicated to processing sight. The brain processes what is heard at 10,000 bits per second versus what it sees at 7 billion bits per second. Providing visuals to teach scripture and share a message is essential.

Tapestries were among the first visual tools used. Later in history beautiful stained glass windows related the Good News. People used the tools they had to create beautiful works of art to share God’s Word. Today we have even more tools to do the same.

Some people who disagree with using technology in the church see it as entertainment. Let’s take the word apart and reference it in the setting of the church. En means to draw into, ter means land, tain is to hold as in retain. Our goal when someone enters through our doors should be to draw them into our land and hold them while we teach scripture and share the Good News. God’s Word embedded in the hearts and minds of all ages is a first step to making disciples.                                                                      
How we go about doing this is our challenge. Visual technology is part of our world. Can we reach the next generation without it?

Moving faith practices from the church to the home and into the world is an awesome task.  E-mail, online resources, music, cell phones, and websites are ways we keep in touch with one another. Imagine those attending churches for an hour a week staying in touch and continuing a study of God’s Word at home and at work. I have witnessed this and I know it makes a difference in the way a person lives, in the way a congregation functions, and in the way we reach out to our families and neighbors.

My friend, Bob, and I have some talking to do. I’m hoping we can agree to disagree and go forward with an issue I feel is vital to our church. It’s important for us to provide various avenues to study scripture and worship together. We all feel drawn into worship in different ways depending on our own history and experience. I believe visuals and screens can be used effectively as a means of sharing art just as one would a tapestry. Visuals are far too important to not use them.

Today we can take advantage of the great tools we have and use them to share messages visually with words, pictures, film clips, and live video feed in a positive, respectful manner. Both quiet reflection and clear messages can be done effectively and well with audio and visual technology. My mother used to say, “Things done by half are never done right.” If we want to truly entertain and draw our people into a relationship with God and with one another, we need to get our technology right and do it well. The future of the church will include a technology specialist in our churches. No doubt in my mind.  

Do you think more like my friend Bob when it comes to claiming technology for God or do you think more like me? I imagine your church’s challenge is the same as ours. I love my friend and I would like us to worship side by side in a church that at the present time I sense is being torn apart by differing opinions. It’s time to make a plan to begin honestly listening to one another, praying together, and respecting each other in meaningful and positive ways.

Our future is in God’s hands. He has provided us with ample tools to spread the Good News.                   

What steps have you already taken and what more can you do in your local setting to best use technology for God?

Getting Parents Involved

It is indeed true that a parent and/or a significant adult in the life of a child is a faith role model for that child. In today's world, we have many challenges in raising children and far too many organizations competing for our time as a family. School, Sports, Clubs, On-line games,Video Games, TV shows....you name it!

In the past, the church's stance on Christian education was to provide for families and not ask for a penny. Funds were to be taken from existing budgets. There was no cost to be involved in Sunday school. In the present, the church's stance seems to be the same, however; with shrinking budgets everywhere, less and less is going to Christian education. And in fact, Sunday school numbers are shrinking as well across mainline denominations.

For the builder generation, it was a given: Their children went to Sunday school. This is no longer true and it seems we have skipped a generation of adults who have experienced Christian education.
My question: How do we bring this generation of parents "on-board" and give them tools to be the faith role models for their children that God is calling them to be?

A few tips for getting parents involved:
1.Schedule a time for parents to meet at the beginning of the Sunday school year. Most congregations schedule parent’s meetings when confirmation begins or during a child’s Jr./Sr. High years. Why? It’s important for a parent to understand the program offered and know their role including volunteers and chaperones needed. Why is it we don’t consider the very beginning of Sunday school just as important a time to bring parents on board?

2.Challenge parents to practice faith at home with a few easy steps and remind them they ARE faith role models for their children.
Most are totally dependent on the pastor or Sunday school teachers to teach their children faith. They are not aware they ARE the primary role model of faith for their children. We very rarely tell them!

3.Add parents to the list of prayers of the church. The congregation serves as support and allies in this daunting task. Being a parent in today's world is not easy. We all need help.

For sports, band, or other activities, parents invest time and money wanting their child to get something out of it. Ten years later, they no longer play the sport and the instrument is kept under the bed.

When it comes to Sunday school, what would happen if we asked for an expected amount of time and money from parents for not only the same reason, but a better one. This investment is one for the future and one a child will have for the rest of their life. Ten years later, faith will be there. Thirty years later, faith will be there. Fifty years later, faith will be there......
You get the picture!

Should we be asking something from parents involving time and money when it comes to Christian education?