Published 9/7/19
By Greg Johnson
What If...
Our family attends church regularly. In fact, we’re the church and Sunday school variety family. While Mom and Dad hit the adult Sunday school class, you go to yours. You’ve been doing this for years and it really hasn’t been all that bad. But this year... well, let’s just say the teacher hasn’t been able to put much time into making the class creative. She does her best, but in truth, the class is boring.
Now, you’ve sat through boring Sunday school classes before—but not for three straight months! You’re getting tired of it and you’ve been complaining to us. We’re sympathetic, but there’s not much we can do. We’ve never taught your grade before and are locked into being discussion leaders in our own class for another six months.
Another problem is many of your friends don’t like the class either. Several have quit coming and others only come once in a while. You don’t even want to get up on Sunday mornings. You’ve told us a number of times you wish you could quit, but with our commitment to our class, we’ve said it’s not possible. You suggest we talk to the pastor and tell him what’s going on, but we say the teacher is probably doing her best and you should “tough it out.”
After another boring Sunday, you announce to us that you hate church and you think it’s time you got to decide for yourself whether or not you want to go. We can see how frustrated you are, but we don’t budge. “Church and Sunday school are too important for us to miss,” we say. “We’ll just have to think of another option.”
Questions to Think On
• What other options are there?
• How can prayer help?
• Would it help or hurt to talk with the pastor or the Christian Education director?
• What makes a good Sunday school class?
• What can you do to make this class better?
What Does God Have to Say?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
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