Page 64 - Sarah's Children

Sometimes my questioning would lead to difficulties, particularly if I was convinced
that the practice of the church was in opposition to the teaching of scriptures and if
I discerned that our traditions were having a negative impact in the lives of people.
I never could understand the mindset of people who did things because it was the
way Baptists, or some other group, did it. My sole authority was the word of God and
the revelation of the Spirit.

To give you one example, in my early twenties I was given the position of Sunday
School Superintendent at a Baptist church. This was quite a responsible position for
one my age, but due to my zeal I was as Paul, “advancing beyond many of my
contemporaries.” At the time the Sunday School program had no oversight and was
a real mishmash of uncoordinated activities of differing individuals. I began to
diligently look into this issue to know how to improve it.

I looked at the overall objective of Sunday School, which I discerned was to make
disciples of Christ, and I looked into how we could better accomplish this goal. I read
books on the principles of teaching. I addressed issues of a lack of coordination
between classes. I wanted to design a progressive Sunday School where consistent
and systematic growth in the teachings of Christ would be attained. After spending
considerable time looking into these things I wrote a paper to share with the church
elders, listing my recommendations. Right as I was about to seek an opportunity to
share these things with the elders, Father spoke to me.

Father asked me again what the goal of Sunday School was, and I answered that it
was to take children and to make disciples of Christ out of them. He then asked me
to whom He gave that responsibility in scriptures. As I contemplated this I had to
answer that it was to the parents that He gave this charge. He showed me multiple
scriptures where He gave the charge to parents to train up their children and to teach
them the ways of Yahweh.

Father had me take another look at Sunday School and I found that it started out as
an outreach to street children and orphans, and later it began to include children
whose parents were in the church. I was reminded by the Spirit of something Bill
Gothard had shared during a Basic Youth Conflicts’ seminar. He said, “Once men
begin to share a God given responsibility, it is not long before they abandon that
responsibility altogether.” I saw how this had happened in the church in relation to
the training of children.

It used to be common practice for families to sit down together and for the parents
to teach the scriptures to their children. When the church began to share this
responsibility, it wasn’t long before parents began to rely solely upon the church’s
instruction of their children, and the mothers and fathers ceased to instruct them.