In 1987 the suit-wearing, red-headed British sensation Rick Astley debuted “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It stayed atop the charts for months and became a music sensation. My generation loved it. Thanks to internet memes, Astley is enjoying resurging fame. Kids send a link that is mislabeled to a friend, and the link takes them to a short gif of Astley dancing. “You just got Rick Rolled,” the kids say.
1987 was also that same year that I started doing kids’ ministry almost weekly. A lot has changed since then. Our culture has changed. The straight-laced rocker Astley would not make it in today’s music scene. Our world has changed. We have exchanged the Cold War of the 1980s for the global war on terror that began in earnest in 2001. However, how we teach kids is largely unchanged. We have implemented video, but after forty years, we still teach Bible stories about animals, such as Noah and his floating zoo, Daniel and the petting zoo of lions, and creation and the making of all the animals.
Without realizing it, we often teach kids sanitized versions of Bible stories. We edit stories that we feel are a bit too much. We instinctually ask if we should teach this to kids rather than assuming, as Paul did in 2 Timothy 3:16, that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” If that is true, then we don’t have a content issue. We have an application issue. The question for us isn’t, “Should I teach this difficult or disturbing story from Scripture?” The question is, “How do I teach this difficult truth in a way that kids can understand?”
In our book How to Teach Kid’s Theology, my coauthor Hunter Williams and I define theology this way: “The application of a person’s knowledge of God’s revelation to all of life.” We like this definition for two reasons. One, it’s broader and doesn’t give the impression that a person has to be an expert or elite Christian to be a theologian. You don’t have to be an expert, you just need to be faithful.
The second reason we like this definition is that it acknowledges the practical nature of theology. God reveals himself to all peoples, and their response to his revelation is their application of it. Whether people study God’s Word vigorously, or ignore his design in the world intentionally, they are operating as theologians, because they are taking the knowledge of God they’ve received and deciding how they will allow it to affect their lives. As teachers and parents, you are called to accurately share God’s revelation with your kids and teach them how to faithfully apply it to their lives. Theology is a holistic, ongoing practice in which people receive and respond to God’s revelation, meaning that all of us are theologians—you, me, and everyone.
I know what you are thinking, “Isn’t that a bit much for kids?” Fifty years ago, I would have agreed with you—even 20 years ago. Today is a different day. There are many reasons for this, but I think DA Carson’s analysis is the most concise. He says,” One generation knows the gospel, the next assumes the gospel, and the third generation denies the gospel.”
When I was growing up, and I believe even in my first few years as a children’s pastor, we lived in a season where the gospel was assumed. As a kid, there were no sports or school activities on Wednesday nights, so kids could go to youth groups. Stores were closed on Sunday, so people could spend time with family and observe the Sabbath. We lived in a culture in which Christian ideas, thoughts, and standards, for better or worse, pervaded our country. In the South, this is still true to some extent.
I think the feeling when I was growing up was that you didn’t need to give kids as deep of a grounding in doctrine and truth because it was everywhere. There was stuff you learned for sure, but I think many things were assumed. As parents and as pastors, we can no longer assume anything. We live in arguably the most secular age our country has ever seen. We must proactively teach our kids the stories of the Bible, the truth underneath the stories, and, most importantly, the person to whom those truths and stories point.
That is the context for why we need to teach our kids theology. Here are a few reasons why it matters.
1. Feelings matter, but they often lie to us.
If our kids are not grounded in truth, their feelings will move them to love Jesus until they no longer feel like loving Jesus. We all need to know God and experience God. Knowing what is true anchors our soul, and though storms may rage, we might be moved but we will never drift. Truth anchors us in our hope—Jesus, the Rock of Ages.
2. Theology creates categories that allow for understanding to take root.
Randomly teaching kids Bible stories has some value, but a theological system allow us to teach our kids the whole counsel of God. Our kids need to hear the stories of Daniel and David, but they need to know the God of Daniel and David. That happens through systematic teaching of doctrine in a relational environment. By reading my kids systematic theology, they have been asking questions about God they hadn’t asked because it is creating categories about who God is that never existed in their minds before. This truth is grounded in the reality of God’s love and how that love intersects our world.
3. Kids need truth that is over their heads.
Hear me out. I firmly believe that we need to teach our kids not just stories of animals and adventure. We must teach our kids all about who God is before they fully understand. I appreciate all the brilliant sociologists who tell us how kids learn. We should listen to them, but not be discipled by them. What I mean is we must teach kids a faith they can grasp today, but we must also prepare them for the faith they are going to need tomorrow. To prepare kids for future faith, we must give them deep truths that will provide grounding in the face of storms that challenge their faith. As parents and pastors, we must give kids a faith that is big enough that they can grow into it rather than a faith that is so simple they will out of.
As you are faithful to teach, I pray that you will paint a picture of Jesus for your kids that is infinitely more beautiful than anything this world can offer them. I pray that you will find our book a worthy resource to help your kids apply their knowledge of God’s revelation to all of life.
Soli Deo Gloria.
How to Teach Kids Theology
What comes to mind when you think about teaching theological truths to children? Glazed eyes? Over-their-head discussions? Theology doesn’t have to be “too deep for kids.” For kids to stand firm in a culture that suppresses the truth of Christianity, we need to give them a grand view of God that overwhelms their hearts and fills them with wonder. How to Teach Kids Theology by Sam Luce and Hunter Williams takes the deep truths of the Christian faith and gives practical, actionable direction for sharing them with children.