Adult Christian Ed

King of Kings (where I'm serving my internship) is trying to develop a stronger program for adult Christian education. There is a lot of interest in the congregation, but not a lot has been offered. So when I sat down with the pastor and the Christian ed (slash family ministry slash youth) director to plan the fall schedule, I offered to teach a class.

My class won't be until December, but the Christian ed director, Judi, is putting together a brochure about adult education. The brochure will be handed out at Rally Day (September 12) so people know what opportunities will be available throughout the fall. Here's my blurb, tentatively, for the brochure.

A Brief History of the Bible
Have you ever wondered where the Bible came from? Do you want to know who wrote it and when? Have you ever wished you knew what "apocrypha" meant, or wanted to learn more about the Dead Sea Scrolls? Join Vicar Jennie for a three week introduction to the Bible, its history, and the books that weren't included.
Week One: What's in the Bible?
Week Two: Bible History
Week Three: Building the Bible: The Formation of the Canon

Now, doesn't that sound like a class you'd want to take?

VBS Skits

I'm in my first week of internship at King of Kings Lutheran Church. The congregation is doing VBS this week, so I definitely hit the ground running. My job has been writing the skits for each morning's opening session. I thought I'd share them here. Each day has a theme, which I've included before the skit itself. Enjoy!


Tuesday
Theme: The Ten Commandments
Props: None
Note: In the VBS program, whenever the kids hear the line "It's in the book!" they all respond with a big yell: "HUH!" You'll see that in the skit below for that reason.

[As the song finishes, Mike, Beth, and Jennie go up on stage.]
Mike: So, you all are learning about the Ten Commandments today, huh? The Ten Commandments are pretty important for all of us. [pause] Say, Vicar Jennie, what did you learn about the Ten Commandments in seminary?
Jennie: Well, I learned that the Ten Commandments are in the Bible...
Beth: [interrupting] Don’t you mean... They’re in the book! [HUH!]
Jennie: Yes, exactly! The Ten Commandments are in the book. [HUH!] Pastor Mike, what do you know about the Ten Commandments?
Mike: Well, the Ten Commandments teach us how we should act in our relationships — our relationship with God, our relationship with our family, and our relationships with everyone we meet.
Beth: Oh, right, like how the Ten Commandments tell us we should worship and love God.
Jennie: And don’t forget about honoring your parents!
Mike: And that we shouldn’t steal from other people or hurt them. The Ten Commandments teach us how we should act.
Beth: Hey Pastor Mike, these Ten Commandments, they’re like rules, right? So what happens if we break these rules?
Mike: Well, we should always try to follow the Ten Commandments, because that’s what God expects of us. But if we break them, we can trust that God will forgive us, because God loves us.
Jennie: You know, I learned in seminary about how the Ten Commandments remind us of God’s love for us.
Beth: What do you mean?
Jennie: Well, it’s because God loves us that God wants to have a relationship with us. And God gave us blessings like family and friends. And the Ten Commandments tell us how we should act in our relationship with God and our families. So whenever I think of the Ten Commandments, I always remember that God really loves us!
Mike: So when we learn about the Ten Commandments, we should remember to do what God expects us to do, but also remember that God loves us and forgives us.
Beth: The Ten Commandments are really great! I hope you’re all excited to learn more about the Ten Commandments today!



Wednesday
Theme: The Cross
Props: A washtub with a sign that says "Insta-Clean". Two clean t-shirts hidden in the tub. Two dirty t-shirts. One t-shirt that says "SIN" in big letters.
Note: The little "magic trick" involved here went over great. The kids totally bought it... when the first clean shirt came out, they were completely amazed.

Beth: Check it out, everyone! Here in this tub, I have my magic cleaner — Insta-clean! It can get out any stain or mess, guaranteed!
Jennie: Hey Beth, that’s pretty cool. [Holding up stained shirt] Do you think it could get all these dirt and grass stains out of my shirt?
Beth: Sure! Insta-clean can get out any stain! Just give me that shirt... [Puts the dirty shirt in the tub, and pulls out a clean shirt] Look at that! Good as new!
Jennie: Wow! That’s amazing, Beth!
Mike: Wow. Do you think you could get these mustard stains out of my shirt? I made a mess of myself the last time I was eating a hot dog.
Beth: No problem! Just give it to me and I’ll put it in the Insta-clean solution... [Puts the dirty shirt in the tub, and pulls out a clean shirt] Your stain is all gone!
Mike: Thanks, Beth!
Jennie: That Insta-clean works really well. Say... [Lifts up “SIN” shirt] Beth, what about this stain?
Beth: What does that say? S-I-N... Sin.
Jennie: Yeah, I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.
Mike: Oh, yes. Every one of us has the stain of sin, no matter who we are. I have it, too, and so does Beth.
Jennie: [To Beth] So do you think Insta-clean can get it out?
Beth: Well, I can give it a try... [Puts the shirt in, and pulls it out again] Huh. The stain is still there. Maybe it needs a little more time in the solution [Puts the shirt in and scrubs it for a few seconds, then pulls it out again] No, that stain is still there.
Jennie: Oh, darn! I was really hoping I could get rid of this sin.
Mike: You can’t get out sin with cleaners, no matter how powerful they are.
Beth: Well, how can you get rid of it?
Mike: Jesus washes us clean of sin. You see, because God loves us, Jesus came down to earth and died on the cross for our sins. Because of the cross, our sins are forgiven.
Jennie: Oh yeah! [Points to the cross] That’s why we have this cross here in our church, right? To remind us of Jesus’ death for our sins.
Mike: That’s right. The cross is a sign of God’s forgiveness. When we baptize someone, we also make the sign of the cross on their foreheads to remind us of God’s forgiveness. In fact, we can make the sign of the cross on our foreheads any time we want to remember that God loves and forgives us.
Jennie: Hey, That’s a great idea! Let’s do that right now! Everyone, with your thumb, draw a cross on your forehead. That’s a reminder of God’s love and forgiveness!
Beth: And we’re all going to learn more about the cross today. I hope you’re excited!



Thursday
Theme: Saved by Grace through Faith
Props: Martin Luther costume
Mike: [dressed as Martin Luther] “Here I stand! I can do no other! My conscience is captive--”
Jennie: [interrupting] Um, Pastor Mike... what are you doing?
Mike: Well, I'm pretending to be Martin Luther.
Jennie: So that's why you're wearing the robe, I take it? And quoting things Martin Luther said?
Mike: Yes. “My conscience is captive to the will of God!”
Jennie: Okay, but... why are you acting like Martin Luther, exactly?
Mike: Because our theme today is “Saved by Grace Through Faith.”
Beth: What does that have to do with Martin Luther?
Mike: Knowing that we are saved by grace through faith was one of the most important parts of faith for Martin Luther!
Jennie: Oh right... we learned in seminary about that. Martin Luther read the Bible and discovered that God loved us so much that God sent Jesus to earth to die on the cross. Because of Jesus, we are saved by grace through faith!
Beth: So you could say that “Saved by grace through faith” is in the book! [HUH!]
Mike: That's right!
Beth: But what does “Saved by grace through faith” mean, anyway?
Mike: Well, what it means is that we don't have to worry about being good enough for God.
Jennie: Right, like how we were learning about the Ten Commandments on Tuesday. No matter how hard we try to follow the Ten Commandments and do what God wants us to do, it seems like we always mess up and break the rules. We just can't get rid of that stain of sin.
Mike: But we aren't saved by being good enough. We're saved by grace, which is a free gift from God.
Beth: A gift from God? Wow! That sounds great!
Mike: It is great! God saves us because God loves us, not because we are good enough.
Jennie: And because we know God loves us and that we are saved by grace through faith, we don't have to be scared or worry when we mess up. We can be happy and joyful!
Mike: That's how Martin Luther felt, too. Before he learned about being saved by grace through faith, he was scared and worried all the time. But after he learned about being saved by grace through faith, he felt safe, knowing that God loved him.
Beth: And each of us is saved by grace through faith, too! We're going to learn more about that today.



Friday
Theme: Share the Good News
Props: Santa Hat
Beth: [wearing Santa hat] Guys! Guys! Pastor Mike, Vicar Jennie!
Mike: Beth, what's going on?
Beth: I just found out the best news. You're not going to believe it!
Jennie: Well, what is it?
Beth: I just found out that they're going to start having Christmas twice a year. Once in the winter, and once in the summer. Two Christmases! That means twice as many presents!
Jennie: Oh my gosh! That's amazing! I love Christmas!
Beth: Yeah, as soon as I found out the good news, I had to tell you guys!
Mike: Beth, is that really true? Where did you hear this, anyway?
Beth: I read it online! So it must be true, right?
Jennie: Uh oh...
Mike: Beth, you can't believe everything you read on the internet.
Beth: [dejected, pulling the hat off her head] Oh, darn... I was so excited.
Jennie: But you know, Beth, you just reminded me of today's theme: Sharing the good news!
Mike: Oh, that's right. Today, we're going to talk about sharing the good news.
Beth: What good news?
Jennie: The good news about Jesus!
Mike: That's right. The good news that God loves us and forgives us, and that Jesus died for us. The good news that we're saved by grace. It's the best news there is!
Beth: Wow, yeah! That's even better than having two Christmases!
Jennie: And when you know such good news, you can't just keep it to yourself! You have to share it!
Beth: Share it with who, Vicar Jennie?
Jennie: With everyone – your friends, your family, your classmates. This good news is so big, everybody should hear about it!
Mike: That's right. And the more we talk about the good news of God's love for us, the more we learn about it, and the more we appreciate it!
Jennie: In fact, that's what we do in church every week. We talk to one another about the good news that God loves us.
Beth: And that's what we've been doing here at Backstage with the Bible all week!
Mike: That's true! We've been learning about the good news and sharing it with one another. And after we leave here today, we can go out and share the good news with other people we meet, too!
Beth: That's really exciting! I feel like I want to share the good news that God loves us right now.
Jennie: We could do that, Beth. Hey, everybody - I want you to turn to someone sitting next to you and tell them, “God loves you!” And they can share the good news with you, too!
[Beth, Mike, and Jennie share the good news with each other]

Law and Gospel

While I was thinking about reviewing the Lutheran Study Bible, I was reminded of another topic that has been on my mind recently: the Lutheran concept of "law and gospel". Now, you may be a Lutheran and have never heard this specific terminology. Perhaps to the shock of my classmates, I can honestly say I had never heard the phrase "law and gospel" in my life before I entered seminary. I was baptized, raised, and confirmed in the Lutheran church—maybe it's a regional thing. I certainly hear enough about law and gospel out here.

The concept comes from Luther's writings, though it is not unique to Lutherans. Luther used law and gospel as a method of reading and interpreting Scripture. It is important to note that law and gospel is not supposed to be a parallel distinction to Old Testament and New Testament, or to Jewish thinking as opposed to Christian thinking (however, see below). Law is that which condemns us (and therefore forces us to recognize the need for God's grace). Gospel is that which proclaims that same grace. Any given text in the Bible can be seen as law or as gospel. For example, the Ten Commandments can be seen as law because they condemn us (because we fail to live up to their standards), but also as gospel because they are the words of God speaking to the Israelites who have been rescued from slavery. Likewise, the teachings of Jesus could be seen either as condemning (law) or proclaiming the good news (gospel).

As far as it goes, the law and gospel idea is pretty useful. It fits into the Lutheran teaching about salvation—that we cannot save ourselves, but are saved by God's grace. I have to confess, though, that I'm getting tired of hearing about it; I feel that it's being overused. At the same time, I have some serious concerns that the phrase runs the risk of serious misunderstanding. If I have to explain that by "law", I don't actually mean the law in the Old Testament, and by "gospel", I don't actually mean the Gospels in the New Testament, doesn't that indicate that I need to use some different terms?

Specifically, I worry that using "law and gospel" language encourages a negative view of Judaism and the Hebrew Scriptures. It is too easy to equate "law" with the Law, the Torah, and "gospel" with the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. That naturally leads one to think that the Old Testament is all bad news or outdated, which is then replaced by the New Testament. (On the same note, the very names "Old Testament" and "New Testament" promote the same line of thought. One of my professors suggests calling the Old Testament the "Ancient Witness" instead.) When my professors or my fellow seminarians use the phrase "law and gospel", I know that they are not making these stereotyped assumptions—but what about all the other people, Lutheran or not, who are not familiar with the use of these terms? Why do we keep using language that is very easy to misinterpret and has the potential to be so harmful to people's understanding of the Bible?

Personally, I'm trying to avoid using "law and gospel" language. I can appreciate the value of the idea without using the same terminology. I just don't think we should hang on to certain language purely for the sake of tradition, especially when there are compelling reasons to do otherwise. Call the two "condemning word" and "word of grace", if you like. Just don't inadvertently teach a bad understanding of the Bible by using confusing language.