Excerpted From
Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality
Edited by Mimi Larson and Robert Keeley
Excerpted from Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality, edited by Mimi Larson and Robert Keeley, this perspective challenges the notion of simply gathering preschoolers to recite unfamiliar tales. Such an approach is neither helpful nor educationally sound. However, we can share difficult biblical narratives effectively by keeping several critical principles in mind.
God Is the Hero of the Story
As church educators and parents, it is incumbent on us to present these accounts as stories of what God has done and continues to do, rather than mere moralistic messages. If we attempt to turn the story of Judah and Tamar into a lesson on sexual morality, we find ourselves in a theological knot—trying to teach that sex outside of marriage is wrong while acknowledging that Tamar’s actions were part of a larger providential narrative. When reading about Cain and Abel or the golden calf, students recognize that God was displeased with sin. While we must be clear that God calls us to holy living, we should not shy away from the more difficult stories of Scripture. These narratives require nuance, yet they powerfully demonstrate how God brings grace to our brokenness. Unlike Aesop’s Fables, the hero is never Judah, Joseph, Samson, or David. The hero is God. Our storytelling must reflect that Scripture is, above all, the story of God’s faithfulness and the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. There are many ways to share the gospel through storytelling that draw attention to this overarching theme of grace.
Tell Stories in Age-Appropriate Ways
Before sharing complex accounts like Judges 19 with ten-year-olds, ensure you are prepared to communicate them in age-appropriate ways. While some stories should be introduced gradually as children mature, many teenagers in formation programs have never encountered these passages at all. Even at Christian universities, many students are surprised to find such raw narratives in the Bible. Failing to teach the full counsel of Scripture is a disservice to their spiritual growth. Learning ways to tell life-change stories can help educators convey these essential biblical narratives with clarity and impact.
One rule of thumb in telling these stories is that one should never tell something that is not true about a story. Telling an untruth is different than leaving things out. For example, telling the story of Noah without mentioning the drunken episode at the end of the story (Genesis 9) makes sense for young children. Leaving it out is not being untruthful or giving them a false impression of the story, as long as we don’t paint Noah as the hero.
You Don’t Have to Know Everything
Much of the Bible is mysterious. Why did God choose Samson to be a judge (Judges 13–16)? Why did he give us the story of the Levite and his concubine (Judges 19–20)? Why did Jesus only take a few of his disciples with him to the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26)? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. I have some guesses and some ideas about how to start thinking about these things, but I have no answers. It is good to let children know that. Mystery is an important part of our faith. A God we can fully grasp is a God who is too small. These difficult stories are part of what makes our relationship with God full of mystery.
We should be authentic. It is fine to say that we don’t know something. But then explore that together with children. Wonder together about what things might be behind wanting this story in our Bible. Children will learn more about how a person of faith addresses tough sections of the Bible in that exploration than they will if you try to give them a pat answer.
While it is important to highlight God as the hero of the Bible’s grand story, the church also needs to prepare kids and teens for a life that includes hard questions and hard stories. We need to teach the Bible in a way that readies our students to face the hardship of seeing grandma’s deterioration in the nursing home or a young classmate who receives a diagnosis of leukemia. They will quickly learn that people who lie and cheat may get ahead, while others who try to live with integrity face one setback after another. If we never present the hard stories of Scripture, our students won’t have these stories in their hearts and minds when they face the hardships of real life. They will not see how God is present in their own suffering and sin.
We need to come alongside children, ask them what they need, listen to their responses, and walk with them. This isn’t a radical new idea or program—this is simply giving kids and teens the story of who God is and what he does. The “big story” is found in the little stories we know well, as well as the little stories that we don’t. Our students will be better prepared for life if they know more of the story. And it’s a great story—the best story! Let’s make sure we give them all of it.
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Excerpted from Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality edited by Mimi Larson and Robert Keeley. Zondervan Reflective. Copyright 2020. Used by permission.