Preparing the Next Generation of Thinkers
Your congregations’ efforts to teach your teens and students how to study the Bible makes a difference. As a Bible professor, I can tell who has been taught to read the text for understanding rather than as a tool for supporting their own ideas. I have often wished that I could go back and affirm the efforts of youth ministers, parents, elders, deacons, Bible class teachers, and mentors who have made this difference. I have recently been reminded of the impact this makes.
This semester I am studying abroad with a student group in Europe, mainly based out of London. Out of curiosity, some of our students visited a megachurch in the area. When I asked some of them how their experience was, they replied with specificity about theology, use of the biblical text, and practice. They had been equipped to analyze and think theologically about it. Not all reactions were the same, of course, but the quality of their reflections was what got my attention. When we think about what is going on in the United States, especially with how easily people seem to believe what they hear, it’s encouraging to think that churches are preparing people to face the world with the ability to think theologically and critically.
During my course work at New Orleans Baptist, a professor made the point that one of the church’s roles is to help its members learn to sort through the vast amount of information available to them. We need to prepare them to face the great task of having a world of information at their fingertips. While my professor was referring to secular information, the same principle holds true with religious and theological information. Here are several traits I have found in students that seem to better prepare them for this task.
They ask questions. These include questions to clarify, identify the source of the information, and search for agenda or bias. They are reassured that asking questions is part of learning and growing.
They read in context. They have been trained to not pull a verse from the text, but to read it in context. This also includes looking at passages before and after the one they are studying.
They strive to understand context. They put effort into understanding what is happening at that time. They show understanding that all situations in the Bible are not identical, but represent varying situations, contexts, and cultures.
They make theological connections. They seek to pull the theological thread from what they are studying to see how it interacts with other parts of the Bible.
They think holistically. They consider how what they are reading or hearing fits into the larger church community, biblical text, and culture.
They search themselves. They try to identify the bias or preconceived ideas in themselves that may affect how they understand the biblical text.
They take their faith seriously. A growing, searching faith has been modeled to them and/or developed in them. They are encouraged not be content with where they are, but to keep reaching for more.
The continuation of the church is a great mystery. Why God sent his son to earth as the second incarnation, only to turn around and choose an imperfect group of people to continue it would be a move that would many of us may want to question. Yet with God’s help, the church has continued throughout the millennia, growing from just a small group to an innumerable mass of global believers. We have reason to be confident that the God who has brought us this far and who can raise up stones to praise him (Luke 19:40) can certainly get us through anything. Time spent investing in people is never wasted time, but brings some of the greatest returns.
