The Children's Sermon, Continued...

I’ve enjoyed some of the comments on my last piece about the children’s sermon - here at the blog, and on social media: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The strong reactions suggest that this is a topic that needs to be discussed.

One person suggested that I wrote it because I obviously can’t teach children. Someone else accused me of stoic German Pietism. Someone else argued against the straw man that I called the children’s sermon a sin. Someone else took the opportunity to call me an a*****e (using the asterisks for politeness - he seems nice).

Awesome! 😂

Now, I freely admit it when I do things badly. I am terrible at most things. I can’t cook. I can’t fix things. I can’t work with my hands. I’m not good at lawn work. I cannot keep a tidy work area. The list of such deficiencies is long. But by our Lord’s grace, I can do a very few things well. I’m a decent preacher, I can conduct liturgies pretty well. I’m good at giving pastoral care to my parishioners. I can make my wife laugh. I’m a darn good motorcyclist (I can’t work on them though). I can write, and I can teach.

I have been a classroom teacher my entire 19 years in the ministry: junior high, high school, homeschool, public school, special education, little kids, young adults, adults, etc. I have now been teaching 12th graders at Wittenberg Academy for a decade. I’m also the chaplain of our school community. I lead and preach at Vespers every week, write a daily devotion, and conduct all the liturgies at our retreats. My first call included teaching high school. I also teach teenage Civil Air Patrol cadets. I am not exaggerating when I say that my students have great affection for me, we have a lot of laughs, and I love to teach. Their parents are incredibly supportive. It is one of the very few things that I am capable of. Thank God I can do something, otherwise I would starve to death.

And thanks be to God that classical education has made a strong comeback among us. Check out the remarkable folks at the Consortium of Classical Lutheran Education for more about this! Also, Kloria Publishing for wonderful children’s books that put Veggie Tales to shame.

I am not against children’s sermons because I can’t teach. That’s not why. Rather, I think the kids deserve better - as does everyone else attending the Divine Service. So I will share with you, dear reader, what I do instead of the children’s sermon. I think it is a more excellent way. And I would like to have someone - anyone, Bueller, class, anyone - tell me how I would better serve my parish and my little ones if I were to abandon my current practice and replace it with a five or ten minute children’s sermon of some kind during the Divine Service. I would love to hear it.

So this is what I do:

With few exceptions, every Sunday, after Divine Service, a gaggle of children (toddlers to tweens) joins me with their parents and/or grandparents in the parish hall. The grown-ups get coffee, soft drinks, or “Lutheran beverages.” The kiddos get soft drinks and goodies. We all get comfortable and casual. We spend between a half hour and forty-five minutes (once in a while longer) going through the Small Catechism and Bible stories. We also sometimes discuss the liturgy, sometimes hymns, sometimes random questions - whatever organically comes up. Often the adults are tracking along.

We don’t do crafts. We don’t sing campfire songs. We don’t use a canned curriculum. The only “hand motions” we do is the sign of the cross.

And we laugh in my classroom. A lot. We have fun. And we learn. I include all of the children, and their smiles and good answers serve as rocket fuel for me as a teacher (along with the espresso). I teach the kids in an age-appropriate way, but I don’t dumb anything down. Every teacher knows that there is nothing better than seeing the lightbulb go off, whether your students are little children or adults. My little ones have become wonderful theologians of the cross. They often amaze me with their ability to articulate the connections between Bible and liturgy, between sacrifice and Sacrament. They get it. They know the Gospel. They know Jesus. They know why we are all in church. They can be shockingly profound. They can also be silly too. So can I. And that’s okay.

And we gather every week for a year or two or three - or more - and when the parents and I agree that they are ready, we admit them to the Lord’s table. They are typically about nine or ten. Waiting until they are hormonal 13-year olds is, in my opinion, just not a great idea. We used to do it that way, and I won’t go back to it. It makes no sense pedagogically.

My class is not a show for the congregation, or a photo-op for their parents. The children are not nervous or self-conscious at being on display. And we don’t turn the Mass into entertainment.

The children learn that the entire Divine Service - including the sermon - is for them too. They often ask great questions about the sermon or the readings - or about the liturgy. We use the bulletin inserts called Kids in the Divine Service. I think the fact that we use bells (and sometimes smells), and rich vestments and ceremony - holds their attention, and they develop a kind of comfort with, and understanding of, the liturgy. Children need something to engage them - and not just for ten minutes of a children’s sermon.

And they have access to quality time with their pastor - not just for five or ten minutes while they are “on stage.” There is no awkwardness, and we don’t have to interrupt divine worship for any of God’s children.

So, what is the downside? How is your children’s sermon better? How would changing from what I do to a children’s sermon format be an improvement?

I’ll wait.