wfn.org | Agency takes steps to bolster Christian education

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Sept. 28, 2000  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-71B{438}

NOTE:  This report is a sidebar to UMNS story #437.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Publishing House is
addressing what it sees as a de-emphasis on Christian education in the
church.

Amid the discussion of exciting new products during the Publishing House
board's Sept. 25-27 meeting, staff executive Harriett Olson gave members a
sobering report on the challenges facing Christian education. 

Olson, senior vice president of publishing, began by asking: "Are we
fulfilling our task or are we living up to our potential in teaching and
learning?"

The Publishing House's research shows that while congregations appreciate
the church's work in the area of education, they are still dissatisfied with
the results, she said. They say that people still don't know the Bible, that
a small percentage of local church members attend Sunday school or
small-group study, and that people are having difficulty applying the Bible
in their lives.

Olson cited several trends contributing to the decreased emphasis on
Christian education. Churches have fewer specialized staff people or people
who are trained in Christian education. Often, clergy aren't active in that
area, and they are seldom involved in teacher training or curriculum
selection. Moreover, clergy members themselves might not be well equipped
because of fewer specialized programs on Christian education being offered
inside or outside seminaries.

The de-emphasis on Sunday school classes often means that no one in the
local church is responsible for Christian formation, Olson said.

Local church leaders say teachers are four times more important than the
curriculum to the success of the class, Olson said. However, teacher
turnover is increasing, and only 25 percent of the teachers surveyed by the
Publishing House said they received any training or spiritual guidance.
Teachers are getting more responsibility and less help, Olson said. 

The Publishing House is responding by making its materials more open and
direct for class leaders, teachers and students. The materials take into
account changes that are occurring in the way churches do Christian
education. 

New initiatives include offering training workshops and designing a teaching
and learning Web site, Olson said. The Publishing House will also continue
working with other agencies and institutions in the denomination, and it
plans on entering into dialogue with the Association of United Methodist
Theological Schools, she said.

The Publishing House must help congregations create ministries of teaching
and learning, for helping people live out the Gospel and change the world,
she said. "What could be more important?"

The agency will continue listening to local churches and learning from them,
she said. "Right now, we feel that we need to do whatever it takes."

Author and church sage Lyle Schaller opened the door to the education topic
during a speech at a joint meeting of the directors of the Publishing House
and the United Methodist Board of Discipleship on Sept. 26. Schaller, a
prolific writer, recently published a book analyzing the problems facing
America's public schools. In his remarks, he drew parallels between trends
in the schools and those in the church.

"We have moved increasingly to a society built on experiences," he said.
Society is shifting from traditional views of education to the concept of
"creating positive learning environments," he said.

Sunday schools are being replaced by learning experiences that don't
necessarily occur on Sunday mornings, he said. Young adults are looking for
experiences that can't be crowded into 45 or 60 minutes, he said. However,
Sunday schools are still important, particularly as a social gathering
opportunity for older church members, he added.

Schaller said the term "education" itself is outdated and public high
schools are outmoded. "The high school of today really was created to serve
16-year-olds who were born in 1935."

one of the expressions - pilot and catch the new curriculum and program
resources that can be developed out of the experiences of particular
congretgationts that can be put together in weays that can be appealing and
useful to other congregations. partnering with congs.
looking to parnter with other agencies , gbod, but also edxpand to gbphb,
bgm. hope to be able ot forge joint ventures wiht some of the seminares ....
drew seminary, criciut rider magazine as a tchaing tool.

In other business, the Publishing House board:
·	Elected officers for the next four years: chairman, Randy Smith,
Houston; vice chairman and chairman of finance, the Rev. Myron McCoy,
Chicago; secretary, the Rev. Judy Davis, Broomfield, Colo. They will serve
on the executive committee along with Bishop Joe Pennel, Richmond, Va.;
Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher, Springfield, Ill.; the Rev. Minerva
Carcano, Dallas, chairwoman of human resources; Porter Womeldorff, Decatur,
Ill., chairman of information technology; the Rev. Ben Alford, Nashville,
Tenn., chairman of publications and services; Jerry Heare, Austin, Texas,
chairman of marketing and sales; the Rev. Bernard (Skip) Keels, Baltimore;
the Rev. Joe Kilpatrick, Atlanta; Donna Strickland-Smith, Mooresville, N.C.;
the Rev. Robert Daugherty, Lancaster, Pa.; Thalia Matherson, Dallas. Neil
Alexander was re-elected president and publisher.
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