God Rocks!

Note to reader: God rocks! I’m so sick of dower and sad demeanor of Christians. Admittedly, Christians have problems too, but when it comes to your kids, can we just lay that all aside for a moment and let them know how awesome God is?
I walk into Sunday school classes where white walls and silence meet me. The place is empty and sparse; the people unenthusiastic and dull. The kids are bored and tired, and I want to scream, “Get a life!” or “Get some life!” The mere fact that you are alive and have been given the opportunity to spend time with kids should brighten your day!
Look around you. Everything that you see is of God including laughter, music, silliness, and fun. Why is this not in our Sunday school classes? Why does it have to be so serious? I highly doubt that Jesus was dower when he was relaxing with his disciples. I’ll bet he was a blast to be around, joking, laughing, enjoying his time. If this was not the case, then why did God create laughter? Why did he give children the ability to be silly and draw funny pictures?
Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we learned that church is serious business, where fun is not tolerated because we have so much learning to do. I’ll say it loudly, this is wrong. It is time to put the fun back into Sunday school and you better get used to cleaning up messes because sometimes fun means making a mess.
After my children graduated from their preschool years and entered elementary ages, I was struck by how much they loved to get dirty. My son begged me to create the ultimate birthday party with one key ingredient: a food fight. At first I resisted thinking, of course, that parents won’t appreciate their children being covered with grape jelly and chocolate sauce. But after the idea sank in, I actually began to like the idea of hurling whip cream pies at my, sometimes obstinate and difficult, eight year old. It would be old fashioned fun, with an emphasis on getting as dirty and grimy as possible. I can’t wait! Of course I’ll warn the parents of his friends to bring disposable clothing, but hey, they are excited too (probably because it is taking place at my house not theirs!)
So meld this into Sunday school. Of course you don’t want to have food fights every Sunday, but what about games? Creativity? Music?
I’m convinced that the worst thing about Sunday school is that music they play. If there is music at all, it is usually kids worship songs from the late 1980’s or the new renditions with hollow twelve year olds singing to drumbeats of modern worship tunes.
Not that I’m a music snob, but my kids have been listening to grown up modern Christian music since they were born. One of the greatest mommy moments of my life was hearing my four and six year olds singing to a Newsboys song (if you don’t know who the Newsboys are, find out- it’s worth your time and travails on Amazon.com.)
Now my kids fight over which cd they can put in their own cd player and blast from their bedroom. They have started their own collection and swing outside while playing the likes of Toby Mac from my car stereo at full tilt.
Music is great! Music was created by God and one of the best ways to teach kids the fundamentals of the Christian faith. If you have yet to explore the vast array of Christian music out there, get to it! Then bring it into your Sunday school class.
As gifts for my friends I buy them music. I play it all the time, I even write to music as the mood enhances my skills.
Then there are games. My kids are game nuts. Everyday we have to play a game, and not the same game but new and improved games. They play card games, bored games, guessing games, and games they invent. This age is ripe for games, and I’ve learned (the hard way) that in Sunday school if you don’t have at least one game tucked away and waiting to lighten up a class or lesson you could be in trouble.
There are great books on games, hundreds of them, and they tap into a certain kind of kid who is competitive and adventuresome. In my class, games are always optional, and my quiet students help monitor the progress of the participants.
I, myself, am not a game person, I would rather just dance and create, but for my kids, I pull out all the stops. I figure that if Sunday school isn’t fun, then kids won’t want to come back, and that is wrong.
Creativity is messy, that’s the truth of it. Paints and play doe, paper Mache and science experiments tend to make a mess of the room, but they are worth it. Have you ever seen the eyes of a child light up when he watches his very own volcano explode? Have you marveled at the child who has created his own God inspired Picasso-esk picture? Have you created edible dirt with gummy worms and bugs then eaten it in front of kids before letting them in on your secret? Have you brought in baby chicks and puppies to let them marvel at God’s creations? The world of a kid is about exploring and creating, where is this in your Sunday school class? If you aren’t making a mess, at least once in a while, you aren’t living!
Finally, the lost art of humor in our Sunday school classrooms is down right depressing. We like to have silly contests in our house or when we are driving in the car. We see who can be the silliest, make the silliest face, say the silliest phrase, have the silliest idea. Usually the winner is the one who dives into the dark depths of silliness by talking about farts and eating dog poop, but that’s o.k. because they are kids and kids are supposed to be silly! It is the adults who forget what having fun is all about! Of course I’m not promoting conversations laced with fart jokes and dog poop references, but there are a plethora of funny joke books and fun stories to tell kids to get them laughing. I remember when I was a kid I thought Mad Libs were hysterical (Mad Libs are those books where you randomly pick nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. to create nonsense stories.) When I began teaching in a public junior high school class I brought Mad Libs in as a grammatical refresher. The kids were not amused, and neither was I. But if I use Mad Libs with my eight year old now, he is on the floor laughing and can’t get enough. For only a few short years can children laugh with abandon and enjoy the silliness of our world.
Life is supposed to be enjoyed. God created an abundance of things to eat and places to explore. He gave us creative minds and humor, ways to relax and get to know one another. Through music and fun God shows us how much he loves us, and we in turn can show our kids how much we love them.