5 MYTHS ABOUT TEACHING THEOLOGY TO YOUTH J. Ryan Lister for Core Christianity
We Are Theology Practitioners
First things first: Everyone is practicing some form of theology—including our children. Whether we know it or not, our kids are theologians because God made them to be theologians. The question for Christian parents, church members, and friends is, How do we help children be good theologians?
To start, one of the first things we need to do is overcome some potential stereotypes regarding the relationship between kids and theology. In short, we need to break a few myths—myths we’ve faced ourselves while growing up, or myths we’ve simply overlooked, or perhaps even some we’ve perpetuated on our own.
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We love helping others and believe that’s one of the reasons we are chosen as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, to serve God’s children. We look to the Greatest Commandment as our Powering force.
To help our kids become sound theologians, let’s evaluate a few of these and see what God has to say about them.
Myth #1: Kids don’t want theology.
This first myth finds its roots in the idea that theology always has to be stuffy and boring. And though there is some truth in this myth (let’s be honest, the church often struggles in showing us how beautiful and joyful theology can be), the problem seems to be more in practice than in source. In other words, theologians are the problem, not God. God is the creative one—he invented fun and imagination and he fills his creation with both. He even creates us and our kids to be creative and imaginative like him.
Theology doesn’t have to be stuffy and boring. Instead, we can take our children back to the source materials—to the stories of Scripture filled with drama, humor, suspense, wickedness, and intrigue. We can tell our kids tales from church history that will overwhelm, excite, and leave them wanting to know more.
But, perhaps the most humbling, we can let our children help us rethink and reexamine our theology too. Some of the best theological questions posed are those that come streaming through the imagination of a child—an imagination that grown-ups have often forgotten.
So, it’s not that kids don’t want theology, it’s that they may not want our vision of God because our vision of God isn’t as big as theirs is anymore.
