Dandelions and Daydreams

I went to the 8:30 AM service today at church. I have to say, I felt very uplifted after the church service. The sermon was on being an Acts 1:8 Christian“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

I know Christianity isn’t about all feeling good, but I do believe that when you have entered the fellowhip of believers that you should be edified by them. After the Church service I was feeling good. I felt like dancing in the church (I restrained myself because I was in a Baptist church).

Sunday School was a real disappointment. I went to the College and Career class because according to my age, that is where I am supposed to be. Everybody sat and talked for a while. Two of my best friends from high school were there, Matt and Cale, and I really enjoyed talking cars with those two guys. After about 15 minutes of talking, the teacher started the lesson.

The kids in this Sunday School class have known each other since they were born. I know they don’t mind talking to each other about superficial things, but let the Christian talk begin and you will hear the most uncomfortable quiet you have ever heard. Even the crickets were too uncomfortable to chirp.

The teacher kept asking questions and nobody would answer. I answered a few times, but I have had people absolutely hate me in the past because “She just thinks she knows so much!” Good grief people! Don’t you have any answers. Are you really that clueless. By the time you are in college and have been in Church all of your life, you should be able to answer the very basic questions that the Sunday School book suggests: “Does the old testament point towards Christ? Is the primary way to know the Character of God through writings about His Son?”

Is the problem that these college students don’t know the answers to the questions? I doubt it, most of them have been memorizing Bible verses since they were old enough to talk and have been on Bible quiz teams every year since 5th grade. I think the problem is that while they are comfortable with each other on a superficial level, they are not comfortable on a spiritual level. I get so frustrated with Sunday school classes like this.

How can I change it? I know that 99% of the classes that I will attend will be exactly the same. Nobody wants to open up, nobody wants to admit their ignorance about the scriptures, and worst of all nobody trusts anybody else beyond “I’m doing fine.”

How can I change this, or should I even try? Is everybody happy with the way that these superficial classes are going? How can you learn that way?

I think that, ideally, within the Christian community, there should be enough trust that we could share our problems with each other and not have to worry about a lack of acceptance. Ideally, we could confront each other about mistakes and do it in love without condemning.

How do I help the College and Career class become closer to this ideal community?

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 23rd, 2003 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Writing Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.