What's The Goal? (Part 1 of 0)

What’s the Goal? – Part 1

God’s truth is more than a set of doctrinal statements. It is a distinctive and compel­ling way of life. It sets us apart. In the days of the Reformation, practicing believers were singled out and persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike because their excellent spirit and godly behavior gave them away!1

There is no reason why an excellent spirit and godly behavior should not still give us away today. Belief and behavior identify the true follower of Christ.

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:42).

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4).

If we agree with this Biblical description of discipleship, then it tells us something about the kinds of educational goals we need for our Sunday school programs.

Information and transformation goals

Our beliefs are based on revealed information. They are the direct result of know­ing what God has told us about His plan and purpose in the pages of Scripture. Coming to a knowledge of what God has revealed starts a transformation process in us; it begins to change our minds. Or at least it should.

Information goals. Years ago, as a Sunday school teacher, I made a list of what I thought were the most important things Sunday school children need to know about. I have revisited and refined my list over the years, and today it looks like this: Bible contents, God, Christ, man, the ecclesia, doctrines, commandments.3

These are my information goals as a teacher. These are the subjects that I want to teach. But initially they are just subjects in the abstract. The information related to these subjects has to come alive in the learner. It has to transform the person in order to be of any value.

Acquiring a basic knowledge of these subjects is the first transformation that takes place in a would-be disciple. But it is only the first. It is what God would have us do with the knowledge — and what we allow Him to do in us — that takes transformation to its higher and more mature levels.

Transformation goals. I also tried to think through the kinds of things that need to change, the kinds of transformations that need to take place if a person is to grow as a disciple of Christ. Starting with the acquisition of revealed knowledge, the list I came up with looks like this: Knowledge, attitudes, effective thinking, relationship with God and Christ, rela­tionship with others, personal life practices.3

These are my transformation goals. All of these will get better as a disciple grows. The goals are challenging to say the least.

It is not as easy to define transformation goals as it is information goals. And it is even less easy to address them in our teaching. Almost certainly as a result of this, the transformation aspects of discipleship do not get as much planned emphasis in our Sunday schooling as they should. But who can dispute the importance of the goals?

There are other realities as well. A Sunday school teacher can only do so much to shape the attitudinal and behavioral side of a student’s life. We are venturing into the realm of what must ultimately take place between the person and God. Still we cannot dismiss the high importance of these goals in our teaching. They need to be addressed.

The goals are interrelated

Information and transformation goals are interrelated. They impact on each other. What we know and the priorities we place on the things we know affect how we think and act. It is clearly intended to work this way when it comes to knowing what God has revealed to man.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2Tim 3:16-17).

Scripture was given by God to change us. God expects the things He tells us to make us new and different people. Divine information is intended to drive godly transformation.

Visualizing this. At the same time that I made lists of information and transforma­tion goals, some years ago, I felt compelled to try and represent the fact that the goals are interrelated. This led to the creation of what I called an educational goal grid. It is a visualization tool that places the two sets of goals against each other and invites us to contemplate how the goals relate to each other:

Every open space on the grid is a meeting place between an information goal and a transformation goal. Every meeting place invites a question: How should this affect that? For example, how should my knowledge of God; that is, how should my knowledge of what God has revealed to me about Himself, affect the way I think about …? Or how should my knowledge of God affect the relationship that I have with …? Or how should my knowledge of the commandments of Christ affect what I decide to do when …?

We are projected into the realm of asking powerful questions, the kinds of ques­tions that can serve our Sunday school programs very well. Try formulating a few questions of your own as you contemplate the goal grid. Try formulating one important question that will apply to the Sunday school lesson you plan to teach next week. The goal grid should give you plenty of room to stop and think.

  1. This point is effectively developed by Leonard Verduin, The Reformers and Their Stepchildren, chapter 3, “Catharer” (meaning cleansed).
  2. All references are from the ESV
  3. Develop your own set of goals. You may also want to think about the order in which you sequence your goals.