Kids and Doctrine

This Friday I'm teaching a workshop at the “Kids Can Know God” conference. My class is about teaching children doctrine. Doctrine is something I have a passion for because I've seen what a difference it can make in lives. Because the word doctrine, like theology or denomination, seems associated with religion (a word that currently has a bad reputation), modern Christians shy away from making it a big deal. But the New Testament is peppered with verses about the importance of doctrine. For example:

1Timothy 4:16: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Titus 1:9: “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

So why is it important to teach children doctrine? As I’ve begun my research, I am astounded at some of the statistics. According to Barna research:

• A person’s moral foundations are generally in place by the time they reach age 9.
  
• A majority of Americans make a lasting determination about the personal significance of Christ’s death and resurrection by age 12.
  
• In most cases people’s spiritual beliefs — including those on the nature of God, the existence of Satan, the reliability of the Bible, the after-life, the holiness of Jesus Christ, the means of gaining God’s favor and the influence of spiritual forces in a person’s life — are irrevocably formed when they are pre-teens.
  
• Out of a national sampling of pastors, church staff and lay leaders, more than four out of five of those leaders had consistently been involved in the ministry to children for an extended period of years prior to age 13.

A lot is at stake here. Furthermore, church attendance alone is not enough. Another Barna study took into consideration the influence of church attendance on a person’s beliefs.

According to the study, "the most shocking outcome of the research was the limited affect long-term church attendance has had on the theological beliefs of Americans. The survey revealed that adults from both the churched-as-children and unchurched-as children segments held similar views — often at odds with biblical teaching — regarding the existence of the Holy Spirit, the reality of Satan, the means to eternal salvation, the perceived accuracy of the Bible, and the holiness of Jesus Christ.

"While churched-as-children individuals were twice as likely as the unchurched-as-children niche to be born again Christians (44% versus 24%, respectively), and significantly more likely to hold an orthodox view of God’s nature (74 % versus 54%), a minority of both groups believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit and of Satan, and a majority believe that eternal salvation can be achieved by doing enough good deeds. Also, only a minority of both camps strongly believed that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches."

I find this both discouraging and hopeful. It feels like a very small window of opportunity. At the same time, it is a tremendous opportunity. Children need to be taught doctrine. Early in their lives they need to learn why they believe what they believe. These distinctives are what give Christians their saltiness and ultimately impact the world. Who are the children in your life? Challenge them with the wonderful truths of God's Word! I'll leave you with this quote:

“Adults essentially carry out the beliefs they embraced when they were young. The reason why Christians are so similar in their attitudes, values and lifestyles to non-Christians is that they were not sufficiently challenged to think and behave differently — radically differently, based on core spiritual perspectives — when they were children. Simply getting people to go to church regularly is not the key to becoming a mature Christian. Spiritual transformation requires a more extensive investment in one’s ability to interpret all life situations in spiritual terms.”

— George Barna