Sunday School: The purpose is evolving in some churches

What is the purpose of Sunday School?

There is an old saying that if you don't know the purpose of something, you will abuse it. Around 1780, Robert Rakes of England established Sunday School to teach children to read, write, and learn biblical knowledge.

Not all churches utilize children's Sunday classes for that purpose. Consider Chelsea Clinton, who said she was taught about abortion in Sunday school at the age of six.

Clinton asked the question of what a six-year-old knew about abortion. She is not the only child to have been taught what was considered inappropriate in a Sunday school class.

My family attended a church that began as Baptist and transitioned to the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship. After a few years, Sunday school was changed to Christian education. I don't know if this was fellowship-wide or just our local congregation.

One Sunday, my ten-year-old son informed me that he was no longer being taught about Jesus. He said the children were learning how to please the pastor, to tithe, and how to flow in this particular church. I talked to the director of Children's education, and she said the curriculum was what was being taught in White churches.

I next spoke to a friend who had been the leader of Sunday School but was removed when Christian Education began. She said her son had told her the same story that my youngest son told me.

We discussed how, when we were growing up, Sunday School was about the Bible and Jesus. I can relate to Chelsea Clinton's frustration over being exposed to a social issue that was not age -appropriate nor related to the Bible.

Should the focus remain on Christ?

I do not see it online today, but years ago, there was a Sunday School book cover from Elevation Church that caused an uproar. The front cover was an image of founder Steven Furtick rather than anything from the Bible. For those who don't understand, I will put it this way.

You go to your dentist expecting to have your teeth cleaned or get a filling. If your dentist began talking about your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, you probably would seek another dental professional.

If you visited your barber or hairdresser and they tried to give you a manicure or pedicure, you would walk out. Teaching about abortion, how to please the pastor, tithing, and denominational politics to children is not what the church was set up for.

Chelsea Clinton left the Baptist church where she heard about abortion and began attending her mother's Methodist church. When she first shared her experience peo0ple misinterpreted and thought she was promoting abortion rights.

How far is too far?

My friend and I discussed how our Sunday School lessons were biblically based and how we earned stars and rewards for our Bible knowledge. We pulled our sons out of Christian education and began teaching them about Jesus at home.

Decades ago, a local newspaper wrote an article about a pastor woho had set the Bible aside for three months to teach about Dr. King's letters during Sunday school. I wrote a letter to the newspaper stating that Dr. King was a Civil Rights leader and his letters should not have been the subject in Sunday school rather than the Bible.

A few people told me they agreed with what I had written to the newspaper. Others expressed anger because they perceived me as coming against a popular minister. If Sunday school can focus on Dr. King, pastors, tithing, and abortion, then where do children learn about Jesus if not in churches that bear His Name?

There is a place for everything, but do you believe Sunday school should be that space? Please comment, and thank you for reading.