Here are some choice selections from the papers my New Testament freshmen are getting back tomorrow. The assignment was for students to interview a member of their church's leadership and write a 2-3 page paper explaining their fellowship's/denomination's doctrinal beliefs about things like governance, worship style, sacraments, purposes, functions, etc. (I've thrown in some comments from me just for kicks.)
I've got a post brewing from both a theological and educational perspective on what I think is going on here, so stay tuned..."The denominational ties of our church are a key belief of our denomination and have no higher archy." [That's good. I prefer the lower kind of archy myself...]
"We participate in the Lord's Supper about every three months. We drink grape juice and not wine, and once you have been saved, you are aloud to participate in it." [So much for using the time for silent reflection...]
"Our church has a leadership structure like the federal government." [Oh, God help us...]
"Teaching, theology, evangelism, and outreach are defiantly important to the church." [Okay, okay, you made your point. Now back off, Barbie...]
"In our denomination, we believe in theology and use evangelism to share the gospel." [Oh, so that's how it works...]
"One of the things that sets apart my church from many other churches is we seek to be Christ-like." [Attention churches seeking to be otherwise, this might be part of your problem...]
"There is also a plurality of elders, which means the ruling elders and pastors each have one vote." [If they only have one vote, doesn't that mean there is a singularity of each elder?]
"My church's worship style is the substance of style." [So Word to your Father, yo...]
"Our pastor bases the sermon straight form the Bible itself and does not interpret the Bible in any way." [Which is another way of saying he reads it...]
"Our church has two types of worship: liturgical and a more open, less-structured style." [So are we to understand that the second group meets in a nest?]
"I would say the weakest part of the church in my eyes is the youth group. I have been to several different youth groups and ours is not as good as others. The main reason for this is because there are more kids at other youth groups." [Indeed, youth ministry is full of these chicken-or-egg dilemmas, which is why I'm not a youth pastor...]
"There are many reasons why my church is a PCA church; firstly, it resides in the Apostles' Creed, and secondly, it states facts in the catechism." [Anybody driven by that neighborhood and heard the building reciting the Confession?]
"According to my pastor, we believe all orthodox beliefs...and some of our own as well." [This one's possibly my favorite, especially since I know the pastor...]
"If there is something in a service that I do not like, I can just go to another service that I do like." [Moral therapeutic deism, anyone?]
"The church participates in many functions such as work programs, community services, etc. My pastor also mentioned the many asylums that care for orphans or widows." [Is "asylums" what we're calling deacons nowadays?]
"The senior pastor reports to the elders and the small pastors report to the senior pastor." [Note to graduating seminary students under 5'8": don't even mess interviewing with this one...]
"My pastor thinks that church is very important for Christians...and when asked if church was important for skeptics, he quickly agreed, saying, 'Skeptics are looking for the truth, making church a good place to find it.' He wasn't sure if church was important to God." [I'm so relieved.]
"We differ in belief from many other churches similar to ours." [Or put another way, they think the same as many other churches different from them.]
"After visiting our church for the first time, we loved the way the pastor did his sermon. He just really got the message across and did it in a way that makes you feel almost involved." [Lord, have mercy if he had actually crossed that line...]
"Our church is very big on the authority and suffering of the Bible." [I'm guessing she meant "sufficiency," but why major on minors?]
"My mom and I were church shopping and accidentally found our church." [Must have been hiding in the "discount sales" bin...]
"I appreciate how everything is kept modern. There is a live band playing like a Christian rock concert. For me, it makes it easier to worship because I can sing as loud as I want without anyone hearing me." [Because, of course, that is the point of worship...]
Oh my word, how can you grade these? I would be laughing too hard. Really, what's the rubric for this assignment?
Posted by: Chelsea | February 21, 2010 at 09:24 PM
Ohhhhhhh, do these bring back memories! As I've said before, "Retirement from teaching is sa--weet!
It's perhaps not so entertaining, however.
Posted by: Char Dunham | February 21, 2010 at 09:49 PM
*giggle*
Needed this tonight. . .
Posted by: TulipGirl | February 21, 2010 at 09:54 PM
this is the most amazing thing I've ever read. Wow. I wish I taught your class.
Posted by: Jake Aharonian | February 21, 2010 at 11:44 PM
What's scarier is when you grade papers from seminarians that sound similar. Hmmm....
Posted by: Travis | February 22, 2010 at 04:20 AM
Thanks :) Fun to read.
Posted by: Corrin | February 22, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Too funny. I was laughing aloud. :)
Posted by: Aubrey | February 23, 2010 at 12:57 PM
Think of this as job security. They have a lot to learn. I know I didn't have much to say when I was 15. Your teaching is valuable to them, and that's why someone is paying over $11,000 each year, totaling around $70,000 for six years of education, before they even get to college. So, it's ok. Don't jump off the bridge. They are learning, even though it doesn't seem like it. They are maturing intellectually, slowly.
Posted by: Andy | February 25, 2010 at 10:20 PM