But wait! There’s more!

I’m a fan of late night infomercials. Given that I’m an insomniac that shouldn’t be a surprise. I got hooked when I saw the first Pocket Fisherman infomercial by Ronco, an early (and still popular) product from Ron Popeil (more, more). Since those early days Ron Popeil and company have shaped the infomercial phenomenon with a steady stream of products. Using a successful format for pitching products, which included the teaser, “But wait! There’s more!” Popeil has sold his inventions, from the Veg-O-Matic, Mr. Microphone, the Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler to the wildly successful Ronco Rotisserie Oven, that last due in no small part to Ron Popeil’s memorable pitch, “Set it and forget it!”

Ron Popeil, inventor, entrepeneur, and master pitchman

When it comes to Sunday School, most pastors seem to use the Ron Popeil approach to Christian Education, namely, the “Set it and forget it” approach. They’re happy with the fact that no matter what you do (or don’t do much of), people will show up to Sunday School. Other than recruiting willing teachers (or warm bodies), equipping a room with suitable furniture, making an attendance roster, and buying curricular resource material, what else is there to Christian education in Sunday School?

I want to tell those pastors, to quote Ron Popeil, “But wait! there’s more!”

Any educational enterprise, in whatever context, must give attention to rigorous application of educational process if it is to be effective. Mere attendance, whether in Sunday School or a college classroom does not in itself guarantee learning. Learning is a process which, in order to be effective, must be undergirded by sound educational processes. To be a legitimate educational enterprise, a Sunday School must give attention to:

A philosophical foundation that answers the questions:

• What do we want our students to learn?
• How will we know when they’ve learned it?
• How will we respond when they don’t learn it?
• How will we respond when they do learn it?

The supervision of agents:

• The process of teacher recruitment
• Providing on-going teacher training
• Development of the teaching faculty
• Evaluation of teacher performance

The administration of the program:

• Attention to sound program organization and structure
• Assessment of program effectiveness
• Evaluation of program relevance
• Planning for program development (funding, resources, growth and efficiency).

Pastors and church program leaders who want to provide an effective educational program that helps persons grow in faith must function as “real” educators. They must understand and practice the educational processes that make for an authentic educational enterprise and not merely a “pretend school” approach of “Set it and forget it!”