Address Given at Sunday School Conference held at Edinburgh on October 23, 1937.
I HAVE been asked to speak to you tonight about Sunday School work, a work which I trust none present will regard as of little importance or demanding little preparation or forethought.
Only a week or two ago a local Minister came to school to see me and in discussing present day tendencies and the lamentable decline in morality he disclosed that in his opinion the cause lay in the church tackling the social problem. Now I am fully persuaded that immorality is today destroying the vitals of the nation like a canker: that social scourge is much more widespread than most here gathered would believe: that to be indifferent to the social, national, and international problems perplexing the world is criminal, but I am equally persuaded of the futility of the servant of the Lord attempting to deal with these with humanly devised weapons. Let the preacher of the gospel seek the spiritual blessing of the individual: let the teacher of the young seek to gain the citadel of the heart, and by the regeneration of the individual will the home, social, aye and the national life be sweetened.
Shrewd men of the world have seen what many a professed servant of the Lord has missed. I am quoting now, not from a religious magazine but from a copy of the Wall Street Journal. Some time ago the editor wrote, “The supreme need of the hour is not an elastic currency or sounder banking or better protection against panic or bigger navies, or more equalable tariffs, but a revival of faith, a return to morality which aid recognizes a basis of religion, and the establishment of a workable and working theory of life, that views man as something more than a mere lump of matter.” There it is: by way of
I shall summarize what I have got to say to you under five heads, for convenience arranged under the letters P and M so that should you forget the one you may remember the other. The headings are these:—
1. Our PURPOSE in teaching, or the MEANING of our work.
2. The PSYCHOLOGY or the MIND of the child.
3. A PLAN or MANNER of presentation.
4. A PROGRAM or MESSAGE.
5. The PERSONALITY of the teacher or MYSELF.
Our PURPOSE In Teaching—It seems incredible that any skilled workman should start upon a job without having a clear idea before him of what he intends to accomplish. How can your labors be purposive if the end which you have in view is nebulous? Let me ask you—why of all the books in the world should you teach the Bible to the child?
Ruskin has said that the characteristics of the child are humanity, faith, charity and cheerfulness. The Bible is the book, par excellence, dealing with humanity and among its most prominent themes are these—faith, love or charity, and hope from which is begotten the experience of cheerfulness. The teaching of the Bible, then, is eminently suited to satisfy the desires of the child’s heart but it does more. The Apostle in 2 Timothy 3, speaking by the Spirit of God, places the Word of God alongside the complete development of personality from mere babyhood to complete manhood in the “Man of God, perfectly furnished unto every good work.” Do you know any other such book? It is THE Book which we can never discard, for it is a revelation from God to man, given nowhere else, and the heart of its message is Salvation. To Timothy, Paul writes, “From a child, thou hast known the Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Holy writings to which he refers are of course the Old Testament Scriptures, but the Apostle instead of looking upon them as obsolete perceives that they all find their fulfilment in Christ. The highways of the Old Testament converge upon Him, of whom the prophets spake, to whom the types pointed. And if true of the Old Testament Scriptures, how much more true of the completed Book that it contains information, which if acted upon, puts the reader in possession of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. If you have not got the salvation of the child before you in teaching him, you are missing the mark. This salvation is something grander than deliverance from judgment and hell. It is that, but it is more. It postulates danger and promises safety; it supposes weakness and offers strength; it takes conflict for granted but assures of ultimate victory. The salvation begins in time but endures to eternity and embraces the whole nature of man—body, soul and spirit.
For his instruction, Timothy, who was the child of a mixed marriage, was indebted to his mother Eunice and to his grandmother Lois. Happy they who have imbibed instruction in the things of God at the mother’s knee!
But someone may ask, Is salvation then merely a matter of belief? A short time ago while in conversation with a friend for whose intellectual gifts I have the highest respect, he remarked, “Faith seems very easy for some men, but faith for me seems impossible.” In answer to which I said, trying to be helpful, “I don’t see why it should be so. We have to exercise faith in one another day by day. The man of business has to exercise faith in his fellow man of business. The husband exercises faith in the wife, and the wife in the husband, and all that God demands is that faith should be given a different orientation and be exercised towards Himself.” His answer rather astonished me. “Hold on,” said he. “Faith in God and in Christ demands the compete surrender of my personality.” He was right. It is not merely an intellectual conviction but it is the surrender of the will consequent upon conviction.
I am not for a moment going to suggest that week by week we should ask the children “Are you saved?” “Would you like to be saved?” It is unlikely that if saved, the change in the child will be catastrophic or volcanic. We should be watchful awaiting the right moment for wise private and personal work, but always instructing in the word of righteousness and when in God’s good time the word proves effective we may be sure of this, that even on the part of the child there will be a surrender of will to Him in whom trust is placed.
The PSYCHOLOGY of the Child—A good workman does not only keep in mind what he intends to do: he must also consider the material which he has to work upon. For very much of what I am going to say I am indebted to Dr. Campbell Morgan, and having found him helpful to me in the capacities of teacher and parent, I pass on these thoughts, persuaded that you too will find them useful. The philosopher Kant has said that every human personality has in it three factors, intellect, emotion and volition. From the moment that a child starts to walk, and even before that, these three factors are discernible. Until about seven or eight years of age, however, they appear to be uncoordinated and even inconsistent. It is not merely that they are unequally balance, as indeed they are, but the child is the plaything of whims—intellectual, emotional, and volitional, its physical unrest being but the outward manifestation of inward mental change. Dr. Campbell Morgan illustrates the inconsistency of these factors in the child’s personality by an interesting story which the experience of all will confirm as true to type. Gladys was the seven-year-old daughter of a friend of his. One afternoon the mother left home for a few hours and committed Gladys to the care of her uncle, a bachelor and a tutor of one of the English Universities. To fulfil his promise to care for Gladys he took his chair and books into the garden. Before long Gladys came to him with this question, her eyes dilated with interest. “Uncle, can you tell me why is this rose red and its leaf green?” Charmed at the intelligent thought behind the question and delighted to be asked a question along the line of his own specialization, he replied, “Yes, my dear, sit down beside me and I shall tell you.” Yet as he prepared to answer her, he perceived that the look of intelligent inquiry had passed and had given place to suppressed mirth and pent-up laughter. Rather annoyed at the sudden change, he said somewhat sharply, “Gladys, what are you laughing at?” “I’m sorry Uncle,” was the reply, “but I really cannot help it. You have such a funny nose!” And as he prepared to rebuke her, she jumped from his side, attracted by something else in the garden, doubtless, and so escaped the reprimand he was preparing to give her. Suddenly, intelligence had given place to emotion, and emotion to volition. These are precisely the varying mental conditions with which the teacher of infants has to deal. This period is probably characteristically the perceptive age when much can be achieved by pictorial representation.
From seven or eight years of age until about the age of twelve, intellect and emotion are very much in evidence, but volition is usually in the background. Children are pliable and the period might be designated the receptive period. This is the period during which difficult tables, new processes, and many facts are acquired at school without demur and the time too when much valuable ground-work is done at Sunday School.
Round about the age of twelve, however, a change takes place of paramount interest and importance to the teacher, and it is important that the teacher should recognize it and understand how to deal with it. From twelve to seventeen or eighteen years is the most difficult period in the development of a boy or girl. This is the time when we either gain or lose them. Indeed Dr. Campbell Morgan avers that he cannot contemplate this period in a child’s life without a feeling of extreme solemnity possessing him. For now intellect and emotion become recessive. The child does not usually continue to ask questions nor does he readily or willingly display his feelings. But at this stage volition dominates his personality. The child discovers that he has a will and the period might often be characterized as the obstructive period. When travelling from Wales to London in 1918, two of His Majesty’s officers and a civilian, the three of them friends, entered the compartment in which Dr. Campbell Morgan sat. He was the outsider, but as the compartment was small he could not fail to hear their conversation. The subject of talk turned to boys and the reverend gentlemen pricked up his ears. Said the civilian “I do not know what has come over my boy recently. Until a few months ago he was as nice a boy as you could meet, pliable and obliging, but now he has become a mule. But I will break his will.” Unable to keep silence, the doctor looked up and interrupted saying, “Excuse me, sir, but what was that you said you would do to your boy?” Surprised at him participating in the conversation without introduction or invitation he replied “I said, I will break his will.” “Then,” answered the other, “I trust that by the grace of God someone will break your neck before you succeed.” The look of utter amazement on the face of the civilian he can never forget as he said “I beg your pardon.” To which Dr. Morgan answered, “In the words of the King, whose uniform I wear—it were better for you that a millstone were hanged about your neck and that you should be drowned in the depth of the sea than that you should offend one of these little ones.” To his inquiry “What then should I do?” Dr. Morgan explained that when this obstinate, obstructive, mulish age was reached, the only thing to do was to cease commanding and to start communing. Now make no mistake about this. In every well regulated home or school there are certain essential amenities and rules that must be observed. But outside of these fundamental and essential things, and especially where the personal interests of the youth are concerned, in fellowship and understanding seek to guide him. If in spite of such help and guidance he chooses his own way, well, let him have it assuring him that you are still available for advice and guidance should he desire it. The result is likely to be frankness and confidence that in 90 per cent of the cases will gain the child.
Usually about seventeen or eighteen years of age the various factors in personality become coordinated. If the mind has been illuminated by the Word of God, the emotions controlled by Christ as Lord, and the will made subject to the will of God, then shall we have a fit instrument for the service of Christ. But if the mind is darkened, the emotions debased, and the will undisciplined, then has the child become a fit tool for the devil.
A PLAN of Presentation—These considerations suggest a plan or manner of presentation of truth to the child.
At the infant stage, seek by the aid of picture and spiritual song and through the short and finished stories of the Gospels to store the mind with facts concerning the life and work of Christ.
At the receptive stage from seven to twelve years of age, the child delights in the story, which is to be continued, and the delightful narratives of the Old Testament covering the lives of the patriarchs and abounding in excellent moral precepts; manifesting the marvellous providential dealings of God and exhibiting the nature of poetic retribution, supply delightful material.
A PROGRAM—It will thus emerge that the program or message taken over the entire Sunday School period should aim at embracing the whole book and as was emphasized at the very outset the goal in view must be, by the grace of God, the salvation—body, soul and spirit of the child.
The PERSONALITY of the Teacher—And now lastly, there is the personality of the teacher, or myself; next to the Spirit of God acting through the Word of God, the most important factor in the work of teaching. Is someone saying, “I have no personality?” Then may God help you! for without it you will never teach. Ask the Lord to give you some! Can you imagine a person indwelt by the Holy Ghost and yet wholly lacking in personality? What does it mean? It means among other things that you will be yourself—not altogether like anyone else. It means in divine things, that you will be a power for God. It means that people will listen to what you say and respect both that and you. It means that there will be the manifestation in life of those truths that you profess. And let us all remember this, that Christianity is a life rather than a philosophy.
May the Lord help us to express Christ in our living and in our teaching. May we seek to understand and win them having nothing less in view than their salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
—R. McCallum