reset 06/23/99
Since my college days, I've been in some sort of teaching role within the Southern Baptist Sunday School program. If there's anything Baptists do right, it's Sunday School. It is the Sunday School which fosters fellowship, trust, and openness to spiritual teaching. The Christian relationships which grow and develop within the Sunday School allow for true problem sharing and ministry within the body of believers. It is the Sunday School which implants the Word of God into young hearts and minds. It is the group Bible study within the Sunday School which lays a foundation for a lifetime.
My involvement in Sunday School leadership has been primarily with children. Children are worlds more teachable than adults. You can't get an adult to memorize a scripture verse! A child will not only memorize the verse more quickly, but the child will do it each and every week for the thrill of a sticker or check mark on a progress chart. I've given out many a sticker for reciting verses that I cannot say from memory.
For years, I was a director in a Spanish Sunday School Department for fourth through sixth graders. Our department was part of the church's bus ministry. The fact that I didn't know a lick of Spanish didn't seem to matter. What was important was that I was there -- consistently. I was not only a constant in the lives of our kids, but my wife, my children, and I visited them in their homes. We often found ourselves wandering around apartment complexes looking for some clue to the numbering system. It was not uncommon to spend 45 minutes scouting for an apartment for a 3 minute visit. I could not communicate at all with some of the parents, but as soon as I mentioned the name of the church, I was immediately welcomed. I often enlisted the children as interpreters. Those days were a challenge and a blessing.
Prior to the Spanish years, I taught second grade. This was a fun age to teach because the ability of the kids changed so drastically throughout the year. It can be a difficult age if there are not enough helpers. Second grade boys need a high teacher-student ratio. I hate to say it, but I've had classes where I hoped that certain boys, who caused untold disruption, would not show up each week. Sadly, these are the ones who needed to be there the most. Other classes were simply a delight to teach.
One of the more difficult times for me was always at the beginning of the year when a new batch of kids came through. It was a monumental chore for me to learn their names. It's hard to minister to someone on a personal level if they know you do not remember their name. We usually wore nametags. Second graders are rough on nametags. We found laminated cardstock to be the best, low-cost solution. It sure beats having to write names on thirty labels each week. Just punch a whole in the fishy's mouth, jam some yarn through there, tie her off, and voilą -- spill resistant, tear resistant, second grader resistant nametags. Still, there were nametag casualties. Fortunately, about the time the nametags started to disintegrate, we had most of the names down.
One particular year, I had a really great bunch of kids. They were easy to motivate and soaked in the activities like a sponge. Teaching plans were flexible, but one thing I always made time for was Bible verse memorization. It was important to keep track of the Bible verses learned, for at the end of each year, a pizza party was thrown for those achieving a milestone of 25 verses. That was usually enough motivation, but I wanted them to get the certificate that came along with their accomplishment. The certificates were always given out in an evening worship service with individual recognition before the church body. We used a chart to keep track of each student's progress. Some kids were more than happy to blurt out the verse for all to hear, while others would recite the verse of the day only in private. Each had their opportunity -- each in their own style.
I'm reaching back quite a few years, so I don't recall too many of those second graders by name. But I do remember little Samuel. Samuel began coming about mid-year. Samuel was a skinny black child who loved to talk. Actually, I think he loved for people to listen to him more than he liked to talk. Samuel's face lit up at a teacher's encouraging word. At Sunday School, Samuel received the positive feedback his soul needed. Samuel worked hard to earn the praises liberally showered upon him. Samuel was not the most gifted child, but not a Sunday went by when Samuel failed to say his memory verse. I noticed when Samuel was absent. I felt a tinge of disappointment when he would miss a class. Fortunately, that didn't happen very often. Before we knew it, the school year was over, and little Samuel went on to another class. I honestly wish I had been a true believer of home visits back then.
Another class came, and with it came another round of nametags. One Sunday well into the following year, as I was going down the stairs carrying supplies, I saw a former student going the opposite direction. It was Samuel. His face was aglow as his eyes met mine. You could see joy spread all across his face, as if meeting a best friend after a long separation. I recognized him immediately as a member of the previous year's class, but I could not remember little Samuel's name in order to greet him. He must have sensed it also, because he asked repeatedly, "What's my name? What's my name?" The greater the distance between us, the louder he pleaded for me to remember him. I felt awful. Samuel, then a third grader, was at the point of tears. We were swept in opposite directions by the flow of boys, girls, teachers, and parents, all using the stairwell. Very quickly we were out of each other's sight. In the time span of that chance encounter, I couldn't recall his name. I know Samuel was crushed that day because a teacher he admired had 'forgotten' him. Unfortunately, I never got another chance at redemption, for that was the last time I saw Samuel. I wanted little Samuel to know God never forgets, nor does He disappoint.
What's in a name? Genealogy is a fad these days. I say fad, but is it really? Calling something a fad implies that it will eventually go out of vogue. In contrast, people throughout time have been interested in their own heritage. They don't care to learn too much about someone else's family, but they are keenly interested in their own lineage -- their direct ancestors. Correspondingly, people often skip Bible reading passages in Genesis, Chronicles, and elsewhere when they come to all the "begats". We think it boring to read never-ending lists of unfamiliar names, most of which we can't even properly pronounce. I admit to scanning through such passages, but my eyes stick every time I come across a name I know something about. We use names to recall an embodiment of thoughts, feelings, facts, and experiences we associate with a person.
I'm proud of the heritage in my name, as I'm sure you are too. A particular source of pride is a first or middle name which has been passed down through the family. The last name is kind of obligatory. Have you been named after someone who has gone before you? My middle name, Doyle, is my grandfather's middle name. He went by Doyle rather than his given first name, Ulmer. I don't blame him. My mother's middle name is Doylene. I wonder where that came from? She wouldn't like for me to reveal her given first name. I don't blame her either. No one in our family would want any of their ancestors' first names, but we have sort of a tradition started with this middle name thing. I have passed this tradition on regarding my son, Creighton Doyle Hazlett. Perhaps you have been given a unique first and middle name. There is a certain charm about that also. Regardless, our name conjures up images of who we are in the eyes of others. In this sense, there is power in a small cluster of letters.
On the other hand, the Bible tells us there is true power in the name of God and in the name of His son, Jesus. Why, the formal name of God was never spoken in olden times out of reverence and fear. Commandment number three warns us to not misuse the name of God. Today, we can't walk down street, see a movie, or turn on the television without hearing the names of God and Jesus used alongside vulgar expressions. Our society has devalued God and Jesus by allowing such usage to become commonplace. The last part of Exodus 20:7 says, "... for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Deuteronomy 28:58 also carries a stern warning, "If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name -- the Lord your God -- the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses." I wonder which plagues, disasters, and lingering illnesses we witness are a result of God honoring this cause-result relationship.
In order to remind us of the power and prominence of the name of Jesus, I cite the following sprinkle of verses. John 16:23b says, "... I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name ." We're also told in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Romans 10:13 gives us those reassuring words, "... Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Philippians 2:9-11 states, "Therefore God exalted him [Christ Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name , that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Let's elevate God's name to its rightful place of holiness. Let's trust God's Word for the saving power in the Lord's name. Earnestly call upon His name which is above every name. Do it and you will find your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.
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reset 06/23/99