Commonly, when someone hears that I’m a pastor of adult education at a church I can see the “progress bar” start processing in their minds as they try to compute what “adult ed” could mean at Brookside.
- They may think old-school, and conjure up stereotypes of “adult Sunday school” and ask if Brookside fits that picture (to exaggerate the stereotype, think flannel graph/overhead projector, lukewarm coffee/stale donuts, and a half-prepared teacher asking lots of “so what does that mean to you?” questions).
- Or they may think “new school” and be fluent in more contemporary church lingo, asking how something like “adult ed” is missional.
- Or they may think “small group with more people” and (to again exaggerate the stereotype) come expecting to map out their social calendar and find someone with a truck who can help them move.
In certain ways, Adult Ed. at Brookside comes close to all three of these “mental pictures” listed above (minus the exaggerations, of course…except for maybe the one about lukewarm coffee – that’s probably true): we do use presentation tools to enhance communicating truth, we expect to connect learning with mission, and we want community and participation to develop as classes proceed along their timeline.
But even as I affirm certain strengths of these mental pictures, I also look for every way I can to clarify the necessary and relevant role Adult Ed. does play in the life of our church and combat some of the more (understandably) negative stereotypes. With this as an ongoing goal of mine, then, I’m grateful for how John Piper’s latest, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Crossway, 2010), reinforces some “ministry-philosophy-type-stuff” for Adult Ed. at Brookside (and just some good biblical truth as well).
