What Is New Church
Education and
Why Should We Care?
The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Jr.
Assistant To The Bishop With Oversight Of General Church Education
W
hen you hear the phrase “New Church education” I wonder what comes
to mind. I believe many people think of a system of schools, from
preschool through college. Others might think of Sunday School settings,
videos and other child-related programs sponsored by the General Church.
Still others may think of a church-sponsored commitment to education as a
core use.
For the purposes of this article, I ask you to set aside all those manifestations
of New Church education. There is value in rising above any attendance
or budgetary issues, as well as debates about the best delivery methods or
curricular decisions, to focus on the use itself.
What does the Lord’s Word say about it? How would He have us hold it?
When we open ourselves to this exploration, we discover things not only about
the use, but also about who is to carry it out, and some inspiring descriptions
about how to do so. The first half of this article focuses on defining the use.
The second half, to be published in the next issue of New Church Life, will delve
into teachings about who and how.
eight ways of framing the use:
For the purposes of this article, I would like to offer eight ways of defining the
use of New Church education. Each one springs from a few key quotes in the
Word, and seeks to capture in simple form what the Lord is calling us to rally
around.
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