“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8 ESV
What we read matters. What we study matters. What we watch matters. Who we listen to matters. Therefore, what we teach matters, perhaps most of all. The importance of choosing biblical curriculum is something that every pastor, elder, minister, teacher, and parent should care about deeply.
What is curriculum?
The term curriculum originated from a Latin word meaning: the course of a race. I love the picture that represents as it relates to our course of study today. Curriculum is like the map of the course for our own education and for the education of others. As Christians who ought to be making disciples, we have to decide where we want our people to be and chart how we are best able to get them there.
I write this article with both the Church and Christian education (be it a homeschool or a Christian school) in mind, as each are facing a time in which there is truly an uncountable amount of educational materials available at the click of a button. But just because there are many options, doesn’t mean those options are biblical.
Why does it matter what I use?
The material we choose for our churches, schools, and homes matters greatly. I wrote the following for my last article, but I think it warrants repeating:
A big influence in the Church that I’ve seen at play over the last decade, and especially the last 4 years, that has had tremendous impact on both doctrinal drift and culture creep within the Church is the ambiguous world of Christian resources.
This may not sound like something that we should care about sounding the alarm on. After all, if a resource claims to be Christian, it must be, right? Wrong. Now more than ever before, the label “Christian” can mean a thousand different things.
- For many, being a “Christian” is a still simply a cultural label. They may live in the Bible Belt, have grown up going to church (at least on Christmas and Easter), and believe there is a God. But they’ve never come to a personal, saving faith. They are not Christians.
- Others, who call themselves “Progressive Christians” claim Christianity, but deny that the Bible is objective truth. They willingly choose to not live according to it. They are not Christians.
- Some claim the title of “Christian” but worship a false Jesus- one that is, in their minds, a genie in a bottle who exists solely to make them healthy and wealthy this side of heaven. I would caution these people who claim to love Jesus so much, that it’s not the real Jesus they love, it’s a life of comfort and ease. But what happens when life doesn’t go according to our plans? When God allows seasons of suffering for His glory? These people, though so passionate about their perception of Jesus, have been deceived and may not actually be true Christians.
- Still others, who claim the Christian faith have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. Jesus Himself warns us, they are not Christians (Matthew 7:21-23).
Yet, these people, who claim to be Christians, are influencing the true Church at alarming rates. Books, podcasts, curriculum, videos, music, “Bible studies”, children’s books, conferences, you name it! And the Church is eating it up. But the problem is, when we don’t pay attention to what these creators believe and what books are being studied and curriculum is being used by small groups, discipleship ministries, and family ministries, we are allowing these beliefs to infiltrate our churches. Then we have things that would never be taught in a sermon, being taught everywhere else in the church.
Biblical worldview stats according to George Barna and Arizona Christian University
Did you know?
- Just 3% of all adults, 2% of parents of children 13 and under, and 1% of adults ages 18-29 possess a biblical worldview as defined by Barna (which is comprised of bare bones, basic Christian beliefs)
- Just 37% of pastors hold to the same biblical worldview standards, and the larger the church they lead, the lower that number becomes
- A shocking 1/3 of pastors do not read the Bible in a given week
- “Among children’s and youth pastors, a majority rejected biblical positions for about one-third of the beliefs examined (6 of the 17 beliefs). While a majority of associate pastors rejected biblical teaching related to four of the 17 beliefs tested…” –American Worldview Inventory 2022
- Executive pastors continuously score the lowest among church staff, yet often they play a large role in hiring and determining policy.
Why does any of this matter in an article about curriculum? Because, these are the people writing and choosing the curriculum. And many times, people feel safer knowing their materials were written by a pastor. As we can see above, that can no longer be the case.
Honestly, I feel nauseous typing all of this. Friends, we must not continue the patterns of the last 30 years. It is time to do things differently.
Why the most popular is rarely the best
More than likely, your church and/or school are using something somewhere written by someone as I’ve described above. Why? Because there are a lot of such curricula out there. And unfortunately, many have gained huge popularity due to their ease of use.
But just because something is easy to use, doesn’t mean it’s biblical and true. When something is beloved by the masses, who lack a biblical worldview as we’ve proven, we have to ask ourselves why. Jesus wasn’t exactly a popular guy. If supposed biblical teaching is being written by those lacking a solid biblical worldview, then we aren’t teaching biblical truth.
Additionally, many organizations that may have been trustworthy at the time they were initially chosen for your church/school/homeschool, have faced the doctrinal drift and culture creep that I recently wrote about. These orgs have been slowly shying away from unpopular truth and watering down biblical teachings. Even worse, many are blatantly teaching unbiblical ideas. We must take the time to vet everything we are allowing our congregants, students, and children to use.
An example in Orange
There’s no better way to show evidence of this than to briefly touch on the popular kids ministry curriculum, Orange (and Parent Cue). As a mama of 3 teens who experienced Orange as young children, I had red flags years ago when I first noticed how value-driven it was rather than gospel-driven. But I was young and didn’t do any further digging since I knew my husband and I were intentionally discipling them all week long. However, in recent years, this organization has boldly shown their true colors, being very clear that they care more about promoting a secular humanist worldview than a biblical one.
I’m going to provide some links here, so that you can take a look for yourself what Orange and Parent Cue are teaching (and not teaching). I’m also going to share some links to videos, articles, and podcasts done by some lovely biblical ministry leaders who care deeply about this topic and are far better educated on the issues than I.
Orange’s homepage (A “better experience”? For what?)
Parent Cue’s homepage (“Be the parent you want to be”? Or should we try to be the parent God wants us to be?)
Video: Why Orange Curriculum is Bad by Foundation Worldview (short and sweet)
Video super stream: multiple concerned ministry leaders discussing their findings (in depth)
Podcast: Dad Tired with Mama Bear Apologetics (the whole thing is great, but they discuss Orange from 28-35 minutes in)
Article: How Sunday Schools Are Raising the Next Generation of Secular Humanists by Natasha Crain with CrossExamined
Video 1, video 2, and video 3 from Theology Mom walking through multiple Orange lessons
In a nutshell, Orange curriculum, which influences over 1 million children each week…
- focuses on moral values
- takes Bible verses out of context
- highlights low level minor details to justify their morality-based teachings
- dumbs down Scripture by being overly silly, so much so that often the main point is overshadowed by goofiness
We must remember, we are not simply trying to raise good people. We are trying to raise Christ-followers who will, by default of that alone, bear good fruit.
How to vet curriculum
As we’ve seen above, it is now more vital than ever that each of us thoroughly vets the materials we’re buying for our home, homeschool, school, and church. But how exactly do we go about doing that? Adapted from another article of mine on how to vet books, I propose the following as a basic starting point:
#1- Read the curriculum summary and table of contents
Start with the basics. Don’t dive into something that you know nothing about. At the very least, find a summary of the material to get an overview of the topic. Open any samples that are provided, read any blurbs about the authors and look over the table of contents. Analyze what you read against your own biblical worldview and what you’re looking for in a book and/or author. Are there immediate and prominent mentions of Jesus? Of the gospel? There should be, front and center.
Note: If you haven’t yet, you really must begin to develop a biblical worldview. How? I’ll write more on this soon, but step number one is to get in the Word and stay there!
#2- Read the endorsements and reviews
See what others are saying. Check the website to see who is endorsing this book. Are these people reliable? What are their biblical qualifications? Remember, a popular name doesn’t equate to solid theology. If you have extra time, look online for deeper reviews of the material. Read some that are both for and against. If you can’t find any, and the material is available in any capacity on Amazon, look there. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s 1 star reviews. You can learn a lot!
#3- Read the publisher’s “about” page on their website
Check the website for their worldview.
Look for:
- What connections they have. Connections aren’t everything, but they are something. What other ministries, churches, and people do they associate themselves with?
- How they got started writing curriculum and why they wrote this particular material- was this something God led them to or are they just trying to make a name for themselves?
- Previous publications- again, companies and people can change for the better and that’s great, but it does provide good insight regarding their choices.
- Emphasis on God’s Word- if they are claiming to be a Christian company, then you better believe there should be Scripture or mention of God’s Word somewhere.
Red flags to be on the lookout for:
- NAR/Word of Faith theology and connections to teachers- this theology promises heaven on earth here and now and focuses on health, wealth, and happiness.
- Liberal/progressive theology and connections to teachers- this theology adds and takes away from the Word to fit certain social, political, and personal views.
- Lack of acknowledgment of their faith- if the company isn’t open about their faith, then be cautious in viewing them as Christian.
- Lack of church association- if they’ve distanced themselves from the Church, that’s a big problem.
- Endorsements by worldly outlets- if the world speaks well of this company, it is highly likely that they’ve either gone off track or don’t include their faith in their writing.
- Emphasis on feelings- an emphasis on feelings elevates the self above truth.
- Emphasis on cultural trends- an emphasis on cultural trends elevates the world above the Word.
- Emphasis on mysticism- an emphasis on mysticism elevates New Age principles above biblical principles.
- Emphasis on man- an emphasis on man elevates man above God.
- Emphasis on man-made rules- an emphasis on man-made rules also elevates man above God
Quick thoughts on options
Now that you may be thoroughly frustrated and exhausted, let me just say there are many theologically solid people and organizations out there working so hard to pump out biblical resources for you.
- Family/Homeschool/Christian School
- Church
- the Bible
- The Gospel Project (not to be confused with the Bible Project)
- Answers in Genesis (especially their VBS!)
- The Biggest Story
- Truth:78
- Groups
We have a great responsibility
It’s time to get serious about the materials we use in our homes, schools, and churches. Take the time to seriously evaluate what you’re already using as well as any new materials you’re considering. I know it takes time, I know it’s frustrating, but friends, what we teach determines what those we’re teaching will learn. Give them the best by taking the time to properly vet everything first. The fruit this effort will produce will be worth it!
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