Teaching the selected prophetic messages using the principles of religious education approach

Abstract

In the early years of my pastoral work, I had witnessed how the prophets and their messages were being told or taught in church schools. Most often, when used in a Sunday School class, the focus is given to the prophet and/or to the object attached to him/her. Like for example in one instance in a Sunday School class that I attended. The lesson's theme was about mission, and the teacher used the story of Jonah as the Biblical reference. Instead of reflecting on the message of the story, the teacher focused and emphasized more on the number of days that Jonah stayed in the fish’s belly and on what he did so he can get out from there.

My experience is just one of the many cases which need attention from pastors. Jonah and many other prophets could have brought inspiring and challenging messages for the listeners and for the church as a whole. There could have been another message from Jonah's story than just focus on being trapped inside the fish's belly. There must be something wrong in the way these stories are presented to the church people. It appears, based on the popular interpretations, that the focus of this prophetic account is directed to the prophet himself l leaving the authentic prophetic messages untouched. Worst is, most prophets are understood in terms of caricatures, such as “Jonah and the Big Fish" “Elijah and His Cloak,” “Ezekiel and the Dried Bones,” “Elijah and the Floating Axe head,” “Isaiah and the Seraphim” to name a few. There is nothing wrong with these ways of presenting the prophets.