Last week (4th-7th May) I spent many hours being encouraged and challenged from God’s word. Along with 4 of my fellow Quiz Worx employees (Matt, Roz, Wade & DJ) I attended the Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) biennial Preaching Conference.

The overall theme of the conference was ‘Preaching Before the Face of God’, and we heard talks from speakers such as John Woodbridge, Jerry Bridges and Kanishka Raffel, on topics such as Great Truths of the Revivals, The Respectable Sins of the Preacher and Preaching Judgement. All spoke with great clarity and faithfulness, not to mention a fair dose of good humour.

The speaker who stood out to me, however, was Bryan Chapell, the Dean of the Presbyterian Seminary in St Louis, Missouri. A mild mannered gentleman with a friendly countenance, Chapell pulled no punches when he spoke from, and about, God’s word.

The main theme he addressed was ‘Christ-Centred Preaching’; he stressed in no uncertain terms that faithful adherence to scripture is of utmost importance. This, he applied, is one of the burdens of responsibility carried by those who would teach God’s word.

Over the course of 4 lectures and 2 sermons Chapell dealt with issues such as why Christ-centred preaching matters, the danger of legalism, the danger of moralising, and Hope and the cross.

What really resounded with me, however, was Chapell’s teaching of Biblical Theology; he reminded us that the story of the Bible is the story of God’s redemptive plan of salvation. From the Exodus out of Egypt to Jesus proclaiming he is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’, we can see the arcing theme of salvation throughout God’s word.

This doesn’t mean forcing Old Testament passages into New Testament passages and vice-versa, or saying that Jesus is explicitly present in every Bible verse. It does, however, mean looking at a piece of scripture and asking 2 questions: what does this teach me about God, and what does this teach me about myself?

By doing this we will inevitably see that God is a holy, just and perfect being, and that we are sinful, proud and so impossibly below His glory. It is a relationship that needs restoration. Thus, all God’s word reveals God’s redemptive purpose, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.

So, what does this mean for those of us in childrens’ ministry? What does this mean for Quiz Worx?

I have found throughout my few years of writing, performing and artistically representing the gospel, that it can be very easy to slip into shallow teaching. Children are capable of grasping profound truths, and there is none more profound than the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet, how often do we sell children short of this profundity? Too often?

It can be so easy to let Jesus simply be a mere presence in our teaching, rather than the guts of the whole thing; a cameo in a moralising, politically correct charade of biblical truth. And while there are many wonderful aspects to the gospel that aren’t directly related to Jesus’ substitutionary act of salvation, that is still the centerpiece.

The temptation to teach others to simply be good, to ‘buckle up and fly straight’ and then God will love you, comes so naturally to us fallen human beings. And it seems even easier to fall into this trap when teaching children, because so much of a child’s life is founded on listening and obeying.

I am reminded of the episode of The Simpsons where Homer steals cable. Lisa, the moral conscience of the Simpson family, already has misgivings about her father’s dubious access to cable.

Then, in the very next Sunday School lesson they are learning about Hell, a ‘horrible place’ the teacher describes in graphic detail. Martin Prince, ever the student, asks with his usual eagerness, “Miss, how does one avoid such a place?”.

The teacher’s response? “By obeying the Ten Commandments; 10 simple rules that, if obeyed, will keep you from ever going to hell”. The scene ends with Lisa staring in horror at “Thou Shalt Not Steal”.

I am also reminded of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians; “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified”.

There’s nothing wrong with teaching children not to steal. But if we leave Jesus out of the picture, effectively saying that by simply doing good children will get closer to God, then it is a grievous sin; one that will ultimately lead to damnation.

Jesus is God. He is all powerful and all loving, and he said “Let the children come to me” . . . So I’m going to put Jesus front and centre and do just that.