How Do I Talk to My Kids About Church History?
Our Sunday evening routine generally includes reading out loud from a Christian biography. My sons have come to expect it after dinner or before bed. Recently, as we finished a biography on C.S. Lewis, and I read the final paragraphs about his impact on so many people, my voice cracked and tears began to form. “Are you happy crying again, mommy?” my son asked. He’s used to me crying at the end of biographies now. After we spend months immersed in the life of a believer who has gone before us, reflecting on their death gets me every time. They’ve run the race. They’ve finished the fight. They’re home with the Savior.
But there is something else that comes up in reading biographies that is just as important as seeing a believer finish well.
They fail.
In some biographies we’ve read, we learn of parents who spend months, even years, away from their children. In others, we read of owning slaves and treating people of color with contempt, even as they tell people, “Jesus Christ is for all people.” There is no perfect biography because there is no perfect human. In fact, the best biographies are the ones that wrestle with this tension. How can you say one thing about Jesus, but then act so horrible in the next breath?
Talking to your kids about church history means you must wrestle with the praiseworthy deeds of others alongside the ones you’d rather not speak of. If we only teach them about the heroic acts, we run the risk of them thinking that only perfect people can be used by God. But when we teach them about men and women who’ve gone before us, warts and all, then we show them that God can use anyone in his kingdom—even a flawed sinner like you and me.
So when those awkward stories come up as we’re talking about church history, here are three truths to keep in mind with your kids.
Jesus came to save sinners.
When we’re talking to our kids about church history, it’s important to remind them that Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). This is why countless men and women have left everything, going to foreign lands to proclaim the gospel. This is why people give their lives on the mission field. This is why people serve Jesus faithfully as pastors and church leaders. They believe that Jesus changes lives.
But this is also how we explain to our children why sinful people are part of God’s story and work in this world. Even in the great “hall of faith” chapter (Hebrews 11), there’s a lot to be admired, but equal, if not more, to be rejected. Abraham lied about his wife (twice!) and gave her up to foreign kings because he was too scared of what they might do to him.[1] Gideon was afraid of everything.[2] Samson lacked humility, morality, and self-control.[3] David was a murderer.[4] Even Peter couldn’t keep his mouth shut.[5] But that’s why Jesus came. He came to save sinners, and then he used those redeemed sinners to go and spread his message.
Jesus loves to use sinners.
There’s a lot of sin in church history, but there are also a lot of wins. Martin Luther had a temper, but he led a Reformation that we’re still benefiting from today. Sarah Edwards couldn’t see how it was possible for her to worship next to her slave girl, but she also faithfully loved her husband and children all the way to her death. Peter had a big mouth and was impulsive at times, but he was appointed by Jesus to launch the church.
There’s a temptation when we hear of the failings of those we admire to write them off. But that’s not how grace works. God doesn’t call perfect people to do his work.[6] He calls those who need him to accomplish that work for them. He uses sinful, broken, and even despised people to spread his message of forgiveness through Christ. Which leads to our last truth to remember.
There’s only one hero.
One of our favorite kids’ albums is Jesus Kids by Shai Linne. There’s a song on there that is called “Only Jesus.” The entire song runs through people in the Bible and how they didn’t measure up to God’s standards.
The constant refrain in the song is “there’s only Jesus.” They weren’t good enough, but Jesus is and Jesus was. The point of studying church history is not to find perfect people to emulate, but to learn how God is working in the world, by the power of his Spirit, through the work of his Son. Every single person we read about is just a vessel, a jar of clay, molded by the potter for service to him and others. So while we can admire them for the things they accomplished, we must never lose sight of the true hero—Jesus. He’s the only one who never fails.
Reading church history with our kids is a fun learning experience where we get to see how God has worked in the world in the past, so we can have faith to trust him to continue working in our world in the future.
If he did it then, won’t he do it again?
[1] Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18
[2] Judges 6
[3] Judges 13-16
[4] 2 Samuel 11
[5] Matthew 16:22-24
[6] Mark 2:17
