Page 22 - How We Lead Matters

The Sunday School Lesson

Of all the gifts given to me by my father, the greatest was personal responsibility.
Our family always went to church on Sunday, and because I was in the
seventh grade, I attended Sunday school classes instead of the main service.
One day, after a particularly chaotic class with flying spitballs and little or no
order, I announced to my parents on the ride home that I was quitting
Sunday school and from then on would be going to the main sanctuary with
the adults.
Instead of praising my maturity, as I thought he would, my dad pulled off
the highway, turned around, and said, “You what?” When I repeated my com-
plaint that Sunday school was of little value, he looked at me sternly and said,
“Then change it.” Keep in mind that I was only 13 and my father was order-
ing me to fix a Sunday school that even the adult teachers couldn’t control!
My mother tried to intercede and for her trouble was given the job of
setting up a meeting with the Sunday school superintendent so that I could
present my ideas for fixing things. When the day came, she drove me down-
town to the big meeting. I was nervous, to say the least. But the superintend-
ent was pleased to hear my ideas, and together we “fixed” Sunday school.
From that early lesson I learned that if something needs to change in
our homes, schools, workplaces, or churches, it’s up to us to change it rather
than wait for “they” or “them” or someone else to do it.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 5