Parents need the support of the church more than ever today. When children go to public school, they especially need the church to back up good teaching.

When I was in high school evolution was the big problem. Textbooks taught evolution as if it were fact. In most museums and national parks today, the idea that the world is billions of years old is automatically assumed. Students can get the idea that their parents and teachers believe what the Bible teaches, but scientists know better. They sometimes think scientists have proven evolution as a scientific face and the earth has to be billions of years old. While this is far from true, the teaching they receive in schools can make them doubt the truth of the Bible. Churches can help students have faith in God and his Word when they teach creation in a way that shows the credibility of the Bible.

In my last blog I talked about a common problem Christian parents have in New Zealand. Maori, the native people of New Zealand, have many ancestral stories which talk about their gods and the part they supposedly played in creation and other parts in life. The public schools use these stories to teach respect for the Maori culture. Since these stories often contradict the Bible, they can undermine Bible teaching that students get at church.

Gender Identity

Gender identity is another big issue parents face today. Public schools in New Zealand may soon be forced to teach curriculum that actively teaches that gender stereotypes are harmful and students should be able to choose their gender identity. Even now our church parents say their children are being taught these things at in school or bringing home library books that normalize having two daddies or two mommies.

These dangerous ideas are beginning to be taught to children as young as five:

• Gender identity as male, female, both or neither is determined by a person’s feelings
• A person is sexual from birth
• The proper time to begin sexual activity is whenever one is ready
• If you speak out against people being able to change their gender at will, you’re guilty of hate speech

At this time, not every public school is teaching all of these things, but curriculum has been developed for public school use that teaches these things. These are the kinds of ideas students are now hearing at school at a very young age. Find out more here.

If we say and do nothing about these things our children will hear, they may decide that teachers a school are better educated than their parents and thus know the “real scientific truth” about them. Several parents in our church have brought these gender issues to my attention because of teaching or library books their children have brought home. This has shown me I need to address these issues in Discovery Club.

There are several dangers in addressing gender issues like this. If I say too much about it, I may actually spark an unhealthy amount of interest in the subject. If I say nothing, my students may believe wrong teaching or think it doesn’t matter. Without guiding students’ responses to students who struggle with gender identity, I could trigger arrogance, insensitivity, or disrespectful remarks in them.

Racial Equality

Racial Issues are also becoming prominent in today’s world. Some children live in an area with great racial diversity. Others live in areas with very little diversity. All need to know what God says about on the topic. When teaching small children, it’s probably not wise to dig into historical wrongs and how to make them right. But clear Biblical teaching can give children a strong foundation to build their worldview on. These are things we can clearly teach:

• All people come from one blood. Share the same ancestors, Adam and Eve and Noah and his wife. All belong to the human race. Acts 17:24 – 26.
• Nationalities developed different skin colors and physical characteristics as different people groups settled in different areas of the world. Genesis 11:1-9.
• Just as men and women are equal in Christ, so are the various nationalities. Galatians 3:28
• All cultures have positive elements to their culture as well as negative, sinful ones. We need to judge cultural ideas by the Bible. Many cultural differences are not right or wrong, they are just different.
• We can all learn from others. Very early in the church we see diversity. The Ethiopian treasurer (a man of high rank in Acts 8) and Simeon who was called Niger (a prophet or teacher in Acts 13:1) were probably black men.

Who Am I? – Lesson Plan to Teach about these Issues

I don’t plan to teach a whole lesson centered around gender identity. Instead I want to talk about our identity in Christ. In that way gender identity doesn’t become too big. It’s just one aspect of who we are. Racial equality also fits nicely into the topic.

Here’s a brief outline that you can use to teach about our identity in Christ and how to deal with others of different opinions.

1. God created people in his image. Genesis 1:27-31

Because of that people are like God in these ways:

• They live forever somewhere.
• They can reason, figure things out to a high degree, make decisions.
• They can create ideas and use them in art, literature, music, and science.
• They know the difference between right and wrong and can make moral choices.
• They communicate with each other on a very high social level.

God created people to be either male or female.

• They would be the mothers and fathers that would bear children and fill the earth.
• They would take care of the plants and animals around them.
• They would form families to take care of each other.
• God’s creation of people in this way was very good.

God planned for people to be scattered over the earth and develop physical characteristics as a people group like skin color and facial structure.

• All people come from one blood. Share the same ancestors, Adam and Eve and Noah and his wife. All belong to the human race. Acts 17:24 – 26.
• Nationalities developed different skin colors and physical characteristics as different people groups settled in different areas of the world. Genesis 11:1-9.
• He wanted all people to come to salvation. Matthew 28:19, 20; 2 Peter 3:9.
• All people are equal in Christ. Galatians 3:28.
• We can all learn from others. Very early in the church we see diversity. The Ethiopian treasurer (a man of high rank in Acts 8) and Simeon who was called Niger (a prophet or teacher in Acts 13:1) were probably black men.

2. God planned out your life before you were born. Psalm 139: 13-16

• He planned out everything that would happen to you before you were born.
• He helped form you in your mother’s body from the moment your life began inside of her.
• He made you to be a boy or girl, and choose how you would look and what you would be like.
• You weren’t born in the wrong body. God doesn’t make mistakes.
• He put you in the right family, the right country, to have the right nationality.
• He is giving you the right opportunities to develop skills and abilities you need.
• No one else can be you. God has a special plan for your life. You need to find his plan and follow it.

3. Jesus died for your salvation before you were born. Romans 5:6-8

• You are a sinner because sin entered the world. You do wrong things.
• Jesus died to provide salvation, but you have to choose to accept his gift.
• To be your best self, you need to follow God’s will and obey him.

4. God made you to bring him glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31

• My main purpose in life should be to bring him glory, not to do what I want.

5. Every other person was also made in God’s image and is loved by God. John 3:16

 

6. How should you treat someone who you disagree with, when they are wrong by the Bible? 1 Peter 2:17

• We should treat every person with respect, no matter who they are.
• We should never bully anyone.
• You should treat people with respect, even if they think things that don’t agree with the Bible.

Situation #1 (gender identity):

A friend in your class at school says that he was born a boy, but he feels like he’s in the wrong body. He’s going to identify as a girl now. He wants you to call him a girl and use female pronouns for him.

Treating him these ways would show disrespect:

• Make fun of him.
• Tell him you think it’s stupid for him to say he’s a girl.
• Refuse to call him by his name if he’s chosen a new one.
• Refuse to play with him.
• When he’s in your school group project, try to exclude him.

Treating him these ways would show respect:

• You can be kind to him without agreeing with his decision to do this.
• When you talk to your friends about him, be kind and point out good things about him.
• Call him the name he asks to be called, just as you would do for anyone else.
• If someone asks you, you can say you think God makes us the way we are and we should stay the way we are born. But don’t do this in private in a way that shows you think you are better than him.

Situation #2 (racial diversity):

A new girl becomes part of your class at school. She is a Muslim and wears a hijab (he – JOB or HE-job). You’ve heard that some Muslims have done bad things to Christians. How should you treat her?

Treating her these ways would show disrespect:

• Make fun of her hijab.
• Make fun of the way she talks.
• Exclude her from a game you’re playing during break.
• Ignore her and walk away.

Treating her these ways would show respect:

• Be friendly to her.
• Explain things to her if she doesn’t understand.
• Include her in a game you’re playing during break.
• If others don’t want to play with her because she’s a Muslim, you can say that you don’t agree with her religion, but she’s still a nice girl and needs to be included. Think of how you would want someone to treat you if you were far from home, didn’t always understand, and found it hard to join in fun with others.

Situation #3 (evolution):

Your teacher says the earth started billions of years ago with a big explosion. You believe the Bible and think she is wrong.

How you could show her disrespect:

• Speak up in front of the class and tell her she’s wrong.
• Tell your friends she’s stupid to believe that.

How you could show her respect:

• Go to the teacher privately and tell her you know many people believe the things she said, but you’re a Christian and you believe God created the earth like the Bible says.
• Tell your friends privately the same thing, but show respect for the teacher.