Show Them Jesus!

Jack Klumpenhower is a Bible teacher and a kids ministry curriculum writer with more than thirty years of experience. He has created Bible lessons and taught children about Jesus at churches, camps, clubs, conferences, and Christian schools all over the world.

Klumpenhower recently wrote a book titled “Show Them Jesus“, which challenges the culture of low-stakes, low-expectations teaching and invites teachers to do nothing less than teach and treasure the good news of Jesus in every lesson.

Much of what Klumpenhower says in the book reaches beyond kids ministry and applies to teaching the Bible in general. Consider these questions…

• Would this lesson still work if Jesus had never come and died for our sin?
  Without the cross, would the main point and the application I leave with the listener still hold together? Is it valid if there’s no atonement?
• Would this lesson still work if Jesus had never risen from the dead?
  If our Savior were a corpse and we too had no expectation of eternal life, would the basic argument I’m making still be good? Could I make a case for the listener to keep listening?
• Would this lesson still work if Jesus were not the reigning King who’ll return to judge the world?
  Would the things I’m urging the listener to do still sound sensible and wise? Even without the future hope we have, would this lesson be worthwhile?

If we can answer yes to any of those questions, we need to get back to the drawing board. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).”