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CM Scripture Memory & Awana
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We have been involved in the Awana program for the last 5 years. I particitpated in Awana as a kid and loved it, but I was in the public school system too. I loved the competition and rewards for memorizing verses and the games we played against other churches. Now in regard to my own children, I love the amount of Scripture that my children have memorized. However, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of Scripture memory for rewards and “shares” they can use to buy things with at the “store”. My 10 and 12 year olds competed in Bible Quizzing this year and it was highly competitive. I didn’t like the pressure for perfection either. It seemed to focus more on the exact wording than the heart of the verses. I know friends I grew up with who memorized huge amounts of Scripture in their youth and are now, as adults, no longer living for the Lord.
In the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar, Sonya confirmed what I have been thinking.
She said: “Memorizing Scripture is not a competiton. It is not a trick for a treat. It is a spiritual discipline.”
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
4byGrace- I had the same problem with Awana. I never shared it with anyone except one close friend who felt the same way I did, because so many people love AWANA. Not that AWANA is bad….but I hated all the competition, including the intense competition the Pinewood Derby car making fostered, especially when I was constantly working on the habit of non-competitiveness with my children (competitiveness runs in our family on both sides)
I had to keep telling my children that we are not here to compete, but to learn the verses for the Lord. We stopped going after a year.
It was so good to read this post! I felt crazy even thinking this way, because no one else seemed to have a problem with it. But I knew it was the Lord speaking to me.
What a burden-lifting forum this is!
Blessings,
Nanci
Knowing God’s Word comes with its own rewards. Anything we can offer are mere trinkets.
We like to work on a passage together as a family each night after dinner. I recommend learning larger portions of scripture rather than just a verse or parts of a verse pulled out of its context. The latter has so often been the cause of much bad doctrine and misunderstanding.
Here’s a previous discussion on this topic that might add some more thoughts.
Quietwatersmom, Thanks for letting me know that I am not the ONLY one who feels this way. I, too, have been working on the habit of non-competitiveness with my children. It really goes against the grain of American society as a whole, and sometimes we get caught up it, but I don’t want it to be that way. I have talked with my children about how I feel about Awana and other competitive events.
Doug, I completely agree with you. We don’t have time for family Scripture memory during the Awana year (which is most of the school year) because there are so many verses they have to memorize. I also noticed a few verses that seem to be pulled completely out of context and misapplied in regard to the the questions/answers that are in their books.
Sonya, Thanks for sharing that thread! I didn’t see that when looking through previous topics. I read through it quickly and will read through it again. I like reading everyone’s viewpoints.
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