VACATION. BIBLE. SCHOOL. Seriously?

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Stop for just a moment and say these three words slowly:  Vacation.  Bible.  School.   Could there be three more oxymoronic words out there?  It's sounds to me like the "Hawaii Business Marathon" or the "Vail Indoor Championship."  For the uninitiated an oxymoron are two or more words that we use but stand in contrast to each other:  Found Missing, Alone together, the Living Dead, Adult Male (sorry I couldn't resist), Microsoft Works (oops, I did it again).   

 Maybe it's because I did not grow up in church.  Maybe it's because I favor the new over the old.  But it really is beyond me why churches still call one of the most important outreach opportunities of the year something that is a complete oxymoron.  And don't even get me started on the phrase "Sunday School."  

 I know what you're thinking: "Ok, smarty pants.  What's your idea?  Don't just sit there and criticize...come up with a suggestion."  OK!  Before I make a suggestion, let me point out something :  A typical VBS at a church is not really a Bible School.  From my experience and observation and personal involvement, this week-long event involves all kinds of cool things:  team competition, team spirit, skits, worship, rallies, crafts, Bible lessons, recreation, refreshments.  It's a blast!  Why saddle it with a name of something it really isn't?  The title makes it sound like 20 kids sitting at desks in the summer heat struggling through reading and studying difficult passages in the world's most published book.  

 I challenged our staff to come up with a name based on my (admittedly biased) strong opinion that we needed a better name.  They came up with "Summer Blast."  Now, tell me, doesn't that sound better?  If you were a 9-year old boy getting a flyer in the mail to attend something at a church you have never been to before, what would you rather go to: Vacation Bible School or Summer Blast?  And, honestly, what are we doing there? -- it's more like a blast than a school.  

 Sometimes our names at church get institutionalized and enshrined needlessly.  And we don't stop to ask ourselves if they are appropriate.  Go back to the term "Sunday School" again.  In the 1800's (yes, that long ago) not every kid got to go to regular school.  These kids were eager (well, many of them) to learn.  The church stepped in and offered a chance to learn to read and write.  The text they used: The Bible.  Thus, Sunday School.  Perfect description for what was happening.  But today we still use this archaic term (and a super unfriendly term to the unchurched) to describe pretty much any class that meets at many churches.  Some wise churches have started using Adult Bible Fellowships (ABF's) or Student Bible Fellowships or something similar to describe what is happening...and they ditched the term "Sunday School."

 I say it's time we sent the term "Vacation Bible School" to the lost ark.  

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