Preaching/Teaching vs Education

Editor, Gospel Advocate:

Reference the article "J.W. McGarvey and the Tragic Tale of Broadway" in March 2011 GA.

The article reported that in a congregation with a membership approaching 1,000 361 voted for the organ, 202 voted against the organ, and 400+ had no opinion. That means 202 members accepted McGarvey's teaching BUT 761+ rejected his comments on the subject. He had failed pretty badly. Would we accept that same percents from a high school teacher or college professor?

What if in a class studying physics with attendance approaching 1,000 students 202 students accepted the laws of physics and 761 did not? Would you want your child who was interested in Physics to be a student of a professor with that record of teaching/convincing his students? What if you had that same level of success convincing your children of your values?

I am not blaming McGarvey I am blaming the method he used and we use today. Formal "church" services and Bible classes where the people sit and listen are not situations where learning takes place. Learning is give and take; questions and answers; discussion and rebuttal. Without learning there is no teaching. In schools we are interested in teacher/student ratio. How's the ratio in your congregation and in your classes?

As the church Jesus established on Pentecost continues to shrink in comparison with the population; as the students graduate from our Sunday schools and go on to college or jobs continue to reject what their teachers espoused all those years we are well past the time to take a hard look at what we are doing. Our bible classes are intended to fill the time allotted for classes not education. Sermons are intended to fill the time allotted for the sermon not education and convincing.