Sunday School Lesson on King Josiah Topic Discussion

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1.In Western cultures there is no shortage ofBibles. Yet widespread biblical illiteracy meansthat the Bible often is effectively "lost." Whatwould you suggest to address the problem?Biblical illiteracy is caused by people not read-ing the Bible. Therefore, the solution to the prob-lem is for people to read their Bibles! Werecognize, however, that although that answer isright, it may not be helpful in and of itself insolving the problem.

A more productive start is to consider whypeople fail to read their Bibles. Perhaps theydon't recognize the value or importance of Scrip-ture, or they have trouble understanding theBible (and thus give up too soon), or they aren'treaders of anything--period. A contributing fac-tor may be a cultural dismissal of Scripture asbeing irrelevant. Each problem calls for a differ-ent approach. We can start by examining ourown worship services: How often is there a pub-lic reading of Scripture on Sunday morning?

2.What advantages are there to having agodly person in a position of political power?What are the disadvantages or potential pitfalls?When Christians are in positions of influenceand power, we can hope that their decisions andleadership are guided by their faith and byprayer. Ideally, they should have a strong sensi-tivity to issues and matters of God. That person'sleadership style should also reflect those values;leadership should be strong, yet compassionateand just.

Challenges for these leaders include navigatingthe different expectations of fellow Christians.For some, issues of morality are the most impor-tant. For others, issues of social justice are para-mount. There is, at least potentially, the dangerof Christians confusing political success withspiritual progress. The church's mission and pur-pose remain unchanged, regardless of the direc-tion that the political winds are blowing.

3. How should a leader go about gaining con-sensus for change in today's church? Or is it bet-ter just to proceed with a majority, since build-ing a consensus is often time consuming or evenimpossible?

It is worth noting that Josiah began with a per-sonal commitment. Only then was he able togenerate momentum among other leaders inorder to present a unified leadership and a cleardirection to the people.

Josiah also made a point of gathering leadersfrom across the spectrum of society. As we workthrough the lesson, we will see Josiah present thefacts, allow the people to assimilate the data, andthen call for one specific action. Achieving con-sensus (or reaching a "tipping point") was perhapseasier here because Josiah was merely reimple-menting something that should never have beenallowed to fall into disuse in the first place.

4.Josiah met with "all the people, both smalland great." What elements of society tend to beoverlooked by churches? How can we makesure that we are communicating the gospel toeveryone?

Individual churches tend to reach out to rela-tively narrow slices of their communities through"targeted demographics." As a result, manychurches miss certain segments of the populationcompletely. Plans to address the deficiencies canalso be put into place at the level of the individ-ual church. One church may offer English as aSecond Language classes for outreach, while an-other may start a contemporary (or traditional)worship service. Perhaps the best strategies foroutreach and evangelism have yet to be devised.

5.What circumstances would make a com-mand to corporate worship effective? Why dowe seldom hear these kinds of commands frompolitical or spiritual leaders today?

Today many believe that worship must be aninternal and personal event. Worship in Josiah'stime was much more a communal function, heldat a central place.

Western societies that have a tradition of sepa-ration of church and state may find it hard toimagine a political leader commanding people toworship. However, in times of crisis leaders havebeen known to ask their country to pray. An ex-ample is Abraham Lincoln's "Proclamation Ap-pointing a National Fast Day" of March 30. 1863,available on the Internet.

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