Office, Streamwood, IL

I just finished browsing through some of our new middle school curriculum products - Trek, it's called - and it's left me wondering.

Will people use it?  How will they apply it?  Will students engage?  Will it result in long-term impact? 

There are so many curriculum products available today.  One glance over my shoulder and I'm looking at a dozen different options that are published.  A short walk down the hall to our library and we've got at least another 50 more.  There's enough curriculum available for churches today to teach a kid a new lesson every day for the rest of their life. 

And I guess that's what gets me thinking -- is that a good thing?  Is it good to have so many options out there?  I mean, on one hand it is - for it provides a youth leader with options to present to their students.  But on another hand, it sorta becomes a buffet approach to education.

I like food.  And I'm a big fan of buffet meals (eat 'til you need a new pant size, then go back for more - all for one low price!).  But if I ate from a buffet every day, or week, of my life, I would not be a healthy person.  The food may taste good, it may even feel good to eat that much, but bottom line is that it's not good for me. 

Is that how we treat curriculum in our churches - teaching students from the buffet of options?  "This week we're going to talk about this. Next week we're going to talk about that. Right now we're going to spend four weeks in this subject; next month we'll talk about that subject."  These options may look good, they may even taste good, but are we setting our students up for poor spiritual health?

I mean, every once in awhile it's okay to eat from a buffet - a little variety never hurts anything.  Just like it's probably okay to teach from a curriculum buffet every once in awhile.  But on a regular basis, I need to be eating square meals as part of a healthy diet.  And I need to be teaching my students solid topics as part of a healthy, intentional plan. 

Will people use Trek?  Some will, some won't.  Will students engage it?  Some will, some won't.  Will it result in long-term impact?  I think so.  Why?  Because it's part of an intentional, healthy approach of teaching important spiritual subjects - the stuff that will lead to life-long impact.  I pray it does.