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Five Reasons Why the Rotation Model is Still the Model of Choice an
article by Neil MacQueen, rotation raconteur Recently, I was asked by a pastor if the Rotation Model was still "relevant." It's a good question. Some movements run their course, or morph into something else. He wanted to know if there was "anything new" or "better." Many first came to the Rotation Model because it was "new." And predictably, to some the Model isn't "new" anymore. The Church is plagued by an attention span deficit. Leaders change. New products, programs and promises catch our eye. The marketeers know this. This is why they drive their creative teams to produce brand new curriculum every 3 to 5 years, knowing that every couple of years, new leaders will take the reigns looking for something different than what their predecessor tried to pull off. Winds of Change? Not that it was unexpected. Sales companies are always in need of new product. Denominational publishers especially, have been forcibly downsized by increased competition, reduced sales, declining denominational budgets, the economy, and the local congregation's increasing willingness to look beyond their own denomination for their resources. Downsizing, restructuring and staff turnover often means a change in priorities and products. One can't help but wonder what effect www.rotation.org has had on the publishing of Rotation resources. Rotation.org was created before others started publishing rotation materials, and will likely outlive them all. This is in part because of the maverick passion of the WoRMers at rotation.org, and also because Rotation.org's model of distribution (free!) isn't dependent on sales, marketing needs, "product cycles," or burdensome overhead. The denominational publisher have FAILED TO GRASP this fundamental change is the resourcing model brought about by the internet and modeled for over 10 years now at rotation.org. Rotation is not just about lessons, it's also a model of HOW we can resource each other across the grassroots in the internet era at a fraction of the cost which denominational publishers are paying to produce and distribute their curriculum. So is the Workshop Rotation Model "relevant" ?
More than just the lessons... the Rotation Model ITSELF is structured to be creative and adaptable. It can change to meet changing needs. We built that idea INTO the model. Rotation is not a curriculum that needs replaced every couple of years. Its workshop schedules and variety of workshops can be adjusted to fit almost every circumstance. It never has to stay the same, ...and never should. That said, the Rotation Model's heart is not really about teaching creatively. All curriculum tries to do that to some extent. At Rotation's heart is an understanding about teachers (a confession, really). And this is one of the BIG reasons why the Rotaton Model is still relevant today, because our volunteers and their needs haven't changed that much.
This understanding of our volunteers' needs, and the use of the internet to support one another, are the real innovations of the Rotation Model. (And yes... the kids also love and thrive in the creative teaching methods and environments!) Here are my Five Reasons Why the Rotation Model is still the best choice for many Sunday Schools: 1. Rotation understand who our teacher ARE, rather than how we WISH they would be.
2. The Research
3. The Money
4. The Times
5. The Experience of Success
Is Rotation a Model for a Dead Program? Invariably, someone asks "the other question." Namely, "Is Sunday School dead?" And one could just as easily ask, "Was it ever truly 'alive'?" Where are all those kids from the Sunday Schools of the 60's and 70's and 80's? The statistics tell a sad story: most didn't return to the church. One of the problems of asking, "Is Sunday School dead or irrelevant?" -is that some people who aren't very GOOD at Sunday School would just as soon answer "yes." They wouldn't cry if it went away. Nobody likes to struggle with something they aren't good at, and the Church has its fair share of pastors, educators, and committees who would rather do away with Sunday School than admit they aren't very good at it, or let someone else try. And sadly, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.... what you aren't good at doesn't thrive. Here's the question I ask of those who think Sunday School is no longer a workable program: "what do you propose to replace it with?" If they can't answer that question, --if they have nothing to replace it with, -then it is THEY who need help, and not just Sunday School. I say this because teaching the Bible to kids is non-negotiable. And to those who answer "fellowship programming will pick up the slack," I usually then inquire into the health of their fellowship programming! (Where there's smoke, there's fire.) If you don't want to do it, don't enjoy doing it anymore, don't think it's a priority, or aren't good at it, -you probably need to step aside rather than continue to run it into the ground. Word.
<>< Neil MacQueen |
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