I read an article by John Ortberg a couple of weeks ago which has really impacted my thinking. The premise of the article is that institutions, businesses and people have a "formal curriculum" and a "hidden curriculum."
- The formal curriculum is intentional.
- The hidden curriculum is inherent.
- The formal curriculum is obvious.
- The hidden curriculum is subtle.
What you learn in the formal curriculum often evaporates after your finals. Sometimes even earlier.
What you learn in the hidden curriculum lasts a lifetime.
If there is a contradiction between what's taught by the formal curriculum and what's taught by the hidden curriculum, people always believe the hidden curriculum. Always.
The article continues in the context of church life:
We have a formal curriculum. It gets taught in classrooms and preached on weekends. It gets sung from the stage and facilitated in small groups. The formal curriculum is what gets taught when we study Romans, or learn about contemplative prayer, or take a spiritual gifts inventory.
But we have a hidden curriculum. Who gets fawned over, and who gets ignored? How do the staff and leaders get along when they're off the platform and think nobody's looking? How does a small group respond when someone shares a problem that is untidy and unresolved? Do leaders respond with panic or irritation or confidence or gentleness when a problem strikes? When there is a conflict, do people face it head on or go into avoidance mode? Does the church staff run on fear?
A couple told me recently of visiting a church in a
city they'd just moved to. It was a church that prides itself on
reaching unchurched people. But it was clear that the hip and the cool
and the artists were prized above all there. The formal curriculum said
God hangs with everybody. But the hidden curriculum said don't expect
to get too close to the core if you tuck your shirt in. John Ortberg
This really got me thinking about New Horizon Church? I know our "formal curriculum. Do we have a hidden curriculum? The article got me thinking about myself? I know what I believe and I can tell people what I believe...Does my behavior mirror my "formal curriculum? What are we really teaching?
Lot's to chew on here. Check out the article here.
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