Texas and Baptist Sunday Schools.By Ronald C. Ellison. Austin, Tex.: Nortex Press, 1997. 197 pp. The importance of the Sunday school Sunday school, institution for instruction in religion and morals, usually conducted in churches as part of the church organization but sometimes maintained by other religious or philanthropic bodies. In England during the 18th cent. to the growth of evangelical churches in American history cannot be overstated o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o . Sunday Schools provide more than half of the people who join a given congregation, and the training that takes place in Sunday School is often life-changing. Appropriately, Ronald C. Ellison chose to look at the role of the Sunday School in Texas Baptist life and to provide some of the basic history of Sunday School in Protestant life. The modern Sunday School began in 1780 in Gloucester, England. Robert Raikes
Robert Raikes ("the Younger") (14 September 1736 – 5 April 1811) was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday , credited with starting this first one, organized an ecumenical Sunday afternoon school for the street kids of his city. Ellison carries the history of Sunday School to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the South, and into Texas. Offering other possible beginnings of Sunday School, from the Sunday training sessions offered by Calvin and others during the Reformation, to possible American "firsts," Ellison shades in Sunday School's past with a quick hand. He also follows the history of the Baptist Sunday School Board (currently Lifeway Christian Resources LifeWay Christian Resources is one of the largest providers of Christian resources in the world. Lifeway is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Background In 1891, J.M. Frost, a 43-year-old pastor, started the company that is now known as LifeWay. ) through its various incarnations. For basic and statistical information about Texas Sunday Schools in 1829-1996, Ellison's book is a good read. He, however, does not address larger issues relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc education in Baptist churches and how the role of Sunday School has changed over the years. Ellison also does not give attention to the International Sunday School Union. This book is particularly appealing to Texas Baptists because of Ellison's focus on that state's work. Outlining the careers of the founders of Sunday School in Texas, from Thomas J. Pilgrim to Bernie M. Spooner and current leaders of the Baptist General Convention of Texas's Sunday School effort, Ellison offers interesting vignettes of these leaders' lives. Providing statistical information in an appendix, the author details growth and decline throughout the years. He presents sociological explanations for spikes in growth or decline, as well as the "religious" explanations of seasons of revival and stagnation Stagnation A period of little or no growth in the economy. Economic growth of less than 2-3% is considered stagnation. Sometimes used to describe low trading volume or inactive trading in securities. Notes: A good example of stagnation was the U.S. economy in the 1970s. . Ron Ellison provides a sympathetic and detailed account of Sunday School and its influence among Texas Baptists.--Reviewed by Rosalie Beck, associate professor of religion, Baylor University, Waco, Texas. |
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