It is sometimes suggested that in communities like mine our approach to teaching should take some sort of watered down form. Our people wouldn’t wear the kind of teaching in churches aimed at more educated, middle-class professionals. Whilst that is actually true, it isn’t for the patronisingly assumed reason that they can’t cope with meaty theology and substantial biblical input. It is because a lot of preaching and teaching in middle-class churches is quite boring but everybody is too polite (for which read unwilling to risk upsetting anyone) to admit it nor tell the people responsible. The truth is, 10 minutes of bilge is unlistenable so 40 minutes sermons of the same order are dire. I would suggest our people are just more discerning.

Nevertheless, the suggestion repeatedly rolls around. And those of us working in deprived communities repeatedly shoot back with the same response: it just isn’t so. Those who love the Lord and want to understand what his Word says to them – those who really do want to change according to his Word – are quite happy to wear 40 minute sermons. Our folks come to hour long theological bible studies on top of that. They read quite in depth theological books. They come with theologically astute questions and observations to our midweek community groups and they listen carefully and intelligently chew over the responses. Suggesting they cannot cope with “high level” stuff just ain’t so.

In fact, there are a number of reasons we actively should not water down the Word in communities like mine. I fully agree that we should package it in ways that it will be best heard and digested. But my experience is that middle-class educated churches simply don’t package their offerings particularly well for anybody, and then blame those who say so for not getting on very well with it. People in communities like mine simply won’t let you get away with that and will tell you in no uncertain terms if they think you’re chatting nonsense or boring them to tears. But why should we not water down the Word in communities like mine? Here are a bunch of reasons:

They need the Word as much as anybody else

Deprived communities do not consist of some special class of people who need less of the Bible than everyone else. They are not less sinful than anyone else. They aren’t any more righteous either. They are sinful people like every other sinful person in every community the world over. They, therefore, as much need to hear the full counsel of God as anybody else. We do them a great disservice if, seeing material and social deprivation, we think it is a good idea to deprive them further and not teach them the whole bible and thus create gospel deprivation to boot.

They are perfectly capable

The unsubtle insinuation when people suggest our communities need less of the Bible, or need it watered down, is essentially that the people here are too thick to understand it on its own terms. It is a suggestion as wrong as it is offensive and patronising. Current thinking suggest pupils from state school backgrounds and more socially deprived demographics with three grades lower than their independent school counterparts will perform to the same standard at degree level. That is, an independent school student on three As will likely come out with the same level degree as a state school pupil who got three Bs. The raw outcome of exams are not in themselves final proof of greatest intelligence.

More to the point, those who don’t go to university do not always do so out of inability. They often choose not to go for a range of reasons, social, economic and simple disbelief that the costs will be outweighed by the benefits amongst a host of others. They instead demonstrate a great deal of intelligence in how they navigate the systems in which they find themselves and in the other avenues they choose to pursue. Even aside from all that, we imply that understanding scripture is a matter of academic learning, which seems to leave very little room for either the perspecuity of scripture, the priesthood of all believers nor the work of the Holy Spirit. The assumption people can’t cope is simply untrue.

Those hungry will eat

I have found that those who are hungry for the Word will come and engage with the places the Word is being taught. Those who are not hungry for the Word are, at best, very unhealthy believers. My experience of most middle class educated churches is that their people suffer from the same issues people in my community do. Those who are hungry will find where the Word is being taught so they can feed on it; the majority of people don’t. I wonder how many people in most of our churches would turn up to an hours theological study every week before the main Sunday service. I suspect the answer is not many, judging by the drop off from Sunday evening services compared to the morning and turnout at midweek offerings compared to Sunday morning. Around a quarter of my church members do and many of those who don’t would struggle for second language reasons so it is legitimately harder for them. But those who are hungry will eat. Wanting a watered down diet (and, once again, people in deprived communities don’t want that) is a sign of severe lack of health.

God has things they need to hear

Regardless of any other reason, God has written his Word for all people. He has things he wants people in my community to hear. If we water down the teaching, or skip the harder bits, we are basically saying we know better than the Lord. We suggest these people don’t need to hear what he thinks they do need to hear. Not only is that desperately arrogant to suggest we know better than God, we shortchange our people and stop them hearing what God would say to them when we do that. It is, when all is said and done, inquitous.