Developing a Theological Triage

Teaching Kids Theology Part 3

TLDR: Not all theological beliefs should be held the same. Some are essentials that should divide us from others who don’t hold them because they determine a true believer or church. Others are important and should separate us to a degree from other Christians, but with charity. While still others shouldn’t separate us at all. Knowing where our theological beliefs should fall is critical.

Theology can be intimidating for parents and kidmin leaders because few have been formally trained in the field. And it doesn’t take long to discover how deep and complex theology can be. Remember those terms from Part 1 of this series? Hypostatic union, Gnosticism, anthropocentrism, creatio ex nihilo, epistemology, kenosis, and theophany? But we need to remember that even professional theologians don’t know it all. They might know a lot, but they don’t know it all. We all have questions. We all have times when we need to shrug our shoulders and say, “I haven’t got a clue!”

But we also need to remember that we know more than we think we know—especially the core theological truths. And that’s where we will spend most of our time teaching theology to kids. Our kids don’t necessarily need to understand the complexity of the hypostatic union, but they do need to know that Jesus was fully God and fully man.

Our kids don’t necessarily need to understand the complexity of the hypostatic union, but they do need to know that Jesus was fully God and fully man.

This all takes us to the final big idea we need to explore in this brief introduction to theology. All theological truth matters, but it is not all weighted the same. What one believes about Jesus being our sinless Savior is essential; what one believes about how exactly Jesus will return is not. The problem is when we try to weight all theological beliefs equally—when we try to hold them all as essential and give no wiggle room to others. And this is where the concept of a theological triage factors in.

To understand a theological triage, imagine an ambulance arriving on the scene of an accident with several injured people. The crew can only treat one person at a time, so what do they do? They triage the injuries to determine which ones are most urgent, and then they treat those people first.

This is what we need to do in theology. We need to triage the importance of theological truths to determine which we need to spend more time studying and teaching, and which aren’t as critical. This is also important for how we teach our kids to apply theological truths. Some are worth dividing over; others shouldn’t separate God’s people at all.

Level 1: Essentials

These are theological beliefs that are essential to the Christian faith; thus, they are non-negotiable. If anyone doesn’t believe Jesus was sinless, for example, then that person isn’t within the orthodox Christian faith. For this reason, we cannot compromise on essentials, and they serve as the great determiner of who is in the faith (those who hold them) and those who are not in the faith (those who reject them). This means that these essentials both unify the church (no matter how believers may differ on the other beliefs because these essentials hold us together as one people) and separate the church from the world. If a church does not hold to these essentials, it isn’t a true church and therefore that is grounds to separate from it. To be clear, denying an essential isn’t grounds to consider separation; separation would be needed.

Level 2: Convictions

These are theological beliefs that are important, but that aren’t essential to the faith. These beliefs are based on Scripture, but there can be disagreement concerning them. As we mentioned earlier, what one believes about the end times qualifies for this level. That isn’t essential to salvation, but it’s important and what one believes should be based on Scripture. Church forms of government (called polity) is another example of this level. Denominations exist because of differences of level 2 theological beliefs. But these separations should be done with grace, love, and respect. A church that baptizes infants cannot function fully with a church that doesn’t. They can partner at times, but separation in day-to-day activities is understandable. But that separation should be done with charity and those two churches should seek opportunities to complete kingdom work together.

Level 3: Preferences

These are theological beliefs that may or may not be based on Scripture. For example, a style of worship might be a preference, as would be how one dresses at a worship gathering. These are beliefs that should never divide God’s people. We should be able to agree to disagree, and we should be willing to defer to others in humility.

As you grow as a theologian, it’s important to categorize your theology properly—not allowing level 1 essentials to slip into level 2 or level 3, and not allowing level 2 or level 3 beliefs to sneak into level 1. It’s also important to hold what you believe more loosely and with more generosity in level 2 than level 1 and level 3 than level 2. It’s okay to change a level 2 conviction or a level 3 preference. It’s okay not to have a firm position on them. And it’s okay for others to have different positions than you have.

If you are looking for a resource to help you grow as a theologian and to help you teach your children theology, Faith Foundations is for you. These ninety-nine devotions use an ancient tool called a catechism to teach the core doctrines of the faith. Each devotion features a Bible reading, a devotion, several engaging questions, a Jesus connection, and a suggested family activity. Faith Foundations releases October 21, 2025 but you can preorder a copy today.