A Formation Approach to Christian Education

In 1966 Jerome Bruner, Harvard psychologist and educator, wrote:

There is a dilemma in describing a course of study. One must begin by setting forth the intellectual substance of what is to be taught, else there can be no sense of what challenges and shapes the curiosity of the student. Yet the moment one succumbs to the temptation to “get across” the subject, at that moment the ingredient of pedagogy is in jeopardy. For it is only in a trivial sense that one gives a course to “get something across,” merely to impart information. There are better means to that end than teaching. Unless the learner also masters himself, disciplines his taste, deepens his view of the world, the “something” that is got across is hardly worth the effort of transmission.

Bruner’s challenge relates to education globally, but he provides a challenge at the heart of Christian education.

The phrase “there are better means to that end than teaching” suggests that at the heart of teaching is the relationship between teacher and student that “shapes” the persons involved in the enterprise of learning.

This is in part what an emphasis on “spiritual formation” (or “Christian formation” or “Christian education formation”) as a replacement for “Christian education” has as its focus.

In part, it’s a shift from an over-focus on the content of belief to more attention on the development of the believer. I think this is a good thing provided:

• There remains a commitment, as well, to the importance of what you believe. What you believe still matters and is influential in mastering self, disciplining taste, and deepening one’s worldview. For example, being clear about the principles that guide you and the values that guide practice and decisions are foundational to life and vocation lived with integrity.
• “Formation” is informed by a responsible and studied understanding of how people actually grow, mature, and are “formed” in relationships. Formation is not “magic” and an effective educational enterprise respects what the social sciences tell us about nature and ways of human development.
• We avoid the trap and temptation to over-focus on the individual to the extent that the formation of the person happens in the community and through relationships.
• There is an understanding and rigorous application of the educational process’s principles, methods, and techniques in whatever form appropriate (teaching, training, instruction, heuristics, mentoring, apprenticeship, tutoring, guidance, etc).
• There is an embrace of a clearly-thought out and legitimate theology and philosophy that informs the practice of Christian education formation.

Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the Columbia Theological Seminary. He directs the Pastoral Excellence Program at Columbia seminary. He is the author of the bestseller, The Hidden Lives of Congregations (Alban), Perspectives on Congregational Leadership (Educational Consultants), and A Family Genogram Workbook (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer & Don Reagan, and Leadership in Ministry: Bowen Theory in the Congregational Context.