Self Care and Christian Educators
Self Care and Christian Educators
The ministry and work of the professional church educator is challenging and demanding.
The fact is that the more you stay in the field and in the ministry (especially if you stay in the same ministry context) the job only…
The Formula for Successful Learning: Retention
For years I used a mnemonic in teacher training workshops and faculty seminars to help participants remember a fundamental definition of learning.
The mnemonic was in the form of a “formula.”
As a teaching tool, it was effective, though I…
The Theory of Instruction
In Toward a Theory of Instruction, educational theorist Jerome Bruner insists that a theory of development must be linked both to a theory of knowledge and to a theory of instruction, “or be doomed to triviality.” (Bruner p. 21)
I…
Don’t buy church curriculum
There is one thing you can count on in Christian education at any local church: inevitably (just as certain as death and taxes), Sunday School teachers will begin to ask for “new curriculum.” This is regardless of the size of…
CHURCH SIZE AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
There are many factors that influence Christian education programming in congregations.
Two of those factors are staff leadership and church size.
While we may desire otherwise the fact is that congregations are highly dependent on program staff for leadership, development,…
Show us your moves
No, this isn’t about dancing.
The “moves” I’m referring to is movement in your teaching process.
A great communicator once said that how you communicate is just as important as what you say.
In terms of teaching…
The Spiritual Roles of the Christian Teacher
Teaching is one of the primary functions in the Church, both in importance and necessity. In the early church, the function and calling of teaching was indistinguishable from that of Pastor. But in our age of specialization the role of…
The Story of Us
The internet didn’t exist when I was growing up.
I belong to the final generation who had to use card catalogs to look up books and microfiche.
Wild, I know!
I remember going to the public library a few times…
The biological bases for seeking faith
Jaak Panksepp was the Estonian neuroscientist and psychobiologist known for his work in the area of emotions. In his work “Affective neuroscience of the emotional BrainMind: evolutionary perspectives and implications for understanding depression,” he identified the seven primary-process…
Forget everything you know about teaching…it’s wrong
I’ve been in the field of education, from elementary education to higher education, long enough to see fads come and go and dominant philosophies rise and fall.
Along the way, several unfortunate notions about teaching and learning persist, seemingly immune…
What’s in a Name? Education for Formation?
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…
The Opposite of Faith is Certitude
At a recent conference, I shared that, “The opposite of faith is not doubt; it is certitude.” A participant e-mailed me afterward asking me to expand on the concept. He said “I’m trying to get my arms around this concept.”…
Assessing Christian Education in the Church
The 2011 book Move: What 1000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth, by Hawkins and Parkinson explores the question of whether church members actually grow through their participation in Christian education and discipleship programs. The concept behind the book, and the…
Thinking is easy (or is it?)
Quick quiz: What philosopher said, “To think is easy, to act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all.”? Answer… None. I pulled that quote out of a fortune cookie at lunch at a local…
Fixing the Problem of Sunday School
My engineer son has a mantra: “Fix the problem.” As mantras go, it’s a pretty good one. Simple, memorable, intuitive, and to the point.
The mantra refers to our tendency to go about addressing problems by doing a lot of…
