This1954 performance by Four Star Playhouse, entitled "Never Explain", sympathetically portrays a single father who has opted to teach his son and daughter at home.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
Covenantal Child Development (Infancy), 3
Lesson 3: Baby Faith
But you brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust at my mother's breasts.
I was thrown on you from my mother's womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me (Psalm 22:9-10, WEB).
The people of Old Covenant Israel sang the Psalms, including the one above, as a normal part of their worship. This inspired song led them to believe that they each enjoyed a personal, faith-based relationship with God from the beginning. In this lesson, I want to answer the questions:
Let me begin by saying that I know that Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm, so first and foremost, it's about Jesus. On the other hand, it also has an historical application, and ancient Israelites sang it in the first person. Therefore Jesus is not the only one who can claim He trusted God at His mother's breasts.
Before I ask you to examine this issue of faith, however, I want to remind you of the main point of the last lesson. The infant in the cradle has to grapple with a deep spiritual reality. He must begin to put together the rudiments of his worldview, and he must either use self or God as the orientation point for that worldview.
Another way to put this is to say that a baby has to decide how it's going to relate to the God who confronts him, even in the cradle. I know it seems strange to think this way, but we accept the fact that beings without the power of language or reason form fundamental relationships all the time. Think of a puppy or a kitten.
The puppy wags its tail as it licks the face of anyone who shows it attention. The kitten purrs as you stroke its fur. These little creatures have no words and no reason, yet they orient themselves to people in these ways.
As the puppy or kitten can relate to humans, so baby humans can relate to God. God is simply there, and they must orient themselves to Him one way or another. They will either trust Him or try to shut Him out.
The Bible tells us that, "The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Psalm 58:3). On the other hand, a man from a covenant family may say, "I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother's womb. I will always praise you" (Psalm 71:6).
These verses provide additional evidence from Scripture that children make their fundamental orientation toward God even from the womb.
The best word I can think of for this kind of fundamental orientation is "attitude". Your attitude is how you relate to someone [or some thing] in the inmost part of your being. You can relate to someone with an attitude of kindness or contempt, trust or suspicion.
Your attitude, then, refers to the way that you, in the inner man, relate to another. This manner of relating is so basic, that it can exist apart from language or reason. That is why I call attitudes "fundamental" orientations. And when it comes to saving faith, the indispensable dimension is attitude.
The word "faith", as used in the Bible, actually has three dimensions. One is the cognitive or intellectual dimension. This aspect of faith affirms certain facts as true (e.g., I believe that Jesus rose from the dead).
Another facet of faith is behavioral, for the word translated "faith" in the New Testament can also mean "faithfulness". I think this is what James was getting at in his epistle when he said that works makes faith perfect. This is the outward visible part of your faith that testifies to the reality and presence of the inward aspects.
Finally, there is the dispositional or relational dimension of faith. It is an attitude of trust. Preachers appeal to this when they say that it's not enough to believe THAT the bridge can hold you, but you must commit your weight by stepping out onto the bridge (a behavioral response that confirms an inner attitude).
The word that best describes this innermost dimension of faith is "trust". That is the word used in Psalm 22:9, quoted at the beginning of this lesson. And that is the dimension of faith that determines the difference between saved and lost.
Now I would like to apply all this to your your baby. I am writing this to Christian parents of very young children. Your infant child right now is either a believer or an unbeliever. What, ultimately, makes the difference? I can answer in one word: GRACE!
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God . . . (Eph. 2:8, WEB).
Faith -- particularly, faith as an attitude – is a work of God's grace in the human heart. That is the same no matter what the age or mental development of a person is. Faith is a work wrought in the human spirit by the grace of God alone.
Do you remember how in a previous lesson I mentioned that all children come with an inborn bias against God (Original Sin)? Well, apart from His grace you relate to God according to that bias. Grace is the free gift of God that gives you the ability to relate to Him in a better way than your bias dictates.
At the end of yesterday's lesson, I challenged you to begin praying about your child's spiritual state. Not what he may do at some date in the dim future, but about the spiritual issues he's dealing with right now. From today's lesson you can see that you may pray specifically for God's grace to intervene with the gift of faith RIGHT NOW.
You do not need to wait five, eight or twelve years to pray that your child come to Christ. The Holy Spirit is with the child, confronting him even from the womb. John the Baptist, while still in Elizabeth's womb, recognized the presence of Jesus and leaped for joy (Luke 1:43-44). That demonstrates a fundamental orientation of trust in God.
Moreover, even if your child does not become a believer from infancy, you have many reassurances from the Word of God that your child will receive that special grace to believe -- if you, as a parent fulfill the covenantal conditions for the promises God has made.
The good news is that the key to claiming God's covenantal promises regarding children lies in something we have been discussing throughout this lesson, namely faith. Only here, it's your own faith that makes the difference.
In the next lesson, I want to present to you the Biblically warranted parental faith that will lay hold of God's trans-generational covenantal promise.
But you brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust at my mother's breasts.
I was thrown on you from my mother's womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me (Psalm 22:9-10, WEB).
The people of Old Covenant Israel sang the Psalms, including the one above, as a normal part of their worship. This inspired song led them to believe that they each enjoyed a personal, faith-based relationship with God from the beginning. In this lesson, I want to answer the questions:
- How such a thing can be?
- Can this be true for Christian families today?
Let me begin by saying that I know that Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm, so first and foremost, it's about Jesus. On the other hand, it also has an historical application, and ancient Israelites sang it in the first person. Therefore Jesus is not the only one who can claim He trusted God at His mother's breasts.
Before I ask you to examine this issue of faith, however, I want to remind you of the main point of the last lesson. The infant in the cradle has to grapple with a deep spiritual reality. He must begin to put together the rudiments of his worldview, and he must either use self or God as the orientation point for that worldview.
Another way to put this is to say that a baby has to decide how it's going to relate to the God who confronts him, even in the cradle. I know it seems strange to think this way, but we accept the fact that beings without the power of language or reason form fundamental relationships all the time. Think of a puppy or a kitten.
The puppy wags its tail as it licks the face of anyone who shows it attention. The kitten purrs as you stroke its fur. These little creatures have no words and no reason, yet they orient themselves to people in these ways.
As the puppy or kitten can relate to humans, so baby humans can relate to God. God is simply there, and they must orient themselves to Him one way or another. They will either trust Him or try to shut Him out.
The Bible tells us that, "The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Psalm 58:3). On the other hand, a man from a covenant family may say, "I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother's womb. I will always praise you" (Psalm 71:6).
These verses provide additional evidence from Scripture that children make their fundamental orientation toward God even from the womb.
The best word I can think of for this kind of fundamental orientation is "attitude". Your attitude is how you relate to someone [or some thing] in the inmost part of your being. You can relate to someone with an attitude of kindness or contempt, trust or suspicion.
Your attitude, then, refers to the way that you, in the inner man, relate to another. This manner of relating is so basic, that it can exist apart from language or reason. That is why I call attitudes "fundamental" orientations. And when it comes to saving faith, the indispensable dimension is attitude.
The word "faith", as used in the Bible, actually has three dimensions. One is the cognitive or intellectual dimension. This aspect of faith affirms certain facts as true (e.g., I believe that Jesus rose from the dead).
Another facet of faith is behavioral, for the word translated "faith" in the New Testament can also mean "faithfulness". I think this is what James was getting at in his epistle when he said that works makes faith perfect. This is the outward visible part of your faith that testifies to the reality and presence of the inward aspects.
Finally, there is the dispositional or relational dimension of faith. It is an attitude of trust. Preachers appeal to this when they say that it's not enough to believe THAT the bridge can hold you, but you must commit your weight by stepping out onto the bridge (a behavioral response that confirms an inner attitude).
The word that best describes this innermost dimension of faith is "trust". That is the word used in Psalm 22:9, quoted at the beginning of this lesson. And that is the dimension of faith that determines the difference between saved and lost.
Now I would like to apply all this to your your baby. I am writing this to Christian parents of very young children. Your infant child right now is either a believer or an unbeliever. What, ultimately, makes the difference? I can answer in one word: GRACE!
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God . . . (Eph. 2:8, WEB).
Faith -- particularly, faith as an attitude – is a work of God's grace in the human heart. That is the same no matter what the age or mental development of a person is. Faith is a work wrought in the human spirit by the grace of God alone.
Do you remember how in a previous lesson I mentioned that all children come with an inborn bias against God (Original Sin)? Well, apart from His grace you relate to God according to that bias. Grace is the free gift of God that gives you the ability to relate to Him in a better way than your bias dictates.
At the end of yesterday's lesson, I challenged you to begin praying about your child's spiritual state. Not what he may do at some date in the dim future, but about the spiritual issues he's dealing with right now. From today's lesson you can see that you may pray specifically for God's grace to intervene with the gift of faith RIGHT NOW.
You do not need to wait five, eight or twelve years to pray that your child come to Christ. The Holy Spirit is with the child, confronting him even from the womb. John the Baptist, while still in Elizabeth's womb, recognized the presence of Jesus and leaped for joy (Luke 1:43-44). That demonstrates a fundamental orientation of trust in God.
Moreover, even if your child does not become a believer from infancy, you have many reassurances from the Word of God that your child will receive that special grace to believe -- if you, as a parent fulfill the covenantal conditions for the promises God has made.
The good news is that the key to claiming God's covenantal promises regarding children lies in something we have been discussing throughout this lesson, namely faith. Only here, it's your own faith that makes the difference.
In the next lesson, I want to present to you the Biblically warranted parental faith that will lay hold of God's trans-generational covenantal promise.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Covenantal Child Development (Infancy), 2
Lesson 2: Born to Interpret, part II
In the previous lesson, you saw that an infant in the cradle is not intellectually idle. He is busy putting together the fundamental interpretive standards around which he will continue to construct his worldview. Today, I want you to consider the spiritual implications of the baby's worldview activity.
You and I have become so accustomed to language and rational thought that it's hard for us to imagine the baby's consciousness. No words… No concepts… Nothing but you. . . AND GOD.
The Bible makes it clear that God confronts every person in the world. We can see this plainly in Psalm 139.
YHWH, you have searched me, and You know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, YHWH, You know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty .I can't attain it.
Where could I go from Your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there Your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;" even the darkness doesn't hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Imagine how hard it would be to ignore God if all thoughts and mental concepts were wiped away. Nothing left, but the reality of you and Him. Nevertheless, apart from His grace, everyone suppresses that knowledge. Look at Romans 1:18-20 (WEB):
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Rejection of God is the core and essence of sin. I came into this world a God-rejecting sinner, and so did you. The Psalmist says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5, WEB).
This means that from the beginning – even before birth, going back to conception -- a child exercises an anti-God bias. Theologians have named this inborn bias "Original Sin". The question before us is how that bias affects the origin and development of a child's worldview.
You have already seen that a newborn does not have the ability to make sense of what he encounters in the world around him. But because of an innate drive, he starts making mental connections that will help him understand the input from his eyes, ears and other sensory organs. For a worldview, it's rudimentary, but it fits our definition of a worldview, nonetheless.
The point I now want to make is that every worldview has an ultimate reference point. Your worldview is either rooted in yourself or in your Creator. No exceptions. (Even the ancient pagan religious worldviews started with gods that resembled man -- Rom. 1:22 23.)
This means that as little Junior coos in his cradle, piecing together the beginnings of his worldview, he has a choice to make. A deeply spiritual choice with far-reaching implications. He must choose whether he will orient his interpretation of the world around the Creator whose presence he cannot escape, or around himself.
Let that sink in a moment. Long before he ever learns to read the Bible, or to sing "Jesus Loves Me", or to understand a gospel message, your baby has made a choice. The choice is real, and God recognizes the choice and its eternal implications as valid. He has chosen himself as the reference point for his worldview. Or has he?
Our God is a gracious God, and He does not leave His people without hope for them or for their children. "For the promise is to you, and to your children . . .” (Acts 2:39) The vehicle for these intergenerational blessings is something the Bible calls a covenant.
Christian marriage is a covenant before God. The LORD instituted the marriage covenant in order to raise up godly offspring. In the Bible we read, "Did He not make one, although He had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed" (Micah 2:15).
God is not limited in the free exercise of His grace. He confronts your child, even from the womb. And if the baby has the ability to reject God from the beginning, then He can give the child grace and ability to make the right choice, as well.
While these teachings may sound unfamiliar to you, I invite you to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. If you are a Christian, your child is holy (literally, "a saint" I Cor. 7:14) before God. He never meant for you to consider that the salvation of your child is random or uncertain. It rests upon conditional promises just as certainly as your own salvation does.
We are coming to the end of this lesson, but before I close I want you, as a parent who loves and nurtures a little child to ask yourself how you pray for that little one. Do you pray that your child will "someday" come to Jesus? What about now?
Under the fluffy blankets, and beneath the soft flannel sleeper, a mighty conflict rages for the soul of your child. You have strong promises from God to claim. Do you pray about what is happening even now in your child's heart?
"Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great and wondrous salvation which You wrought for us in Christ. Right now we pray for our children and grandchildren of all ages. Fulfill your covenant promises; bring our children to repentance and saving faith in our Lord Jesus. Help us, as parents and grandparents to learn all the conditions you place upon us, and give us the grace to fulfill those conditions that we may see our children grow up as godly people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
In the next lesson we will talk about the various facets of faith, and how old your child must be to have saving faith. In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about what the covenant means to you and to your child, why not order a copy of "Rearing Faithful Children" and read the chapter entitled, "Life in the Covenant with Father"?
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
In the previous lesson, you saw that an infant in the cradle is not intellectually idle. He is busy putting together the fundamental interpretive standards around which he will continue to construct his worldview. Today, I want you to consider the spiritual implications of the baby's worldview activity.
You and I have become so accustomed to language and rational thought that it's hard for us to imagine the baby's consciousness. No words… No concepts… Nothing but you. . . AND GOD.
The Bible makes it clear that God confronts every person in the world. We can see this plainly in Psalm 139.
YHWH, you have searched me, and You know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, YHWH, You know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty .I can't attain it.
Where could I go from Your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there Your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;" even the darkness doesn't hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Imagine how hard it would be to ignore God if all thoughts and mental concepts were wiped away. Nothing left, but the reality of you and Him. Nevertheless, apart from His grace, everyone suppresses that knowledge. Look at Romans 1:18-20 (WEB):
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Rejection of God is the core and essence of sin. I came into this world a God-rejecting sinner, and so did you. The Psalmist says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5, WEB).
This means that from the beginning – even before birth, going back to conception -- a child exercises an anti-God bias. Theologians have named this inborn bias "Original Sin". The question before us is how that bias affects the origin and development of a child's worldview.
You have already seen that a newborn does not have the ability to make sense of what he encounters in the world around him. But because of an innate drive, he starts making mental connections that will help him understand the input from his eyes, ears and other sensory organs. For a worldview, it's rudimentary, but it fits our definition of a worldview, nonetheless.
The point I now want to make is that every worldview has an ultimate reference point. Your worldview is either rooted in yourself or in your Creator. No exceptions. (Even the ancient pagan religious worldviews started with gods that resembled man -- Rom. 1:22 23.)
This means that as little Junior coos in his cradle, piecing together the beginnings of his worldview, he has a choice to make. A deeply spiritual choice with far-reaching implications. He must choose whether he will orient his interpretation of the world around the Creator whose presence he cannot escape, or around himself.
Let that sink in a moment. Long before he ever learns to read the Bible, or to sing "Jesus Loves Me", or to understand a gospel message, your baby has made a choice. The choice is real, and God recognizes the choice and its eternal implications as valid. He has chosen himself as the reference point for his worldview. Or has he?
Our God is a gracious God, and He does not leave His people without hope for them or for their children. "For the promise is to you, and to your children . . .” (Acts 2:39) The vehicle for these intergenerational blessings is something the Bible calls a covenant.
Christian marriage is a covenant before God. The LORD instituted the marriage covenant in order to raise up godly offspring. In the Bible we read, "Did He not make one, although He had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed" (Micah 2:15).
God is not limited in the free exercise of His grace. He confronts your child, even from the womb. And if the baby has the ability to reject God from the beginning, then He can give the child grace and ability to make the right choice, as well.
While these teachings may sound unfamiliar to you, I invite you to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. If you are a Christian, your child is holy (literally, "a saint" I Cor. 7:14) before God. He never meant for you to consider that the salvation of your child is random or uncertain. It rests upon conditional promises just as certainly as your own salvation does.
We are coming to the end of this lesson, but before I close I want you, as a parent who loves and nurtures a little child to ask yourself how you pray for that little one. Do you pray that your child will "someday" come to Jesus? What about now?
Under the fluffy blankets, and beneath the soft flannel sleeper, a mighty conflict rages for the soul of your child. You have strong promises from God to claim. Do you pray about what is happening even now in your child's heart?
"Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great and wondrous salvation which You wrought for us in Christ. Right now we pray for our children and grandchildren of all ages. Fulfill your covenant promises; bring our children to repentance and saving faith in our Lord Jesus. Help us, as parents and grandparents to learn all the conditions you place upon us, and give us the grace to fulfill those conditions that we may see our children grow up as godly people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
In the next lesson we will talk about the various facets of faith, and how old your child must be to have saving faith. In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about what the covenant means to you and to your child, why not order a copy of "Rearing Faithful Children" and read the chapter entitled, "Life in the Covenant with Father"?
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
Monday, February 19, 2018
Covenantal Child Development (Infancy), 1
Lesson 1: Born to Interpret
Look at the little baby in your arms. Gurgling, cooing, and waving its tiny arms and legs. You would hardly suspect that this child is working on the intellectual project of a lifetime -- and making a momentous decision about it, as well.
Before we get to that, I want to talk to you about some well-established facts about infancy.
A newborn baby is receiving all kinds of new information through his senses. He sees lights, colors; he hears various sounds; he feels all kinds of feelings,both pleasant and unpleasant. The fascinating thing about all this is that the baby does not understand any of it.
The infant's eyes receive all the data from the room around him, and his nerves pass that information along to the brain. The problem is that his mind has no means to interpret all this information. Patterns of light and colors. That's all he perceives.
Researchers in child development have even determined that the newborn in the bassinette, wildly waving his arms, sees the motion. But he does not realize that he is causing the motion, or that the things he sees moving are a part of him. That connection comes over a period of weeks.
Over time, an infant finally makes the connection... that the arms and legs he sees belong to him... that this particular pattern of light and shade and color is a face (Mommy's face!)... and so on. The fact that he makes those connections testifies to the fact that God has built something into the child that drives him to make sense out what he sees and hears and feels.
A child born without a particular sense -- let's say sight -- could never develop a mental pattern to interpret sight pictures. We find a clue to this in Scripture (Mark 8:23-25).
He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. He looked up, and said, "I see men; for I see them like trees walking." Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw every-one clearly. (WEB)
Jesus did something truly unusual here. First He healed the man's physical organs of sight. They could pick up light and send signals to the man's brain. But evidently, the man -- blind from birth -- had no way to interpret what he saw.
The only way he could tell that the blobs he saw were men, rather than trees is that he already knew that trees do not move. At that point Jesus goes beyond the mere healing of physical organs. He lays hands on the man's eyes and implants in him the mental patterns necessary to interpret the information coming in from his eyes.
Jesus does not implant that ability in newborns. Instead, God gives the newborn the drive to form a mental pattern -- a grid -- for himself. As adults we call this interpretive grid a "worldview". Thus we can say that, from the beginning, each one of us has had the inborn drive to construct his own worldview.
The Bible tells us, "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, YHWH has made even both of them" (Prov. 20:12). I don't think I'm straying from Scripture when I say that God designed not only the physical eye and ear, but also the process by which the mind grows to make sense out of what these physical organs detect. Certainly, the child's worldview will take years to develop and mature, but the discerning Christian parent will recognize that the process does not begin with formal education. It is going on in the cradle.
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
Look at the little baby in your arms. Gurgling, cooing, and waving its tiny arms and legs. You would hardly suspect that this child is working on the intellectual project of a lifetime -- and making a momentous decision about it, as well.
Before we get to that, I want to talk to you about some well-established facts about infancy.
A newborn baby is receiving all kinds of new information through his senses. He sees lights, colors; he hears various sounds; he feels all kinds of feelings,both pleasant and unpleasant. The fascinating thing about all this is that the baby does not understand any of it.
The infant's eyes receive all the data from the room around him, and his nerves pass that information along to the brain. The problem is that his mind has no means to interpret all this information. Patterns of light and colors. That's all he perceives.
Researchers in child development have even determined that the newborn in the bassinette, wildly waving his arms, sees the motion. But he does not realize that he is causing the motion, or that the things he sees moving are a part of him. That connection comes over a period of weeks.
Over time, an infant finally makes the connection... that the arms and legs he sees belong to him... that this particular pattern of light and shade and color is a face (Mommy's face!)... and so on. The fact that he makes those connections testifies to the fact that God has built something into the child that drives him to make sense out what he sees and hears and feels.
A child born without a particular sense -- let's say sight -- could never develop a mental pattern to interpret sight pictures. We find a clue to this in Scripture (Mark 8:23-25).
He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. He looked up, and said, "I see men; for I see them like trees walking." Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw every-one clearly. (WEB)
Jesus did something truly unusual here. First He healed the man's physical organs of sight. They could pick up light and send signals to the man's brain. But evidently, the man -- blind from birth -- had no way to interpret what he saw.
The only way he could tell that the blobs he saw were men, rather than trees is that he already knew that trees do not move. At that point Jesus goes beyond the mere healing of physical organs. He lays hands on the man's eyes and implants in him the mental patterns necessary to interpret the information coming in from his eyes.
Jesus does not implant that ability in newborns. Instead, God gives the newborn the drive to form a mental pattern -- a grid -- for himself. As adults we call this interpretive grid a "worldview". Thus we can say that, from the beginning, each one of us has had the inborn drive to construct his own worldview.
The Bible tells us, "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, YHWH has made even both of them" (Prov. 20:12). I don't think I'm straying from Scripture when I say that God designed not only the physical eye and ear, but also the process by which the mind grows to make sense out of what these physical organs detect. Certainly, the child's worldview will take years to develop and mature, but the discerning Christian parent will recognize that the process does not begin with formal education. It is going on in the cradle.
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
Sunday, January 7, 2018
The Weakest Links in Home Education
Okay, if you've followed my blog(s) for any length of time, you know that I vehemently oppose the practice of Christians turning their covenant children over to a godless educational (indoctrination) system. After all, what's the point of protecting your child physically and morally from all the predators around us and then just turning his soul over to the wolf pack.
Further, you have probably gathered that I believe in Christian home education as the potentially best -- but not the only -- option, with a couple of big caveats. So, what are the weak links in Christian home education? Let me give you the two most relevant: a) You; b) Your curriculum.
Many Christian parents who want to educate their children at home have only a vague notion of what constitutes a Biblical worldview. Worldview has become a buzzword that purveyors of curriculum materials and home-school conferences bandy about with little regard to the specific content of the term.
As a result, well-meaning home educators who received their training in humanistic public or quasi-Christian schools end up choosing curriculum materials infected with unbiblical presuppositions. Many do not realize that as important as creation vs. evolution and the Biblical family model vs. perverted lifestyles may be, a fully Biblical worldview involves a lot more.
If you have children or grandchildren and you're concerned that they grow up into a vital Christian faith that embrace the whole of life, you owe it to yourself to do some reading and research in the field of Biblical worldview issues.
Here's where I recommend you start:
Gary North has just begun a free download of the week program through which you can obtain pdf. copies of all his economic commentaries. (Click Here)
Far from an exercise in dry theory, these books will lead you into the exciting adventure of seeing the world around you from God's perspective as He has revealed it in Holy Scripture.
Further, you have probably gathered that I believe in Christian home education as the potentially best -- but not the only -- option, with a couple of big caveats. So, what are the weak links in Christian home education? Let me give you the two most relevant: a) You; b) Your curriculum.
Many Christian parents who want to educate their children at home have only a vague notion of what constitutes a Biblical worldview. Worldview has become a buzzword that purveyors of curriculum materials and home-school conferences bandy about with little regard to the specific content of the term.
As a result, well-meaning home educators who received their training in humanistic public or quasi-Christian schools end up choosing curriculum materials infected with unbiblical presuppositions. Many do not realize that as important as creation vs. evolution and the Biblical family model vs. perverted lifestyles may be, a fully Biblical worldview involves a lot more.
If you have children or grandchildren and you're concerned that they grow up into a vital Christian faith that embrace the whole of life, you owe it to yourself to do some reading and research in the field of Biblical worldview issues.
Here's where I recommend you start:
- Rousas J. Rushdoony's Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum.
- Gary North's series of economic commentaries on the Bible. While Dr. North's focus lies on what Scripture teaches about economics, his commentaries touch on the application of Scripture to a broad range of knowledge and practice, including law and government as well as social theory and God's will for men individually and corporately.
Gary North has just begun a free download of the week program through which you can obtain pdf. copies of all his economic commentaries. (Click Here)
Far from an exercise in dry theory, these books will lead you into the exciting adventure of seeing the world around you from God's perspective as He has revealed it in Holy Scripture.
Let's protect the sheep from the wolves.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Bronze Level WBT Certification
I was pleased to receive the following email which verifies that I have achieved Bronze Level certification in Whole Brain Teaching. I am not ready to pursue Silver Level at present, but I may do so in the future.
Congratulations on your successful completion of the Bronze Level of WBT Certification through your previous earning of certification points! Not an easy task!
If it is your decision to continue in the certification process, your next step is to email me a well-composed essay describing why you should be chosen to receive your own personal WBT Guide to assist you in successfully completing the requirements for Silver Certification! In your essay, please include your email address, grade level/subject, school site, and location. Mention any Honors you received during your certification journey to this point!
If accepted, you will be contacted by your WBT Guide with directions for completing Silver Certification, which includes essay questions and short classroom videos. Upon successful completion, your name will be proudly inscribed on the Silver Leaderboard, making you eligible to work for Gold!
Contact me with any questions! Have a great Monday!
Nancy Stoltenberg
Director of WBT Certification and International Relations
Executive Board Member Whole Brain Teachers of America
NancyStoltenberg@
Twitter: @NancyStoltenber
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Gospel Words and Gospel Deeds
The strategy for making disciples involves Gospel deeds and Gospel words. We must engage in Gospel deeds to show the community that we care.
Gospel deeds do not validate the message. Because we speak the message of God's Word, it comes in the Spirit and in power, and it validates itself in the hearts of those who hear.
Gospel deeds do not validate the message; they validate the messenger. They gain us a hearing, so the Word may do its work.
David Watson discusses this in the eight-minute video below.
Gospel deeds do not validate the message. Because we speak the message of God's Word, it comes in the Spirit and in power, and it validates itself in the hearts of those who hear.
Gospel deeds do not validate the message; they validate the messenger. They gain us a hearing, so the Word may do its work.
David Watson discusses this in the eight-minute video below.
David Watson from Roy Moran on Vimeo.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Getting Their Attention, 2
See Getting Their Attention
Marva Collins died last week, and after learning more about her, I can see that she had mastered the art of capturing her students' attention. Although she began her career before the advent of Whole Brain Teaching, I can see some intersections between her methods and WBT.
For one thing, her classroom did not have a teacher's desk. She stayed on her feet and perpetually engaged her students for the whole day.
In addition, she gave what may have amounted to the only positive feedback in the experience of her students. She made them look her in the eye as she praised them and told them not only that she loved them, but also how smart they were.
She even turned praise into a teaching opportunity by commending her students in Latin, Italian or German. This, no doubt, added the element of fun to learning.
Most of all, she captured the class's attention by believing in them and expecting great things from them.
While Mrs. Collins taught classics and did not seem to approach subjects in terms of a Biblical world-and-life-view, the Christian teacher may profit from studying her methods and asking, "What did she do that conforms to the Bible's approach to making disciples?"
In 1995, CBS's 60 Minutes did a segment on Marva Collins, and examined the impressive results she achieved. You may watch it in two parts, below. To see a movie based on her early career, go here.
Marva Collins died last week, and after learning more about her, I can see that she had mastered the art of capturing her students' attention. Although she began her career before the advent of Whole Brain Teaching, I can see some intersections between her methods and WBT.
For one thing, her classroom did not have a teacher's desk. She stayed on her feet and perpetually engaged her students for the whole day.
In addition, she gave what may have amounted to the only positive feedback in the experience of her students. She made them look her in the eye as she praised them and told them not only that she loved them, but also how smart they were.
She even turned praise into a teaching opportunity by commending her students in Latin, Italian or German. This, no doubt, added the element of fun to learning.
Most of all, she captured the class's attention by believing in them and expecting great things from them.
While Mrs. Collins taught classics and did not seem to approach subjects in terms of a Biblical world-and-life-view, the Christian teacher may profit from studying her methods and asking, "What did she do that conforms to the Bible's approach to making disciples?"
In 1995, CBS's 60 Minutes did a segment on Marva Collins, and examined the impressive results she achieved. You may watch it in two parts, below. To see a movie based on her early career, go here.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Teaching Others in Order to Learn, 3
You have a topic to prepare, you have a class scheduled, and you have a big question. "Do I know this material well enough to teach it?"
If you've asked yourself that, you've focused on the wrong question. You must ask yourself, "Do I know this material well enough that I don't have to teach it?"
What do I mean by this? Well, in many universities, the most experienced professors teach teach the introductory courses. In many cases, they choose to do this so that they themselves master the basics of their discipline. As they assimilate these basics, they achieve a new level of mastery.
Now the prof does not have to teach the content in order to know it. At this point, a smart teacher will shift focus from knowing the material to the techniques that impart it to his student/disciples.
In your teaching experience, only at that point do you move from teaching others so that you yourself may learn, to becoming a master ready to make teachers of others.
If you've asked yourself that, you've focused on the wrong question. You must ask yourself, "Do I know this material well enough that I don't have to teach it?"
What do I mean by this? Well, in many universities, the most experienced professors teach teach the introductory courses. In many cases, they choose to do this so that they themselves master the basics of their discipline. As they assimilate these basics, they achieve a new level of mastery.
Now the prof does not have to teach the content in order to know it. At this point, a smart teacher will shift focus from knowing the material to the techniques that impart it to his student/disciples.
In your teaching experience, only at that point do you move from teaching others so that you yourself may learn, to becoming a master ready to make teachers of others.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Hear the Word of the Lord
Whole Brain Teaching gives us an attention-getter, "Class!/Yes!" However, I wanted something to attract special attention when I quoted Scripture.
I came up with the idea of saying, "Hear the Word of the Lord," and having the class respond with, "Speak, Lord, your servant hears."
Here is the script I wrote for teaching this response:
I came up with the idea of saying, "Hear the Word of the Lord," and having the class respond with, "Speak, Lord, your servant hears."
Here is the script I wrote for teaching this response:
Hey hey, Class!/Hey hey, Yes!
I
have a story to tell you from the Bible.
Long
ago, before Israel had a king, Samuel's mother took him to live in
the Tabernacle with Eli, the priest.
When
I say, "Teach," teach your partner the story, so far.
Teach,
I say. (Okay, I say)
Class!/Yes!
One
night, as Samuel lay sleeping, he heard a voice calling, "Samuel,
Samuel."
Teach-aroo!
(Okay-aroo!)
Class!/Yes!
Samuel
thought Eli had called him so he went to Eli's room, but Eli said, "I
did not call you. Go back to bed."
Tee-ee-each!
(Oka-a-ay!)
Class!/Yes!
Samuel
heard the voice two more times, and finally, Eli said that God was
calling Samuel, and he should say, "Speak, Lord, your servant
hears."
Teach!
Okay!
In
this class, God speaks to us through the Bible. When I am about to
give you a quote from the Bible, I will say, "Hear the Word of
the Lord." (Repeat)
So,
teach! (So, okay!)
Class!/Yes!
When
I say, "Hear the Word of the Lord," you answer by saying,
"Speak, Lord, your servant hears." You are saying that to
God, not to me.
Teach!
(Okay!)
Class!/Yes!
What
do you say, when I say, "Hear the Word of the Lord"?
(Speak, Lord, your servant hears.)
Good.
Let's practice.
John
3:16. Hear the Word of the Lord. (Speak, Lord, for your servant
hears.)
For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.
Testing the Techniques
This morning I spoke at a Christian, residential drug & alcohol rehab facility. I used this as my first opportunity to try out the Whole Person/Whole Brain Teaching techniques in a group. With thirteen men present, one had to pair up with my wife Laura.
I started by introducing them to the "Class!/Yes!" and "Teach!/Okay!" responses. They got this very well and needed only a little practice. I also taught them a response that I made up for whenever I quoted Scripture: "Hear the Word of the Lord/Speak, Lord, your servant hears." (More on this in another post)
Some of the men have come from Christian backgrounds, while others have not. In either case, I wanted to give them something that would help them when they left the home to rejoin society. Therefore, I spoke to them about the place of daily prayer and Bible reading in their walk with God.
Here's the simple outline, without all the Whole Person techniques:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discipleship:
Prayer, Bible Reading & Obedience
1)
To be a disciple you must not only believe, but follow and obey Jesus.
Matthew
9:9 - As Jesus
passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax
collection office. He said to him, "Follow me." He got up
and followed him.
Matthew
28:19-20 - Go and disciple
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all things, whatever I commanded you.
And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world.
Amen.
2)
The best way to follow and obey is to pray and read your Bible every
day.
I
Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray
without stopping.
John
5:39 - In this
scripture, Jesus says, Search the Scriptures . . . these
are they which testify of Me.
3)
You also need to ask questions about what you read that will help you
see how God wants you to change the way you think and the way you
live.
i)
What does this passage tell me about the character of God?
ii)
Does this passage teach me a good thing to imitate? Does it teach
me a bad thing to avoid?
iii)
If I really believe this passage is God's truth, how should my life
change?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the way home, Laura and I evaluated this new -- or at least, new to us -- method.
- On the minus side, some of the men who had been there a only few days still had to cope with foggy brains and had a hard time with these "strange" procedures. On the plus side, they did not give up, even one man who got pretty frustrated.
- No one fell asleep. I've had men fall asleep on me before, and I expect this because at first they spend sleepless nights coming off drugs/alcohol plus facing issues of conscience. Today I had full attention and full participation.
- Even though some did not perform perfectly, by and large, they seemed to enjoy themselves. Teaching accompanied by an emotional response tends to stick in the memory better.
- The one man who spent the whole time in frustration came up to me afterwards and said, "I've been here eight days, and I'm lost." Now, I'm pretty sure by "lost' he meant confused rather than unsaved, but I'm sure both meanings applied to him.
I prayed with him, asking God's grace to open his mind and heart to the Word, to give him focus and understanding." If you're a believer reading this, take a moment to pray for Steve. I know he hears the Gospel daily at Home With a Heart. What he needs is the quickening power of the Holy Spirit.
Monday, June 15, 2015
The Discipleship Garden: Planted and Watered
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1Corinthians 3:6)
I was my veterinarian's senior English teacher. He came from a Christian home, and his parents had planted the seed of God's Word in his life. They had also nurtured him in the faith.
In school and after his graduation, the Lord granted me the honor of taking part in the watering process. I discipled the young man through his college and veterinary school years, and after he married, I became his pastor.
Today, he and his wife have children, mostly grown, who carry on a walk with God.
My veterinarian's parents planted and I watered.
About five years after moving to Possum Kingdom, I received an evening phone call from a man who, as a teen, had attended a church I served as pastor. Since that time, he had become a Christian, married and had children.
He thanked me for my efforts in striving for the souls God had placed in my care. Although I sowed the Word, I did not see any results in his life at the time.
Today he and his wife are my upholsterers. They have a young family whom they educate/disciple at home.
Clearly, I planted but others watered.
Today he and his wife are my upholsterers. They have a young family whom they educate/disciple at home.
Clearly, I planted but others watered.
Even more clearly, God gave the increase. Whether you plant or water, therefore, give the glory to God whether you sow his seed or water his garden, for discipleship is true life, and true life belongs to Him.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Teaching Others in Order to Learn, part 2
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Mathew 10:5-7)
I note that Jesus sent the twelve out to teach people about the Kingdom of God even though they were still disciples -- learners. I find this significant, since I've already demonstrated that the Bible recognizes the value of teaching in order to learn.
A story follows that lends credence to the teaching-to-learn model of discipleship & education.
Back in 1990 a university professor shared the secret of his academic success. He did it in a book entitled The Overnight Student: How I went from Straight F's to Straight A's.
Gary North tells the prof's story:
The professor had been a mediocre student in high school. He had gotten into college, but he flunked out. He asked to get back in. He was told that he would have to take correspondence courses first. He did. This took him two years.
He was re-admitted. But he was working three part-time jobs to pay for school. He worked very hard. He just barely got by academically. Then he made a discovery. He began using a simple technique for improving his comprehension. He describes it in Chapter 7 of his little book. He never got anything lower than an A from that point on. ("The Number-One Study Technique for Mastering New Material and Reviewing Old Material", garynorth.com)
The book now sells on Amazon for about a thousand dollars, used. The excerpt that follows reveals the kernel of his method:
Isaiah 28:13 tells us that the Lord teaches by giving us precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. [King James Translation] So, start at the beginning of your notes, your book, or whatever your source document is; and pick a bite-size portion, perhaps a paragraph,
and read it. Now look away from your notes or cover them, and don’t touch them. You won’t be allowed to touch them while you’re taking the test, so let’s get rid of that security blanket right now.
Use Your Tongue
Now, teach what you just read, out loud, using your own words, to an imaginary class. Don’t talk in a monotone. Vary your voice inflection. Use your hands. Be a teacher. (Dr. Michael L. Jones, p.25, Louis Publishing, Bellingham, WA)
When I first learned of this, I tried it, and I want to tell you, it required a lot of focus. In fact, I found it so mentally taxing that I gave up.
The difference between this Jones method and Whole Person Discipleship (via Whole Brain Teaching) lies simply in the fact that you don't have to imagine an audience. Your disciple teaches the bite-sized bit of learning to another disciple, right there. Personalizing the message in his/her own words will come automatically and improve over time.
Thus, while it encourages me to have corroboration of the teaching-to-learn model, it gives me even greater pleasure to know that I have access to an equal or better method, more easily applied.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Class Rules as Character Training
Whole Brain Teachinsg utilizes five classroom rules:
Please notice that a teacher may use each of these classroom rules as a springboard for discussing Christian character. Rule #1 deals with obedience, which applies to obeying God and, by extension, all legitimate authority. Rule #2 lays the groundwork for orderly and careful speech.
Rule #3 provides seminal training in orderly actions and thinking before acting. Rule #4 emphasizes the need for godly wisdom in one's life. Rule #5 lays a foundation for Jesus' teaching, And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. (Luke 6:31)
Here is a video on how Whole Brain teachers present the rules to their classes:
- Follow Directions Quickly
- Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak
- Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat
- Make Smart Decisions
- Make Your Dear Teacher Happy
Please notice that a teacher may use each of these classroom rules as a springboard for discussing Christian character. Rule #1 deals with obedience, which applies to obeying God and, by extension, all legitimate authority. Rule #2 lays the groundwork for orderly and careful speech.
Rule #3 provides seminal training in orderly actions and thinking before acting. Rule #4 emphasizes the need for godly wisdom in one's life. Rule #5 lays a foundation for Jesus' teaching, And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. (Luke 6:31)
Here is a video on how Whole Brain teachers present the rules to their classes:
Friday, May 22, 2015
Here a Little, There a Little
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. Isaiah 28:9-11
In the passage above, the Lord refers to His people's inability to grasp and assimilate covenantal ethics and likens them to children whom teachers must give instructions in only small increments. Here, God's prophet not only warns us about slowness of heart, but also gives an insight into an educational principle that some call "chunking" (breaking information into smaller chunks).
Chris Biffle puts it this way:
Now here is a curious fact that I and other Whole Brain Teachers have discovered. Disciplining yourself to speak in units that are 30 seconds or less and then having your students repeat your message to each other allows you to cover more material, not less. When you have become adept at . . . [it], you will have eliminated all the non-educational chaff from your presentation, all the wandering, redundancy, stumbling, verbal fumbling about. You present a few points; your students repeat them to each other; you present a few more. In the little periods when students are talking, you take mini-breaks to organize your thoughts for your next few sentences. We call this approach micro-lecturing. Micro-lecturing is not an easy skill, especially because most teachers love to talk and talk and talk. But remember our Whole Brain Teaching rule:
As you disciple your charges, think about what you'd rather do. You might lecture for 30 minutes and have them walk away with maybe one or two concepts, or you could build one small concept upon another, punctuated by their teaching those concepts to each other, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, so that they come away with the big picture as well as its parts.
In the passage above, the Lord refers to His people's inability to grasp and assimilate covenantal ethics and likens them to children whom teachers must give instructions in only small increments. Here, God's prophet not only warns us about slowness of heart, but also gives an insight into an educational principle that some call "chunking" (breaking information into smaller chunks).
Chris Biffle puts it this way:
Now here is a curious fact that I and other Whole Brain Teachers have discovered. Disciplining yourself to speak in units that are 30 seconds or less and then having your students repeat your message to each other allows you to cover more material, not less. When you have become adept at . . . [it], you will have eliminated all the non-educational chaff from your presentation, all the wandering, redundancy, stumbling, verbal fumbling about. You present a few points; your students repeat them to each other; you present a few more. In the little periods when students are talking, you take mini-breaks to organize your thoughts for your next few sentences. We call this approach micro-lecturing. Micro-lecturing is not an easy skill, especially because most teachers love to talk and talk and talk. But remember our Whole Brain Teaching rule:
The more we talk, the more students we lose.
As you disciple your charges, think about what you'd rather do. You might lecture for 30 minutes and have them walk away with maybe one or two concepts, or you could build one small concept upon another, punctuated by their teaching those concepts to each other, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, so that they come away with the big picture as well as its parts.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Teaching Others in Order to Learn
And what things thou hast heard of me, by many witnesses, the same deliver to faithful men, which shall be able to teach other also. 2Timothy 2:2 (Geneva Bible)
The point here is that we should use Teach/Okay in our discipleship endeavors not just because it represents modern pedagogical practice, but also because it follows Biblical norms. I can see it useful in teaching Bible content and doctrine, Biblical worldview, Biblical ethics, and Biblical foundations for each discipline of the curriculum as well as curriculum content.
How well your charges teach each other the truth will inform you how well they have absorbed your teaching. This allows you immediate opportunity to correct false impressions and fill in incomplete knowledge.
It also gives you confidence that they will some day faithfully and effectually deliver the same truths to "faithful men which shall be able to teach others also."
Timothy's knowledge of the faith came not only from personal teaching by the Apostle himself, but the Apostle also utilized many witnesses to reinforce that instruction. This is how A.T. Robertson explains it:
Plutarch has dia in this sense and Field (Ot. Norv.) suggests that it is a legal phrase “supported by many witnesses.” Not mere spectators, but testifiers. (Word Pictures of the New Testament)
In his Word Studies in the New Testament, M.R. Vincent concurs as he renders the the preposition to mean "through the medium of, and therefore in the presence of." You can see here the apostolic practice which made not only learning, but teaching others an important part of becoming a mature disciple.
Based on II Timothy 2:2, the Biblical model for the transmission belt of total discipleship looks something like this:
Based on II Timothy 2:2, the Biblical model for the transmission belt of total discipleship looks something like this:
- Things you heard from me personally/things you heard from me by many witnesses;
- You teach same things to faithful disciples, personally/they teach same things to others.
Edgar Dale later rediscovered this principle, which he put into his famous "Cone of Experience". It boils down to the fact that while you remember no more than 5% of what you hear, you will remember 90% of what you teach.
Whole Brain Teaching has incorporated pupils teaching each other as an integral part of the learning process with the command/response, Teach/Okay. You can see an example of how one teacher uses it here:
The point here is that we should use Teach/Okay in our discipleship endeavors not just because it represents modern pedagogical practice, but also because it follows Biblical norms. I can see it useful in teaching Bible content and doctrine, Biblical worldview, Biblical ethics, and Biblical foundations for each discipline of the curriculum as well as curriculum content.
How well your charges teach each other the truth will inform you how well they have absorbed your teaching. This allows you immediate opportunity to correct false impressions and fill in incomplete knowledge.
It also gives you confidence that they will some day faithfully and effectually deliver the same truths to "faithful men which shall be able to teach others also."
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Getting Their Attention
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 1Samuel 3:10
Now, can you think of a way to introduce this to your own disciples without actually misrepresenting yourself? Remember, you don't want to communicate doubt to your disciples, but you want to remain ethical. Please relate your solution in the comments below.
Years ago, at a Christian teachers' convention, I participated in a role-playing workshop. The leader taped a label to each participant's forehead and told us to act as a committee planning a task. One member had the label "Praise Me," another had "Agree With Me," and so forth. We did not get very far into the exercise before I realized that my label read, "Ignore Me."
Aside from the lesson that we should take care about how we label our students, I came away with a deep sense of how precious a commodity someone's attention can be. How often I have identified parishioners who have checked out during a sermon and students who have mentally departed from class.
What if, seeking to disciple either children or adults, we could command immediate -- even eager -- attention as the Lord received from Samuel? Whole Brain Teaching provides a tool to do just that: Class-Yes. The following video shows how to do that with those whom you disciple.
Now, can you think of a way to introduce this to your own disciples without actually misrepresenting yourself? Remember, you don't want to communicate doubt to your disciples, but you want to remain ethical. Please relate your solution in the comments below.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Whole Person Discipleship
Did you know that the word soul as used in the Hebrew Scriptures often refers to the whole person? Consider Genesis 2:7 where you can see that body + breath (spirit) of life = soul.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Keep that in mind as you read the following passage.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deuteronomy 6:4-8
Although I have seen this scripture applied to both Christian schools and home education, too often, I have failed to see the text fully implemented by teachers or parents in an educational context. The Reason?
We have inherited from the ancient Greeks a cognitive model of learning. In contrast, look at the total involvement of parent/teacher and student/disciple modeled in Deuteronomy 6: sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up.
Thus, when we engage our student-disciples on spiritual, emotional and physical levels in addition to the mental, we will find that two things happen. 1) Boredom evaporates as they fully involve themselves in the process, and 2) they LEARN as they assimilate your teaching into the totality of their experience.
In future posts, I want to explore how to use Whole Brain Teaching as one tool to achieve your goal of Whole Person Discipleship.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Keep that in mind as you read the following passage.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deuteronomy 6:4-8
Although I have seen this scripture applied to both Christian schools and home education, too often, I have failed to see the text fully implemented by teachers or parents in an educational context. The Reason?
We have inherited from the ancient Greeks a cognitive model of learning. In contrast, look at the total involvement of parent/teacher and student/disciple modeled in Deuteronomy 6: sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up.
Thus, when we engage our student-disciples on spiritual, emotional and physical levels in addition to the mental, we will find that two things happen. 1) Boredom evaporates as they fully involve themselves in the process, and 2) they LEARN as they assimilate your teaching into the totality of their experience.
In future posts, I want to explore how to use Whole Brain Teaching as one tool to achieve your goal of Whole Person Discipleship.
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