Training teachers to teach from a reformed perspective
Spring and summer quarters in the Christian education ministry of a congregation are reserved for Lent and Easter programming, Pentecost celebrations, vacation Bible school preparation and year-end evaluations. Education and nominating committees begin the process by renewing covenants to teach and
enlisting additional volunteers for fall. With the
latter responsibility, churches explore training
options before the new church school year.
Most Christian education directors or committees train to cover the basics for teaching. The list might include becoming familiar with age group characteristics; creating a welcoming environment; exploring the curriculum; making a session schedule; planning and evaluating a lesson; and tips for classroom management. Teachers learn ways to minister to present and potential students and their families. Valuable training also introduces guidelines and policies for the safety of children and youth.
As Presbyterian Christians called to be a part of the Reformed faith community, we ask these questions about teacher training, “Should we train teachers to teach from a Reformed perspective? Is this a worthy and essential goal? If so, how do we do it?” Members of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently adopted eight objectives for the mutual life and ministry of our denomination. The goal most identified with Christian education is “Reformed Identity,” which the council described this way: “Encourage and support presbyteries and congregations to further develop their members’ ability to appreciate and understand their Reformed identity, experience and practice disciplines of reformed spirituality, and apply them in today’s world.”
The mandate is clear! If our churches are to help their members “appreciate and understand their Reformed identity through experience and practice,” we must train teachers to teach from a Reformed perspective. This is a worthy and essential goal for Christian education committees, pastors and elders. The question remains: How do we do that?
Preparation to teach starts before individuals accept a call to educational ministry. Reformed identity is nurtured in worship services that are grounded in Reformed spiritual practice, in new member classes that explore
the basics of the Reformed faith and in adult education programs that undergird individual and corporate discipleship as a Reformed expression of life. The selection and use of curricula, developed through our denomination and Reformed partners, also provide tools for nurturing the Reformed identity of potential teachers.
Assuming that these foundational models of education are present, the next step is to plan a training session on Reformed identity specifically for teachers. Let’s explore some of the key concepts of Reformed identity that teachers should reflect on and incorporate
in the classroom.
One central concept to include in such a training session is the understanding of who God is. God as one God at work through three relationships is key when teaching from a Reformed perspective. Teachers are encouraged to use Trinitarian language, appropriately presenting all three persons of God’s nature in storytelling, in Scripture and in prayer. Provide a matching game for teachers to fill in an appropriate term for God in each example. Through such an activity, teachers learn to present the full relationship with God to their students.
Another basic belief upheld in the Reformed tradition is the “authority of Scripture” for faith and life. A short course on how the Bible came to be is ambitious, but such a study would be worthwhile. As teachers explore canonization of Scripture through its historical, cultural and social context, they better understand how to teach the Bible through the Reformed lens. Scripture, not inerrant or infallible as touched by humankind, is recognized as divinely inspired. We teach the Bible’s relevance for today as revealed through prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit. Teachers can benefit from examining Scripture passages in a comparative study, exploring different texts and voices telling the same story.
Training sessions should also include explorations of the “covenant community, the priesthood of the believers, and the sovereignty of God.” As Reformed Christians, we believe that God gives each of us gifts for service, calls us into communities for a purpose, and works continuously in the world through us. Covenant, priesthood, and sovereignty themes instill worldviews and spirits of service that are uniquely Reformed.
Teachers of the Reformed identity are trained to design activities for cooperative learning, nurturing oneness with God and others. They are guided to speak of God’s blessing for all instead of only for me or for you. Intentional training to connect lessons to life is extremely important. Modeling life application helps nurture students to recognize their gifts and to discover how to use these gifts for the good of the whole. (Teachers become mentors who walk beside learners, helping them live the Reformed faith as believers, “elected for service, as well as salvation.”)
Teacher training from the Reformed perspective will help our denomination fulfill our Reformed objective “to further develop members’ ability to appreciate and understand their Reformed identity, experience and practice disciplines of reformed spirituality and apply them in today’s world.” But more important, such teaching will equip disciples, called into community, to work out God’s purposes in the world. |
