2-- Christian Education Philosophy

Some of What I Believe (by William L. Stevenson) My philosophy of Christian Education has become quite complex, but I will attempt to share its basics. Philosophy literally means "the love of wisdom" and it involves explaining the reasons of things. Christian Education should be Christ-like teaching and learning. But in many "Christian" schools the love of wisdom (God's truth instead of worldly philosophical/psychological theories), reasoning, and Christ-like teaching and learning are rare happenings. Some bible devotional teaching and daily survival through the curriculum and tests are usually the main elements of Christian Education, because no philosophy has been developed by each teacher except in the area of what to expose students to. When I started into teaching, I was in that condition, knowing some education theories and the Gospel of John personally. A teacher who has a Christian way of reasoning will love wisdom, as indicated in the above explanation of philosophy. The Holy Spirit influences this love like He does the desire for salvation. But Proverbs 9:10 gives a requirement in that it states "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom". This "fear" is not just a "respect" as liberal Bible readers and teachers think. Proverbs 22:4 says, "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honor, and life." So, a Christian teacher should be completely humble to God (living a Romans 8 & 12 life) obey His commandments because he or she loves Him for salvation (1 John). If this is true, the Christian teacher will first emphasize to his or her new students the Bible "whys" for submission, humility, and obedience to God and His representative authorities. As a teacher's love for the wisdom of God increases, it will permeate into his or her teaching at the same rate. Natural (non superficial) excitement and enthusiasm should be abundant in the classroom. Another important realization that a Christian teacher must constantly remember is that he or she is just helping each student's father to fulfill his God ordained duty. This goes for split homes (due to death or divorce) too, because there is a "day of accounting" coming for all. Ephesians 6:4 states, "And you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Therefore, the Christian teacher should mainly teach the wisdom of God as Jesus Christ and the Apostles did, remembering what the Bible says is each father's responsibility. Proverbs 22:6 states, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." The best guidelines for proper ways to think and live are found in the New Testament of the Bible and they should be taught at least in Christian schools. This wisdom of God can be the main aid for helping students' make proper decisions in this world full of bad temptations. (Proverbs 2: 10-13 & 20) Most Christian day school and Sunday school curriculum does not have very much of Bible and so a dedicated Christian teacher should do a lot of Bible research in order to make the learning in the classroom be truly Christian. The teacher should also be as Christ-like as possible. The books, Jesus the Teacher by Dr. Clifford Wilson and Christ the Controversialist by John R. W. Stott, were very helpful to me in this area. I also learned a lot about Jesus' teaching techniques when I did a thorough study of the Gospel of Matthew. A Christian school teacher should be very alert for opportunities to use his or her Bible understanding and reasoning for developing Christ-like education, which should differ from public school humanistic teaching in many ways. Christian Education is still like a young child. Most Christian schools and curriculum are based on public school sequencing and scheduling rather than the way God educates seekers through the Bible. Many are mainly remaining opened for the wrong reasons (i.e.: to satisfy parental control needs or church pride or financial needs). There should be much, much more effort in Christian day schools for establishing Bible-based education philosophy and goals via Holy Spirit guided teaching and student response via homework. Christian Education has a long way to go, and it may suddenly have to acquire "adulthood" when Jesus Christ returns. 1

What Makes Christian Education Christian Education is Christian only when it exalts the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible's teachings. This should be done by all of the school staff and curriculum as much as possible. The school staff must constantly remember that they are representatives of God and the students' Parents. See Corinthians 5:17-6:10, James 3, Proverbs 22:6, Matthew 18:5-14, Ephesians 6:4, and Deuteronomy 6:4-9. They should seek to be as Christ-like as possible, putting into practice (along with teaching) the Bible principles for living". These principles are totally against humanism, man-centeredness, and situation ethics promoted by public schools. Christian schools are not Christian if they only have prayer, a daily Bible time, a weekly chapel service, and morally concerned teacher, along with the regular school subjects. How did God educate wisdom seekers as recorded in the Bible and how did Jesus teach? What kind of education do the Proverbs and Epistles emphasize? In Christian day school teaching and curriculum, God’s wisdom should be integrated in, not just attached to, the instruction, discipline, personal relations, and recreation. As much as possible should be done to God’s glory and the students should be encouraged towards having the mind of Jesus Christ. [Ephesians 4 and Proverbs 2:10-13, 20] Bible Study for Christian School Staff 1. Read 1 Corinthians 15. What is one of the most important facts of our Christian beliefs? What does verse 58 mean to you? 2. Read Ephesians 1:17-2:10. What is the common theme with 1 Corinthians 15? What do verses 1:17-19, 2:4-7, and 2:10 mean in terms of teaching confidence? Also read Colossians 1:19-23 & 3:1-3 and Galatians 2:20 after answering the last question. 3. What does Hebrews 10:19-25 imply for proper daily preparation and use of each school day? 4. Turn to the book of 2 Corinthians. What purpose does 1:3 & 4 indicate for us in our ministry to our students? What should we be sensitive to? Also refer to the words of Jesus Christ in John 14:1 & 27, 16:1, 22, 27, & 33, and 15:12-21 & 26. 5. Read 2 Corinthians 1:12 & 13, 2:17, and 4:5-7. What do these verses say about our teaching motives and about what se choose to teach? [Incidentally, if you think any story in a reader is humanistic or not important, do not assign or teach it! Also remember that no "Christian" curriculum is totally Christian or vital.] How do John 14:17 & 26, 16:7-11 & 13-15 indicate divine help for us in these important decisions? What motives do John 17:3, 6, 17, 19, & 26 indicate we should have in relating to each and every one of our students? 6. What do 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, 3:3, 6-18, & 18-4:2 day about our attitude and carefulness in teaching? 7. Read 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 & 4:3-7, John 14:10-12, 15:1-17 & 20-25, 17:6-13 & 18-26. What should we always believe about our teaching qualifications, abilities, sufficiency, confidence, and power? What purposes are we living and teaching? [There will be students and parents who will scoff at spiritual teaching because they are perishing, they are not truly "born again" Christians, or they are spiritually deteriorating (misled) Christians. If such scoffing continues, the scoffing student or students should be expelled.]

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