Heart-Deep Teaching

Gary C. Newton

• Publisher: B&H Books
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780805447767
• eBook ISBN: 9781433677458
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

When teaching the Bible, what is the best theory, and what are the best practices to stimulate deeper student learning? Heart-Deep Teaching was written for parents, teachers, and students of the Word who desire to apply its principles in life transforming ways.The concept of "heart-deep teaching and learning" is based on a Hebrew understanding of the "heart" as the innermost essence of a person that involves the mind, emotions, and will. When the heart is engaged by the power of the Holy Spirit within the context of God's Word, both character and behavioral changes occur.To actively engage students' emotions, mind, will, and body in learning, a heart-deep teacher uses strategies involving interaction, drama, reflection, story-telling, wonder, movement, creativity, acting-out, problem-solving, and wrestling with the principles discovered in the biblical text.By integrating accurate methods of analyzing the biblical text and current research in teaching and learning, the book attempts to help teachers understand the theoretical and practical skills to create their own lessons, adapt lessons from published curriculums, and improve their own strategies of studying and teaching the Word.

PART I

EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM

Chapter 1

Shallowness in Biblical Teaching

“Get Your People Pumped!”

That was the title of the training event the ministry team leaders in our church chose to attend. They picked it above all others because it was close by and promised them hope in turning around our stagnant ministry programs.

We were greeted with colorful banners and exciting music. The circus atmosphere quickly woke us up after our early morning, one-hour drive. Soon we were captured by the frenzy of a crowd of excited people swaying to the music from the loud worship band. When the main speaker took the stage, he captured the attention of the audience with jokes, affirmations, and drama.

Suddenly we were told to form small groups based on a number printed on our handouts. After a few minutes of bedlam, each participant settled into a circle of strangers to engage in a formatted “get to know one another” activity. Just when some connections were being made, we were thrust into a new learning activity. This time it was a brief skit, followed by a clip from a contemporary movie showing the desperate needs of people in our culture. While I don’t remember the details of all the experiences of the day, I do remember the Bible lesson theme. The focus of the lesson was Jesus’ illustration from Matt 7:24–27 of building a house on the rock rather than on the sand. A dramatic skit on stage etched that theme in my mind forever. Using huge LEGO bricks, two teams built similar houses on different foundations. One built on a pile of foam balls and the other on a pile of bricks. When a large industrial fan was turned on, accompanied by fierce storm sounds from the audience, the result was graphic. The house on the foam balls fell with a crash, and the house on the bricks stood firm.

We were then formed into new small groups near our seats to speculate what the different foundations represented from the dramatized story. While the text was displayed on a screen with a PowerPoint image, little direction was given to the small groups as to how to analyze Jesus’ illustration. In fact, the groups were asked to focus mainly on the dramatic presentation to discover what the sand and the rock might represent.

The leader roamed around the small groups looking for a consensus from the groups in answer to the main question. He then called the groups together to sing that old Sunday school song, “The Wise Man Built His House upon the Rock.” Then he asked the groups in a loud voice, “Who is the Rock?” To which the crowd responded, “Jesus!”

He repeated the question and asked the audience to respond at least four times. The scene reminded me of a high school pep rally.

The seminar concluded with the small groups coming up with creative ways to help people in their various ministries reach out to unbelievers and draw them to Jesus as their foundation instead of the superficial foundations of the world. Some of the more creative groups were asked to present their plans in front of everyone. In conclusion, we were challenged to go back to our churches and more intentionally design strategies to reach people who did not know Jesus.

While my leaders definitely picked up some valuable ideas and methods to pump up their people, I left the seminar with a deep sadness.

It wasn’t because of the new and creative ideas and methods. As an educator I know how important it is to engage the learner in the lesson. My sadness came from the superficiality of the whole learning experience. I was disappointed by the lack of depth relationally, educationally, and theologically. The whole experience left me feeling empty.

Is it possible to be pumped up, yet empty?

The real heartbreaker for me was the superficial and inaccurate way Scripture was used. A more thorough analysis of Matt 7:24–27 within its immediate scriptural context would reveal that Jesus was challenging His audience to a different theme from the one identified by the seminar leader.

(Before reading any further, see for yourself. Answer the question posed by the seminar leader, “What did Jesus use the sand and the rock to represent?” Start reading in v. 13 of chap. 7 to understand a little more of the context of this illustration in vv. 24–28.)

It is clear after studying the context and the specific words Jesus used in vv. 24–27 that to build one’s house on the rock had deeper implications than a simple declaration of a belief in Jesus. In vv. 15–20, He challenges His followers to look out for false teachers who will wear sheep’s clothing to cover up their real identity as wolves. He concludes the illustration in v. 20 with the statement, “By their fruit you will know them.” His point is that we have to be wary of people who claim to be His followers but do not display any evidence in their lives. The issue is deception. In vv. 21–23, Jesus goes on to explain that it is not those who say they follow the Lord who will get into heaven but only those who “do the will of my Father.” Jesus’ next illustration, of the houses erected on sand and rock, builds on the two previous illustrations. The context reemphasizes the obvious point of the story of the two foundations. There is no stability in simply calling Him “Lord” or doing religious deeds for Him. Rather, security only comes to those who build their homes on the rock, by acting on or putting into practice His words. The central theme of this passage is not simply to believe in Jesus as the rock. Rather, Jesus is challenging superficial believers to understand that the only way they can be secure is not merely by listening to His words but by putting them into practice. Believing in Jesus means listening to Him closely and doing what He says. Even a child can understand this principle.

As Christian educators we must be careful not to distort or water down the message of the Word of God in an attempt to be relevant or overly simplistic.

A generation ago the major problem with biblical teaching was that it often lacked cultural relevance and practical application. In both secular and religious education, content was taught as an end in itself. Wilhoit used the term “transmissive approach” to describe this traditional schooling model of education that “put a high value on the retention of factual information.”1 Yet as a result of the influence of secular educators such as John Dewey and religious educators such as Larry Richards, there has been a shift of focus from content itself to using content to enable students to “make sense out of the world” or, for Christians, to guide them in their Christian pilgrimage.2 For the most part this shift made education more useful and practical by focusing more on process and application. This has been largely positive for the church. It has engaged more students in active learning and applying biblical truth to their lives. Yet, as with any major change, there is a tendency for the shift to go too far. The focus on process to the neglect of content is a shift neither Dewey nor Richards would embrace. Both of them maintained a high value on both content and application. In many Christian education settings, biblical teaching has become too shallow biblically, relationally, and educationally. In an attempt to pander to the needs of busy teachers and students who crave instant gratification, we have abandoned the high biblical standards for “correctly teaching the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). In an attempt to be relevant and practical, we have sometimes glossed over the objective facts and principles of the biblical text. In an attempt to produce visible tokens of student learning, we have ignored the need for more lasting fruits of changed character.

To address this problem of superficiality in Christian teaching, I have identified six faulty but commonly held principles that may influence our approach to teaching the Bible within our culture: (1) All fun activity equals good learning. (2) All interaction equals good learning. (3) Keeping students busy is more important than accurately teaching biblical facts and principles. (4) Simple points are more important than biblical depth. (5) Since most people learn through their experience, experience must be the basis of truth. (6) Accomplishing measurable behavioral objectives is more important than changing students’ character.

While each of the statements may contain an element of truth, each also contains serious errors that fall short of scriptural teaching standards that will transform a person’s heart and life into the likeness of Jesus Christ. These statements may serve as warnings to each of us to evaluate carefully our presuppositions about teaching and learning before we begin to teach.

Partial Truths of Good Learning

1. All Fun Activity Equals Good Learning

While the enjoyment of a learning experience almost always increases the level of student learning, not all fun activity can be equated with good learning. Students can have a good time and learn negative values. Children could have a lot of fun playing a game such as dodgeball, but if a few children were allowed to cheat without being confronted, the overall experience could certainly be negative for many of the participants. It is even possible that the children who had the most fun could be those who were cheating.

Youth pastors often make this mistake in designing fun activities for their students. They sometimes design fun excursions like trips to amusement parks, sports activities, or movies, purely as fun events to attract unchurched students. In themselves these events could be designed as positive learning events. Yet if they are not organized well with biblical goals and objectives, they could easily degenerate into opportunities for the students to learn negative values and behavior. Fun activity is of great value when it affirms biblical principles.

2. All Interaction Equals Good Learning

One of the most positive developments in Christian education in the last 50 years is the growth of small groups. More intimate settings with a smaller group of children, students, or adults allow people of all ages the opportunity to interact and learn more effectively. In order to grow as a disciple of Christ, each believer needs to be connected to a small group of fellow believers in order to confide in others. Yet not all small groups are positive learning environments. Not all interaction, even within a church or parachurch setting, is necessarily positive. Gossip, backbiting, criticism, cockin...

Table of contents

• Chapters Summary
• Introduction
• PART I EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM
• PART II PREPARING THE HEART OF THE TEACHER
• PART III DESIGNING DEEPER LEARNING EXPERIENCES
• PART IV STRUCTURING THE LESSON
• Conclusion: The Challenges and Benefits of Heart-Deep Teaching
• Bibliography
• Name and Subject Index