Christian Education

A Guide to the Foundations of Ministry

Cardoza, Freddy

• Verlag: Baker Academic
• Jahr: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781493419708
• Thema: Theology & Religion
• Thema: Religion

This introductory textbook solidly situates Christian education in the church and ministry context of the 21st century. With over 20 years of ministry, teaching, and leadership experience, Freddy Cardoza is uniquely qualified to bring together a wide range of Christian educators. This volume features the expertise of 25 evangelical scholars of Christian education, including diverse, next-generation voices in the field. It provides balanced biblical-theological and practical perspectives for church and parachurch leaders, equipping them to meet the ever-changing needs of our world. Additional resources for professors and students are available through Textbook eSources.

Part 1
Educational Foundations

Christian education encompasses a large family of disciplines in the education and ministry fields that falls within one of the traditional areas of theology called practical theology. Sometimes called Christian ministries, practical theology includes pastoral ministries and Christian education—and sometimes other ministries. Because of the diversity of Christian education as a field, it provides ministerial training in a great number of areas. For this reason, though Christian education is the historical name of the discipline, this term is more often used today to describe what we do rather than to define it. Sometimes the historical name is replaced with other descriptive names such as educational ministries, church ministries, Christian ministries, discipleship ministries, educational leadership, and others. This great diversity simply points to the overall impact and growth of Christian education as a part of practical theology. It is an expansive field of study that continues to morph as Christian educators identify ministry needs and as the academic discipline forms around those ministry areas to provide formal education, training, and support for those needing to be equipped.

Understanding Christian Education Foundations

Part 1 of this book covers educational foundations, which are the irreducible core of Christian education. Any person who seeks to understand Christian education as a field of study or wants to be trained in it needs to understand these things. To separate Christian education from its foundations would be akin to divorcing hermeneutics from biblical studies, language from the humanities, or math from the sciences. In each of these cases, one proceeds from the other. The foundations provide essential contextual understanding of the many supporting assumptions, axioms, and organizing principles that form the basis of the work of Christian education. Without the foundations, one cannot make sense of the collective agreement regarding the nature, terminology, boundaries, goals, and strategies of this field. The foundations also provide needed perspective and depth of understanding about the literature, subject areas, academic degree programs, and career fields of Christian education.

The Danger of Neglecting the Foundations

Without the foundations, people within Christian education, whether academic leaders, ministry practitioners, or current students, lack a unified understanding of what Christian education is, what it should do, and how it should be done. Absent these foundations, the result would be a weakening of the very fabric of the field into pragmatism.

One might argue that something akin to this has already happened to a degree. The fact that so many outside the field and, indeed, within the field do not have a clear understanding of Christian education at its most granular level may indicate a neglect of the foundations, and I suspect this is true. As one who has served in this field for over two decades, I have nurtured a lurking suspicion that one of the major strengths of Christian education may have become its greatest weakness.

As was stated earlier, Christian education is an area within practical theology. Practical theology is by definition practical. For this reason, those in the field place a high premium on applying ministry principles to real life and, specifically, doing what works. When doing what works is united with sound theory found in the foundations of the discipline, Christian education makes a tremendous impact. Being practical means that it is praxis-based—meaning a combination of theory and practice or, more technically, theory-informed practice.

The praxis-based impact of informed Christian education ministry is healthy and dynamic. It is what is needed and desired by churches, parachurch organizations, and institutions of higher education. Even so, a subtle danger exists. Because of the practical nature of Christian education and its many subdisciplines, it is possible for practitioners to begin to view the foundations and theories as known assumptions or, worse, as impractical and therefore unimportant.

A Call to Return to the Foundations

We may have subtly gravitated past praxis to pragmatism. When this happens, Christian educators and the ministry leaders they equip find themselves becoming increasingly gimmick-driven rather than doing the hard work of thinking about how to discern powerful and biblical strategies for potent kingdom impact. By immersing oneself in the mastery of the foundations, one can avoid the errors of pragmatism and discover the timeless truths of practical ministry.

The first part of this textbook issues a challenge for each reader, whether professor, professional, or pupil, to value and master the classical foundations of Christian education. These five chapters include a solid biblical-theological overview of Christian education and a review of its historical, philosophical, psychological, and practical foundations. Together, these form the irreducible elements of all Christian education–related fields.

1
Biblical-Theological Foundations of Christian Education

OCTAVIO JAVIER ESQUEDA

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. . . . We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. . . . This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.

—A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy

Our theology—our thoughts about and study of God—affects everything we believe and do and is foundational to Christian ministry. While knowledge of God is by nature primary for all Christian believers, disciplines, and ministries, we tend to compartmentalize theology and practical ministry, separating “theory” from “practice.” Sadly, some perceive theology as mere dogmatic presuppositions that lack real implications for daily life and ministry.

When we do any of that, we act as if what we confess does not affect our behavior. However, as Dallas Willard has correctly pointed out, “We always live up to our beliefs—or down to them, as the case may be. Nothing else is possible. It is the nature of belief.”1 Therefore, our theology, or lack thereof, always guides and influences the process and the practice of Christian educators. We affirm that all truth is God’s truth since “this world is not a neutral place. It’s God’s.”2

This chapter explores key theological foundations from Scripture and explains how each person of the Trinity provides us with guiding principles for Christian education. Since the Bible is essential for our understanding of the Triune God, overarching themes of the biblical narrative (creation, fall, redemption, and re-creation) are also discussed in this chapter.

God’s Revelation and Christian Education

The everlasting Triune God is majestic and awesome beyond human understanding. God is the only “high and exalted One, Who lives forever, whose name is Holy” (Isa. 57:15 NASB). As finite creatures, we are able to know and understand God only through what he reveals to us. God makes himself known to us through the categories of general or natural revelation and special revelation.

General Revelation

Theologians refer to God’s disclosure through his creation and the human conscience as general revelation. God’s creation declares his glory and draws our attention to the supreme author of everything that exists (Ps. 19:1–6). This revelation is constant and invites all human beings to praise the Creator God of the universe. God’s eternal power and divine nature are evident to all through his creation (Rom. 1:19–20). General revelation is vital for our understanding of God and stands as a permanent reminder of his love and power.

Unfortunately, we tend to forget about God’s constant presence evidenced by creation. Everyday circumstances reveal routine but amazing phenomena we take for granted: the morning sunrise, our ability to breathe, the stimulating use of our five senses. Each of these is a constant reminder that the Lord designed us and desires for us to know him. In short, general revelation spurs and enriches our understanding of God. We should pay attention to his voice through his creation and providence because our Lord is always present and speaking to us through his deeds.

Special Revelation

Our Triune God also speaks to us through the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ (John 1:1–3, 9–14; Heb. 11:1–2), and the written Word of God, the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16–17). This kind of revelation is known as special revelation. The focus of God’s special revelation is Jesus; through him, we are able to know more about God and enjoy a personal relationship with him. The Bible is therefore the foundational curriculum in Christian education, and Christ is the standard for its interpretation and application.

Our Limited Understanding

There is, however, a theological tension we need to acknowledge. On the one hand, the Bible affirms that knowing God is possible and that this knowledge is worthy of praise. Even though humankind tends to base worth on human wisdom, power, or money, knowing and understanding God are of supreme worth and the only valid reasons for human boasting: “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD” (Jer. 9:23–24 NASB).

We are certainly able to know God and appreciate his attributes and deeds. On the other hand, because God is infinite, we can never fully comprehend his majesty. He transcends our finite understanding, as he has clearly stated in Isaiah 55:8–9:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NASB)

As Christian educators, we recognize that much will surpass our limited knowledge and understanding. If we were able to fully grasp God, then we would be his intellectual equals, and we are not. Our goal should be to learn and to apply what he has disclosed to us. The knowledge God has given is sufficient for effectively living our earthly lives in complete obedience to his commandments (Deut. 29:29; John 15:9–12). Hence, theology and Christian education are tasks involving receptivity, humility, and obedience to the Triune God.

The Triune God Is the Foundation for Christian Education

The Lord has eternally existed as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person, although distinct, is fully God and has the same divine attributes. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in essence, but as separate persons, they relate differently to one another and to creation (Matt. 3:16–17; 1 Cor. 15:28). Robert Pazmiño argues that the mutual communion of the persons of the Trinity (perichoresis), in which each divine person is a being for the others, provides the foundational model for Christian...