BOOK REVIEW | Beyond Biblical Integration

I think that Beyond Biblical Integration by Roger Erdvig may be one of the most helpful books I’ve ever read as an educator and as a parent…but mostly because of the way it caused me to examine my own heart and mind.

He left me with two very helpful frameworks to consider:

Creation/Ought | God’s original Creation is how things ought to be.
Fall/Is | Due to the fall of humanity in Genesis 3, this is how things are.
Redemption/Can | The redemption given to us through Christ shows us how things can be.
Restoration/Will | The ultimate restoration we see in Revelation 21 shows us how things will be.

Four Worldview Questions to Consider:

What Is Good in our Culture That We Can Cultivate?
What Is Missing in Our Culture That We Can Create?
What Is Broken That We Can Cure?
What Is Evil in Our Culture That We Can Curb?

I highlighted a ton throughout this book and have posted these notes below. Reviewing these notes a few times have really helped orient my heart towards what is most important as I invest in my own kids, the teachers on our team, and the students in our care as we serve them to the glory of God!

The distinguishing mark of a Christian school should be an education that immerses students in a biblical worldview. p. 9
We tend to overpromise and underdeliver on what students will experience in our classrooms and hallways and what they’ll be like when they graduate. p. 14
So a person with a biblical worldview is one who thinks, desires, and acts in ways that are consistent with God’s thoughts, desires, and actions as revealed through Scripture. p. 17
The narrative framework for a biblical worldview can be summarized in four key words. They are chronological in nature and provide meaning for all our experiences: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Creation refers to God’s original design, structure, and function of the cosmos. Fall represents all that has catastrophically and progressively gone wrong with creation after Adam and Eve chose to throw off God’s authority in favor of their own self-rule. Redemption is the work of Christ (into which he invites us) in restoring all things to their proper prefall position, purpose, and possibilities. Restoration is the future and final fix for the entire universe, where all things will once again be brought into proper alignment with Christ. To make these concepts more memorable, I like to substitute four simpler words which mean the same things: ought, is, can, and will. The original creation is the way things ought to be. The fall has given us the new reality that is. Redemption is the promise and power to transform things into what they can be. And at the final restoration, all things will be made right. p. 17
After hundreds of hours discussing their worldviews with the emerging adults in my study, I analyzed their experiences and reflections. I discovered something deceptively simple that can easily be overlooked. And it’s also at the core of how we should rethink our educational practices and goals in Christian schools. I discovered that, even for those who appear to have a strong biblical worldview, at best they have a developing worldview. Each one of them could demonstrate they have learned the biblical worldview answers to big questions, such as: “Why am I here?” “What is the chief aim of man?” “What is the meaning of human history?” “Can we know anything for sure?” p. 20
We’ll examine ways to cultivate an environment in which students acquire the thoughts, desires, and habits they’ll need to develop their worldview throughout their entire lives. Specifically, I’m suggesting our schools must be marked by the following:
- Teachers who are actively developing their own worldview
- Teachers who understand how a biblical worldview develops in emerging adults
- Teachers who can create a classroom experience that fosters biblical worldview development
- Teachers who know how a biblical worldview of reality (ought, is, can, will) shapes understanding of their subject area(s) and how the four key applied-worldview questions relate to their subject area
- Leadership (from the board to the administration team) that equips and expects teachers to do all the above p. 21
If getting content across to our students is our aim, then we will continually fall short of biblical worldview immersion. Instead, we’ll focus our efforts on clever ways to append what we have already planned with Bible verses and ideas. However, we can recognize that we are in the process of developing a biblical worldview of our own. We can see our classrooms as spaces in which we live for a season with our students. We can give careful attention to intentionally shaping the experience students have in relation to us and our course content. Then it will be easier to understand what it means to offer an education that is holistically based on a biblical worldview. And that will produce graduates who are well along on the journey of developing a biblical worldview. p. 22
What if learning and biblical worldview were so inextricably bound to one another that you couldn’t really see where one ends and the other starts? p. 29
Learning in this school is not about students becoming their best self and building their own academic resumes. It is about developing skills, knowledge, and inclinations to effectively serve others for the glory of God. They learn to serve and serve to learn. p. 30
Students are called to an appropriately high standard of behavior, based on honoring Christ and honoring one another. This standard forms the foundation for all interactions in the school, and each teacher consistently holds all students to that standard. p. 31
Rather than strict, category-based boundaries around what’s in and what’s out, students are led to critically examine what they consume and promote, holding on to the good and letting go of the not-so-good and the bad. p. 31
Christianity is a comprehensive framework and overarching view of reality within which I could orient my entire being and find ultimate meaning and fulfillment. p. 36
We can’t shape a person’s worldview by transmitting information alone. p. 37
ORIGINS OF THE WORD WORLDVIEW The word worldview was first coined by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the late 1790s. In German, the word is Weltanschauung. I don’t recommend that you attempt to pronounce it or use it in class with your sixth graders. It’s enough to know that Immanuel Kant (1790/1987) characterized a person’s worldview as a super-sensible substrate. By this, he meant that all people have an unseen foundation and source for their beliefs, thoughts, and actions. p. 37
In geology, a substrate is the layer below the surface layer, unseen but exerting tremendous influence on what we can see. Think of a plant that grows in topsoil. What you perceive with your eyes is only part of the story, though rich topsoil often gets the most attention when it comes to growing healthy plants. What you can’t see is the substrate. That’s where plants are anchored as their roots push deep below the topsoil in a quest for stability. In addition to stability, the substrate is also the unseen source of the minerals and other nutrients needed for growth. A person’s worldview functions in the same way—providing an anchor and nourishment for one’s life. Building upon Kant’s ideas, many writers have given helpful explanations of the concept of worldview. My favorite comes from James Sire (2015). Faithful to the idea that a worldview is three-dimensional, Sire suggests that a worldview is “a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being” (p. 141). This explanation requires some unpacking. p. 38
Generally, individuals and societies are not aware that they (1) are ordering their behaviors in certain ways, (2) have potentially contradictory and untrue ideas to which they subscribe, and (3) are pursuing their vision of the good life. It’s as if they are simply anchored to and animated by an unexamined, unseen foundation and wellspring of life (think of Kant’s super-sensible substrate). {What motivates the decisions you are making?} p. 42
Her behaviors will reflect decisions she believes will move her along the continuum toward the kind of wealth she aspires to. This can even be in the small day-to-day decisions about how to treat others, what sort of attitude she’ll have in relation to others’ success or failure, and what kind of media she will consume—all of which are behaviors. p. 43
According to Colossians 1:20, God is reconciling to himself all things through the redemptive work of Christ.

Creation/Ought
Fall/Is
Redemption/Can
Restoration/Will p. 45

Things can be different, and this is the defining centerpiece of the biblical worldview in terms of how it can impact the way things are. p. 47
As Albert Wolters says, “What was formed in creation has been historically deformed by sin and must be reformed in Christ” (Wolters, 1985, p. 76). p. 47
The most glorious impact of Christ’s redemptive work is that mankind can be restored to right relationship with God, the power that can flow into every other relationship and endeavor. p. 47
FOUR QUESTIONS FROM AN APPLIED BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

What Is Good in our Culture That We Can Cultivate?
What Is Missing in Our Culture That We Can Create?
What Is Broken That We Can Cure?
What Is Evil in Our Culture That We Can Curb? p. 55

INFLUENCES FROM THE PAST Emerging adults with a strong biblical worldview don’t just show up after high school with a blank worldview slate. Their worldview has been impacted by their childhood and teen experiences and particularly positive shaping influences:
growing up in strong, evangelical Christian families
being involved in a local church
having significant spiritual experiences participating in biblical worldview training
enjoying positive Christian friendships
being mentored by Christian adults p. 61
NEW EXPERIENCES/PROMPTS Emerging adulthood is filled with opportunities to see new things and be confronted with decisions for which the individual is now fully responsible, the stuff of “adulting.” For those who worked with me in my research, these new experiences became important prompts for growth. These prompts included leaving home, encountering new ideas, engaging in worldview training, facing pain or difficulties, and considering big questions about life. p. 61
PROCESSING EXPERIENCES The emerging adults who worked with me in my research were not a group of friends who could compare notes prior to our conversations. However, they consistently pointed to several common ways of processing their life experiences:
conversations with peers
reflection
study
being mentored
serving others p. 63
DERAILERS This biblical worldview development process is not without challenges. It’s not a seamless flow from experience to processing and then on to new experiences. In truth, the whole process can be derailed by challenges that everyday life can toss into the works. Four primary derailers were identified by the emerging adults in my study:
apathy
stress
distractions
trials and pain p. 65
Emerging adults who are purposefully developing their biblical worldview generally know how to manage derailers, and they actually do so. Individuals who aren’t experiencing a thriving biblical worldview don’t know how to manage them. p. 66
THREE DISPOSITIONS OF A MATURING BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

1. Awareness Awareness means they know the contours of their own worldview. They know where it aligns with God’s view of reality, how one should function within that reality, and where their own worldview still needs shaping.

2. Meaningful Processing Meaningful processing refers to what we discussed earlier. Those with a maturing biblical worldview are not hapless victims of life. They are committed to consciously and actively processing their experiences.

3. Ownership And finally, they don’t hand the reins of their development over to others, as if it’s someone else’s job to make sure they grow. They willingly take responsibility for their own worldview development. p. 66

IMPLICATIONS FOR AN IMMERSIVE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW EDUCATION

1. Expected Student Outcomes

2. Expected Teaching Obligations

3. Team Development p. 70

In his book A Christian Paideia: The Habitual Vision of Greatness, Lockerbie says it this way: “We cannot overemphasize the importance of acquiring and representing a Christian worldview . . . For us as Christian educators, understanding the significance of a worldview is a matter of the greatest urgency and therefore ought to be the primary focus of our profession” (2005, p. 11). p. 72
FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR ACTIVE WORLDVIEW DEVELOPMENT

People with a maturing biblical worldview will:

Understand how their upbringing and past experiences (good, bad, and ugly) impact their worldview.

Think deeply and regularly about their worldview, frequently asking the following questions: “What do I love, and how have I come to love those things, ideas, goals, and so on?”

“What do I think about __________, and why do I think that way?”

“What do I do, and why do I do what I do?”

Process experiences through reflection, prayer, study, and other disciplines (alone and with friends and mentors), seeking to understand and evaluate them in light of a biblical worldview.

Actively seek new experiences with people, places, and ideas that both support and challenge their worldview.

Cultivate a lifestyle of balanced and healthful living (emotionally, spiritually, and physically), so there is ample space and time to focus on biblical worldview development. p. 72

Summit Ministries has created an excellent worldview assessment as part of their Secret Battle of Ideas about God project. It helps people take the first step in evaluating their worldview and what they believe to be true about the world. I recommend you take Summit’s Worldview Checkup as you embark on the journey to understand the contours of your own worldview. secretbattlebook.com/checkup. p. 75

1. Create a Timeline of Past Influences

One effective means of reflecting on the influences from your past is to create a personal worldview development timeline. To begin, brainstorm the key milestones, experiences, and processes from your past that have influenced the formation of your worldview. These can include the following and any other significant experiences: your salvation experience family influences (such as family faith, church, or religious background, family devotions) schools attended important mentoring or peer relationships worldview classes, books, or resources to which you have been exposed

2. Share Your Timeline with Colleagues

LOCATING YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK

Every experience affords us with the opportunity to ask these questions: What’s good here that I can cultivate? What’s missing that I can create? What’s evil that I can curb? What’s broken that I can help to cure?

If you’re going to be serious about developing a biblical worldview, you need to create specific input experiences for yourself.
While instant answers may make your conversations more efficient, they rob you of the precious exercise of pushing through foggy thinking to clarity in community with others.
Research repeatedly demonstrates that modeling is an important facet of shaping students, and this logically extends to shaping students’ worldviews. Some experts would even go so far as to say that what teachers live out in front of their students is even more important than the content he or she teaches. As Nicholas Wolterstorff (1980, p. 62) said, “It looks as if there is in humanity a tendency to imitate those who are loved or esteemed.” As Jesus said in Luke 6:40, the fully trained student will be like his teacher. If you’re committed to actively developing your own worldview and you share that journey with your students, you’ve taken the first step in providing a biblical worldview immersion experience for those who call you “teacher.” p. 88
To help our students develop a biblical worldview, we need to create and sustain a classroom environment fueled by four central teaching commitments: Practical guidance toward desiring the kingdom of God, including: establishing habits that can lead to this desire introduction to godly role models, including live role models and those in literature, movies, and history interactions with individuals who do not embrace a biblical worldview Age-appropriate practice in the reflective disciplines that enable students to effectively process their experiences Engaging learning experiences, as opposed to teaching methods that encourage students to passively receive content Subject-based experience with the truth claims and practical application of a biblical worldview p. 91
Teachers who put minimal effort into getting to know their students individually ignore the deeply relational nature of human beings, which reflects God’s trinitarian nature. When teachers fail to give students opportunities to apply what they’re learning in real-world situations, they may be inadvertently supporting a “hearing but not doing” (James 1:22) posture toward life. If teachers exhibit no joy in teaching, mechanically going through the motions of getting content across to their students, they set up major barriers to learning. Teachers who rely exclusively on lecture disregard the reality that God has made his students to be responsive, active agents in their environments. p. 93
But how does a teacher intentionally shape students’ desires such that they develop a heart inclination toward the kingdom of God and his rulership in every area of life? This is the essential core desire of one who has a biblical worldview. p. 97
Proverbs 29:17: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This proverb has more to do with shaping desires through the habits of childhood than it is a parenting guarantee. p. 98
Classroom habits for shaping desires consistent with a biblical worldview can be just about anything a teacher intentionally plans and expects students to do on a regular basis. p. 101
Matthew 6:21 when he affirmed the “law of treasuring” by stating, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The things you choose to prize and to which you commit yourself bend your heart in their direction. p. 102
All three lived out Augustine’s counsel to “attract them by your way of life if you want them to receive . . . teaching from you” (Leinenweber, 1992, p. 99). p. 103
Exposure to depravity is pretty much the norm for our students. What’s not normal is exposure to books and movies in which characters make wise choices and in which the results of those choices mirror the principles of the kingdom of God. p. 104
But perhaps even more germane to our discussion here, he radiated a winsome commitment to probing and shaping elements of God’s creation for the benefit of human flourishing. He was a living example of leveraging absolutely brilliant science to live out a biblical worldview. p. 105
By high school, students should come to expect they will be talking in class. As a teacher, you should be constantly working to remove yourself from the central mediating role in discussions. If you find yourself doing the lion’s share of talking during most of your classes, you’re probably missing many opportunities to get your students talking to one another. Remember, this isn’t merely to fill your class with activity and sound. It’s to provide lots of practice in the most common way they will be processing their life experiences as they develop their worldview. p. 118
Reflection is, according to Dewey (1910, p. 6), “active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends.” p. 120
Another less-technical way to define reflection could be to think about experiences in order to understand what they mean and to generate ideas for how learning should impact the approach and response to future experiences. p. 120
Professors Ash and Clayton (2009) distilled much of the research on reflection down to a handy four-letter acronym: DEAL. It summarizes what makes reflection most effective. I’ve adapted and added to it to help direct our efforts at facilitating reflection: D: Description of a student’s experiences in an objective and detailed manner E: Examination/evaluation of those experiences in light of learning objectives and in light of what students already know to be true AL: Articulation of Learning, including commitments for future action p. 121
Imagine you are in a biology class in a secular college. How would you respond to a professor who opened class by saying this? “If you are one of those right-wing fundamentalist Christians, please be sure to leave your religion at home. This is a science class, not a philosophy class.” Write a brief, respectful response to your professor as if you were writing him a personal note. p. 125
Unfortunately, learning in many classrooms can look more like something that happens to students rather than something they actively do. p. 131
Service-learning takes what students are learning in the classroom and puts it into practice by serving people’s needs with what is being learned. Research suggests that service-learning could be a powerhouse pedagogy. Here are just a few of the research-based outcomes of service learning that Dr. Lynn Swaner and I documented in our previous book on service-learning, Bring It to Life: Christian Education and the Transformative Power of Service-Learning (Swaner and Erdvig, 2018): Academic achievement: Students’ academic performance increases; students learn concepts and skills more deeply when they are given opportunities to apply what they’re learning to serve others. Civic engagement: Students get more involved in their local communities, leading to a tendency to continue looking for opportunities to be involved after graduation. Development of beliefs/values: Students grow in understanding of and commitment to their beliefs and values when they have to live them out in authentic ways. Leadership development: Students develop the relational and leadership skills needed to effectively work together with a team. Commitment to service: Students express (verbally and, later in life, behaviorally) a strong commitment to serving others, including a tendency to pursue peopleserving vocations. p. 140
UNDERSTANDING MACRO- AND MICRO-PROPOSITIONS A biblical worldview includes both macro- and micro-propositions of truth. The macro-propositions include answers to the biggest questions about life. The micro-propositions relate to specific topics and arenas of God’s grand creation. The macro-propositions answer questions such as follows: Who is God? What is the nature of the universe? Who is man? What is man’s position in relationship to God and the universe? Is there a fixed moral standard for human behavior? What is the ultimate purpose of mankind? What happens after we die? p. 144
Math is often looked at as one of the toughest subjects in which to effectively integrate biblical worldview. So let’s take an example micro-proposition from this area, which comes from Christian Overman and Don Johnson (2003, p. 27): “Math enables us to glorify God by doing the ‘good works which God prepared beforehand’ (Ephesians 2:10) more effectively. (Consider the fields of medicine, agriculture, economics, etc.)” This micro-proposition frames one of the purposes of learning math: to become more skilled in certain areas so a person can do good works that depend on math in some way. Good medicine, good agriculture, and good economics all require proficiency in math. Anytime students master a mathematical concept, they are adding yet another tool in their toolkit for doing good. p. 145
Literature/English/Language Arts: God created storytelling as a method of communicating truth (Eckel, 2003). God reveals himself in words; becoming skillful with words enables us to more deeply experience God’s revelation and share it with others. Studying the etymology and meaning of the words we use is a way to mark the passage of time and to understand how ideas influence human culture. In stories, the battle between good and evil is a reflection and result of human sin (Eckel, 2003). The forms of poetry and prose reflect the rhythm of reality, speaking profoundly to our very being. Literature can reveal the inner workings of a human’s soul like perhaps no other medium. The ability to use words and symbols to communicate is unique to humans as image-bearers. The form and structure of language reflects the orderliness of God and allows human beings to share meaning. Words must be stewarded well in order to accurately communicate the truth about the way things really are. “Excellence in communication skills is a means of revealing God’s character to other people” (Overman and Johnson, 2003, p. 68). p. 148
Math: The precision, accuracy, and exactitude of measurement are rooted in God’s perfection (Eckel, 2003). Mathematical patterns are predictable and reliable because a faithful, dependable God established them (Eckel, 2003). Arithmetic enables us to account for reality that manifests through the passage of time. Geometry enables us to account for reality that manifests through physical space. Mathematics is a language God has enabled us to discover, through which we can understand and marvel at God’s invisible nature and the universe he has created. The structure and function of every facet of the universe is dependent upon the reliability of mathematical truth. Mathematical principles provide evidence of a Creator/ Designer of the Universe (Overman and Johnson, 2003). Human beings can employ math to exert good and godly rulership over creation. Math requires precision, self-discipline, and patience. These qualities can be cultivated in humans through humble dependence on God and his Spirit. Mathematics offer humans a way of thinking about the world which multiplies our ability to reason clearly about the past, comprehend the framework of our present experience, and plan for the future. p. 149
Science: “God is the sovereign Lord, Creator and Sustainer of all things that exist” (Eckel, 2003, p. 154). God gave man responsibility to rule over the animals and to develop, cultivate, and protect the earth (Eckel, 2003). This is commonly called the “Creation Mandate.” Science can be used to create and cultivate flourishing cultures. God has revealed his eternal power and divine nature through creation (Romans 1:20). Therefore, human beings can learn about God through close exploration of nature. All scientific theories (explanatory models for the way things work) are based on assumptions. Scientific principles enable human beings to cure what is broken in cultures, organizations, and individuals. A biblical worldview provides reliable and consistent underlying assumptions about the way things truly are, without which science would not be possible (Myers and Noebel, 2015). Nature follows established laws, evidencing a rational, purposeful designer (Pearcey and Thaxton, 1994). The Biblical worldview provides motives for scientific inquiry: to show God’s glory and to explore the wisdom of the Creator (Pearcy and Thaxton, 1994). p. 149
History: History has a purpose and an end designed and decreed by God (Eckel, 2003). History is linear: it is going someplace, and it is going there on purpose (Finn, 2015). God established where all people throughout all time were to live. History is essentially the record of man’s interactions with God and his purposes. The forces that come to bear upon human societies are not random, chance forces. Recorded history is reflective of man’s efforts to document human experience. However, there is only one truly accurate representation for every event in history. Two (differing) representations of a past event cannot both be simultaneously true. “God governs the rise and fall of governmental leaders” (Overman and Johnson, 2003, p. 67). Reflection on history enables us to be wise so we can stand against the manipulation and deceit of false worldviews. p. 150
Arts: “Color, form, texture, and sound are part of God’s creation, and testify to God’s existence and creative/artistic aspects” (Overman & Johnson, 2003, p. 69). “As with all aspects of mankind, communication through art and music is subject to God’s standards of conduct” (Overman & Johnson, 2003, p. 70). Beauty is objective and based on the beauty and excellence of God’s good creation. Beauty opens our hearts to virtue, inspiring justice and reflection. Art can be considered a worshipful response to God’s revelation of who he is. When humans create art, they are expressing an important element of the image of God in them. Artistic expressions need not be overtly “Christian” in their content in order to glorify God and reflect his excellence. Music is fundamentally mathematical, with a form and structure that relates to reality itself. p. 150
Athletics: Human beings should care for their bodies as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Athletes should strive for excellence, to the glory of God. Mediocrity in sport is often born of laziness, apathy, or rebellion and reflects poorly on God. Athletics is an ideal forum in which to nurture the development of Christ-like character in students. Sports ideally expose students to many of the elements of real life: teamwork, setbacks, victory, following nonnegotiable rules, submitting to authority, etc. This exposure can help to prepare students for life after high school. Athletics is perhaps the most significant connecting point between body and spirit in our culture. p. 151
SITUATING TOPICS IN THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE Another way to incorporate biblical worldview truths into your classroom is to lead your students to situate all topics in the biblical narrative of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. All of creation and human experience falls somewhere along the continuum between ought (creation) and will (restoration). So everything you study in your classroom also falls along that continuum. Situating classroom content within the biblical narrative grounds everything you study in God’s overarching plan for humanity. p. 156
If history is the subject most readily placed in the framework, math is likely the one that requires the most thought to find specific connections. However, doing so is worth the effort. The very existence of consistent mathematical principles is evidence of God’s good, well-ordered creation and is a “means whereby we can think God’s thoughts after him” (Rushdoony, 1981, p. 58). The fall of man shows up in man’s tendency to use the truth of math for less-than-noble ends, such as when investors are defrauded through mathematical sleight of hand. Consumers are often entrapped in the hard mathematical realities of compounding interest on credit cards they never pay off. At a deeper, more philosophical level, mankind has perpetuated offense upon offense toward God by not acknowledging him as the source of all wisdom, including mathematical wisdom. The spirit of redemption is in action when math is harnessed to serve and bless others. The final restoration of all things will likely include the eternal enjoyment of math throughout all the ages. Humans will be able to explore the depths of the beauty of God’s glory as revealed in math without the typical barriers that characterize a selfish and lazy flesh. p. 157
By the time our students graduate, they will be aware of their own worldview; be committed to actively processing new life experiences in meaningful ways; own the ongoing development of their worldview; identify the impact that various childhood experiences have had on their worldview; have had multiple meaningful interactions with individuals who espouse various nonChristian worldviews; have had significant practice in processing new experiences through peer discussions, reflection, study, and prayer; have had at least one significant mentoring relationship with an individual who has a well-developed biblical worldview; have served in at least one teaching or mentoring context that provided the opportunity to serve individuals whose worldview is less developed; have participated in a minimum of one formal worldview course on the high school or college level; have learned effective strategies to manage stress, especially academic pressures, relationship challenges, and the expectations of others; have learned effective strategies to manage distractions, such as social media, entertainment, and so on; and have embraced a biblical view of trials and difficulties and have demonstrated success in navigating those trials and difficulties. p. 164
“Guide for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.”

(This is just one guideline for excellence; we have nine others that relate to all areas of a teacher’s work.) The guideline begins with a brief description, which is followed by specific indicators. Biblical Worldview Immersion Biblical worldview immersion is a holistic approach to teaching and learning that honors Scripture as the primary shaper of desires, thoughts, and actions, and recognizes that biblical worldview development is a process that will extend long into adulthood.

1.1. Teacher is deeply committed to living out the truth of Scripture in his/her personal life and is actively involved in studying the Bible and nurturing his/her own spiritual growth

1.2. Teacher is aware of his/her worldview and is committed to lifelong worldview development

1.3. Teacher understands the three dimensions of a biblical worldview (truth propositions; heart inclination; and behavioral alignment), and the three dispositions of worldview development (awareness of worldview; commitment to meaningful processing; and personal ownership of the process of development)

1.4. Teacher articulates a biblical perspective on each subject area/topic which he/she teaches

1.5. Teacher consistently connects classroom activities to the biblical narrative (ought/is/can/will)

1.6. Teacher consistently challenges students to consider application of knowledge through the four applied worldview questions (What can I create/cultivate/curb/cure?)

1.7. Teacher assesses students’ biblical worldview thinking in assignments and assessments p. 175

Leave a Reply Cancel reply