About a decade ago, Emma came into my class, eager to learn. She was the dream eighth-grade student. She was funny and thoughtful, and she viewed the world through the eyes of someone much older. Her faith was deep, her understanding of Scripture mature, and her convictions sincere. I could go on, but she was […]
Our panel gathered together remotely to talk about doubt and how we might walk alongside students in our schools or classrooms who are wrestling with doubts related to their faith. I opened the dialogue by inviting the panelists to share examples from their classrooms or perspectives they have gained from working with students who are […]
A young man in the circle decided to be vulnerable: “I have never seen an example of a Christian life in church that I want to follow.” What happened next shocked me. One by one, the others in the circle nodded their agreement. I shook my head in astonishment, and they shook their heads in […]
Every day one of our Bible teachers selects a quote to add to the announcements scrolling on the TV screens around our school. I often read the quote as I walk the halls, appreciate the wisdom it contains, and continue about my day. One day this past January, however, I read the quote and had […]
We live in an age in which what we think we know from science is modified daily, theological stances on current issues seem to divide as much as unite communities of faith, and questions at the interface of faith and science keep shifting. Both history and present experience suggest that when theology and science point […]
Although Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy is well known for his rare decision to voluntarily resign in 2013, one initiative from his reign that might deserve more attention is the “Courtyard of the Gentiles” project. The vision for the initiative was to create a space in which believers and nonbelievers could discuss “the great questions […]
Evans, Rachel Held. Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned the Ask the Questions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010. Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans is a book that is a joy to read. The book feels more like a conversation at a coffee shop with a […]
Whenever I have an opportunity to talk about the Bible for the first time with a group of students, I often start with a too-easily overlooked question: When Jesus “finished” his incarnational task—his birth, life, death, and resurrection—and was preparing to ascend, why didn’t he take his followers with him? Why the delay? In many […]
How do you function as a spiritual leader in your classroom? Are you a gardener? Scripture frequently describes our walk with God metaphorically, and its favorite source for metaphor is the garden. The Psalter begins with this beautiful assertion: the one who meditates on God’s law “is like a tree planted by streams of water, […]
Times of intense change afford us positive opportunities to reshape institutions and operational patterns. As Christian educators, we should seize this opportunity to not only reshape our educational practices, but also to consider new information that has been emerging about the very nature of what we seek to do in Christian schools—educating for wisdom and […]