THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. and shape this or any philosophy. Now the actual process of specifying the outline and

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1 1 THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION All of the foregoing items have been the preliminary assumptions that should underlie and shape this or any philosophy. Now the actual process of specifying the outline and elements of this philosophy needs to begin. The starting point is to verbally sketch what the goal or target will be for this education process. Unfortunately, the old adage is true, If you aim at nothing, you are bound to hit it every time. Therefore, one must, as Lawson puts it, begin with the end in mind. 1 Only when you know where you re headed can you retrace the necessary steps all the way back to the beginning point. This goal needs to be clear and specific because, as Gangel warns, Nothing can render an educational system in church or school less... relevant to the students than oblique aims which may or may not exist in the minds of the educational leadership. 2 Only when there is a clearly defined and communicated goal can everyone involved in Christian education in that church or school be directing ministries in the same direction. Since this is all about Christian education, the goal that is chosen needs to be God s goal for the church, which means it needs to come directly from scripture. There are several 1 From class lectures by Dr. Michael S. Lawson, in the course Teaching in Christian Higher Education, taught in Amman, Jordan, May Gangel, Building Leaders, p. 35.

2 2 different places where one can clearly glean what this biblical goal is. The following are but a few: Romans 8:29-- In eternity past, God pre-determined that all of His children would be conformed to the image of His Son 2 Timothy 3: God gave man the Scriptures so that the man of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped to do any good work. Ephesians 4: Christ Himself gave spiritually gifted pastors and teachers who are to equip them to do the work of the ministry and bring members to maturity in faith. Colossians 1:28--Paul s goal was maturity in his teaching for all those listening. Matthew 28: Christ commissioned all disciples to make disciples who would be baptized and observe all Christ s commands. These passages come from two of the greatest teachers in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul and Jesus, and they leave no doubt as to the goal of Christian teaching. Downs summarizes by saying, Christian education, simply defined, is the ministry of bringing the Believer to maturity in Jesus Christ. 3 While the goal or end result (product) can be stated as spiritual maturity, the process can be nicely captured by the title to Hendrick s book on teaching, Teaching to Change Lives. 4 Eleanor Daniel amplifies this thought: The purpose of Bible teaching is to bring change into the life of the learner until he has reached maturity in Christ a life long task. This maturity is achieved when a person has a knowledge of God s Word, with understanding, that results in changed behavior: Bearing fruit, growing in knowledge, becoming stronger in endurance and patience. 5 This is what was involved in the kind of disciple-making process that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 28. It is rather sad that too many in the church have seen this Great Commission only as a foundation or biblical basis for missions and evangelism. It is that, 3 Downs, p Howard Hendricks, Teaching to Change Lives (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1987) Eleanor Daniel et al., Introduction to Christian Education (Cincinnati: Standard Publishers, 1980), p.

3 3 and evangelism is what brings about the greatest change needed in life. But at the same time it should be seen as more than evangelism. Evangelism is but the beginning of a lifetime of change. As Gangel puts it, this commission mandates both evangelism and teaching, with the latter being at least equal and quite possibly greater in emphasis. 6 Not only were new disciples to be taught the commands of Christ, but they were to be taught to observe to do them. That is at the application level. That is when life change takes place. Application is the only path that can lead one to spiritual maturity--to living the truth, not just knowing it. What Does Spiritual Maturity Look Like? What are the marks of spiritual maturity? Unfortunately, there is not as much agreement on this as one might think. Downs is probably close to the truth when he claims there are as many definitions of spiritual maturity as there are Christian groups. 7 Here are some of the suggested definitions: Bible knowledge, depth of or style of worship, somberness, social responses, expression of charismatic gifts, or soul winning. 8 But what is needed is a study of the concept of maturity in the New Testament. Lawson shows that such a study of the word and concept lays down at least four distinct marks to strive for. Maturity in disciples will manifest itself in: Theological Stability (Eph. 4:11-14) Christ gave gifted men to the church some as apostles, New Testament prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to help us become mature. Maturity is then further described in verse fourteen as a time in which we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth... by every wind of teaching. This also agrees with the implications of Hebrews 5 6 Kenneth Gangel, What Christian Education Is, in Robert Clark, Lin Johnson, and Allyn Sloat, editors, Christian Education: Foundations For the Future (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), p Downs, p Ibid.

4 4 that equates maturity with the ability to eat meaty spiritual food. One side of spiritual maturity then is to be theologically informed, to be able to evaluate decisions, pressures, events, and temptations by God s standards without wavering. Note that the teaching ministry of the church or Christian school is to bring about doctrinal stability. Spiritual Service (Eph. 4:11-17) This same passage also alluded to another side of spiritual maturity. Spiritually gifted teachers were given to the church to equip the saints (their students) to a point where they could do the work of the ministry. The New Testament is clear in showing all believers are to be involved in some kind of ministry to serve Christ. According to 1 Cor. 12 and 1 Peter 4, the Holy Spirit has gifted every believer in some way to effectively serve Christ. So another mark of maturity is when the believer actually gets involved in ministries he was designed and equipped to do. Those believers who are not involved in some kind of ministry (formal or informal) are immature whether it s because of ignorance, fear, or disobedience. Moral Lifestyle (Hebrews 5:14) This passage describes maturity as belonging to those who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good and evil. Mature ones are those who live a holy life. Therefore, we are to teach for personal and corporate holiness in the church. The understanding one has of right versus wrong must be seen in daily choices. Love Relationships (1 Tim. 1:5) Paul shared that the end result of his teaching was to be love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. This aspect of maturity is connected with several passages in the New Testament: Matthew 22:37-39; Jn. 13:35; Gal. 5:22-23; 1 Cor. 13:1; 1 Jn. 4:20; and John 21: The highest form of spirituality is loving God

5 5 above all else, and then displaying that love toward one s neighbors. Believers who are lacking in their love relationship with God, fellow believers, or the lost are immature. What are Biblical Objectives for Causing Spiritual Maturity? A study of the early church reveals that the apostles were engaged in four primary activities to lead their converts into the above marks of maturity. They are found in seed form in Acts 2:42-47 and they are: worship, instruction, fellowship, and expression-service. Evangelism wasn t a separate element because it seems to have permeated all these activities that they were involved in. Since it is these activities that enabled early believers to achieve their goal of spiritual maturity (i.e. of theological stability, spiritual service, moral lifestyle, and a love-based relationship), it seems beneficial to give a little more detailed picture of how these should be evidenced in Christian education programs in Arab churches and Bible colleges today. Worship Worship has the idea of showing value, worth, or respect to someone because of who they are or what they have done. Worship, then, is simply giving honor and adoration to God. 9 For the Christian, worship is to be what the engine is to a car the very core and most essential element. 10 Is it any wonder that worship is the focus of the very first of the ten commandments that came from the finger of God (Exodus 20:2-5)? 11 Jesus placed it at the heart of the greatest commandment when He said that loving God was, in fact, the summation of the scriptures (Matthew 22:37). The early church obviously understood worship was to be 9 John MacArthur, The Ultimate Priority (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983), p Ibid., p D.L. Moody advised, If people were true to the first commandment, obedience to the remaining nine would follow naturally. It s because they are so unsound in this that they break the others. Cited in Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations (Dallas: Bible Communications, Inc., 1998), p

6 6 an integral part of their discipleship program. That s why we see it present from the first day in the form of praising God, praying, being daily in the temple, and even perhaps in the phrase breaking of bread. 12 Unfortunately, the contemporary church in both the West and Middle East seems to have lost sight of what worship really is and the place it is to have. Tozer describes worship as the missing jewel of the church, and he laments its absence is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. 13 Thus, any good philosophy of Christian education must elevate worship to its proper place and make it an integral part of it. Why? Jesus Himself said that the Father continues to look for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Of course, worship is not about church facilities but a matter of the heart. Unfortunately, this has been one of our weakest areas in Christian education. Christian education programs must be developing true worshippers of all ages in order to take Jesus warning to the church at Ephesus seriously (Rev. 2:1-7). Though they seemed to have all the other necessary ingredients in their education and ministry programs, the lack of true worship ( first love ) made them candidates for closure. A strong emphasis on worship in our Christian education activities will go far in producing the agaph love that is to be one of the marks of spiritual maturity. Instruction Instruction was another fundamental educational activity driving apostolic Christian education. It s impossible to make a disciple without instruction in divine truth. The apostles were so committed to teaching that later, when distribution activities cut in on teaching and 12 Homer Kent believes the presence of the article in th klasei tou artou indicates more than just eating, and probably includes the idea of participating in the Lord s Supper, but also notes that 1 Corinthians 11 and patristic literature reveal that the Eucharist was proceeded by a religious meal. Cited in Homer Kent, Jerusalem to Rome (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1979), pp Alford confirms that this interpretation has been, both in ancient and modern times, the prevalent one. Henry Alford, Alford s Greek Testament: An Exegetical Commentary, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Guardian, 1976), p. 29.

7 7 preparation time, they found other gifted and spirit-controlled men to delegate those other activities to (Acts 6:1-7). It was critical for the apostles to prioritize teaching because the church was without one page of New Testament scripture. They were now fulfilling the teaching commission given them in Matthew 28: Disciples today must do the same. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that every true disciple is to be a teacher of the doctrine he knows to be true (5:12). But they were guilty of not fulfilling the teaching commission from Christ in Matthew 28. Sadly, the same charge laid at the feet of the initial recipients of Hebrews could (and should) be laid at the feet of most believers today. That is why it is imperative for Christian educators today to realize they are in an all-out war against biblical illiteracy. Findings from the Effective Christian Education research reveals that most churched youth in a Christian culture know little about their faith and religion, and that their Bible knowledge is dangerously sketchy, with only some 11 percent having a mature faith. 14 This is a very telling statistic about Christian education in the western local church where so many resources, helps, and opportunities exist. Eleven percent is a failing mark in any grading system, especially when the attendance rate is so much higher for these younger age groups. 15 To compound the problem, religiously illiterate youth cannot be helped much at home or even the church if their parents and teachers are virtually illiterate about the faith themselves, which seems to be the case since only one in three have a mature faith. 16 These results are heartbreaking, especially in light of the fact that this particular biblical objective of instruction has gotten 13 A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1961), p David S. Schuller, Rethinking Christian Education (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1993), p There is a 60 percent attendance rate for children K-6 th, and 52 percent for grades 7-9 at CE ministries. Ibid., p Ibid., p. 87. Schuller.

8 8 more attention and emphasis in Christian education than any of the other three we are dealing with. It is this activity of instruction that should produce the desired theological stability. Fellowship The apostles also counted on fellowship to help them reach their goal of spiritually mature disciples. This fellowship was evidenced in this infant church in several ways. It is seen in the fact that they continued gathering together daily in the temple and in each others homes. They also continued in the sharing of the meal or love feast that was initially connected with the breaking of bread 17 part of the service (Acts 2:46; cf. 1 Cor. 11:20-34). The result of this worship, instruction and in a context of fellowship is seen by the fact that they were of one mind (Acts 2:46). This kind of fellowship is what they had experienced from their discipler and mentor, Jesus Christ. Fellowship requires the spending of time together, of sharing everyday life experiences and even trials together. It means encouraging and sharpening each other to be all that God wants you to be in how you respond to what each day brings forth. That s why believers were exhorted in the New Testament not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, as some (most?) in order to encourage each other to live for God in these last evil days (Heb. 10:25). MacArthur states that fellowship is, in fact, the spiritual duty of believers, and is most specifically expressed in the many one another s of the New Testament (cf. Rom. 12:16,16; 13:8; 14:19; 15:5,7,14; 16:16; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 4:2,25,32; 5:21; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:9,13,16; 1 Thess. 4:9,18; 5:11,13; Heb. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:2; 4:9,10; 5:5, etc.) As stated earlier, Kent points out that the presence of two articles in the construction the breaking of the bread (th klasei tou artou) indicates more than just eating and serves as a reference to the Lord s table which was taken in connection with a sacred meal. Homer Kent, Jerusalem to Rome (Winona Lake: BMH Books, 1972), p. 34. Breaking of bread and prayer are seen by some to be a part of this fellowship since there is no kai introducing the phrase about breaking of the bread and praying. 1994), p John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Acts 1-12 (Chicago: Moody Press,

9 9 From even this brief study, it is easy to see that Christ has not intended for the believer to live a lone-ranger lifestyle. The Greek word used here for fellowship is koinwnia which means: An association, or participation that is built upon a common relationship with Christ (1 Cor. 1:9; 10:16; 1 Jn. 1:3). The bonds that link us to Jesus bond us to one another, in intimate Christian fellowship. 19 Thus, it should be our clear-cut objective to create an atmosphere of true Christian fellowship in all Christian education ministries. True fellowship will create strong relationships and make possible a spirit of cooperation between the teacher and the learners, and between the learners themselves. This kind of relationship, says Dirks, is one of the most powerful motivational forces for changed lives 20 This is why genuine fellowship must be a mainstream activity in our Christian education plans. LeBar reminds us that depth of our fellowship with the Lord and each other conditions the quality of our worship and evangelism 21 in our programs. Expression-Service This last area in biblical objectives is where our student now implements the commands of Christ that he has been instructed in. Thus, this is the time in which the disciple himself is truly functioning as a disciple at the skill or application level of learning, 22 which is related to the meaning of this word maqhths (disciple), which is pupil or learner. This is true learning. In our Acts 2 passage this expression is seen in continuing daily in meeting together, praying, and in giving to meet the needs of each member in this 19 Lawrence O. Richards, Encyclopedia of Bible Words (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), p Dennis H. Dirks, The Teacher: Facilitator for Change, in Clark, Johnson and Sloat, Christian Education: Foundations for the Future, p LeBar, Focus on People, p Richards, Encyclopedia of Bible Words, p. 226.

10 10 new body. Their faith was an active and visible part of their lives as it should be in any true disciple s life. This biblical objective has a two-fold label expression and service. The expression aspect focuses on the various ways the disciple now lives out the instruction he received. This expression is crucial to the education process in that the only way we can outwardly measure whether any genuine learning has taken place is through changes in attitudes and behavior. 23 Expression is the fruit of biblical instruction sown in the heart of a genuine disciple. It can take a multitude of forms. Here it was gathering together (church), giving, praying, and praising, but expression also includes any legitimate application of biblical truth. The other aspect of this doing objective is seen here as service. Actually service is another form of expression but service is used here to distinguish the kind of expression that facilitates spiritual ministry to another. Ministry or service is indeed one of the most distinguishing marks of spiritual maturity given in the New Testament. True maturity will elude us apart from service to Christ s body. 24 Christian education programs that do not result in believers becoming involved in service for the King are not hitting the mark, and it calls for the leaders to go back to the drawing board. It is also noteworthy that expression-service is also evidenced in our Acts 2 passage in the evangelism that was taking place (2:47). This was a clear distinctive that is repeatedly seen throughout the book of Acts. Evangelism, then, is the natural result of properly equipping disciples. We must evangelize to teach, and then teach to evangelize Lee, p Michael S. Lawson, Biblical Foundation for a Philosophy of Teaching, in Gangel and Hendricks, eds., Handbook on Teaching, p This was the motto of Rev. J. Irvin Overholtzer, founder of Child Evangelism Fellowship (Cited in Teaching Children Effectively: Level 1 Manual (Warrenton, MO: CEF Press, 1990), p. 1.

11 11 Leaders in Christian education must understand they are responsible for helping pupils visualize possibilities and providing opportunities for expression and service since carry over into life is not automatic. 26 Furthermore, they must also realize that such expression-service only happens when each department and age group of the church and Christian education ministry are operating with a balanced program of all four elements avoiding the tendency to over-emphasize instruction. 27 Making a disciple can, in some ways, be likened to baking a cake in that all of the essential ingredients need to be present in the right amounts or you do not end up with what you want. If any of these four essential elements is missing or are not added in correct proportions, you will not end up with spiritually mature disciples. The questions we must keep in mind in designing any Christian education program then are: What will we do to develop true worshippers? What will we do to produce biblically literate disciples who have a hunger both for knowing and applying? What will we do to foster loving fellowship with all participants? In what ways will we be guiding to express their faith and service through evangelism and discipleship? Please note that our goal, marks of maturity, and biblical objectives to achieve them are non-negotiables. They will not change because God s Word does not change. We must forever be designing and evaluating our Christian education philosophy and programs by how well we are accomplishing these. 26 LeBar, Focus on People, p Ibid., p. 44.

12 12 Cultural Implications for the Goal and Objectives of Christian Education 1. As stated earlier, there is a two-fold aspect in teaching to change lives that of evangelism and of spiritual growth for maturity. Most evangelical churches pick one or the other. Some keep trying to evangelize the believers in every meeting and some try to get the spiritually dead to grow. Church leadership needs to be encouraged to think through who their audience is for each meeting or program and focus on meeting the needs of those present whether evangelism, growth, or both. 2. Few church attenders in the Arab world are involved in ministry. Most feel that ministry only takes place in the church by the pastor and teachers. There needs to be more teaching on what spiritual gifts are and how people can find ways to use their gift both inside and outside the church. Youth need to be trained how to serve and be directed to specific opportunities to serve. Then part of each week s meeting should be given for people to share what s happening in their ministries. 3. Concerning worship, many evangelical services are so tradition bound and routine that little spontaneous heartfelt worship can take place (except in charismatic services). More teaching and modeling needs to take place on how services can be truly worshipful. This may be one of the reasons few from the youth groups ever attend regular worship meetings (only 10-15% attend).