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Teaching for Maturing Faith and Moral Living

Teaching for Maturing Faith and Moral Living. Derek J. Keenan, Ed.D . VP, Academic Affairs derek_keenan@acsi.org. Three Major Areas of Change Impacting Today’s youth. Sociological Technological Philosophical. Sociological. Loss of community Changed parent and family models

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Teaching for Maturing Faith and Moral Living

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  1. Teaching for Maturing Faith and Moral Living Derek J. Keenan, Ed.D. VP, Academic Affairs derek_keenan@acsi.org

  2. Three Major Areas of Change Impacting Today’s youth • Sociological • Technological • Philosophical

  3. Sociological • Loss of community • Changed parent and family models • Extended adolescence • Adulthood does not look as inviting as childhood • Education is not the key to life and success • Affluence and materialism • Malljammer-cultivating relationships in the context of the marketplace • Exposure and openness • No separation between adult and child issues

  4. technological • Communications • Information • Immediacy • Isolation - insulation

  5. philosophical • Self-absorbed and gratuitous • Loss of optimism

  6. A picture of today’s youth • Breakdown of belief • Rejection of worldview • Explain away guilt and shame • Narrative “personal story” of life • Personalize standards in violation of stated belief systems • Demise of the “great narrative” that is transcendent truth

  7. “Personal narratives essentially stand alone as the means by which we pull together the text of our own lives.” The task of the therapist, therefore, is to help clients to become more involved in the creation of their own meanings, “reminding them that there are no other yardsticks of stories or persons against which to measure the legitimacy of their own stories.”

  8. The Role of Christian Education in This Culture • Spiritual formation goals for Christian young people • Faith in Christ • Walk of faith • Maturing in application • Inculcatinga biblical virtues system • Expressing a biblical value system • Manifesting a biblical value system

  9. The Problem with Today’s Young People is that there is: • No Scripture in their heads • No hymns in their hearts • No memory of prayer in their homes

  10. Working with Students-Becoming People of Maturing Faith and Moral Living • The Emperor’s Club

  11. Telling • Move their faith toward maturity and establish the foundations of their moral convictions • It’s not only about telling • “Students can hears us, write down what we say and recite it back to us – maybe several times over – and believe and conduct themselves in such a way as to indicate that ‘knowing’ has had no influence in determining responsible Christian conduct.” (Roger Dudley)

  12. Shaping • Removing what is not needed in the finished product • Two means of shaping: • Modeling • Molding

  13. Leading • Leading the classroom and the school • Two ways of leading: • Grounding • Framing

  14. A Strategy for Spiritual Formation of Students • Develop a “School Spiritual Formation Plan” • Establish goals and objectives • Formulate a scope and sequence • Develop an assessment strategy • ACSI’s Expected Student Outcomes (ESO’s) • Academic Thinking • Worldview Orientation • Skill Development • Spiritual Formation

  15. A Strategy for Spiritual Formation of Students • Components of a Spiritual Formation Plan • What present activities contribute to the spiritual formation of students? How effective are these activities? • What are the relevant indicators of Christian value commitments? To what degree are these present? • What activities/experiences are desired at each level that would prepare students to “value” their faith?

  16. A Strategy for Spiritual Formation of Students • Staffing qualifications for a Spiritual Formation School • The power of modeling virtue • “The floating family describes the feeling of being adrift amidst a sea of shifting definitions and allegiances, a relatively formless array of familial relationships in a continuous state of flux” (Kenneth Gergen) • Understanding of anonymity and alienation of many youths • Management of insecurities of worth, value and truth • Authenticity and vitality

  17. Becoming a Spiritual Formation Teacher • Have a “spiritual formation” foal in mind and focus the instruction on students working with it. • Determine the school/classroom limits for exploring “value” topics • Link experiences within and without the school to “spiritual formation” by preparation, planning, and interaction • Use open-ended classroom activities to explore age-appropriate topics • Allow students to express both sides of an issue. What is the grace response and what is the ungrace response? Walk the students through a moral reasoning exercise. • Have students work on individual as well as group service activity projects. Follow up on expressing the values of this service.

  18. Challenges to Focusing on Spiritual Formation • Growth is the evidence of life • Spiritual greatness comes from within • Proclaiming the meta-narrative (Gospel) through telling that is fully supported by a life “Holy shoddy is still shoddy” - Elton Trueblood

  19. To download this presentation, go to: www.acsi.org/~keenan

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