Reflections on Christian Worldview Formation In the Mission of Maranatha High School David J. Gyertson, Ph.D. Headmaster, Pasadena, California.

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1 Reflections on In the Mission of Maranatha High School Headmaster, Pasadena, California. Developing a Christian Worldview For educational institutions that describe themselves as Christian there is, to varying degrees, a common thread to their founding vision and mission to help students explore the claims of the Christian faith on their learning, living and serving. The way that this goal of Christian worldview formation is stated and achieved may differ from institution to institution; however, most Christian schools recognize that parents and students come with the expectation that the tenets and practices of the Christian faith influence the education to some measurable degree. To maintain integrity with their constituencies and fidelity with the promised Christian context, each institution must determine the degree of intentionality it will use to address these expectations. This paper reflects on several issues and best practices of Christian worldview formation I believe to be important to achieving such fidelity. In addition it provides you with an understanding of the framework by which I, as your Headmaster, evaluate and help shape the programs, instruction and other related activities we offer at Maranatha High School to deliver on our promises of a quality college preparatory education in an intentional Christian context. Integration vs. Compartmentalization For the purposes of this discussion the following definition of Christian Education is offered: Christian Education is that process by which students are enabled to examine, understand and then encouraged to appropriate the claims of the person and teachings of Jesus Christ on every aspect of their learning, living and serving. For students in the Christian institution to embrace such a comprehensive, Christ-centered view of living, learning and serving it is essential that strategies be developed that identify the key components of such formulation and then integrate these across students curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences. Too often Christian education and its goal of faith integration is addressed by compartmentalizing the key components into separate course content and other experiences. These are then identified as the Christian or Scriptural elements while the majority of the learning experiences are offered in much the same manner as found in secular contexts. The key to developing a maturing life of faith is for students to see their Christian beliefs and practices as relevant to every aspect of life. To equip life-long, intentional followers, able to understand Jesus Christ s relevance to each dimension of their lives, the primary components of a Christian worldview need to be integrated into every aspect of students experiences. Compartmentalization unfortunately promotes the belief that the primary Christian worldview components are merely complementary and supplemental and thus, for many, perceived as optional at best and irrelevant at worst. The ultimate goal must be Christian worldview formation across and throughout every aspect of the students experiences. Developing a meaningful Christian worldview cannot be merely a supplement to or an enhancement of the learning and maturing experiences typically found in most educational settings. Failure to achieve this integration produces what some believe to be nothing more than a Christian glazing of a secular ham. 1

2 To achieve such integration requires priority, discipline and hard work. Those who embrace education in an intentional Christian context, work twice as hard as their secular counterparts. Not only do they master everything the secular educator knows about learning, they also discover and embrace all that Christcentered relationships and Scripturally anchored convictions bring to bear on the totality of living, learning and serving. Those educated in such an intentional context not only master the elements of their academic disciplines but also examine the assumptions underlying what they are learning. Moreover, the disciplines and the assumptions must be examined in light of an informed Christian perspective that is anchored to the core elements of their Christian worldview. Core Components of Christian World View Formation It is important to define the core components essential to Christian worldview formation and then design strategies for their inclusion in each facet of the students curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences. Five primary components have proven to be important to a well-integrated Christian worldview: Faith Foundations Faith- Learning Integration Biblical Literacy Spiritual Formation Real World Service 1. Biblical/Scriptural Literacy a familiarity with the structure, purpose, historicity and authority of the Christian Scriptures with a particular focus on the record of God s interaction with creation and humanity. Students need to become familiar with the real-life stories of people, groups and nations as they interacted with God s prescriptions and promises. The goal is to help students develop a personal identification with these successes and failures as they too encounter the God of Scripture. Such literacy is the lynch pin of the remaining four aspects of worldview formation. Without Biblical Literacy, the other aspects of worldview formation will not have the solid foundation needed for building a well-integrated worldview. 2. Faith Foundations a basic knowledge of the primary elements of a reliable systematic theology. This includes the heads of doctrine as described for example in the Apostle s Creed including the nature of God, the nature of humanity, and the nature of redemption. These basics all have a primary focus on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. The goal is for students to know the what and why of their Christian faith by examining the universal themes that anchor that faith. 3. Faith-Learning Integration multiple, inter-related strategies, approaches and experiences to help the student understand how knowledge of the Scriptures and commitment to the essential foundations of the Christian faith are relevant to every aspect of living, learning and serving. Faithlearning integration seeks to answer questions such as: How does my Christian faith inform the study of this topic? What are the underlying assumptions about the nature of God, humanity, redemption etc. that are being promoted/assumed by this study? How do they relate to a reliable Christian worldview? How does my Christian faith make what I am learning, doing and experiencing relevant in today s world? Such faith-learning integration is not limited to the classroom but also is addressed in co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences. This comprehensive approach to faith-integration helps students understand that the Christ has a claim on every aspect of their lives. 2

3 4. Personal Spiritual Formation assisting students to develop a lifestyle sustained by spiritual disciplines. This includes prayer, Scripture study, fasting, worship, stewardship, fellowship, and service. These disciplines nurture the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the development of character qualities that will last a lifetime; qualities in keeping with the core values of the Christian faith. 5. Real World Service one of the most important elements of moving Christian world view formation from compartmentalization to integration is achieved by enriching every aspect of the students experiences with a means for serving the the left and the lost those whom Jesus referred to as the least of these. Applied service opportunities make relevant and put feet to faith in real world contexts. The mark of maturing Christian faith, as defined by the Great Commandment, is to love God and to love that which God loves including the disadvantaged and disenfranchised of His human creation. When Scriptural literacy, foundational beliefs, faith-learning integration, spiritual formation and real world service integrate intentionally, students are better equipped to understand God s purposes in and through their learning, living and serving. Mapping Core Components to Achieve Integration To move from compartmentalization to integration, an intentional effort must be made to incorporate the five worldview formation components into each of the students educational experiences. Every encounter that students have in the Christ-centered institution should explore how the components can be addressed. Through a process called curriculum mapping the components of Christian worldview formation are explored, implemented and evaluated. It is common practice in curricular design to ask faculty to develop the course content using a prescribed curriculum-mapping template (the use of course guides is an example). These templates include learning objectives, specified instructional methods, course resources and assessment rubrics. Often institutions have school-wide objectives for every course that include improving competencies in writing, spelling, grammar, communications, logical thinking and other defined areas. For example, sometimes these are described as writing (etc.) across the curriculum. For the intentional Christian institution, an additional element to the mapping template should include specific descriptions of how the Christian worldview formation components are addressed, implemented and evaluated across the curriculum for each course. To achieve the fullest potential for worldview integration, similar mapping should be encouraged/expected in co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences. When athletic coaches, for example, are intentional about mapping the components of worldview formation in the context of their sports training and supervision, the relevance of the Christian faith takes on a dynamic which contributes to the athletes lives well beyond the team s competitive season. Leadership Roles in Worldview Formation As is true in most organizations, the degree of commitment and the nature of the involvement of leadership are critical to the development of an integrated and effective Christian worldview process. While the focus for implementation is on faculty and those who serve as program directors, coaches and other unit leaders, ultimately it is the Board of Trustees, and those who report to the board such as the headmaster and senior leadership team, that ensure the success of such integration. For this leadership to be effective, it is essential that such integration be both modeled as well as expected by the board, and the institution s leadership. In the end, effective faith integration is more caught than taught, more modeled and mentored rather than mandated and manipulated. Change comes about and goals are achieved when those in authority lead asking others to follow. 3

4 The Challenge of Measuring Worldview Integration Effectiveness Measuring progress in Christian worldview formation is perhaps one of the most difficult undertakings since the process is highly individualized and deeply personal. There is no off the rack suit that fits every individual or institution. The difficulties in measuring the Christian promises of faith-based institutions in an environment of accreditation and accountability that demands proof of performance can be intimidating. Despite the difficulties, by making use of a mapping strategy that addresses each of the five components of Christian worldview formulation, we are able to make measurable progress towards demonstrating the commitment to the stated Christ-centered learning objectives. It is important to develop assessment tools to determine the effectiveness of the deployed strategies both for each individual experience as well as for the longitudinal impact on the student throughout and across their learning experiences. As a starting point, educators should chronicle experiences, and students should reflect in portfolio or other formats, in order to help measure results and provide continuous quality improvement feedback. It is important as well, that at the close of their experience with the institution, each student participates in an integrative exercise that addresses their overall journey into Christian worldview formulation showing how their exposure to the person and teachings of Jesus Christ impacted their learning, living and serving. Beginning the Integration Journey Moving from the typical complementary and supplemental strategies of worldview formulation to integration of a Christian worldview across the learning experiences is a demanding process. Institutions and their leaders respond to this challenge in different ways. Some institutions decide to stay with the supplemental approach by offering specific Bible courses, chapel attendance, mission trips and other religious activities, assuming that these will produce the desired results. In these settings, there is little institution-wide mapping of expectations, leaving most Christian worldview formation up to the individual initiatives of faculty, coaches and program directors. While there are many inspiring anecdotes of those touched by such intentional individuals, in the lives of the majority of students exposed to this approach, there is not reliable evidence of success in achieving meaningful, life-long integration of Christian worldviews. Other institutions minimize their faith-centered promises, choosing not to explain or measure their Christian learning outcomes. These schools trust that the lives of faculty and others will be the sufficient witness students spiritual formation needs. In an age where precision in moral beliefs and practices is not welcomed and sometimes is viewed as non-inclusive and irrelevant, some schools find it easier to minimize the Christian worldview formation expectations for both students and staff. Students at these intuitions are often left to pick and choose between worldviews they find amongst those at the Christian institution and those they find outside of it. There are some institutions that find it easier to abandon their Christian worldview formation objectives completely, treating them as an historical distinctive but with no direct meaning or relevance to the challenges, expectation and demands of the current culture. Though these institutions may continue to designate themselves as Christian in origin, there often is minimal distinction between them and secular institutions in how learning occurs and outcomes are measured. Thankfully, there are those educational institutions that rise to the challenge of embracing a comprehensive, Christ-centered worldview, pro-actively integrating faith and learning. These institutions recognize the critical need to empower a new generation of intentional Christ followers challenged to embrace Jesus as Lord of all of living, learning and service. They seek ways to help students integrate their Christian worldview serving as ambassadors of God s love while wisely and effectively presenting His claims on every dimension of creation, culture, and society. I believe that those institutions who 4

5 choose this demanding alternative have the potential to serve the purposes of God in their generation delivering on the promises of a Christ-centered, Scripture-anchored worldview that transforms as well as informs. It is my intent, as the Headmaster of Maranatha High School, that with God s help and the commitments of a dedicated Board of Trustees, faculty, and support team, we will be such an institution. In doing so we will honor the Apostle Peter s admonition to produce future generations prepared to give a reason for the hope that lies within them and to do it with conviction, gentleness and respect. (I Peter 3:15 adapted). 5