CED 522
Teacher as Facilitator of Learning
Timothy W. Brock
Church as the Context for
Pastoral and Educational Vocation
Introduction
The material in this lecture and discussion was derived from Part 1 of the textbook, Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church, by religious educator, Maria Harris. The professor will provide additional information as appropriate.
God as Divine Artist/Church as Pottery
In the introduction to the book, Dr. Harris developed the image of God “as a potter fashioning a people.” She further noted a number of scripture passages, contained in both the Old and New Testaments, which supported this position. In developing this image, Harris indicated that the creative work of God might be interpreted in two ways:
· Envisioning God as essentially separate from what God has made…and
· Assuming that God is a brooding, hovering, and indwelling Presence that continues to act within creation: renewing it, cherishing it, and loving it.
In this book, Harris leaned heavily into the second of these interpretations. Further, she asserted that we, as Christian educators, are co-creators with God in the task of fashioning a people, i.e. helping the church to become a “work of art” for God.
Questions for Reflection
· What is your reaction to the image of God as Divine Artist?
· How do you relate to the paradoxical ways that the creative work of God might be interpreted? Are you drawn to one or the other of these interpretations? If so, speculate on why this may be the case?
· What is your reaction to idea that Christian educators are “co-creators” with God in regard to developing the curriculum of the church?
· What practical implications of this image do you see in your work as a congregational educator?
A Pastoral Vocation
In Chapter One of the text, Harris developed the concept of the church as a people with a pastoral vocation. In short, Harris believed that every member of a congregation has a pastoral vocation, a unique calling to be lived out in all aspects of his or her life. In reality, the church is a body of “vocational ministers” who seek to embody the Kingdom of God in their lives, individually and corporately.
Practically, this assumption created at least three “tensions” in the understanding of pastoral vocation in the congregational context. These included:
· What is the relationship between personal vocation and communal expressions of vocation?
· What is the relationship between living out one’s vocation in a local context which acknowledging a global perspective of the Kingdom of God?
· What is the proper understanding of the role and function of the clergy and the laity?
The ways in which a congregation addresses and responses to these tensions will affect directly the curriculum of that church.
Questions for Reflection
· What is your reaction to the idea that every member of your church has a “pastoral vocation?”
· Be prepared to state your understanding of each of the three tensions described above.
· How do the leaders and members of your congregation address each of these tensions? In other words, does your church highlight individual or corporate expressions of vocation? Local or global expressions? The role of the clergy or the function of the laity?
An Educational Vocation
In this chapter, Harris addressed two key questions:
· What meaning of education will serve us best in realizing the pastoral vocation of individuals and the body of the congregation? Harris responded to this question by stating education should be “form giving,” providing a structure around which the church should function.
· When a revised meaning of education is proposed, what are the implications for the church, as a body, as educator (or co-creator with God)? In response to this question, Harris indicated that education must include: koinonia by engaging in the forms of community and communion; leiturgia by engaging in the forms of prayer, worship, and spirituality; kerygma by attending to and practicing the Good News in the speech of our lives; didakonia by attending to our own service and reaching out to others; and didache by attending to the most appropriate forms of teaching and learning in our own communities. (Note: each of these forms was explained in detail in Part Two of the textbook.)
Further, Harris developed a three-function understanding of the role of education as:
· Priestly…communicating the Traditions of the faith.
· Prophetic…ensuring the work of justice.
· Political…promoting a corporate dynamic in the faith.
Finally, as was the case with many of the other authors discussed in this course, Harris advocated for a broader understanding of the nature of education in the congregational context. The following chart compared a “schooling paradigm” of education with her expanded understanding of Christian education.
|
Former
Schooling Paradigm
|
Present
Forming Function of Education
|
|
Agent
|
Individual and/or official
|
The whole community
|
|
Activity
|
Instructing and/or indoctrinating
|
Educating and empowering
|
|
Participants
|
Children
|
The whole community
|
|
Direction
|
To know the lore and obey the laws
|
To engage in ministry in the midst of the world
|
Questions for Reflection
· What is your understanding of the priestly function of Christian education? The prophetic function? The political function?
· Is the Christian education in your congregational context more consistent with the Former or Present descriptions outlined above? Why do you make this assessment?
Running the Course
In Chapter 3, Harris noted that the word, “curriculum,” is derived from the Latin verb, “currere,” which means “to run (a race).” So, quite literally, the curriculum of the church is the course that we run and lead others to run in the race toward becoming the person that God has called us to be and participating in the Kingdom of God.
At the end of this chapter, Harris listed and described five principles of curriculum design (according to her approach):
1. As church people, we must consistently distinguish between the curriculum of education and the curriculum of schooling.
2. The curriculum of education ministry is multiple.
3. The subject matter has many layers.
4. The curriculum must be priestly, prophetic, and political.
5. The curriculum must take into account three forms:
· The explicit curriculum…what we say that we are trying to teach…
· The implicit curriculum…what we teach without trying to teach…
· The null curriculum…what we intentionally choose not to teach…
Questions for Reflection
· In class, be prepared to describe your understanding of each of these five principles of curriculum design.
· In class, be prepared to provide examples of explicit, implicit, and null curricula.
CED 522
Teacher as Facilitator of Learning
Timothy W. Brock
Church as the Context for
Pastoral and Educational Vocation
Introduction
The material in this lecture and discussion was derived from Part 1 of the textbook, Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church, by religious educator, Maria Harris. The professor will provide additional information as appropriate.
God as Divine Artist/Church as Pottery
In the introduction to the book, Dr. Harris developed the image of God “as a potter fashioning a people.” She further noted a number of scripture passages, contained in both the Old and New Testaments, which supported this position. In developing this image, Harris indicated that the creative work of God might be interpreted in two ways:
· Envisioning God as essentially separate from what God has made…and
· Assuming that God is a brooding, hovering, and indwelling Presence that continues to act within creation: renewing it, cherishing it, and loving it.
In this book, Harris leaned heavily into the second of these interpretations. Further, she asserted that we, as Christian educators, are co-creators with God in the task of fashioning a people, i.e. helping the church to become a “work of art” for God.
Questions for Reflection
· What is your reaction to the image of God as Divine Artist?
· How do you relate to the paradoxical ways that the creative work of God might be interpreted? Are you drawn to one or the other of these interpretations? If so, speculate on why this may be the case?
· What is your reaction to idea that Christian educators are “co-creators” with God in regard to developing the curriculum of the church?
· What practical implications of this image do you see in your work as a congregational educator?
A Pastoral Vocation
In Chapter One of the text, Harris developed the concept of the church as a people with a pastoral vocation. In short, Harris believed that every member of a congregation has a pastoral vocation, a unique calling to be lived out in all aspects of his or her life. In reality, the church is a body of “vocational ministers” who seek to embody the Kingdom of God in their lives, individually and corporately.
Practically, this assumption created at least three “tensions” in the understanding of pastoral vocation in the congregational context. These included:
· What is the relationship between personal vocation and communal expressions of vocation?
· What is the relationship between living out one’s vocation in a local context which acknowledging a global perspective of the Kingdom of God?
· What is the proper understanding of the role and function of the clergy and the laity?
The ways in which a congregation addresses and responses to these tensions will affect directly the curriculum of that church.
Questions for Reflection
· What is your reaction to the idea that every member of your church has a “pastoral vocation?”
· Be prepared to state your understanding of each of the three tensions described above.
· How do the leaders and members of your congregation address each of these tensions? In other words, does your church highlight individual or corporate expressions of vocation? Local or global expressions? The role of the clergy or the function of the laity?
An Educational Vocation
In this chapter, Harris addressed two key questions:
· What meaning of education will serve us best in realizing the pastoral vocation of individuals and the body of the congregation? Harris responded to this question by stating education should be “form giving,” providing a structure around which the church should function.
· When a revised meaning of education is proposed, what are the implications for the church, as a body, as educator (or co-creator with God)? In response to this question, Harris indicated that education must include: koinonia by engaging in the forms of community and communion; leiturgia by engaging in the forms of prayer, worship, and spirituality; kerygma by attending to and practicing the Good News in the speech of our lives; didakonia by attending to our own service and reaching out to others; and didache by attending to the most appropriate forms of teaching and learning in our own communities. (Note: each of these forms was explained in detail in Part Two of the textbook.)
Further, Harris developed a three-function understanding of the role of education as:
· Priestly…communicating the Traditions of the faith.
· Prophetic…ensuring the work of justice.
· Political…promoting a corporate dynamic in the faith.
Finally, as was the case with many of the other authors discussed in this course, Harris advocated for a broader understanding of the nature of education in the congregational context. The following chart compared a “schooling paradigm” of education with her expanded understanding of Christian education.
|
Former
Schooling Paradigm
|
Present
Forming Function of Education
|
|
Agent
|
Individual and/or official
|
The whole community
|
|
Activity
|
Instructing and/or indoctrinating
|
Educating and empowering
|
|
Participants
|
Children
|
The whole community
|
|
Direction
|
To know the lore and obey the laws
|
To engage in ministry in the midst of the world
|
Questions for Reflection
· What is your understanding of the priestly function of Christian education? The prophetic function? The political function?
· Is the Christian education in your congregational context more consistent with the Former or Present descriptions outlined above? Why do you make this assessment?
Running the Course
In Chapter 3, Harris noted that the word, “curriculum,” is derived from the Latin verb, “currere,” which means “to run (a race).” So, quite literally, the curriculum of the church is the course that we run and lead others to run in the race toward becoming the person that God has called us to be and participating in the Kingdom of God.
At the end of this chapter, Harris listed and described five principles of curriculum design (according to her approach):
1. As church people, we must consistently distinguish between the curriculum of education and the curriculum of schooling.
2. The curriculum of education ministry is multiple.
3. The subject matter has many layers.
4. The curriculum must be priestly, prophetic, and political.
5. The curriculum must take into account three forms:
· The explicit curriculum…what we say that we are trying to teach…
· The implicit curriculum…what we teach without trying to teach…
· The null curriculum…what we intentionally choose not to teach…
Questions for Reflection
· In class, be prepared to describe your understanding of each of these five principles of curriculum design.
· In class, be prepared to provide examples of explicit, implicit, and null curricula.