CEJ: Series 3, Vol.

9, Supplem ent Copyright 2012

THE ROLE OF SCRIPTURE IN

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION1,
SESSION I:
SCRIPTURE AS THE STRUCTURAL STEEL
OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

W illiam R. Yount
Southwestern Baptist Theological Sem inary

North American Professors of Christian Education Conference

Seattle, Washington
October 21, 2011

Opening Prayer

Lord,
We confess that spiritual transformation will not come to us be-
cause I am speaking, or because participants are listening. It comes as
we allow You to test us, probe us, nurture us.
We know that God is omnipresent and so we know You are here.
The question is whether we attend to Your knocking as You move
among us. You will teach us to the extent we open the door to You.
Even so, Lord Jesus, come.
Enter in and have your way in our thoughts, attitudes, and
actions.
In Your name we ask these things. Amen.

Introduction

I would like to thank Mark Maddix and the Board for their kind invita-
tion to speak this year. Eugene Peterson has given us a grand look at the role
of Scripture in spiritual formation. The task given me is to relate the theme to
the field of Christian Education, and especially to the Christian academy.
YOUNT: The Role of Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-31

My first reaction to your invitation was profound gratitude. Immediately

following came a second reactiona deep foreboding. What did I have to
add to our thirty-plus year focus on Scripture? NAPCE was born out of an
evangelical devotion to Scripture as Gods Word (2 Tim 3:16), and the com-
mitment to Christian Education as the life-long pursuit of Christlikeness
(Eph 4:11-16).
My first NAPCE conference was nearly twenty years ago, and included a
David C. Cook Publisher s dinner that featured Marlene LaFever in one of her
innovative presentations. She compared Cooks newly developed Sunday
School curriculum to steel-belted radial tires. Old tractor wheels made of
steel wore well, she remarked, but produced a rough ride on the highway.
Rubber tires produced a fine, smooth ride, but wore out quickly. Steel-belted
radiais combine the strength of steel with the comfort of rubber. Such was the
nature of Cooks new curriculum, she explained, which combined the struc-
tural steel of Scripture and the cushioning comfort of personal engagement.
The analogy connected with me at a deep level because it reflected my own
focus from the mid-1970s in the Disciplers Model. The two foundation
stones of the Model reflect God s Eternal Truth (the Bible) speaking to the
contemporary Needs of learners. These two stones, working together as seen
in the teaching ministry of Jesus, produces a relevant and vibrant ministry of
teaching, discipling, and equipping.
I come to you this afternoon as a simple teacher of Gods Word. My pas-
sion for the transforming power of the Written Word, quickened by the Liv-
ing Lord, began in a small class of adults in a small church far away and long
ago. I would learn years later in seminary that Christian means little
Christ and education means either drawing out (educere), a learner fo-
cus, or raising up (educare), a teacher focus. In those early days, it was
enough to pray that God would help me rightly divide His Word of Truth in
such a way that my class members would understand the message, personally
embrace it, and give themselves to the One who wrote it.
My work certainly focused on the spiritual formation of these adults,
and later, deaf college students at Gallaudet University, but my focus was in-
tentional. Simple as it was, I had a system for lesson and unit planning (cur-
riculum), fellowship and ministries activities (building relationships,
koinonia)y and practical assignments to infuse Scripture into the weekly rou-
tine of my students. The 40 years of academic study and teaching that fol-
lowed these early days have only deepened my commitment to these simple
beginnings. There can be no SPIRIT-ual formation without the Living, om-
nipresent Spirit of God quickening the written Word of God, for without
Gods Spirit, the Bible is a history book. There can be no CHRIST-ian edu-
cation apart from the Christ who established His Church to win, equip, and
send out.
S-32 Christian Education Journal

Spiritual Formation and Christian Education: Whats the Difference?

Sophia Steibel (2010) of Garner-Webb University shared extensive re-

search into the issues differentiating spiritual formation and Christian educa-
tion in last falls edition of the Christian Education Journal. My paraphrase of
her descriptions of spiritual formation reads like this [Slide #2]:
Spiritual Formation has a Personal Focus: that which is formed is more
than something I know or merely experience, but something I am. It empha-
sizes an awareness of the true self.
[Slide #3]
Spiritual formation emphasizes the Present Moment and speaks to
something I am now.
[Slide #4]
Spiritual formation engenders Passionate Holiness, an emotional set-
apartness, and speaks to something I am now with Jesus Christ in the Spirit. As
such, formation prescribes spiritual practices, spiritual disciplines, and in-
eludes mystical encounters with God.
[Slide #5]
Finally, Spiritual Formation calls for a Pervasive Community and speaks
to something I am now with Jesus Christ in the Spirit with other believers.
[Slide #6]
Christian education, says Stiebel, shares all of these elements. I would say
that Christian Education shares all these elements in its ideal state. As with
any human endeavor, there is a tendency to ritualize behavior.
[Slide #7]
Ritualthat is, the doing of something because it has always been so
doneis the antithesis of spiritual formation. And perhaps it is the ritualiza-
tion of Christian education that has brought about its decline in church life.
We will explore this more tomorrow.
So there are commonalities between spiritual formation and Christian
education. How, then, is Christian education different from Spiritual Forma-
tion? Stiebel suggests two areas.
[Slide #8]
The first is Purpose of Learning, which emphasizes the distinctive be-
tween age groups. We ask the question: How do preschoolers, children, youth,
and adults learn? Given a biblical theme or specific passage of Scripture, what
are appropriate learning outcomes for each age group? Certainly, preschool-
ers cannot process biblical truth the way teenagers can. Senior adults have
spiritual needs different from young marrieds. So how does Scriptural Steel
convey God s Message to each of these groups where the rubber meets the
road? What can be learned? How do we engage them?
Theologians and preachers seldom ask these questions because their fo-
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-33

cus is riveted on proclaiming a one-way message from a pulpit or classroom

lectern to adults. It is Christian education that rightly divides the Truth for
preschoolers and children by engaging them in relevant activities. It is Chris-
tian education that engages youth and adults in dialogue, problem-solving,
and moral reasoning. So how does spiritual formation happen within these
various groups of believers? Christian Education addresses the Purpose of
Learning.
[Slide #9]
The second area Stiebel mentions is Intentionality of Teaching, which
emphasizes specific principles of skill development, attitude change, and con-
cept growth, as well as appropriate activities for a variety of learner group-
ingswhether these groups are based on age or life situation. That is, what
can we do intentionally and consistentlydare I say programmaticallyto
promote spiritual formation?
[Slide #10]
Christian education recognizes Scripture as foundational, followed by
theology, church history, and then a host of other disciplines. As in every hu-
man endeavor, we tend to focus on the parts of the whole that most interest
us. Well be talking more about these supporting disciplines tomorrow.
[Slide #11]
Some equate Christian education to religious schooling. To do so misses
the point of life transformation and spiritual formation. And yet, how do
church members learn Scripturethat is, know what Scripture says, interpret
correctly what Scripture means, and translate Scripture into ethical princi-
pies, specific Christian doctrines, and concrete actionsunless someone
teaches them? How do we teach preschoolers, children, youth, and adults
systematically, consistently, and intentionallywithout some form of plan?
And so each community works says Steibel (2010, p. 343), with the paradox
of education and formation.
In short, Christian Education is the intentional programming of regular
encounters of learners of all ages within a community of believers with God
and His Word for the purpose of spiritual, rational, emotional, and relational
growth in the Lord. We see these dimensions in the growth of Jesus Himself,
And Jesus grew in wisdom [cognitive] and stature [physical], and in favor
with God [spiritual] and men [relational] (Luke 2:52 NIV). We see it in the
growth of believers in general, .. speaking the truth [cognitive] in love [af-
fective], we will in all things grow up into him [spiritual] who is the Head,
that is, Christ (Eph 4:15 NIV).
When we focus our attention on the academyChristian college or sem-
inarywe define the micro-community as each and every class we teach
and intentionally program learning sequences to produce encounters with
God and His Word for the purpose of growth in the Lord. When the ideal of
S-34 Christian Education Journal

spiritual formation is set before us as professors, our work moves beyond

teaching about Christian education (or Bible, or theology, or psychology, or
statistics) to a process o f Christian education, an environment rich in per-
sonal encounters with God as we engage students in our courses.
If our goal is the positive and intentional formation of students, if Scrip-
ture frames our day-to-day work, then how we teach a course is every bit as
important as what we teach. Professors who focus on process as well as prod-
uct insure, for example, that there is justice in the way students are evaluated
and assigned grades.
Such professors reject personal favoritism toward a few students over the
many. They also reject grading systems, such as a bell curve, that force stu-
dents into low grades even when they perform well. Professors who focus on
a Christian process focus on the truths in the content rather than personal
opinions about those truths. Professors who are concerned over Christian
process exhibit agape love in the execution of courses. They reject the innate
and arbitrary power they have over students by reason of their position. They
favor selfless service for the benefit of students. Professors who care about
intentional spiritual formation focus on koinonia in class relationships
student to student as well as teacher to student. Christian teaching takes
Scripture seriously in terms of process. Biblical teaching is far more than
teaching about the Bible. It is teaching that manifests the Bible in mind, atti-
tude, and action.

Mutual Criticisms of Spiritual Formation and Christian Education

As with all areas of human endeavor, there are criticisms to be heard

against spiritual formation and Christian education.
[Slide #12]
The criticism of Spiritual Formation is it is often a chaotic push toward
an existential end, which by definition leads to less structure, more random-
ness, and a narrower focus on individuals. Postmodern advocates have cer-
tainly helped move us a long way in that direction. While only individual
learners can learn, and only individual believers can grow spiritually, we
move into dangerous territory when we throw off group dynamics, classroom
discussions, and group projects. It is even more dangerous if we reject the
influence of the local church community and small group Bible study. Its
danger is evident when we reject Scriptural restraints in favor of personal li-
cense. Christian Education answers the excesses of extreme individualism by
prompting us in a pragmatic and communal direction with its emphasis on
planning, programming, intentionality, and group dynamics.
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-35

[Slide #13]
The criticism of Christian education is its potential for programming
without power, lessons without life change, activities without spiritual im-
pact, techniques without transformation, machinery without mission, telling
more than equipping, and sharing more than discipling. The truth is that
there is nothing we can do, humanly speaking, to insure spiritual transforma-
tion in our learners, for it is the Spirit who moves like the wind to quicken
hearts and renew minds. Whenever we place more emphasis on our educa-
tion programs, course syllabi, and instructional processes than on a mystical,
existential encounter with the Lord, God writes Ichabod! (1 Sam 4:21) over
our work. In that case, even the best of programs and processes die. Our plan-
ning ought to support rather than obstruct growth in the Lord.
Spiritual Formation pushes us toward an emphasis of the quickening of
the Holy Spirit that makes the process of education truly Christ-forming.
The field of Christian education, like seminary education in general, helps us
avoid the potholes in the road of spiritual growth. Helps us avoid mistakes
that hinder spiritual growth. Helps us proactively plan better approaches
to creating an environment in which spiritual formation occurs. In that
context, Scripture forms the structural steel for such attempts at program
engineering.
[Slide #14]
Consider a boy flying a kite. He holds the string anchoring the kite
against the wind, which lifts the kite into the air. Scripture is the String, the
Anchor, which holds the kite of spiritual growth firmly against the Wind. And
it is the Wind, the Spirit of God, which lifts the kite into the heavens. Both
String and Wind are necessary, for without the string, the kite merely flutters
and falls. And without the wind, the kite lays lifeless on the ground (Yount,
1979/1981).

Body, Brain, and their Interaction: Gods Design

[Slide #15]
How did God create us to learn of Him? What are the elements that de-
fine our learning and growth as divinely created human beings living in a ma-
terial world? How is Scripture the structural steel of the process? We begin at
the beginning, with God Himself.
[Slide #16]
Then God said, wLet us make man in our image . . . (Gen 1:26a).
So God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created
them . . . in His image (Gen 1:27).
S-36 Christian Education Journal

. . . the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living be-
ing. Gen 2:7.

God, as Eternal Spirit, created us as material beings to live in a

material world.

Our bodies are made up of cells, created for specific functions . . . blood,
bone, muscle, connective tissue, and a nervous system that ties all of the sub-
systems together in harmony.
[Slide #17]
The brain is also made of cells, but the cells of the brain, called neurons,
have the special ability, unlike any other cells in the body, to connect together
in networks more complex than we can imagine.
The brain is the materialistic anchor for all human thought, emotion,
will, language, religion, faith, and connection with God. Destroy the material
brain and we cease to exist in this material world.
[Slide #18]
The brain and body are co-dependent. Deprive the body of certain nutri-
ents, and brain function declines. Food, drink, and drugs have a direct impact
on brain functionin both good and bad ways. Room temperature, hydra-
tion and blood pH levels, hormones, and vitamin deficienciesthe state of
the body affects the brain.
In turn, the brain automatically monitors body stateshunger, thirst, fa-
tigueand controls the means by which proper states are maintained
breathing, digestion, body temperature, and every other function of our
bodies.
God created us as a materialistic brain-body interaction. This we share
with every other living creature.

Brain, Mind and their Interaction: Gods Design

[Slide #19]
But we also share some of the characteristics of God Himself. He made
us in His own image. God has a will. God thinks. He emotes. He acts. But He
has no brain. We have a brain, but we also think, emote, and act. We associate
higher-level functionsthe will, reason, emotion, and skillful actionto the
mind.
You notice in the diagram a black gap between brain and mind. This
gap is the unknown divide between neural events and mental events. Neural
events are electrical impulses firing across synapses (gaps) between dendrites
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-37

(brain cell receivers) and axons (brain cell transmitters) according to the laws
of Newtonian physics. Mental events are conscious thoughts of self and the
world possess weight, volume or physical location. They are now believed to
occur in accordance with complex laws of probabilities described by quan-
turn physics which we will not take time to attempt to describe here.
[Slide #20]
Materialists equate the mind with the brain. They insist that the notion
of a mental reality, personal consciousnessseparate from the material
brainis fantasy. But the discoveries of the last 20 years has pushed even die-
hard scientists to admit that the brain operates in mind-like ways, beyond the
laws of biology. (I suppose this is as close as a scientist can come to saying
super-natural)
[Slide #21]
Remaining true to their wiring as materialists, they use terms like
epiphenomenalism (Robinson, 2011) and supervenience (Rickies, 2006) to
force mind-like realities, that is the mind is dependent on the physical brain,
to impose their mind into their self-imposed materialistic box.
[Slide #22]
Christian theologians and some philosophers, including the great
philosopher-psychologist William James of the late 1800s, see a distinction
between material brain and immaterial mind. In fact, James ideas, rejected by
Newtonian scientists, are being reconsidered from the perspective of quan-
turn mechanics. For us, the person is a living soul, a conscious mind, wrapped
in the dust of the ground for life in a material world, but who survives the
death of body and brain (Bulkeley, 2005).
[Slide #23]
Naturalistic scientists approach the gap from the material brain-side.
Philosophers and theologians approach the gap from the psychological and
spiritual mind-side. To this day, the gap has not been bridged in any mean-
ingful way. One thing is sure from recent scientific discoveries: a neural event
is not a mental event. The materialistic, deterministic, Newtonian view of the
brain, held as true for more than a hundred years, cannot survive contempo-
rary findings. The old wineskin of dogmatic materialism has been burst open
by the new wine of neuroscience, to which we turn our attention.
[Slide #24]
Just as we saw a reciprocal relationship between body and brain, we also
find a reciprocal relationship between brain and mind. The neural networks
of the brain 100 billion neurons and 1000 trillion connectionssupport all
human thought: language, personality, reason, and religion.
The established dogma of brain science for 100 years prior to the 1990s
declared that the brain is essentially fixed, like the circuit boards in an elec-
tronic calculator, by age 6. Further, that new brain cells are not created after
S-38 Christian Education Journal

that time, and finally that the mind as we commonly use the term does not
exist. Just fifteen years later, by the mid 2000s, all three of these scientific cer-
tainties had fallen in the face of overwhelming evidence.
First, brains are never fixed, but remain plasticthey continue to
rewire themselves as long as we live. This characteristic is called neuro-
plasticity.
Second, brain cells are created as long as we live, a characteristic called
neurogenesis.
Third, and most startling, is that the mechanism by which the brain is re-
wired is not genetic code, or hormones, but mental focus. We are not reli-
gious or heterosexual because of genetic code, as proclaimed by Time maga-
zine in 2004 (Kluger, Chu, Liston, Sieger, & Williams, 2004). Rather, our
brains automatically re-wire themselves to support whatever we give our at-
tention too. What we choose to do, choose to think, and choose to embrace,
we become (Shwartz & Begley, 2002; Yount, 2010). This tenet, established by
neuroscientists using sophisticated brain imaging technology, reflects
Solomons wisdom recorded 3000 years ago: for as [a man] thinks within
himself, so he is (Pr 23:7).
[Slide #25]
Researchers have found strong parallels between psychological states
(mind) and physical (brain) structures. The three higher order systems of ed-
ucational psychology are represented in brain circuitry, where we find physi-
cally separate networks for cognitive processes (memory, analysis, and rea-
soning), affective processes (emotions), and psychomotor skills.
Memories are not stored intact and unified, but are processed and dis-
tributed among rational, emotional, and physical areas of the brain. When we
remember, our brains reconstruct memories from these disparate areas.
That is why educators have long advocated, on the basis of classroom ex-
perience, hands-on projects (a physical component of learning) and a posi-
tive, personally affirming climate (an affective component of learning) as
powerful adjuncts to lecture, discussion, and Q&A (the cognitive component
to learning. This is true for all learners, but especially for children.

Mind, Spirit, and their Interaction: Gods Design

[Slide #26]
There is yet another domain of human nature, and that is the spiri-
tual. Just as there is a demarcation between brain (material) and mind (im-
material), so there is a demarcation between mind (natural) and spirit
(supernatural).
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-39

[Slide #27]
I need to be careful here with definitions. Secular culture uses spiritual
to express deep emotional experiences, such as the breath-taking beauty of a
sunset or the deep solace one finds in music or poetry. Drug highs have been
described as spiritual experiences, as well as the euphoria experienced by long
distance runners. The former experiences are emotional, the latter physical,
but both create chemical reactions in the brain that produce a sense of
aboveness. This is a natural form of spirituality, which we might designate
with a lower case as. Doctoral students researching issues of spiritual growth
can be misled by psychological instruments that measure human spirituality,
because these tests usually target alittles forms.
When God breathed life into our flesh, we became a living soul
(KJV)or being (NIV)able to communicate with Him. God is Spirit,
and our relationship with Him is spirituala relationship that is above na-
ture, supernatural a reality unknown to natural man (1 Cor 2:14). It is this
capital S Spirit that we next turn our attention.
[Slide #28]
From the very beginning God spoke to the man and woman. Mind to
mind, and gave us commands and instructions concerning the kind of
unique mental focus He wanted us to have. He is jealous for us to have His
perspective, because only that moves us beyond mere biological existence in a
material world (bios) into his own quality of life (zoay).
The first commandment of the Golden Ten is to have no other gods but
the Lord God. When our focus is on Him and His Word, our brains re-wire
themselves to support the kinds of automatic responses that produce lives
above mere existence, lives with purpose and meaning beyond ourselves, lives
that continue beyond the death of our material brains.
[Slide #29]
Moses declared this focus millennia ago. Listen for the words that speak
of mental focus and attention: And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your
God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God (that is, to live in His presence
with holy reverence, Message), to walk in all his ways (that is, to live out
what He commands, Message), to love him, to serve the Lord your God with
all your heart (devotion) and with all your soul (life, strength), and to observe
(that isy put into action) the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving
you today for your own good? (Dt 10:12-13, NIV).
Notice the key verbs: to fear, to walk, to love, to serve, to observe.
These words speak of mental focus and attention that leads to our own
good. This requires more than listening to sermons or lectures, more than
mere reading, more than memorizing words. It requires mental focus, atten-
tionwhat the Bible calls meditationon God and His Word and ways.
S-40 Christian Education Journal

The tangible result of this immaterial mental focus and supernatural spiritual
focus is a re-wiring of our material brains to think more effectively in parallel
with Gods intention.
Please take note of this: I am not equating brain re-wiring with our spir-
itual connection with God as some are doing today. Neurotheology is a new
field of study that attempts to redefine God and all religion as the product of
brain function. This is an untenable position since God exists apart from the
electro-chemical circuits inside our heads. We are His creation; He is not
ours. He made us to have relationship with Him. Part of His creative genius
has just recently come to light: He created us to re-wire our material brains in
line with His Word and will, and so live according to His ways in this material
world and in heaven after we die and beyond.
The coherent communication we receive from God is called revelation,
and the most intensive way we focus our attention on God is through prayer.

The Birthplace and Delivery of Scripture

The coherent communication we receive from God is called revelationy and

the most intensive way we focus our attention on God is through prayer.
[Slide #30]
Here is the birthplace of Scripture. The voice of God was received by men
called and gifted by God to codify His specific message into written form.
Scripture was not created by them for no prophecy ever came by the will of
man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God (2 Pet 1:21).
Yet, the writers of Scripture differ in their writing styles and perspec-
tivesMoses, the Hebrew trained as an Egyptian general; Amos, the farmer;
Daniel, the administrator; Paul, the university man; Peter, the fisherman;
Joshua, the warrior; Ezra, the priest; John, the beloved disciple. Their brains
were wired by culture and religion, time and location. And yet Gods super-
natural message was given through them (revealed) to us so that we might
analyze the message and order our lives according to Gods special directions
(1 Tim 3:16-17).
[Slide #31]
Being equipped for every good work is Pauls way of saying re-wired.
Scripture is the means, the structural steel of the process, and it speaks to
every area of human life: spiritual, rational, emotional, behavioral, and phys-
ical. Because without Scripture we are left to our own natural thoughts and
our thoughts are not Gods thoughts until we re-wire our brains in line with
His thinking.
[Slide #32]
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education Session I S-41

John declares for his own Gospel, and by implication Scripture as a

whole, that these are written for two central purposes: first, that you may
believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Jn 20:31a), a supernatural con-
cept revealed to us, as it was to Peter (Mt 16:17), by God the Father. And the
second purpose is this: that through believing and cleaving to and trusting
and relying upon Him, you may have life through (in) His name (Jn 20:31b,
Amplified Bible).
[Slide #33]
I believe (a point in time) and I am believing (a process that proceeds
from that point) is more than intellectual assent to a religious truth. It is a
personal, central, focused, supernatural perspective of God and our connec-
tion to Him. Scripture carries us unerringly to Christ, and Christ fills us with
His own zoay as we focus on Him.
Having fixed the place of Scripture in the creative order, and our nature
as learners, we conclude with the Scriptures definition of itself, a definition
that establishes Scripture as the structural steel, the framework without peer,
for the inter-disciplinary functions of Christian education.

Scriptures Self-Definition: Why Scripture is our Structural Steel

Theories of inspiration thrive, and conflicting interpretations abound,

but Gods Word speaks across the ages to reveal Gods Person and Purpose to-
day. Christian Education has as its goal the intentional engagement of believ-
ers in worship, study, fellowship, and ministry. Scripture provides the struc-
tural steel of Gods Purpose in the world as our target. Christian Education
has as its goal the intentional formation of believers of all ages into Gods im-
age. Scripture provides the structural steel of Gods Person as our target.
These targets stand like the North Star of our educational navigation sys-
tem: we never achieve those targets, but they provide tangible guidance in our
life journeys. That guidance transforms us as we walk with the Lord. While
God speaks outside the bounds of Scripture, revealing Himself in nature, He
has provided us His Word in written form to provide consistent guidance and
the only means to salvation and spiritual growth. We therefore take what it
says very seriously. Scripture tells us specifically why it should be taken as our
rock, our structural steel, through five characteristics. First, Scripture defines
itself as . . .
[Slide #34]
Divinely Inspired. Scripture emphasizes that the Lord, not man, speaks
through Scripture. We quote the apostle Peter again.
[B]ecause no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by
the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God (2 Pet 1:21).
S-42 Christian Education Journal

The Lord spoke, Mind to mind, and chosen writers recorded the
message.
Scripture defines itself, second, as . . .
[Slide #35]
Sacred. We do not have the freedom to make the Scripture broader (in-
eluding more than intended) or narrower (excluding what it does not ex-
pressly exclude).
Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but
keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you. Deut 4:2
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in
him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
Prov 30:5-6
Scripture defines itself, third, as . . .
[Slide #36]
Eternal truth.
Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens (Ps 119:89).
The word of God stands forever (Isa 40:8).
My words will never pass away (Mt 24:35).
But the word of the Lord stands forever (1 Pe 1:25).
Scripture defines itself, fourth, as . . .
[Slide #37]
Powerful in its influence.
I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it
consumes. (Jer 5:14).
The gospel. . . is the power of God for salvation of everyone who be-
Heves (Rom 1:16).
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12).
Scripture defines itself, fifth, as . . .
[Slide #38]
Written for a purpose. We return to Johns declaration of the purpose of
Scripture:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name ( Jn 20:31).
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so
that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope (Rom 15:4).
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as
warnings for us (1 Cor 10:11).
I write these things . . . so that you may know that you have eternal life
(1 Jn 5:13).
YOUNT: The Role o f Scripture in Christian Education, Session I S-43

NAPCE and Scripture

[Slide #39]
The members of this organization who return year after year have a pas-
sion beyond teacher-telling and preacher-proclaiming. We have been called
to the systematic engagement of learners with Scripture, and through Scrip-
ture, to the One Scripture revealsengagement head, heart, and hand be-
cause God created us to focus on truth, zeal, and skill, and created our brains
to faithfully re-wire those areas with Him. It is He who transforms us as we
renew our minds in Him (Rom 12:2).
Further, we Christian educators in our various callings engage human
beings from birth to death, from cradle to grave, because the brain never
stops changing. We take Scripture seriously, because it is the voice of God,
codified in written form, speaking to every area of life.
This Scriptural focus applies not only to the content of our courses, but
to methodology as well. What good is it to understand Jesus command to
love your enemies when teachers publicly belittle a student who disagrees
with them? Of what value is an award-winning lecture on patience if lecturers
fuss and fume over the interruptions of students who have questions? There
is a great difference between teaching the Bible and teaching biblically, be-
tween believing the Bible, and living biblically.
Having said that, we also recognize that there is very little in Scripture
about sanitizing cribs, arranging preschool rooms, organizing childrens
camps, supervising youth mission trips, or advertising prayer breakfasts.
There is nothing in Scripture concerning the application of chi-square, or
how to learn a foreign language, or write a teaching plan or improve the effi-
ciency of a church office. For these areas of equipping, we draw on other
sources, sources that speak directly to who we are and how we learn.
[Slide #40]
We will discuss these sources tomorrow in a session entitled Christian
Education as Scriptural Lifer Because Christian education speaks to the whole
man, over the whole lifespan, we will use our diagram to suggest how discov-
eries from the sciences inform the process of helping learners to grow up
into Him, Who is the Head, even Christ (Eph 4:15). We will also discuss sev-
eral improper ways Scripture is usedways that relate more to personal
power than spiritual formation.
[Slide #41]

REFERENCES
Bulkeley, K. (2005) Soul, psyche, brain: New mind science. New York, NY: Palgrave
directions in the study o f religion and brain- Macmillian.
S-44 Christian Education Journal

Kluger, J., Chu, J., Liston, B, Sieger, M., and
Williams, D. (2004, October 25). Religion: Is
God in our genes? Time Magazine. Retrieved
from http://www.time.com/time/magazine
/article/0,9171,995465, OO.html#ixzz 1k7ML6jqn
Newberg, A. & Waldman, M. (2010). How God
changes your brain: Breakthrough findings from
a leading neuroscientist. New York, NY: Ballen-
tine Books.
Yount, W.R. (1981). The disciplers handbook:
From transmitting lessons to transforming lives
in Sunday school 9th ed. Falls Church, VA:
Author.
---------- (2010). Created to learn: A Christian
teacher's introduction to educational psychol-
ogy. 2nd. Ed. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic.

Rickies, D. (2006). Supervenience and deter- 1The diagrams which were used to illustrate
mination. In Internet Encyclopedia ofPhiloso- this presentation can be downloaded from
phy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu the NAPCE website in the resources area.
/superven/. www.napce.org

Robinson W. (2011), Epiphenomenalism. In

E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyelope- AUTHOR
dia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://
William R. Rick Yount (Ph.D., University of
plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries
North Texas; Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist
/epiphenomenalism
Theological Seminary) is a long-standing
member of NAPCE and has served as Profes-
Schwartz, J. & Begley, S. (2002) The mind and
sor of Foundations o f Education at South-
the brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of
western Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort
mental force. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Worth, Texas since August 1981. He is retiring
in July o f 2012 and will continue his ministry
Steibel, S. (2010). Christian Education and
o f teaching teachers both at home and in the
Spiritual Formation: One and the Same?
former Soviet Union.
Christian Education Journal, Series 3, 7(2),
340-355.

RESPONSE TO RICK YOUNTS THE ROLE OF

SCRIPTURE IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION,
SESSION 1
D ean G. Blevins
Nazarene Theological Sem inary

I appreciate the opportunity to follow Dr. Younts presentation. I have

used Ricks textbook Created to Learn (1996) a number of times and have ap-
preciated his ability to translate both developmental and educational psy-
chology into language that my students can easily follow. Ricks presentation
on Scripture and neuroscience mirrors my own interests and offers a frame-
work I will use to spur our ongoing conversation.
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