Category Archives: Christian Education

The enduring concepts

Posted on May 1, 2007 by igalindo

I recently had a conversation with a couple of professors from other seminaries about our Christian education (C.E.) curriculum at BTSR. One was in the midst of creating an M.A. program in religious education and the other was in the … Continue reading →

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Avoiding triviality

Posted on April 30, 2007 by igalindo

In Toward a Theory of Instruction, Jerome Bruner insists that a theory of development must be linked both to a theory of knowledge and to a theory of instruction, “or be doomed to triviality.” (Bruner p. 21) I’ve long felt … Continue reading →

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Basic rules for educational planning

Posted on April 26, 2007 by igalindo

I’m currently working on a project on educational planning in the congregational setting. The project is in response to the many questions I get from church staff and lay leaders about planning the Christian education programs in their church. I’m … Continue reading →

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Children in worship

Posted on April 25, 2007 by igalindo

Children belong in the worship service and they can be full participants in the experience. While there are some legitimate pragmatic reasons why some churches take children out of the corporate worship service, there are no legitimate developmental or theological … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Christian Education, worship | 1 Comment

On metaphors, analogies, and rigid thinking

Posted on April 20, 2007 by igalindo

Three recent conversations reminded me of the importance of moving away from ways of thinking that lead us toward “naïve understanding” and of the necessity of working toward a more critical way of thinking about matters of importance. In one … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, teaching, theology | 1 Comment

Teaching children the Bible

Posted on April 19, 2007 by igalindo

When I was an elementary school principal at a Christian school parents would often ask about the reason for why we required the children to memorize Bible verses (by fourth grade they were memorizing whole chapters as well as a … Continue reading →

Posted in bible, children, Christian Education, teaching | 1 Comment

Suggestions for children’s sermons

Posted on April 15, 2007 by igalindo

I recently visited a church in which a staff member did the “children’s sermon” during the morning worship service. It was all I could do to keep from moaning and cringing. This staff member broke all of the “rules” for … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Christian Education | 1 Comment

Teaching the unteachable

Posted on April 14, 2007 by igalindo

Sometimes I get the nagging suspicion that there may be some things that are “unteachable.” Ironically, those things may be the most important things we want to teach, things like maturity, emotional intelligence, faith, and the usable part of systems … Continue reading →

Posted in bowen family systems theory, children, Christian Education | 1 Comment

First Second chair post

Posted on April 13, 2007 by igalindo

Interestingly enough, we’ve yet to have a “second chair” post on the blog. This is interesting in that most of us in the GRACE group fall under that category. Whether you are a second chair or first chair in your … Continue reading →

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Hacks and professionals

Posted on April 10, 2007 by igalindo

In his book, A Failure of Nerve, Ed Friedman writes about the tendency of ineffective leaders who exhibit the tendency to seek the “quick fix” and the obsession with methods, techniques, and programs rather than engage in the hard work … Continue reading →

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