Developing a Mindset of Understanding in a Ministry Teaching Faculty

EXAMINING ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE-BASED BIBLICAL ANDRAGOGY

A Thesis Prepared for the Faculty of Bethany Divinity Seminary in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy of Religion in Christian Education Degree.

Javier L. Taylor Student Number: 2975591 Ce-702 Thesis March 30, 2018

CONTENTS Chapter Title

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Dedication

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Acknowledgments

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Introduction

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Chapter 1: The Literature Review

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Chapter 2: Ministry Education Needs a Makeover

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Chapter 3: Developing a Framework for Assessing Biblical Understanding Using a Construct Mapping Approach

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Chapter 4: Developing a Mindset of Understanding in a Ministry Teaching Faculty

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Chapter 5: Conclusions

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Appendix A: The Pastoral Survey

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Appendix B: The Congregational Survey

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Appendix C: IRB Approval Letter

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Appendix D: The Pastoral Responses

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Appendix E: The Congregational Responses

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Appendix F: The Assessment of Biblical Understanding

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Appendix G: The Assessment of Biblical Understanding Responses

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Appendix H: The worker/Leader Interview Questionnaire

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Dedication This Thesis is dedicated first to my mother Maria Taylor (Lupe). She has been a lifelong role model, advisor, and friend. My wife Crystal Taylor has believed in me from the day we met. I have enjoyed 29 wonderful years of marriage and I look forward to what the next years will bring. My mentors in the faith: Dr. Rick Carter, Ron Kaufman, Ken Ham, and Ron Corder. Also, those teachers and education leaders who have been an inspiration as well as critics of my thinking and writing, such as it is Judy Dunmire, Linda Griffith, Tim Brister, and Belinda Robertson. Finally, I would like to thank Pastor Jason Walcott for his assistance, his leadership, and friendship.

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Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the teachers of Bible Baptist Church for their participation in the professional development workshops developed by myself, Judy Dunmire, Travis Garza, and the leadership team of Bible Baptist Church.

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INTRODUCTION Understanding the Scripture is of primary import in the spiritual development of a believer. When instructing students in Bible classes attention must be given to the development of biblical thinking as well as Scripture memorization. The experiences in Sunday school classes or discipleship classes will be key to the learner’s development of biblical thinking. The teacher must be able to assess the extent to which their students understand the Bible and the extent to which they can enact the concepts of the Bible. This volume will examine how secular education theories address the development of knowledge, skill and understanding in learners and how teachers make use of instructional tools to track changes in knowledge, skills, and understandings. Jesus referred to the believers of His day “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16: 8b). While commentators disagree on the primary application of this teaching of Jesus, it is quite possible that the Savior referred to the inability of believers to use all of the opportunities made available to them. It is in this vein of thought that the theories of education are considered, as a means to convey the truth of God and to create disciples who think biblically and know how to act biblically. Pastors must be willing to consider these theories in light of God’s Word and give them an honest hearing. All truth comes from God it is the job of believers to recognize this truth when they see it or hear it.

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Review of Literature To begin a study of understanding from the Biblical perspective, one must first consider what understanding is. Secular education researchers and educational psychologists while not necessarily agreeing on the merits and processes involved in teaching for understanding, do agree that understanding is a complex internal process (Perkins 1998). Vito Perrone, of Harvard Project Zero, in writing for the need of a pedagogy of understanding writes, “Teaching for understanding - the view that what students learn needs to be internalized, able to be used in many different circumstances in and out of classrooms, serving as a base for ongoing and extended learning, always alive with possibilities1.” Educators would likely say that three of the key aspects of learning are the development of knowledge, skills, and understandings. One can think of the first aspect of learning, knowledge, as “information on tap.” Education researchers tend to favor this interpretation of knowledge as it relates to demonstrable processes in the classroom. Knowledge then, at least in rough form, is the ability to retrieve information at any time and in a variety of circumstances. Continuing with the idea of application, skills are “routine performances on tap” that is the ability to perform tasks in a variety of circumstances. Understanding however proves to be more challenging to define. According to Harvard educational researcher David Perkins, “Certainly it (understanding) does not reduce to knowledge. Understanding what Magellan did or what Newton's first law means

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calls for more than just reproducing information. Understanding also is more than just routine well automatized skill. The student who deftly solves physics problems or writes paragraphs with topic sentences may not understand much physics, writing, or what is being written about. Though knowledge and skill can be transmitted as information and routine performance on tap, understanding slips by these simple standards.” Perkins and the researchers at the Harvard Graduate School’s project Zero have developed a framework for their work in teaching for understanding that involves: Generative topics, understanding goals, performances of understanding, and ongoing assessment. The framework of teaching for understanding is seen in the four dimensions of understanding: Knowledge, Methods, Purposes, and Forms. The dimensions of understanding are the ways in which understanding is shown in a topic and the level to which understanding is shown. Understanding in the Old Testament The idea that understanding is complex is seen in the Bible as well. In the Old Testament there are several Hebrew words that are translated “understand.” The first mention in the Bible of a word that can be translated as “understand” is found in Genesis 3: 8, “And they heard the voices of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” The Hebrew word translated “heard” has a transliteration /shama/ and is used here implies much more than the human facility for hearing it means to hear and obey with the implication of hearing with interest. /shama/ is translated “understand” nine times and is translated “hear” 785 times but the meaning and usage is always similar. The same word /shama/ is also used in Genesis 11: 7 “Go to, let us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” The

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Strong’s definition is “to hear intelligently often with the implication of attendance and obedience” Another Hebrew word translated “understand” is the Hebrew transliteration /yada/ This word is first used in Genesis 3: 5 “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” and in Genesis 3: 7 “And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” The transliteration /tabun/, /tebunah/, and /tobunah/ are all translated “understand.” Exodus 31: 3, “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner or workmanship,” This verse also gives the first insight between the difference among the ideas of knowledge, understanding and skill. Note that the word translated “knowledge” is the transliteration /da’ath/ this word is used with /shama/ in Numbers 24: 16, “He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:” Here /shama/ is translated heard, /da’ath/ is translated knowledge, and /yada/ is translated knew. In essence the words of God were understood (shama) and the hearer perceived (yada) the knowledge (da’ath) of the Highest. The Hebrew transliteration \yada\ is translated “understand” 7 times while it is translated “know” 645 times, “known” 105 times, “knowledge” 19 times, and “perceive” 18 times. In Genesis 18: 21, the pre-incarnate Christ told Abraham “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know (yada)” This word seems to indicate an intimate knowledge of events or persons. This word is used in Genesis 3:7 to described the new understanding of Adam and Eve about their nakedness. \yada\ also used in Genesis 4: 1 to describe Adam’s intimate knowledge of Eve when she

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conceived a child. \yada\ can also refer to knowledge of unseen things such as Noah knowledge that the waters had dried up from the earth so that he and his family could prepare to leave the ark. Finally, \yada\ is used to describe God’s knowledge of the heart condition of Abraham in Genesis 22: 12 when Abraham was prepared to offer his son Isaac upon the altar. The Hebrew transliteration \wakal\ is translated 12 times as “understand” it carries the primary meaning “to make or act circumspectly, hence intelligent” the word in used twice in Genesis. First, in chapter 3: 6 it is used to describe the supposed effect of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The implication was that the fruit of this tree would make one wise (wakal). This word is also translated as guiding and witting in Genesis 48: 14 to describe the purpose and knowledge Jacob (Israel) used in placing his hands on the two sons of Joseph. Israel knew which son was the first-born but his blessing was guided by the Lord. The Hebrew transliteration \biyn\ is translated “understand” 62 times, “understanding” 32 times, “consider” 22 times, “prudent” 8 times, and “perceive” 7 times. The usages in the book of Genesis are “discreet.” Genesis 41: 33, “Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet (biyn) and wise and set him over the land of Egypt.” And Genesis 41: 39, “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, forasmuch as God hath showed three all this, there is none so discreet (biyn) and wise as thou art:” The word is used in Deuteronomy 5 times as follows: Deuteronomy 1: 13, “Take you wise men, and understanding (biyn), and known among your tribes and I will make them rulers over you.” Deuteronomy 4: 6, “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding (biyn) in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Deuteronomy 32: 7, “Remember the days of old, consider (biyn) the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.” He found him in a desert land, and in the waste

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howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed (biyn) him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” Deuteronomy 32: 29, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider (biyn) their latter end!” Finally, \biyn\ is used of Solomon to describe the kind of discernment he desired of the Lord to be an effective leader (I Kings 3: 9). Further insight is gathered by the use of words for understanding, skill, and knowledge in the same passage. An example of this is found in Daniel 1: 17, “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge (madda) and skill (wakal) in all learning and wisdom (chokmah): and Daniel had understanding (biyn) in all visions and dreams.” Notice that knowledge and skill are used together when discussing learning and wisdom is used along with learning. This certainly implies application of knowledge and skill as a measure of wisdom (also called understanding in other contexts). These are apparently meant to work together as secular researchers are now discovering. Another example is found in Exodus 31: 1 - 5, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.” The word translated “understanding in this verse is \tobunah\ this word is translated understanding 38 times in the Old Testament. The word is from the \biyn\ and has the implication of intelligence or the ability to make an argument. The word translated wisdom is \chokmah\ and the word translated knowledge is \da’ath\. Again, the words are used in harmony to describe a person who has the knowledge of the materials, the understanding of what is the Lord wants in each of the pieces he is to build and the skill to accomplish these tasks. The

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instructor of the Bible should carefully consider the uses of these words in the Old Testament as they form the foundation of a sound instructional system. The New Testament and Knowledge, skill, and Understanding The New Testament uses the Greek words transliterated \sunesis\, \nooce\, \parakoloutheo\, \phren\, \dianoia\, and \noieo\. These words carry the following meanings: \sunesis\ is a mental putting together that is intelligence or the intellect. This is translated as either knowledge or understanding. \sunesis\ is used in Mark 12: 33, “and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding (sunesis), and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In 1 Corinthians 1: 19, “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding (sunesis) of the prudent.” The word for wisdom in that verse is \sophia\ which is translated wisdom 51 times. \sunesis\ is used by Paul in Ephesians 1: 18, “the eyes of your understanding (sunesis) being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” this stands in contrast to the instruction given in Ephesians 4: 18, “having the understanding (sunesis) darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:” Vine’s expository dictionary of the New Testament defines \sunesis\ as “to set together, to understand, denotes (a) the understanding of the mind or intelligence, (b) understanding reflective thought prudence, knowledge. The use of this word in 1 Corinthians 1: 19 suggests this word means “thinking.” The word \suniemi\ means to put together that is to mentally comprehend and has the implication of acting on this understanding. \suniemi\ is used in Matthew 13: 13, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do

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they understand (suniemi).” Matthew 16: 12, “Then understood (suniemi) they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Ephesians 5: 17, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding (suniemi) what the will of the Lord is.” The usage of \suniemi\ suggests that it can be thought of as “perceive” The Greek transliteration \noieo\ means to exercise the mind to comprehend. \noieo\ is used in Matthew 15: 17, “Do not ye yet understand (noieo), that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?” Romans 1: 20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood (noieo) by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” Hebrews 11: 3, “Through faith (noieo) we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” The usage of \suniemi\ suggests that it can mean an understanding of the relationships between things. The Greek words for knowledge are \gnosis\ and \epignosis\ the words knowledge and understanding are used together in Colossians 1: 9, “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge (epignosis) of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (suniesis);” Notice that knowledge and understanding work together similarly to how the Old Testament words for knowledge and understanding work.

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Ministry Education Needs a Makeover: The Case for A Performance-Based Criterion for Ministry-Based Biblical Instruction

What is Understanding? What does it mean to understand the Bible? This question is where researchers say that all educators must start their journey to developing understanding in all learners. David Perkins and the researchers at Harvard’s project Zero have been taking on this question of understanding for the last several decades. The publication of their initial summary “Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice” edited by Martha Stone Wiske indicates that there are four questions implicit in the question asked above: 1. What topics are worth understanding? 2. What about them (the topics) must students understand? 3. How can we (the teachers) foster understanding? 4. How can we (the teachers) tell what students understand? At the center of their research is the notion that performances of understanding are going to demonstrate the depth of the learner’s understanding. Understanding in this case is defined as the ability to “think and act flexibility with what you know.” Thus, the sophistication of the performance of understanding will vary with the understanding of the individual learner. The

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Project Zero researchers recognized four principles for using the performance-based learning to develop deep conceptual understanding: 1.

Learning for understanding then occurs principally through reflective engagement

in approachable but challenging understanding performances. 2.

New understanding performances are built on previous understandings and new

information provided by the instructional setting. 3.

Learning a body of knowledge and know-how for understanding typically

requires a chain of understanding performances on increasing challenge and Variety. 4.

Learning for understanding often involves conflict with older repertoires of

understanding performances and their associated ideas and images. These principles and the four questions about understanding lead to the development of the framework for understanding: there are Generative topics, understanding goals, performances of understanding, and ongoing assessment. To answer these question in a biblical setting there was a need to develop a framework for what it meant to understands the Bible. The Bible is framed in seven dimensions: The nature of God, the nature of the Bible, God’s revelation of Himself, the nature of man, and the nature of sin, and biblical stewardship. To assess these ministry pastors and ministry teachers will need to consider carefully the principles of assessment. Education researcher Nancy Gallavan identified twelve principles of performance-based assessment those applicable to ministry teaching are: 1.

Assessment means much more than just a test.

2.

Almost all assessments are performance-based assessments.

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3.

Assessments involves the learning, the teaching, and the schooling.

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Assessments need to be appropriate and authentic.

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Assessments must include fidelity – that is they are understandable and

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Assessments must include robustness – that is they are deliberate, and

Objective.

mindful of depth, breath, and opportunity. Assessments must include expectations that are prepared in advance to determine multiple levels of proficiency for each objective. Assessments seen through the lens of understanding must be based on performances of understanding built over time. This means that teachers must think about how understanding can be expressed in the lives of their students. The assessment system then must include ongoing assessments so that unerstanding is tracked over time and growth can be analyzed. To measure biblical understanding there is a need to know exactly what dimensions of biblical understanding can be measured by performance-based assessment. The implications of teaching for understanding research on biblical instruction The National Academy of Sciences stated that “Research clearly demonstrates that experts’ content knowledge is structured around the major organizing principles and core concepts of the domain, the “big ideas.” These big ideas lend coherence to experts’ vast knowledge base; help them discern the deep structure of problems; and, on that basis, recognize similarities with previously encountered problems. Research also shows that experts’ strategies for thinking and solving problems are closely linked to rich, well-organized bodies of knowledge about the subject matter.” This philosophy of education is gaining much support in public sector education and needs to be seriously considered in ministry education. The central goal for any student in public sector education is that they learn to think in within a discipline. For example, in mathematics

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classes the goal is for the learners to develop mathematical thinking routines that influence how they consider problems as well as how they think about problem-solving strategies. This approach also applies to teaching in a Bible class. The central goal for ministry education is the same, the ministry teacher wants the learners to become sound biblical thinkers. Philippians 4:8 gives some insight into the process of biblical thinking by relating what the learner is to think on. The Old Testament gives other insight into discipline thinking. Psalm 1: 2; 63: 6; 77: 12; 119: 15, 23, 48, 78, 148 all show the necessity of meditation on the law of God and on His creation and His ways. The role of the ministry teacher then is to help develop this kind of thinking. This pedagogy is seen in Deuteronomy 6: 7. When the parents were commanded by God through Moses to diligently teach their children and to talk of God’s law in every facet and in every activity of their lives. Learners at all levels need opportunities to discuss their thinking with other, especially more knowledgeable others. The Bible, Understanding, and Performance-Based Assessment Performance-based assessment in the Old Testament Implicit in the Old Testament narrative is the performance-based criterion that God uses in His interaction with mankind. In Genesis 2: 15 – 17, God places man (Adam) in the Garden and commands that the man is not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Viewed from an education standpoint, this is ongoing assessment. God was watching how man would treat that which was placed off-limits to him. Another performance-based assessment can be seen in Genesis 17: 9 - 14, the command given to Abraham to circumcise all the males in his household as a symbol of the covenant relationship between God and Abraham and the descendants of Abraham. The fact that Moses delayed to keep this command caused god to seek to kill him

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(Exodus 4: 18 - 31). Abraham’s immediate compliance with this command was part of the praise that the Lord gave the angels that accompanied Him to visit Abraham (Genesis 18: 17 - 19). God uses many of the aspects of teaching for understanding identified by educational researchers. God gives His commands, He reveals His Power, Presence and Character to man in various ways (powerful representations) and then expects man to act in obedience to His commands example of the curricular view of God can be seen in the Exodus story. In Exodus chapters 4 through 12, God revealed who He was to the Egyptians as well as to Israel. The Israelites were given powerful representations and examples of God’s Power and His ability to provide for their needs and to protect them from the disasters that were befalling the Egyptians. In Exodus chapter 13 is Moses rehearsing to Israel what God had done to bring them out of Egypt. From a curricular perspective, God has shown Israel who He is and has promised them a land and that He will take them to that land. This promise came from God through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to all their descendants. In Exodus 14, Pharaoh pursues Israel and overtakes them near the Red Sea and again God shows that He can protect His people. Israel passes through the Red Sea safely while the Egyptian army is destroyed in the Red Sea. Consider, God again gives an ongoing performance-based assessment. Exodus 16: 4, “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” God seems to be assessing their willingness to keep His law based on their obedience to His directions for gathering their food. This seems to relate to the teaching of Jesus Christ in Luke 16: 10, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” From the human perspective this assessment would seem to be a low-stakes assessment. The fact that God uses this information to determine if Israel will keep

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His law or not gives learner’s great insight into how God’s curriculum of understanding fits together with an assessment component. In God’s Assessment system there are low-stakes assessments such as obedience to directions concerning food gathering, the preparation of sacrifices, etc. Note that the Assessments are based on the character of God. These smaller lowstakes assessments happen before there is a larger assessment such as taking possession of Canaan. The Israelites had seen God display His power over the elements and their enemies. When Israel had received the law through Moses they marched to the edge of Canaan and sent a delegation of representatives, one from each tribe to spy out Canaan. This was the big assessment because it would indicate whether or not they understood who God is and whether or not they trusted Him to deliver them into the land promised to the descendants of Abraham. The Israelites of Moses’ generation failed this assessment and were denied access to the Promised Land (Hebrews 3: 7 - 11). Israel continued to struggle to comprehend the character of God and therefore they repeated many of the lessons of faith many times. God called these repeated lessons “having a hardened heart” and this was a common criticism of God toward Israel. Understanding Viewed in the New Testament In the New Testament, there is a continuation of the curriculum of understanding. This curriculum also involves performance-based assessment as seen in the teaching of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the apostles. An early example of the performance-based mindset is seen in the teaching of John the Baptist. When John was baptizing in the river Jordan when he was approached by many of the Pharisees and Sadducees for his baptism. John told them to “bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” This seems a clear indication that the acts of a person indicate

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whether or not repentance has taken place in their lives. There is a similar indication from the apostle Paul in his testimony to King Agrippa. When Paul told Agrippa of his work with the Jews at Damascus, Jerusalem, the coats of Judea and also the Gentiles he encountered that they should repent and do works meet for repentance. The teaching of James seems to echo the same performance-based criterion as seen in the teaching of John the Baptist and the apostle Paul. In James 1: 27 the author says pure religion and underlined is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. In chapter 2 and verse 14 James asks the question “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?” This seems to focus the definition of faith given by the apostle Paul. The focus of the apostle Paul was that of grace, that there is no work that can grant the worker salvation. However, once the work of the Holy Spirit has taken place in the life of a believer there is to be an outward outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is evident to all who view. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is referred to by Paul in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 5: 22 - 23) involves actions and dispositions empowered by the Holy Spirit. In His earthly ministry, Jesus indicated that one’s actions and words are driven by that which is in one’s heart, not what is in one’s belly. Jesus warned His disciples that false prophets would come among them and that these would be known by the fruits of their lives (Matthew 7: 15 - 20). Jesus told his disciples “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6: 45). There is a clear indication in Scripture that performance-based teaching was valued in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. This leads to the question “Is the Church preaching

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and teaching the necessity of faith-produced works in the life of a believer?” When pastors and church leaders consider their responsibility to preach the Gospel and to develop believers, they need to consider carefully the concepts of the Bible and how these are lived out and worked out in the lives of believers. There are at least seven dimensions of biblical understanding that must apply to the lives of all believers. These dimensions could be developed into understanding goals and performances of understanding.

The Dimensions of Biblical Understanding The Nature of the Bible This dimension involves the origin, purpose, and message of the Bible. The Nature of the Bible dimension assesses the extent to which learners have developed the necessary biblical dispositions and understandings through their study of the Bible and made sense of its concepts and doctrines. Society presents powerful but often misleading statements and characterizations about the Bible. The Bible presents itself as the revelation of God to people. God also reveals Himself in nature (Romans 1: 18 – 32) and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 8; John 3: 16) Societies’ misleading statements can remain powerful in the words, thoughts, and actions of the students of the Bible and it is through the personal study and application of Scripture (Psalm 119: 9, 11, 104, 128, 130, 151, 160) that these societal influences lose their power in the life of a learner. The learner’s perception of the Bible can be seen in their conversations about the Bible and in their individual lifestyles. Meditation on the Scripture is a key to the development of a Christian thought life (Philippians 4: 8; Romans 12: 1 – 2). Jesus taught that the words and actions of a person are a reflection of what they think about (Matthew 12: 34; Luke 6: 45). The

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learner must also acquaint themselves with the history of the various translations of the Bible and their ultimate sources. The learner must take a particular interest in the history of the English Bible and the sources of the Scripture as well as the Biblical meanings of inspiration and preservation as these apply to the Word of God (2 Timothy 3: 16; Psalm 12: 6 – 7). Society also makes academic statements about the Bible and the nature of the universe. The learner needs to see the Bible as true when it speaks of religious matters as well as the nature of the creation.

The Nature of God. This dimension involves the nature, purpose and character of God. The nature of God dimension assesses the extent to which learners have understood how, when, and why God reveals Himself to man. For example, the primary nature of God is His Holiness (Exodus 3: 4 – 6). God reveals His Holiness through the standards He has set for man. This is seen first in the Garden of Eden when man was given freedom to eat of the fruit of all the trees of the Garden save the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God sets the standard for what is acceptable. This standard is seen to surpass words and deeds and includes the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Genesis 6: 5; Psalm 94: 11; Psalm 139: 2; Hebrews 4: 12). The purpose of God is seen in the establishment of the covenants with various Godly men throughout the ages. First, with Adam in the Garden of Eden, then with Noah, then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and so forth. God reveals Himself for the primary purpose of redemption and this revelation, whether corporate or individual is to show His great love for His creation, man. God’s character is that of the covenant keeper. Throughout the history of man, it is God who has made the first move of reconciliation. God’s motives have always been to draw man to Himself but not violate His holiness (Habakkuk 1: 13). God has shown that He is moved 17

by the plight of man and He has extended His grace to man in a variety of ways, most notably in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for man’s sin. God is trustworthy and will not fail to deliver them that diligently seek Him. (Psalm 9: 19; 18: 30; Proverbs 3: 5; 16: 20; Nahum 1: 7)

God’s Revelation of Himself This dimension involves the revelation of God through the agency of the Holy Spirit, in the creation, in the Scripture, and through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s revelation of Himself is directly tied to His nature and purpose. God has revealed Himself in a variety of ways so that all mankind has access to the knowledge of God (Romans 1: 18 – 20). God reveals Himself through His creation, this means that one need only consider the parts of creation available for man to consider, and the fact that man is able to consider the creation and the Creator, this is God’s handiwork revealed. Scripture paints man as God’s handiwork (Genesis 1: 27; Isaiah 45: 9). Man is told to meditate on the works of God (Psalm 143: 5; Isaiah 40: 26) and that the earth and the heavens and all that in them is are the works of His hands (Psalm 102: 25; Isaiah 45: 12). God reveals Himself through the auspices of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. It is through faith that man realizes that he is created and that this Creator seeks a personal relationship with His creation (Hebrews 11: 3; Galatians 5: 5). God reveals Himself through His Word, The Bible. The inspiration of the Scripture is God breathing out His Word to man (2 Timothy 3: 16). God has revealed Himself in this manner at least in part to give man instruction for righteous living and so that man can begin to comprehend the nature, purpose and character of God. The more any person knows God the more

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effective that person will be at living out the plan and purpose God has for their life (Exodus 33: 13; Philippians 3: 7 – 11). Finally, God has revealed Himself through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the greatest expression of love that God could give His creation. God showed that, in spite of the sinfulness of His creation, He was willing to be reconciled to His creation, to man (Romans 5: 8). God, who can and has revealed Himself in a myriad of ways and forms has determined to make his final revelation of Himself through the person of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1: 1 – 4). This revelation of God shows His ultimate purpose in dealing with mankind, that is the redemptive work accomplished through the person and shed blood of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2: 1 – 5; 2 Peter 3: 9 – 11; Romans 3: 24 – 26; 1 John 2: 1 – 2; 1 John 4: 9 – 10).

The Nature of Man This dimension deals with the origin, nature, and destiny of mankind. The nature of mankind dimension assesses the extent to which the learner has understood the origin of mankind, his original nature as well as his current fallen nature, and his destiny. The Bible presents man as a direct creation of God. There is no indication of a gradual development or ascension of mankind from a lower state of being, indeed the opposite is shown in Scripture. Man is presented in Genesis chapter 1 and 2 as created on day 6 of the creation week from the dust of the ground and in the image of his Creator. Man has not since been in a higher state than that of his original creation. The first man, Adam was created to live eternally in a perfect body and placed in a perfect environment, Eden. Adam was in perfect harmony with his Creator and with the environment he was placed into, his life was perfect. Adam was created speaking a language and with sufficient intellectual capacity to name the animals that God brought to him. Adam was created was given a 19

wife, Eve and the mandate form his Creator to populate the earth. He was created to live eternally in perfect fellowship with his Creator and in perfect harmony with the creation. Though Adam was created in sinless perfection, he was given the ability to choose the course of his life. God did not make Adam an automaton who only followed orders, he was given the intellect to make sense of the world around him and the will to choose, within the boundaries of his creation, he was given mandates from his Creator to keep the Garden and to reproduce. Adam was also given the freedom to eat the fruits of all the trees in the garden except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this was forbidden. Once Adam chose to take of this fruit his nature was changed from that of sinless perfection to fallen man of the earth. Adam would no longer enjoy the perfect fellowship of his Creator not would he be in harmony with the creation. Adam would now face decay and mortality and death as a result of his sin. This sinful nature of Adam would be passed not only to his offspring but to all creation thought Adam (Romans 5: 12 – 14). Adam would live out the remainder of his days separated from the fellowship of God and would live to see the penalty of his sin play out in the lives of his sons Cain and Abel. Man’s nature was changed in Adam as well as his destiny. Now man must live in a body of sin and in a world driven by sin, apart from his Creator because of his sinful nature (Isaiah 59: 1 – 4). Apart from his Creator is man’s new destiny but even in this dark hour God made a promise of redemption through the seed of the woman, Eve (Genesis 3: 15). Man can change this destiny of separation from the Creator which the Bible calls death (Genesis 3: 3) through faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ. Man’s choice will now govern his destiny.

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The Purpose of Man This dimension involves the man’s service to God and the Biblical nature, purpose, and reward for that service. This dimension assesses the extent to which the learner understands the nature of man’s service to God, the purpose of service to God, and the reward for this service. Man was created for fellowship with his Creator. This is evident from the biblical description of the interactions between Adam, Eve, and God while they lived in Eden (Genesis 2: 7 – 25; 3: 8 – 9). This purpose of man has not been changed only the nature of man is different when Adam sinned. Now we cannot fellowship with God in a direct way as Adam and Eve did in their days in Eden. We must first be reconciled to God through the propitiation of Jesus Christ for our sin and then our fellowship with Him is through the agency of the Holy Spirit (John 14: 26; 1 Corinthians 6: 19; Ephesians 1: 13). We can come to God and fellowship with Him through vehicles of prayer, devotional study of His revealed Word, the Bible and worship of God (Matthew 6: 5 – 15; 2 Timothy 2: 15; John 4: 23 – 24). Service for God begins with the redemption of the servant, it is impossible to serve God for reward apart from redemption through faith in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 11: 6). Service then is accomplished by faith in Jesus Christ and through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who teaches the believer the Word of God and empowers his service for God, this is the only service for God that will be rewarded (Matthew 6: 1; Luke 6: 35; 1 Corinthians 3: 5 – 15; 1 Corinthians 9: 16 – 19; Colossians 3: 23 - 25). The reward for service to the Lord is not only given at the Bema Seat but also in this life, God rewards faithfulness and service through His provision and watch care (Psalm 37: 23; Matthew 6: 25 – 34)

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The Nature of Sin This dimension involves the biblical origin, nature, and consequences of sin. This dimension assesses the extent to which the learner understands the nature of sin and its consequences. Sin did not begin with men but was first seen in the fallen cherub Lucifer (Ezekiel 28: 12 – 19). Lucifer was created in perfect beauty and full of wisdom yet because of his beauty he his heart was lifted up with pride and he transgressed against God by desiring the throne of God as his own and was cast from heaven when he sinned (Isaiah 14: 12 – 16) Sin is defined as the transgression of the commands of God (1 John 3: 4). Paul warns believers that sin is empowered by the law (1 Corinthians 15: 56) and that those unregenerate who live in sin will face the death of the body (Romans 5: 12, the first death) and the eternal separation from God (Revelation 20: 14, 21: 8, the second death). Sin is always seen as breaking the fellowship between man and God (Genesis 3: 22 – 24) and as separating man from his Creator (Isaiah 59: 1 – 2). The death of the body and the loss of fellowship then are but a part of the initial consequences of the sin prevalent in the life of the unredeemed another consequence is the loss of discernment. The unregenerate will not recognize the work of God and/or will not be able to distinguish the work of God from that of Satan (1 Corinthians 2: 14; 4: 3 – 4). This inability can be overcome when the unregenerate is confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Gospel of light can cast out the darkness of sin but only through faith. Sin in the life of a believer can also reduce or remove the ability to discern the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual. Sin, in effect, dulls our understanding of God and makes us numb to His power in our lives. This is especially evident in our relationships with 22

other believers. When a believer is caught in the web of sin they tend to disassociate with fellow believers. This is a consequence of the loss of fellowship with God and can only be remedied through the confession of the sin (James 5: 16; 1 John 1: 8 – 10) and removal of that sin from the life of the believer (1 John 1: 7). Method Participants The principal investigator used social media (Facebook) to recruit participants aged 19 and over to take either the ministry teaching survey or the congregational survey. Pastors, church leaders, and lay members were asked questions concerning biblical understanding and the impact of personal choices and lifestyle as indications of biblical understanding. Participants were given the opportunity to opt out of the survey if they did not wish to continue or if they were less than 19 years of age. The principal investigator did not collect data from any incomplete surveys and removed all incomplete surveys from the electronically stored forms. The survey was done anonymously, no email address or names were collected from the respondents.

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Assessments and Measures Pastor/Ministry Leader Demographic Information Survey Questions Possible Responses Q1: Please select the position that best describes R1: Pastor/Chaplin your current ministry role. R2: Sunday School teacher R3: Ministry teacher R4: Sunday School superintendent R5: Retired Q2: Please select your highest level of education R1: Doctorate R2: Master’s degree R3: Bachelor’s degree R4: Associate’s degree R5: Other Q3: Please select the category that best R1: 20 years or more describes your ministry experience R2: 15 - 19 years R3: 10 - 14 years R4: 5 - 9 years R5: 1 - 4 years Q4: Please select the option that best describes R1: Presbyterian your denominational affiliation R2: Lutheran R3: Baptist R4: Methodist R5: Pentecostal R6: Nazarene R7: Church of Christ R8: Non Denominational R9: Congregationalist R10: Other

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Pastor/Ministry Leader Assessment Items Constructed Response Questions Q5: Please state the difference between knowledge, skill, and understanding as it relate to the Bible. Q6: Can a person’s understanding of the Bible be measured by their lifestyle or choices? Explain Q13: Please explain how you know that your ministry teaching is developing biblical understanding in the learners. Q14: Please explain the roles of the teacher, learner, and the Holy Spirit in developing biblical understanding. Multiple Choice Questions Possible Responses Q7: The ability of a person to apply biblical Strongly Agree principles in different situations shows biblical Agree understanding? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q8: I give learners an opportunity to Almost all Classes demonstrate their understanding during Some Classes instruction? Almost Never Never Q9: I assess the level of learner understanding of Strongly Agree biblical truth often? Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Q10: There are levels of understanding the Bible Strongly Agree that can be seen in the actions, words, and Agree lifestyle of Bible learners? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q11: New understandings of the Bible are built Strongly Agree on previous understandings and new information Agree provided during the teaching session? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q12: It is important to determine the level of Strongly Agree learner understanding of the Bible as part of any Agree ministry teaching experience. Disagree Strongly Disagree

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Lay member Demographic Information Survey Questions Possible Responses Q1: Please select your highest level of education R1: Doctorate R2: Master’s degree R3: Bachelor’s degree R4: Associate’s degree R5: Other Q2: Please select the category that best R1: 20 years or more describes your years of worship service R2: 15 - 19 years attendance R3: 10 - 14 years R4: 5 - 9 years R5: 1 - 4 years Q3: Please select the option that best describes R1: Presbyterian your denominational affiliation R2: Lutheran R3: Baptist R4: Methodist R5: Pentecostal R6: Nazarene R7: Church of Christ R8: Non Denominational R9: Congregationalist R10: Other

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Lay Member Assessment Items Constructed Response Questions Q4: Please state the difference between knowledge, skill, and understanding as they relate to the Bible. Q5: Can a person’s understanding of the Bible be measured by their lifestyle or choices? Explain Q12: Please explain how you know that the ministry teaching you receive is developing biblical understanding. Q13: Please explain the roles of the teacher, learner, and the Holy Spirit in developing biblical understanding. Multiple Choice Questions Possible Responses Q6: Bible instruction at my place of worship is Strongly Agree focused on the big ideas and essential Agree understandings of Scripture? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q7: The minster/teacher engages me as a learner Always in exploring the big ideas and essential questions Generally of Scripture? Sometimes Rarely Q8: Evaluation of learner products/performances Strongly Agree are based upon known criteria/rubrics, Agree performance standards, and examples? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q9: There are levels of understanding the Bible Strongly Agree that can be seen in the actions, words, and Agree lifestyle of learners? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q10: New understandings of the Bible are built Strongly Agree on previous understandings and new information Agree provided during the teaching session? Disagree Strongly Disagree Q11: It is important to determine the level of Strongly Agree learner understanding of the Bible as part of any Agree ministry teaching experience. Disagree Strongly Disagree

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Results The first group surveyed was the pastor/ministry leaders. The survey was sent out 4 different times and seven people responded to the survey. The results to the questions are shown below.

Outcome Group 1 (Pastors/Ministry Leaders) Q1: Please state the differences between knowledge, skill, and understanding as it relates to the Bible R1: Knowledge pertains to knowing the entirety of the Bible and concepts in the Bible, skill pertains to a set of traits or characteristics one can exhibit to use to display this knowledge and help others grow in knowledge and understanding pertains to being able to apply one's knowledge to their lives in an in-depth way.

R2: Knowledge is information - skill is the practice applying knowledge repeatedly. Understand is knowledge applied

R3: Knowledge is the ability to recall information from the Bible. Skill is the ability to use the information in different situations. Understanding is supporting the believer is his or her beliefs.

R4: Knowledge is being familiar with the biblical text and can even connect passages of scripture together, understanding includes being able to discern the text beyond a literal translation; using historical context, literary context, cultural context, and our own biases to the interpretation of the text. Skill is the ability to articulate the differences so that others can understand.

R5: *Understanding is a heart knowledge (one must be saved to have understanding) *Knowledge is a head knowledge (one can be an atheist and have knowledge) *Skill is knowing how to use the Bible.

R6: It’s one thing to know what the word says but actually living out the meaning is a witness.

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R7: Knowledge is academic, skill is putting knowledge into action and understanding is knowing when and why to put knowledge into action with skill. Q2: Can a person’s understanding of the Bible be measured by their lifestyle or choices? Explain.

R1: Not necessary. Understanding does not mean one applies it. One can understand the key concepts of the Bible and how it will give them good consequences but this understanding does not automatically make them obedient creatures. We would hope that since one understood the Bible, they would apply it and this would show their understanding. Over time, understanding and lessons will hopefully guide one to be more obedient and to 'understand' that they do not want the same lifestyle or consequences and would like to apply what they are reading and hopefully comprehending.

R2: Yes- if it concerning a command or exhortation.

R3: Yes. Understanding should lead a person to follow a certain lifestyle based on God's expectations.

R4: No. You cannot measure ones knowledge of the Bible purely by lifestyle. There is not “one” way to live the Christian life. There is not “one” list of criteria that determines how faithfully one’s lifestyle determines their biblical understanding and it is ridiculous create one without bias.

R5: In most cases (I'd say at least 90% or more). If one truly understands the Bible, with a head AND heart understanding, it will show in their actions and lifestyle. As the saying goes, "Sin will keep me from the Bible, and the Bible will keep me from sin"

R6: It’s one thing to know what the word says but actually living out the meaning is a witness.

R7: If evaluated over time, yes. Anyone can put on a temporary show but time revels true heart understanding.

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Q3: The ability of a person to apply biblical principles in different situations shows biblical understanding? Strongly Agree

Q3

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Q4: I give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding during class?

Almost All Classes

Q4

Some Classes Almost Never Never

Almost all classes

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Some Classes

Almost never

Never

Q5: I assess the level of student understanding of biblical truth often?

Strongly Agree

Q5


Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Q6: There are level s of understanding of the Bible that can be seen in the actions, words, and lifestyle of Bible learners?

Strongly Agree

Q6


Strongly Agree

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Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Q7: New Understandings of the Bible are built on previous understandings and new information provided during the teaching session?

Q7

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Q8: It is important to determine the level of a learner’s understanding of the Bible as part of any ministry teaching experience

Q8

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

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Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Q9: Please explain how you know that your teaching is developing biblical understanding in the learners.

R1: By applying the biblical principles on the level of the audience, their experiences, and where they are at in life. Asking them how they can relate the topic/Bible principle to their specific situation. Making the concepts in the Bible real in the audience’s life and helping them to see the Word of God is alive.

R2: students better apply knowledge

R3: Students present opportunities to further study God's word for solid understanding.

R4: Because you are starting the conversation...all interactions are influential and the Holy Spirt can give insight in any situation; Providence of God

R5: By the questions asked and because it is based 100% on direct Bible doctrine, which is profitable according to 2 Tim. 3:16 and Psalm 119:130, 98-100, and not based on opinion or belief.

R6: I see our people contributing to class discussion and taking action to be ambassadors of Christ to the world as they adopt lifestyle of service and grace.

R7: Students will display their knowledge through interaction during class and long term memory of biblical truths.

Q10: Please explain the roles of the teacher, student, and the Holy Spirit in developing biblical understanding.

R1: The teacher provides knowledge by providing the audience with information in a creative way (hopefully) to where the audience at hand can comprehend and apply. The student is present to take in the information, apply it, think critically, and learn the material in a way that helps them apply the material. The Holy Spirit guides us to all truth and understanding. By first fearing the Lord in a reverent way, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom when we ask for it. 33

R2: They work in tandem but the holy spirit initiated the ability to understand at salvation. Then continues to do so as the believer is indwelt

R3: The Holy Spirit should guide both teacher and student.

R4: Trinity...all essential, all bring something to the table. Priesthood of all believers.

R5: The role of the teacher is based on 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, of which the Holy Spirit's role is mentioned. The teacher should be careful of not giving their opinion as fact (always prefacing it with, as you put it, "Taylorology." The teacher should also be aware of Hebrews 13:17. The teacher should not take the role of the Holy Spirit - as done with many charismatic speakers. 1 John 2:27 says no man can teach you about the anointing, yet many charismatic speakers try to tell you all about the anointing, even writing books about it. The student's role is to listen attentively to the teacher, taking notes and searching the Scriptures (1 & 2 Timothy have good verses for student and teacher). The student must ALWAYS check the teacher with Scripture, making sure what is being taught lines up with Scripture and not someone's opinion or belief. 2 Timothy 3:16 The Holy Spirit's role is to guide both teacher and student to all Truth - John 14:26.

R6: We work together. R7: Teacher should be lead by the Holy Spirit, prepared to teach the lesson through prayerful study of the subject and the students should allow the Holy Spirit to open their understanding.

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Discussion The pastor group had respondents that did not seem to understanding the meaning of a performance-based criteria for biblical education. Question 1: Please state the differences between knowledge, skill, and understanding as it relates to the Bible R1 and R4 are the only two respondents that show an adequate definition of understanding, skill, and knowledge. R1 did specify that “understanding” included the ability to apply knowledge in one’s life. R7 seemed to imply the thinking process involved in understanding the Bible “understanding is knowing when and why to put knowledge into action with skill.” There is a general confusion in distinguishing between understanding and skill. Specifically, the respondents mistake knowledge for understanding. The responses to question 2 were understandable in light of the confusion about the definitions of understanding, knowledge, and skill. Only two of the respondents said that a person’s choices reflected their understanding of the Bible. R5 said that in “most cases (I’d say at least 90% or more)” choices and lifestyle indicate the level of biblical understanding. 4/7 pastors do not correlate the actions and decisions of a person with their understanding the Bible. This stands in contrast to the 6/7 that agreed or agreed strongly that “There are levels of understanding of the Bible that can be seen in the actions, words, and lifestyle of Bible learners?” The Likert scale questions revealed that pastors did value, for the most part, actions that showed understanding of the Bible and the assessment of biblical understandings. A future survey would be necessary to determine how such assessment could be handled to measure biblical assessment. The question “Please explain how you know that your ministry teaching is developing biblical understanding in the learners.” Had only 1/7 respondents that indicated student actions as a measure of the success of the ministry’s teaching efforts. 35

Outcome Group 2 (The congregation) The Congregational group had 21 survey respondents. The survey was sent out one time and received responses for approximately 12 days. Discussion The level of the responses did seem to differ from the pastoral group. R1 had one of the closest definition of understanding to that of educational psychologists “Knowledge is something you have learned, skill is something you can do, understanding is comprehending what you have learned.” R11 had a similar response with “Knowledge comes from remembering facts, understanding comes from knowing when and how to apply that knowledge, and skill is the ability to practice understanding and applying it to life, generally through practice, over time, and through continued increase in both knowledge and understanding.” Both respondent seem to catch the idea that biblical thinking is involved in understanding the Bible and applying the Bible to one’s life. “Can a person's understanding of the Bible be measured by their choices and lifestyle? 9/21 respondents said “yes” directly to the question and elaborated as to why they thought a person’s choices and actions were indicative of their understanding of the Bible. 6/21 responded positively but did not directly say “yes” they indicated that there were exceptions to the idea of a performance-based criteria. 6/21 responded negatively but only 2/21 directly said “no” this ratio leans more to the positive than the pastoral group which is interesting. In the future this survey needs to be run again in a manner that assesses the biblical understanding of the respondent and correlated this to the survey responses. The author suspects that there will be a strong positive correlation between high levels of biblical understanding and positive responses to the need for a performance-based criterion of biblical understanding.

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References Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding by design: connecting content and kids. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Anderson, L. W. (2003). Classroom assessment: enhancing the quality of teacher decision making. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Wiske, M. S. (1998). Teaching for understanding guide: linking research with practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Clark, R. E., Johnson, L., & Sloat, A. K. (1991). Christian education: foundations for the future. Chicago: Moody Press. Richards, L. (1975). Christian education: seeking to become like Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library. Wiggins, G. (2011). The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units. United States: ASCD. Gallavan, N. P. (2009). Developing performance-based assessments: grades K-5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching 2nd ed. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. W., V. B. (2002). Steppingstones to curriculum: a biblical path. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications. Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures an item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Chappell, P. (2008). First steps for New Christians. Lancaster, CA: Striving Together Publications. Lockyer, H. (1964). All the doctrines of the Bible: a study and analysis of major Bible doctrines. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House. Eavey, C. B. (1968). Principles of Teaching for Christian Teachers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan publishing House. Johnson, L. D. (1969). An Introduction to the Bible. Nashville, TN: Convention Press. McTighe, J., & Seif, E. (2014, March & april). Teaching for Understanding: A Meaningful Education for 21st Century Learners. Teachers Matter, 15-17. 37

Ritchhart, R. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Jossey-Bass.

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Developing a Framework for Assessing Biblical Understanding Using Construct a Construct Mapping Approach What does it mean to understand the Bible? This question is where researchers say that all educators must start their journey to developing understanding in all learners. David Perkins and the researchers at Harvard’s project Zero have been taking on this question of understanding for the last several decades. The publication of their initial summary “Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice” edited by Martha Stone Wiske indicates that there are four questions implicit in the question asked above: •

What topics are worth understanding?

•

What about them (the topics) must students understand?

•

How can we (the teachers) foster understanding?

•

How can we (the teachers) tell what students understand?

At the center of their research is the notion that performances of understanding are going to demonstrate the depth of the learner’s understanding. Understanding in this case is defined as the ability to “think and act flexibility with what you know.” Thus, the sophistication of the performance of understanding will vary with the understanding of the individual learner. The Project Zero researchers recognized four principles for using the performance-based learning to develop deep conceptual understanding: 39

•

Learning for understanding then occurs principally through reflective

engagement in approachable but challenging understanding performances. •

New understanding performances are built on previous understandings and

new information provided by the instructional setting. •

Learning a body of knowledge and know-how for understanding typically

requires a chain of understanding performances on increasing challenge and variety. •

Learning for understanding often involves conflict with older repertoires

of understanding performances and their associated ideas and images. These principles and the four questions about understanding lead to the development of the framework for understanding: there are Generative topics, understanding goals, performances of understanding, and ongoing assessment. To answer these question in a biblical setting there was a need to develop a framework for what it meant to understands the Bible. The Bible is framed in six dimensions: The nature of God, the nature of the Bible, God’s revelation of Himself, the nature of man, and the nature of sin. To assess these ministry pastors and ministry teachers will need to consider carefully the principles of assessment. Education researcher Nancy Gallavan identified twelve principles of performance-based assessment those applicable to ministry teaching are: •

Assessment means much more than just a test.

•

Almost all assessments are performance-based assessments.

•

Assessments involves the learning, the teaching, and the schooling.

•

Assessments need to be appropriate and authentic.

•

Assessments must include fidelity – that is they are understandable and

objective. 40

•

Assessments must include robustness – that is they are deliberate, and

mindful of depth, breath, and opportunity. •

Assessments must include expectations that are prepared in advance to

determine multiple levels of proficiency for each objective. Assessments seen through the lens of understanding must be based on performances of understanding built over time. The assessment system then must include ongoing assessment so that spiritual growth is tracked over time and understanding can be analyzed. To measure biblical understanding then there is a need to know exactly what dimension s of biblical understanding can be measured by performance-based assessment. When John the Baptist told the Pharisees to “bring forth works meet for repentance.” – Matthew 3: 8 he seemed to be indicating that at least part of what it means to understand the Bible can be measured by the actions of the individual. If the Pharisees had understood the repentance that was being preached they would done works (performances of understanding) that revealed their understanding of repentance. The dimensions of Biblical understanding will be used to determine the performances of understanding that will distinguish the various levels of understanding of the Bible. The levels of understanding will be placed in a construct map which will be verified through an assessment based on the dimensions of biblical understanding. The purpose of the dimensions is to help teachers develop understanding goals that relate directly to genuine understanding and the performances that show reveal that understanding. Learners should be able to develop and apply their understanding through practice. The construct map itself will be used as the ongoing assessment for tracking learner progress through the various stages of understanding. It is vitally important that the learning experiences that learners engage in are challenging but approachable tasks. As the teacher develops performance-based tasks and projects they will likely find that 41

their role changes to more of a mentor than a traditional lecturer. Teachers using a performancebased instruction and assessment protocol will likely notice a change in the way the learners think about learning. The author spent several months discussing the needs of learners in churchbased ministries and developing the performances of understanding as well as marking the possible misunderstandings at each level of the proposed construct map. Method Participants The assessment of Biblical Understanding was made available electronically and a link to the Google form was posted on Facebook so that it could be used to access the assessment. The assessment was 25 questions with 4 questions from each of the dimensions, except for the nature of the Bible dimension which had five questions. Each of the questions represents a distinct level of understanding from given dimension. The author chose to place five questions in the nature of the Bible dimension to distinguish the accuracy and reliability of the English translations of the Bible. Participants were able to participate anonymously so that there was no path for recognition of the individual participants. The results of the participants was analyzed and each participant was given a number along with their placement on the construct. From the advertisement 37 participants replied and completed the assessment questionnaire. If a participant did not complete the assessment their questionnaire was discarded. The link that was made available to participants included a front page that told them of the purpose of the questions and gave information about the author’s use of the data for research and publication. The participants were also told that the assessment would be completely confidential.

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Twelve responses were chosen by assigning each response, in the order it was received, a number such as R1 for the first response and so on until all responses were numbered. The author then used a pseudo-random number generator to select 12 responses to place on the construct map. The responses were then graded and the results analyzed and placed on the map. Assessments and Measures The assessment questions were developed using the six dimensions as a guide and the levels hypothesized in the construct map to determine the appropriate level of question for each dimension. The participants were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with a given statement about the Bible. The author used a modified Likert scale with strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree as the categories. Each of these categories was assigned a weight of (+/-) 1 if agree was chosen as was a good answer/bad answer and (+/-) 2 if the strongly agree answer was a good/bad choice. The maximum possible score on the assessment was 60 points with a minimum score of -60. To maximize the value of the assessment the author has developed a pastor/church leader interview questionnaire for use with anyone taking the Assessment of Biblical understanding as a tool for the selection of church workers or ministry assistants the questionnaire is in appendix D. The Assessment. The Nature of God. Question 1: God has always existed. Question 2: The idea of God began with people who needed to explain naturally occurring phenomena. Question 3: God expects people to live holy lives. Question 4: God desires to be in a relationship with people. 43

Question 5: God will hold people accountable for the spiritual gifts they have been given. Question 6: God holds people accountable for how they spend their money. Question 7: God holds people accountable for their life choices. The Nature of the Bible. Question 1: Academic curiosity is all that is necessary for a complete understanding of the Bible. Question 2: The Bible is true as it is written today and is without error Question 3: The Bible is true and it is applicable to the problems society faces today. Question 4: All English translations of the Bible are equivalent. Question 5: There is an English translation of the Bible, available to us today, that precisely reproduces the message of the ancient manuscripts that were inspired by God. God’s Revelation of Himself. Question 1: People can know the existence of God by examining the universe around them. Question 2: The Bible was written so that people could know God. Question 3: The Gospel of Jesus Christ as prescribed in the Bible reveals the character of God. Question 4: Evidence that God exists is found in the complexity and variety of life. The Nature of Man. Question 1: People have always been sinful. Question 2: A person who accepts Christ as Savior will no longer sin. Question 3: A person who accepts Christ as Savior is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

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Question 4: A person’s basic nature is sinful but this can be overcome through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Purpose of Man. Question 1: People were created in sinless perfection, in perfect fellowship with God, and in harmony with nature. Question 2: People were created for the primary purpose of worship. Question 3: People cannot serve God apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Question 4: People must repent and be born again to please God and enter heaven. Question 5: Christians have an obligation to be an active member of a local church and to support that church financially and through service. Question 6: Christians have no greater obligation than that of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. The Nature of Sin. Question 1: Death began with the sin of Adam and Eve. Question 2: Sin in the life of a person only affects them. Question 3: unconfessed sin in the life of a person can lead to a lack of spiritual discernment. Question 4: Sin is defined by societies.

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Expectations of the Assessment The Biblical Understanding Construct map is meant to distinguish between five levels of Biblical understanding. The naïve level, the novice level, the initial disciple, the emerging disciple, and the disciple. The differences between the various levels is subtitle in between the levels and gross among the levels. For example, the primary difference between naïve and novice is that the novice believer sees the need for repentance. Both may have knowledge of the Bible or an intellectual assent to the existence of God but the level of novice can only be reached when naïve person believes the gospel, recognizes their sinful state, and repents of their sin through faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ (Romans 10: 1 – 3). The level of initial disciple is reached when the novice believer understands the necessity of sharing their faith with others and obeying what they know of Scripture. The initial disciple also understands that they represent Christ when they interact within their respective social groups. The actions taken by initial disciple are those of baptism, church membership, witnessing, and obedience to what they know of the Bible. The emerging disciple is a person that has begun to serve in their church. The community should have no problem recognizing this person as a Christian and a member of a local church. Their actions and their disposition should distinguish them as Christians and recommend Christ to any that should encounter them. This does not mean they have no struggles with problems of the flesh, instead this means that they mostly overcome those struggles without reverting to the nature of the flesh. There should be no consistent or overt “works” of the flesh in this person’s life. They will be aware of the nature of the stewardship of all things placed in their control. They should be tithers and givers at this point in their spiritual development.

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The disciple should be a consistent model of the Christian virtue in every area of their lives. They should have a daily time set aside for reading and studying the Scripture as well as a daily prayer regime. They should spend time contemplating the Scriptures they read and comparing Scripture to Scripture to seek a deeper understanding of what God is communicating in the Bible. They should be able to discern morally right from morally wrong in social, political, and personal contexts. They must exercise personal holiness and should have an acute sensitivity to sin in their personal lives. They must exercise grace in the lives of others. They should be mentoring those younger in the faith than they are. To differentiate among the various levels of the construct map the assessment has questions that access the different levels of the map. Breakdown of questions shows the listed by dimension and level on the construct map. Breakdown of questions The Nature of God (NG) Disciple: •

God holds people accountable for how they spend their money

Emerging Disciple: •

God will hold people accountable for the Spiritual gifts they have been given.

•

God holds people accountable for their life choices.

Initial Disciple: •

God expects people to live holy lives.

Novice: 47

•

God has always existed.

Naïve: •

The idea of God began with people who needed to explain naturally occurring

phenomena. The Nature of the Bible (NB) Disciple: •

There is an English translation of the Bible, available to us today, that precisely

reproduces the message of the ancient manuscripts that were inspired by God. Emerging Disciple: •

The Bible is true as it is written today and is without error.


The Bible is true and it is applicable to the problems society faces today.

Novice: •

All English translation of the Bible are equivalent.

Naïve: • Academic curiosity is all that is necessary for a complete understanding of the Bible. God’s Revelation of Himself (GR) Disciple:

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•

Evidence that God exists is found in the complexity and variety of life.


The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as prescribed in the Bible, reveals the character of

God. Initial Disciple: •

The Bible was written so that people could know God.

Novice: • The Bible was written so that people could know God.. Naïve: •

People can know the existence of God by examining the universe around them.

The Nature of Man (NM) Disciple: •

A person’s basic nature is sinful but this can be overcome through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

•

A person who accepts Christ as Savior will no longer sin.

•

A person who accepts Christ as Savior is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

•

People have always been sinful.


A person’s basic nature is sinful but this can be overcome through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 49

•


•


•

People have always been sinful.



Novice: •


Naïve: •

A person’s basic nature is sinful but this can be overcome through the Gospel of

Jesus Christ. The Purpose of Man (PM) Disciple: •

Christians have an obligation to be an active member of a local church and to

support that church financially and through service. Emerging Disciple: •

People cannot serve God apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.


People were created for the primary purpose of worship.

•

People were created in sinless perfection, in perfect fellowship with God, and in

harmony with nature. 50

Novice: •

Christians have no greater obligation than that of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Naïve: •

People must repent and be born again to please God and enter heaven.. The

Nature of Sin (NS) Disciple: •

Sin is defined by societies.

•

Unconfessed sin in the life of a person can lead to a lack of spiritual discernment.

•

Sin in the life of a person only affects them.

•

Death began with Adam and Eve.



•

Unconfessed sin in the life of a person can lead to a lack of spiritual discernment.

•


•

Death began with Adam and Eve.



Novice: •


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Naïve: •

Death began with the sin of Adam and Eve.

Results Twelve of the 37 responses were chosen by assigning each response, in the order it was received, a number such as R1 for the first response and so on until all responses were numbered. The author then used a pseudo-random number generator to select 12 responses to place on the construct map. The remaining respondents were scored and the results were placed in table A of appendix B. The twelve chosen were number R1 – R12 and then graded. The twelve responses are recorded in appendix E. Generally speaking, respondents were classified as novice if they achieve a score less than 30 but they have correct responses to the question “A person must be born again to please God and enter heaven.” Outcome R1 achieved a raw score of +43 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+12

+7

+7

+4

+11

+6

This respondent was placed on the map at emerging disciple because of the combination of raw score and dimensional scores. Based on their responses they appear to have a fairly broad understanding of Scripture however, their score in the Nature of God category separated them from the disciple level. They answered “disagree” as opposed to “Strongly Agree” to the question “God expects people to live holy lives” and they answered “agree” as opposed to “Strongly Agree” to the question “God holds people accountable for how they spend their 52

money” showed that they did not have a disciple understanding of the nature of God. This respondent had similar problems in the nature of man dimension scoring 4/8 these dimensions placed them in the emerging disciple category. R2 achieved a raw score of +50 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG +14

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+8

+8

+4

+9

+7

This respondent was placed on the map at disciple because of the combination of raw score and dimensional scores. This respondent scored close to the top in all categories except for the nature of man dimension. This score indicated that their might have been misunderstanding of the question “people have always been sinful.” This question may have been construed to mean “people are born sinful” which is true instead of the intended meaning of the history of mankind beginning with sinless creation then a fall from perfection. The author will consider rewriting this question. R3 achieved a raw score of +20 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+1

+2

+3

+7

+4

+3

This respondent was placed at the initial disciple level of understanding. The respondent scored 1/14 in the nature of God category and had similarly low scores of 2/10 in nature of the Bible, 3/8 in God’s revelation of Himself, 4/12 on the purpose of man and 3/8 on the nature of sin. These scores indicate the respondent does not have a deep level of understanding of the Bible. 53

The respondent did answer the questions that separate their understanding from the naïve and novice levels of understanding. R4 achieved a raw score of +48 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+11

+8

+8

+3

+12

+6

This respondent was placed at the disciple level of understanding. The only dimension which showed misunderstanding was the Nature of Man dimension. The respondent scored -2 for the question “people have always been sinful.” And +1 for the question “A person who accepts Christ as Savior will no longer sin.” The respondent scored at the disciple in all other dimensions that were assessed. R5 achieved a raw score of +53 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+13

+8

+8

+4

+12

+8

The only dimension for which the respondent showed any misunderstanding was the Nature of Man dimension. The respondent missed the question “people have always been sinful.” It is likely that the respondent did not understand the intent of the question. The respondent scored the maximum number of points available on the assessment in three of the dimensions. R6 achieved a score of -2 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding:

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NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

-1

1

2

2

-4

-2

The respondent scored poorly in all dimensions assessed. The respondent was placed in the “Naïve” category by the results of the assessment specifically because of the answer “Disagree” to the question “A person must repent and be born again to please God and enter heaven.” This coupled with respondent’s performance on the dimensions shows a considerable lack of biblical understanding. R7 achieved a raw score of +42 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding. NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+11

+5

+8

+3

+10

+5

The respondent was scored on the map at “emerging disciple” This respondent showed considerable knowledge and understanding in the dimensions of Nature of God, God’s Revelation of Himself, and the Purpose of Man. The respondent does show a lack of understanding in the dimensions of The Nature of the Bible, The Nature of Man, and the Nature of Sin. R8 achieved a raw score of +51 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding. NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+14

+10

+8

+4

+7

+8

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The respondent was scored at the “Disciple” level on the Construct map of biblical understanding. The respondent scored at the highest level on the dimensions of Nature of God, Nature of the Bible, God’s Revelation of Himself, and Nature of Sin. This respondent did miss the question “People have always been sinful.” This is an emerging pattern in the respondents scoring at the disciple level on the construct map. R9 achieved a raw score of +29 and the following scores on the dimensions of biblical understanding NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+10

+3

+7

+3

+1

+5

The respondent was scored at the “initial disciple” level on the construct map of biblical understanding. This respondent scored very well in the dimension of God’s Revelation of Himself. The respondent did correctly answer the question “A person must repent and be born again to please God and enter heaven,” this coupled with their performance in the dimensions of Nature of God and God’s revelation of Himself moved them out of the “novice” level. R10 achieved a raw score of +32 and the following scores for the dimensions of biblical understanding:

NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+9

+4

+6

+5

+5

+3

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This respondent was scored at the “Naïve” level of the construct map for biblical understanding. The score was given for the answer “Disagree” to the question “A person must be born again to please God and enter heaven.” This answer showed a critical misunderstanding of the nature of and purpose of man. No matter what the other dimension scores are this misunderstanding places any respondent at the “Naïve” level. R11 achieved a raw score of +40 and the following scores for the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+10

+5

+5

+7

+7

+6

This respondent was scored at the “emerging disciple” level on the construct map of biblical understanding. This respondent scored highly in the dimensions of Nature of God, Nature of Man, Purpose of man, and Nature of Sin. The modest scores in the dimensions of Nature of the Bible and God’s revelation of Himself show some misunderstandings of the Bible. R12 achieved a raw score of + 42 and the following scores for the dimensions of biblical understanding: NG

NB

GR

NM

PM

NS

+13

+5

+8

+5

+3

+8

This respondent was scored at the “Emerging Disciple” level on the construct map of biblical understanding. The respondent had perfect scores of the dimensions of God’s Revelation of Himself and Nature of Sin as well as a very high score in the dimension of Nature of God. These scores demonstrate that the respondent has a very good understanding of the Bible in half the dimensions assessed. 57

Discussion The response to the assessment items lead to the reconsideration of 4 of the questions. The first question to be reconsidered was “People have always been sinful.” This question showed a high degree of variability and was missed by all the respondents scoring at the “Disciple” level of the construct map. It is quite possible that the respondents misunderstood the historical intent of the question, that the first man was created perfect, and thought the question was asking if people are born sinners.

The question “Academic curiosity is all that is necessary for a complete understanding of the Bible.” This question caused some confusion among the respondents. The word “complete” should be changed to “genuine” so that the question would read “Academic curiosity is all that is necessary for a genuine understanding of the Bible.” The feedback correctly pointed out that no person actually has a “complete” understanding of the Bible and that our understanding of the Bible continues to grow throughout our lives.

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The question “A person who accepts Christ as Savior is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.” Received some negative feedback because the term “indwelt” was not understood by some of the respondents. The complaint seemed to center around the use of the language specific to the King James Version of the Bible and obviously some of the respondents did not read that version and were unfamiliar with the terminology used therein. Finally, the question “People were created for the purpose of worship.” Caught the attention of a few respondents and they objected to the use of the word worship in the assessment while the word service was used in the description of the dimension. The author feels that the words are interchangeable in in the Scriptural use of the both words. However, to alleviate any possible misunderstandings the description in the dimension: The Purpose of Man will be updated to accommodate the use of the words worship and service. Another item the author noticed was that the concept of stewardship was not sufficiently addressed in either the dimensions or the assessment. This would seem to be a very important concept for the development of genuine biblical understanding. The dimension of stewardship

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should include man’s responsibilities to the creation, personal assets, and the gospel message. Man’s responsibility to the creation is definitely ecological conservation. God makes it clear that the world is ultimately His (Genesis 1 and 2; Psalm 24: 1) implicit in God’s ownership of the earth is man’s stewardship of the earth. In principle this is not different than that of God’s ownership of people. A person can say that they own their body but the reality is that all people are God’s creation and as such they ultimately are His (Psalm 100: 3). The second part of this dimension would be the responsibility of all the personal assets that are given to us individually. This would include our time, talent and treasure and how we use those in this lifetime (1 Peter 4: 9 – 11). Individuals are first and foremost responsible for their answer to God’s revelation of Himself. This dimension then touches God’s revelation of Himself in the creation. All mankind is responsible to act on God’s revelation of Himself in the cosmos (Romans 1: 16-23). Apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believers are accountable for the things done in this life. The Bible declares that all believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account for the life we lived in the faith (2 Corinthians 5: 9 – 10). Finally, all believers are accountable for the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the second part of this dimension deals with the spiritual gifts and other individual assets given to individual believers, the responsibility for spreading the gospel is given to all believers (Matthew 28: 18 – 20). This responsibility cannot be met through the other spiritual works believers are enjoined by the Holy Spirit to do for the honor of God, indeed the believer is take the gospel wherever they go (1 Corinthians 9: 15 – 17).

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References Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding by design: connecting content and kids. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Anderson, L. W. (2003). Classroom assessment: enhancing the quality of teacher decision making. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Wiske, M. S. (1998). Teaching for understanding guide: linking research with practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Clark, R. E., Johnson, L., & Sloat, A. K. (1991). Christian education: foundations for the future. Chicago: Moody Press. Richards, L. (1975). Christian education: seeking to become like Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library. Wiggins, G. (2011). The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units. United States: ASCD. Gallavan, N. P. (2009). Developing performance-based assessments: grades K-5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching 2nd ed. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. W., V. B. (2002). Steppingstones to curriculum: a biblical path. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications. Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures an item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Chappell, P. (2008). First steps for New Christians. Lancaster, CA: Striving Together Publications. Lockyer, H. (1964). All the doctrines of the Bible: a study and analysis of major Bible doctrines. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House. Eavey, C. B. (1968). Principles of Teaching for Christian Teachers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan publishing House. Johnson, L. D. (1969). An Introduction to the Bible. Nashville, TN: Convention Press.

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McTighe, J., & Seif, E. (2014, March & april). Teaching for Understanding: A Meaningful Education for 21st Century Learners. Teachers Matter, 15-17. Ritchhart, R. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Jossey-Bass. Downs, Perry G. (1994). Teaching for Spiritual Growth: An Introduction to Christian Education. Zondervan Publishing House.

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The Construct Map for Biblical Understanding

63

Level/ Description

Observable Learner Understandings

c

4/Disciple

b

Learners understand they must consistently apply their understanding of the Bible in their lives. Learners understand that their thought life is vitally important to their walk with God and their witness to others.

a

c

Learners understand that events in the Bible have application in their lives. Learners understand the principles of Biblical stewardship. Learners understand the principle of grace

b

Possible Learner Misconceptions

Necessary Understandings

They show biblical discernment in matters of faith and practice. They can biblically discern issues of societal importance. They practice control over their thought patterns.

They can feel like they are finished learning.

They must realize that Christians are to seek deeper understanding of the Bible their entire life.

They study the Bible and can

They might not fully understand how preservation of the Bible affects the Bible they carry.

Learners understand the role of routine Bible Study in the life of a teach the Bible to others. They can explain and show Biblical disciple of Jesus Christ. Learners understand the concepts of inspiration and preservation. evidence for inspiration and Learners Understand the central doctrines of the faith as seen through the entirety of Scripture. Learners understand the necessity of living out their Biblical understanding in full view of the public. Learners Understand the danger sin poses to them as well as those around them and actively seek to avoid people, places, and situations that place them at risk for sin.

3/ Emerging Disciple

Possible Learner Performances of Understanding

Learners have an initial understanding of inspiration as it applies to the Scriptures and the term preservation as it applies to the Bible they carry. Learners understand that what they think about influences their words and actions.

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Preservation They can describe the doctrines of the Bible in multiple biblical contexts and through the pictures and examples given in Scripture

They may not appreciate the need for consistency in every area of their lives

They apply biblical principles in their lives. They give the first fruits of their time, talent, and treasure to the Lord through the local assembly. They extend grace and genuine love for others in all their relationships.

They may look too closely at the lives of others instead of their own lives they must be wary of becoming judgmental

They understand that the Bible is true in every area it addresses from theology to science and nature. They should be regular tithers at this level.

They might not understand the various pictures of Christ in the Old Testament and how the Testaments relate to each other.

-They must understand that the Bible addresses the very issues that we face every day. -They must understand the importance of love for others

a

Level/ Description

Learners have a working knowledge of the Bible from memory. Learners understand that the faith of a believer must be accompanied by works Learners understand the danger of sin and associate people, places, and situations that place them at risk for sin


c

Learners accept the Bible as authoritative. Learners understand the necessity for applying the Bible to their lives.

2/ Initial Disciple

b

They should be adding to their faith and have a place of service and a heart to serve the local assembly and reach out to the community through the local assembly

They might not have a connected view of the Scripture in that they might not trace the doctrine of salvation from Genesis 3: 15 to The New Testament

Possible Learner Performances of Understanding They should have a place of service and should be examples of good behavior and have a reliable testimony of Christian service

Possible Learner Misconceptions Learners at this stage may mistake reading the Bible for studying the Bible.

Learners at this level may not yet They should be giving but associate the inspiration of the may not be tithers yet. They should be developing Bible with the the Spiritual gift they have preservation of the Bible. been given.

Learners accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God

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Necessary Understandings -They must understand that we are stewards of this life and that our bodies, lives, etc. ultimately belong to the Lord and that we will give account for our stewardship -They must understand that the agency of the Holy Spirit leads a person to repentance.

a

Level/ Description

1/ Novice

Learners begin to serve Learners understand they are loved by God and are empowered by God with the gifts and talents they have been God to live a life that pleases Him and to do the work He would given have them do. Learners actively avoid sin Learners understand the danger of sin. in their lives.

Possible Learner Performances of Understanding They practice parts of Biblical obedience as they grow and begin to turn over more of their lives to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. They might begin to look for places to serve in the local assembly.


c

Learners accept the Bible as true

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-Learners may have difficulty understanding biblical doctrine as they may not yet understand the connectedness of the Bible. Learners may not understand that their spiritual gifts will grow as they grow in the Lord.

Possible Learner Misconceptions - Learners at this level might not understand God’s authority through human agencies as well as spiritual agencies.

Necessary Understandings -They must understand the need to share their faith in Christ. They must understand their need to obey what the Bible

b

a

Learners at this level are still grappling with the leadership of the Holy Spirit Learners at this level are empowered by the Lord with Spiritual These begin regular church and may not yet gifts for the glory and honor of the Lord and for the edification of attendance realize that the the Church. things God gives a believer a passion for are likely their spiritual gifts They will study the They may not passage(s) they hear in Learners at this level accept the biblical descriptions of the state of sermons or lessons. They have a thorough will begin to reason man apart from God and the Bible’s promise of redemption understanding of through the Bible and through faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their grace especially attempt to understand sin. as it relates to the what the lives of others. Bible is saying

0/ Naive People at this level may have an academic knowledge of the Bible but the Bible has no personal meaning for them. People at this level do not see a personal need for repentance in their lives.

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They lack spiritual discernment

They may depend on works to bring them to God

says and that their words and actions are seen by the Lord and by others. They must understand that they now represent Christ at all times. Obedience here would start with Scriptural baptism and church membership.

They must understand their need for repentance

Developing a Mindset of Understanding in a Ministry Teaching Faculty There is more information about the Bible today than ever before. The shelves of Christian bookstores are filled with various self-help books and Bible study guides. Paradoxically, it would seem that biblical literacy that is the ability to understand and apply the Bible to life is at an all-time low. In the Spring of 2007 Life Way collected research on worship service attendance among teenagers Research data shows that about 70% of young adults who indicated they attended church regularly for at least one year in high school do, in fact, drop out of church. Between June 4 and September 30, 2014 the Pew Research center surveyed 35,000 American adults. There findings should alarm churches across the nation. “But the major new survey of more than 35,000 Americans by the Pew Research Center finds that the percentage of adults (ages 18 and older) who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years, from 78.4% in an equally massive Pew Research survey in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014. Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – has jumped more than six points, from 16.1% to 22.8%. And the share of Americans who identify with non-Christian faiths also has inched up, rising 1.2 percentage points, from 4.7% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014. Growth has been especially great among Muslims and Hindus, albeit from a very low base.” The results of this study called “America’s Changing Religious Landscape” can be reviewed at http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-

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changing-religious-landscape/. When writing about the article several groups offered commentary and advice to help churches keep their congregations. The most mentioned “help” was disciple making. The Church in America is seriously negligent in its teaching practice and the results are evident in our society and even in our church’s culture. The primary question pastors, Sunday school superintendents, and teachers need to ask is “what does our church understand about the Bible?” The second question is “how do I know what they understand?” Jesus made it clear that His disciples would be known by their fruits. That is to say that our actions and dispositions are key indicators of our understanding of God. Matthew 28: 19 – 20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Amen”. The Greek word translated “teach” in verse 19 is the Greek word μαθητεύω. This word is used in Matthew 13: 52 and is translated “instructed” it is also used in Matthew 27: 57 to describe Joseph of Arimathaea as the “disciple” of Christ. It is apparent that the primary instructions of Jesus for the New Testament church is to make disciples. The Greek word translated “teaching” is διδάσκω. This word is translated some 93 times as “teach.” In Matthew 4: 23 and 5: 2 for example, this word is translated “taught” and is used to describe the teaching of Jesus. Where to Begin with a Teaching Staff One of the most challenging parts of making meaningful changes in any organization is going to be that of the perception of the change naming the workers, in this case the teachers. Education researchers John F. And Shelia A. Eller point this problem out in an article of the Educational Leadership journal of ASCD titled “working with Difficult Staff.” They say “School leaders face many challenges in implementing change. Chief among these challenges is

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preserving a positive climate when one or several teachers are resistant or difficult. For a school to move forward, the leader must attend to day-to-day school climate and school culture.” The pastor and Sunday school superintendent must be in agreement and must be ready to an honest and critical look at the educational leadership of the ministry and of the teaching taking place within the ministry. The worst thing a pastor can do is start the change process then back out due to pressure from the staff. The pastor and Sunday school superintendent then must catch a vision of what teaching needs to be in their ministry and take that vision to their staff. In this project pastor, Jason Wallcott, called several staff meetings and inquired among the ministry leaders about the effectiveness of the current ministry teaching and what changes were needed. Jason then assessed the teaching himself and made recommendations to the Sunday school superintendent and the leadership team to develop a training plan to assist the teachers in teaching the Biblical truth needed to lead spiritually successful lives. A questionnaire was developed to assess the teaching and the perception of the staff about teaching for understanding. Once the results were shared with the pastor he formed a staff leadership team consisting of the pastor, Sunday school superintendent, youth pastor, and missions’ director. Together they set out a plan for making changes to the Sunday school curriculum as well as the AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed) teaching ministry. They also planned the first of several Saturday 1/2 day in-service workshops. The First Workshop The first workshop focused on assessing the degree the teachers understood the difference between knowledge, skill, and understanding. Teachers were asked to define these terms in light of biblical thinking and create a poster to illustrate these meanings.

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The posters revealed that the teachers were thinking deeply about the differences between knowledge, skill, and understanding and that they tended to see understanding as the application of knowledge. While the teachers did not mention “information on tap” as David Perkins (1998) defined knowledge they certainly implied this understanding of knowledge in their responses. Their definition of understanding was a close match to the definition of Perkins. Perkins (1998) defined understanding as the “ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” The teachers are missing the word “thinking” in their explanation of understanding and this might be indicative of a lack of focus on thinking and a focus on behavior. This would match the experience of Perkins and his team as he worked with teachers in developing the TfU framework with classroom teachers. Bringing the focus to Biblical Thinking Developing a mindset of biblical thinking is the end-point for Christian Education. This kind of thinking can benefit greatly from the work of McTighe, Wiggins and Sief of the Understanding by Design research project. These researchers identified 6 facets of understanding that pastors, Sunday school superintendents, and teachers should look for as a result of their teaching. Students who understand can explain what they know and can do, students who understand can interpret the knowledge and skill of others, students who

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understand can apply their knowledge, and skill, students who understand show empathy, students who understand show perspective, and students who understand demonstrate selfknowledge. When these facets are considered in light of the Scriptures, they are indispensable in the aspects of the Christian life. Consider, the Christian’s ability to explain the Gospel, or to explain a difficult passage, or the ability to explain why they believe (1 Peter 3: 15). Similarly, the ability to interpret and apply the Scripture to one’s life is vital to the development of a Christian, furthermore, this demonstrates the level to which the Christian has understood the teachings of the Bible. The final three facets are empathy, perspective, and self-knowledge. These are also vital in the development of biblical understanding. Empathy speaks to the ability to place oneself in the metaphorical shoes of another. Perspective is closely related to empathy but speaks to the ability to consider the bigger picture in a given situation. Finally, self-knowledge is the ability to examine one life in light of the standard of the Bible. The importance of empathy and perspective is seen in the necessity of compassion on the plight of others. The compassion of Jesus is recorded several times such as in Luke 19: 41 – 44 when He wept over Jerusalem or John 8: 1 – 11 when Jesus showed compassion on the woman taken in adultery. The believer is needs to have empathy (the ability to place oneself in the situation of another), perspective (the ability to clearly see the big picture) and self-knowledge (the ability to critically examine one’s own beliefs) to successfully emulate the ministry work of Jesus Christ. Believers must be inducted into this kind of thinking and the teachers of these believers must also have a strong understanding and practice of these three habits of mind. The importance of the Christian habits of mind can be seen in the teaching of Paul in Ephesians 4: 20 – 32. Paul compares the carnal

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mind and how carnal thinking demonstrates a “darkened understanding” in Ephesians 4: 14 – 19. Paul also emphasizes the development and practice of the Christian habits of mind in Colossians 3: 12 – 15, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Paul uses the term “put on” which I’d the Greek word ἐνδύω which is elsewhere translated “clothed in” or “arrayed in” and implies “sinking into a garment” or “investing with clothing.” These exercises of Christianity are to array the life of a believer. The development and practice of Christian habits of mind plays a large role in the discipling of believers. Christian thinking is seen broadly in Philippians 4: 8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The implication of focus on the positive aspects here suggests that the believer is to consciously place their thoughts in that realm, this thinking process can be greatly improved if guided by a more experienced thinker. Teachers need to carefully consider what biblical thinking goals they want and what that biblical thinking would produce in the life of a person. If one considers the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5: 22 – 23 can all be measured in the life of a person then the next verse is key to the development of the Christian Habits of Mind. Galatians 5: 24 – 25, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

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The performance of the Christian Habits of Mind are to be assessed by more than just the recitation of Bible verses they are also to be reflected in the lives of the believers. Baudura’s theory of social education would suggest, much like Christ’s view of education, the necessity of the development of these habits of mind in a social context, that is the learners would need an example and a mentor for these habits that they could pattern their own actions after. This is the same model employed by Jesus and the disciples. The necessity for the social development of the Christian habits of mind can be seen also in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 9, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” The Teachers Grapple with Concept Mapping Salvation The ministry teachers were given the task given information and examples of a concept

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map and asked to create a concept map of salvation and its associated ideas. The researchers were impressed with the complexity of the initial posters and the two groups compared their work and had a discussion about the various aspects of salvation. One thing that was interesting was that neither poster showed the “what happens next,” the lifestyle that is associated with salvation. This lack of lifestyle association represents a rather common ideology in local church-based teaching ministries. The primary focus is the Gospel and the drive to proliferate the gospel, but apart from the works that show salvation in the life of the believer. The focus of any teaching ministry must be the proliferation of the Gospel but with teaching regrading the works that accompany repentance. John the Baptist is recorded in Scripture teaching this when he was baptizing in the Jordan river (Matthew 3: 5 – 10). Paul also taught the necessity of a lifestyle that accompanies repentance as recorded in his testimony before king Agrippa in Acts 26: 19 – 20. Ministry teachers must teach the full gospel message if the Church is to accomplish the great commission given of Jesus Christ recorded in Matthew 28: 19-20. Dealing with the Research In His parable of the unjust steward in Luke chapter 16, Jesus remarks, in verse 8, that the children of this world are in their generations wiser than the children of light. Having this statement in light of the way churches train their ministry teachers, there is little doubt that the application of this verse in many churches today. It is clear from personal experience that looking to secular educators to improve ministry teaching has the potential to powerfully aid and inform pastors and other church leaders. However, it is likely that many pastors will perceive this research as problematic. Part of the problem is that there are church leaders that are either unaware of or do not value the findings of secular education researchers. This is understandable, but it is a misconception that education journals have no value for a pastor or ministry leader.

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While these journals do have some education jargon, this can be overcome with some research on the part of the ministry staff. Another concern is the differences in philosophy and purpose of education. Secular educators and Christian educators often have very different world views. The reluctance of some pastors and ministry teachers with the philosophical underpinnings of some secular researchers is understandable. However, what about the findings of the researchers? If we can separate the philosophy from the research we may find that they offer many very useful insights into learning, understanding and teaching. Pastors need to wisely consider what the most current education research is telling them about teaching and how this compares to what the Bible says about teaching. This research does provide a framework that can be adapted to help support ministryteachers at the church level or a the religious institution level.

Selecting and Incorporating Current Education Research One of the big questions education researchers are working on is that of understanding. So, what does it mean to understand something? Jay McTighe, Grant Wiggins and Elliott Seif are involved in a project called “Understanding by Design” these authors have written extensively in the past decade on the topics of “understanding” and “teaching for understanding.” On such article, “Teaching for Understanding: A Meaningful Education for 21st Century Learners” McTighe and Seif summarize their findings by discussing the 6 facets for understanding uncovered in the work by McTighe and Wiggins. They argue that when someone truly understands any topic that understanding will manifest itself in the following ways: 1. They can explain concepts and principles inherent in the topic. 2. They can interpret by making sense of

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data, text, and experience through images, analogies stories, and models. 3. They can apply what you know by adapting their knowledge in new and complex contexts. 4. They have perspective about Christian-living because they can look at the big picture and recognize different points of view. 5. They display empathy (Mark 6: 34). 6. They have self-knowledge (2 John 1: 9). The six facets address how students can express their understandings, not how they attain those understandings. However, the facets can be used in church-based classrooms to determine what students are learning. Ministry classes that foster the development of deep Biblical understanding will have students express their understanding using these facets. It is noteworthy that McTighe and Seif address the complexity of understanding throughout the article. Then a good question might be: “How does God build understanding?” Readers are given some insight into God’s teaching process in His development of Israel’s understanding. If the book of exodus is considered through a curricular lens: In Exodus chapters 7 - 12, God uses the ten plagues to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites, from a curricular standpoint, God is using the plagues to illustrate to Israel that show that He will keep His Word, that they can depend on Him to meet their needs, that He is all powerful and is in control of the events of the world. In Exodus 13, Israel is sent away by Pharaoh but note in verse 17 “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:” Again, from a curricular perspective God, who knew what His people were prepared for, set the learning expectations to a level the people were prepared to receive. Through all their experiences in the wilderness God is teaching Israel that He will deliver them, that they can trust Him, a lesson Israel struggled to understand. God is clearly making instructional moves in His attempt to help Israel understand who He is.

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Educational research has some excellent advice about the instructional moves one can take to help students develop a deep understanding of Scripture. Educator and researcher David Perkins from Harvard University's Project Zero wrote a book in 1998 called “Teaching for Understanding” in this book, he lays out some principles that aid the teacher in their endeavor to teach for understanding. He begins with the quote “At the heart of teaching for understanding lies a very basic question: What is understanding? Ponder this query for a moment and you will realize that good answers are not obvious. To draw a comparison, we all have a reasonable conception of what knowing is. When a student knows something, the student can bring it forth upon call--tell us the knowledge or demonstrate the skill. But understanding something is a subtler matter. A student might be able to regurgitate reams of facts and demonstrate routine skills with very little understanding. Somehow, understanding goes beyond knowing. But how?” Perkins relates a thought experiment where students have a snowball fight in outer space. This is used as a starting point for a discussion about the Newtonian laws of motion. David Perkins and his associates summarized their findings “In summary, understanding something is a matter of being able to carry out a variety of "performances" concerning the topic-performances like making predictions about the snowball fight in space that show one's understanding and, at the same time, advance it by encompassing new situations. Such performances are called "understanding performances" or "performances of understanding."” So, the question is how are ministry teachers preparing their students to understand the Bible? Maybe a better question is “What does it mean to understand the Bible?” David's (Perkins) group goes on to list the components of teaching for understanding: 1. Make teaching a longterm thinking-centered process. If we want our students to understand the Bible, then how are we giving them opportunity to think about the Bible? 2. Provide for rich on-going assessment.

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While some of the educational jargon like “assessment” can sound intimidating but it is really collecting information about what our students understand, in other words, how does one know what their students know? 3. Support learning with powerful representations. Allow students to talk about their thinking, reason and make sense. A powerful way to do this is to have students create a visual display of their own thinking. 4. Pay heed to developmental factors. This means that I need to know my students, I need to think about where they are in their journey of understanding, what can they handle? 5. Induct students into the discipline. From the beginning of instruction, the teacher needs to set the tone for what it means to think biblically and to apply Biblical understanding. 6. Teach for transfer. If students are to understand the Bible deeply, they must be actively involved in the thinking and learning processes and Biblical thinking must be in the foreground=not of the educational endeavor. Students cannot just sit back and passively listen to sermons and lectures, they must be involved in the conversation. When one looks back to God’s dealing with Israel one can see God actually uses many of these components in His teaching/training of them. So, then how can church-based ministry teachers learn these processes and implement them in their classrooms? Here is how Bible Baptist Church took on this question. Training Session # 2: Introducing teachers to the six facets of understanding At the direction of Pastor Walcott the leadership team evaluated the teaching program along with the AWANA and Sunday School curriculums, as well as the faculty supported needed. To help in this endeavor, a team representative reached out to Judy Dunmire, an instructional specialist at the Guy Fenter Education Service Cooperative. The team collaborated with Judy to develop a workshop style training similar to professional development programs used by the Arkansas Department of Education. The first part of our training program was to

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invite our teachers to a Saturday training. The church provided lunch and snacks and set up a classroom in the church similar to the professional development workshops. The team set up the room with long tables so that would facilitate conversation and copied an education article for them to read and discuss as a group. One of the problems identified at the onset was that of education jargon. Words like “assessment” mean little to those outside the education profession so it was necessary to develop a professional language of education so that the article was more useful. The group also considered a central question “What does it mean to understand something?” The teachers were introduced to a thinking routine called concept mapping from the book “Making Thinking Visible” by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. Together the teachers built a concept map and then the teachers broke up into small groups to create their own concept maps for “salvation” and compare them. The teachers were encouraged to use concept maps in their classes and to create concept maps as they prepare to teach. Future teacher meetings The leadership team has scheduled a summer teacher training on a Saturday in July, 2018 during this meeting the teachers will be introduced to the concepts of teaching for understanding from the work of David Perkins. The last phase of the training will be the work of Ritchhart and his associates called “Thinking that leads to understanding.” This training along with the newly developed safety/lockdown training and classroom management training will comprise the current training program at Bible Baptist Church. It is a work in progress but has been well received thus far.

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References Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding by design: connecting content and kids. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Anderson, L. W. (2003). Classroom assessment: enhancing the quality of teacher decision making. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Wiske, M. S. (1998). Teaching for understanding guide: linking research with practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Clark, R. E., Johnson, L., & Sloat, A. K. (1991). Christian education: foundations for the future. Chicago: Moody Press. Richards, L. (1975). Christian education: seeking to become like Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library. Wiggins, G. (2011). The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units. United States: ASCD. Gallavan, N. P. (2009). Developing performance-based assessments: grades K-5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching 2nd ed. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. W., V. B. (2002). Steppingstones to curriculum: a biblical path. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications. Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures an item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Chappell, P. (2008). First steps for New Christians. Lancaster, CA: Striving Together Publications. Lockyer, H. (1964). All the doctrines of the Bible: a study and analysis of major Bible doctrines. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House. Eavey, C. B. (1968). Principles of Teaching for Christian Teachers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan publishing House. Johnson, L. D. (1969). An Introduction to the Bible. Nashville, TN: Convention Press. McTighe, J., & Seif, E. (2014, March & April). Teaching for Understanding: A Meaningful Education for 21st Century Learners. Teachers Matter, 15-17.

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Ritchhart, R. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Jossey-Bass. Downs, Perry G. (1994). Teaching for Spiritual Growth: An Introduction to Christian Education. Zondervan Publishing House.

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Conclusions There is a sufficient body of empirical evidence to conclude that teaching for understating works in various kinds of classrooms. Considering the imperative of teaching presented by Christ as the cornerstone of the Great Commission it behooves pastors, ministry leaders, and ministry teachers to explore the process of teaching so that their learners have a deep conceptual and practical knowledge and understating of the Scriptures. The process likely needs to include the key pieces of current research such as the six facets of understanding adapted by Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe and Elliot Sief. This process must also include a framework for understanding so that ministry leaders and teacher can plan a curriculum. A curriculum is defined as the set of educational experiences and the resources necessary to develop high levels of understanding in a selected group of learners. There is a necessity to develop ongoing professional development in the areas of teaching and teaching for understanding. One of the questions not covered in this volume is “How will ministry teachers progress when mentored in teaching for understanding?” Teachers at secular institutions flourish if they are supported and allowed time to plan effective instructional units in grade-level groups. One item that may differ is the advent of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) in secular education. This researcher believes that the pastor of the local body of believers should select a leadership team consisting of the pastor, associate pastor,

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Sunday school superintendent, and others who might bring any instructional experience relevant to teacher development. There is no more important job a pastor has than the development of a teaching staff. The framework for understanding presented by David Perkins and his associates at Harvard’s Project Zero could make a valuable beginning point. This framework and associated unit planning protocol should be seriously considered. The church must take a look at the expected outcomes of their teaching ministries and plan backward to the essential knowledges, skills, and understandings necessary to achieve the educational goals. The data collected in this survey does seem to indicate that there is a disconnect among pastors in the area of biblical understanding. Pastors must emphasize in their preaching and teaching that biblical understanding in demonstrated in the way a believer applies the Bible to their lives. This is a measurable phenomenon and all believers should be held to a high standard of application. The congregational survey revealed that in general congregants have a desire to understand the Bible but that they also lack understanding of the necessity of a performance-based criterion in the life of a believer. This criterion is clearly seen in the teaching of John the Baptist, the disciples of Jesus, Paul and James. The teaching staff should spend time with the principles of Understanding developed by David Perkins. These principles are: Learning for understanding then occurs principally through reflective engagement in approachable but challenging understanding performances. New understanding performances are built on previous understandings and new information provided by the instructional setting. Learning a body of knowledge and know-how for understanding typically requires a chain of understanding performances on increasing challenge and variety.

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Learning for understanding often involves conflict with older repertoires of understanding performances and their associated ideas and images. These are the guide to putting teaching for understanding into practice. The biblical assessment showed that people in general do not value the application of biblical truth, this should be of concern for pastors and ministry teachers. The Bible makes it clear that faith without works is dead.

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Appendix A Pastoral Survey Questions

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Appendix B The Congregational Survey

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Appendix C IRB Approval Letter

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Appendix D Pastoral Survey Responses

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Appendix E Congregational Survey Responses

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Appendix F The Assessment of Biblical Understanding

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Appendix G Biblical Assessment Responses

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Appendix H The Worker/Leader Interview Questionnaire

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