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Episode 53: A Gospel Framework for Teaching History
As with every academic discipline, teachers need a framework for teaching history that requires more than merely finding a verse or biblical analogy. Rather, teaching History from a Christian perspective requires an understanding of the key categories of a biblical worldview and applying them to the discipline. Host Noah Brink reintroduces the categories and questions of the RenewEd Worldview Grid to provide both a perspective toward teaching History Christianly and to nurture the sort of posture and longings we want to see in our students - because of their History studies.
Episode 52: (RenewRec) Two “AHa!” Books
The Two books that most grabbed my attention and shaped my approach to Christian education have very different arguments, but were equally formative for me as I began to grow greater understanding of the life of faith in relation to the task of Christian Schooling. Mark Noll's book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994) was formative for me in the area of deep thought, intellectual pursuits, and the life of the mind. James K.A. Smith's book Desiring the Kingdom was equally formative, but in the area of desires, affections, and how our habits shape our loves.
Episode 51: Teaching Christianly in a Secular Context
While Christian education and secular education are quite different (and should be even more different than many of the models we have), a Christian who teachers in a secular context can still teach "Christianly" within that context ... because teaching Christianly is far more than merely adding a verse or Christian lingo to an otherwise secular content. Host Noah Brink unpacks the ways that RenewEd's Worldview Grid can provide a framework for what it would look like to teach Christianly in a not Christian context. But, not only is this conversation intended for secular school teachers, it should also be helpful to any Christian teacher - to understand and apply the big categories that are critical to a truly Christian education.
Episode 50: (RenewRec) Two from G.K. Chesterton
Maybe one of the most important skills teachers need to have in their tool belt is the ability to help students understand the "bigness" of God and the beauty and wonder that result from living in a world He has created. And, there may be no author to help develop that skill than G.K. Chesterton. His writing continues to shape so much of what we believe it means to live faithfully, sensibly, and joyfully in God's world. Though he's written extensively on all sorts of topics, the two books we recommend first are Orthodoxy and The Ballad of the White Horse
Episode 49: Why we Need the Fine Arts
It shouldn't even be a question in Christian schools, but we live in a world where the Fine Arts are the first to fall victim to budget cuts and the last to receive the funding and institutional support they need to flourish. This reveals a common flaw in the way we think about school in general. Host Noah Brink uses the oft-overlooked and underfunded Fine Arts programs in our schools to both reemphasize the ultimate purpose for Christian education and revise a theological foundation for what it means to be human.
Episode 48: (RenewRec) Our Favorite “Creation, Fall, and Redemption” Books
It's nearly impossible to talk about the Christian worldview without a healthy dose of the biblical framework of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. Not only do these categories help us to the story of Scripture more fully, but they also give us a stronger foundation for knowing how to understand our own stories, our place in the world, and to see God's work in it.
Host Noah Brink introduces two book: "Creation Regained" by Albert Wolters and "Engaging God's World" ... our favorite Creation, Fall, and Redemption books. In unique ways, they both prove to be invaluable resources for anyone who's trying to think more intentionality of the foundation for a biblical worldview, but also how we should live it out.
Episode 47: “Jesus Dust”
Christian education must be far more than providing essentially secular models and practices of schooling with Christian components (Jesus Dust) sprinkled on top. Far too often, this ends up looking like finding a verse or Christian lingo to attach to a lesson, or praying at the start of it. But, not only is this bad both theologically and pedagogically, it trains students to think that Christianity is also a fragmented way of looking at life ... essentially a secular life with just some Christian components added in for good measure. Host Noah Brink offers helpful reminders about what Christian education must be and encourages the use of frameworks like the RenewEd worldview grid to enable us to have a freer and theologically sounder approach to our practice.
Episode 46: (RenewRec) *The Pattern of God’s Truth* and *Teaching Redemptively*
Frank Gaebelein's The Pattern of God's Truth and Donovan Graham's *Teaching Redemptively" are the two books at the top of our recommendation list for Christian educators. They both provide profound introductions to and foundations for Christian schooling.
Episode 45: Culture of Grace
Host Noah Brink provides a theological foundation for the necessity of grace - grace in our schools and in the life of the Christian. We'll also provide definitions, implications, and press us to understand the distinctives of the school that's more interested in grace than rules and rigidity.
Episode 44: Prioritizing Rest and Student Flourishing
An unhurried education. Is such a thing possible? How do we bring about more rest in our schools? How do we allow students to have greater ability to pause and grow within the community of the school, rather than hurrying through the day? Is it possible to reduce stress and anxiety?
Host Noah Brink discusses the theology of rest (and of Sabbath) and the cultural and pedagogical necessities of finding ways to slow down, to prioritize human flourishing above volume of content. We'll also introduce some practical ideas for creating the necessary space to nurture spiritual formation and student flourishing.
Episode 43: The Olympics, Sports, and the Christian School
The Olympics can teach us a great deal about ways to further engage our students into the lives of our schools. Students need to feel a sense of belonging, and sports natures this longing and connection in a unique way. The Olympics also has a profound ability to model what it looks like to bring people together. How can we use similar things in the lives of our schools?
Host Noah Brink discusses the great opportunity that the Olympics provides to nurture a sense of wonder, communal pride, and respect for individual gifting.
Episode 42: A Christian Worldview Reflection on the Attempt on Donald Trump's Life.
Christian School teachers have to be prepared to know how to respond to the most talked-about issues of the day. Events like that of July 13 are the sort that prompt students to come to class with countless opinions, looking for both validation and answers. While there's no way to properly prepare for shocking events like these, it's critical that we have the biblical frameworks in place to provide a foundation for our response.
Host Noah Brink discusses the ways we should talk about events like the shock of an attempt on a former president's life. This episode seeks to provide an example of what it should look like to provide answers, to cling to what we know to be true, and to model for our students that we are willing to allow them to enter into hard spaces with their questions.
Episode 41: Thriving on Mondays
When we put prioritize honoring God and recognizing our students' dignity as image bearers of God, we have to rethink our approach to what we require or expect of our students on Mondays.
Episode 40: Faculty Pay Structure
Every aspect of the Christian school ought be held under the lens of a biblical worldview, including the structures we put in place for compensating faculty. Of course, we need to figure out ways to provide even higher compensation, but the model we use to calculate that rate of pay is of the utmost importance. And, it should align with our philosophy and beliefs.
Host Noah Brink describes some key components and examples of the ways schools can determine the best way to pay their faculty with the objectives of properly honoring them as image bearers, building community, and nurturing a culture of growth.
Episode 39: Faculty Worldview Development Program
Taking a Gap Year between High School and College ought not be Plan B. In fact, it might be one of the greatest ways for a student to accelerate the process of maturity into adulthood. Host Noah Brink discusses the many reasons why students should take a hard look at the benefits of gap year programs, think deeply about using the unique gifts God has given them, and evaluating the best ways to further Christ's Kingdom in the process.
Episode 38: A Gospel Approach to Behavior
The fourth category of the RenewEd Worldview Grid asks, "Are we cultivating a culture of Grace-prompted obedience?" This question guides us toward having an approach to behavior that's consistent with a gospel-centered worldview. Host Noah Brink unpacks the question and provides reasons why the Christian approach to behavior is so radically different than what's seen elsewhere in culture.
Episode 37: The Wisdom of Gap Years
Taking a Gap Year between High School and College ought not be Plan B. In fact, it might be one of the greatest ways for a student to accelerate the process of maturity into adulthood. Host Noah Brink discusses the many reasons why students should take a hard look at the benefits of gap year programs, think deeply about using the unique gifts God has given them, and evaluating the best ways to further Christ's Kingdom in the process.
Episode 36: A Redemptive View of Eduction
The seventh category of RenewEd's Worldview Grid asks "Are we seeking and celebrating a restoration of all things according to Jesus's Plan?" and then applies this question to our approach and practice in Christian Schooling. Host Noah Brink unpacks the many ways Christian educators should think about the redemptive aspects of our task as we use the worldview framework ( RenewEd Worldview Grid ) to help make sense of the world in light of the Gospel of Jesus.
Episode 35: Teaching “The Grapes of Wrath” Through the Worldview Grid
While much of RenewEd's work to help teachers be better equipped to teach from an unapologetically gospel-centered, Christian perspective, we know that it's important to provide examples of what it looks like to apply parts of RenewEd's worldview framework to specific lessons.
Host Noah Brink describes how a Christian teacher could use the categories of the RenewEd worldview Grid in a literature lesson that's handling a work that isn't Christian, but still helps us see the realities of the gospel in unique ways.
Episode 34: Navigating Anxiety and Nurturing Resilience through a Biblical Anthropology
Not only does a well-developed theology of personhood enable us to respect the dignity of all people and provide a solid foundation for a key aspect of a biblical worldview, but Host Noah Brink helps us understand how it gives us the tools to combat childhood anxiety - both as Christian educators and Christian parents.