The Seat of Faith

Consider this quote from Carl Jung, which highlights the distinction between faith and religion:

“The seat of faith, however, is not consciousness but spontaneous religious experience, which brings the individual’s faith into immediate relation with God. Here we must ask: Have I any religious experience and immediate relation to God, and hence that certainty which will keep me, as an individual, from dissolving in the crowd?”- Carl Jung

We can consider our Christian Education experiences as opportunities for our folks to have a "spontaneous religious experience, that brings the individual's faith into immediate relation with God." Taking into account your own faith experiences and what you have learned from this class, write a short mission statement which highlights how you will strive to create this type of educational environment.

The Faith Stage of Pi

See this quote from an article on the movie "Life of Pi" (see http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-tao-innovation/201211/meaning-faith-and-the-life-pi for the entire article):

"To understand the jewel of wisdom buried deep within the story – which is pronounced to be “a story that will make you believe in God” – we need to understand that the story is actually about wrestling not with a physical tiger, but metaphoric one... with questions of meaning and faith. This story is a gedanken experiment for the worst case scenario, a modern day story of Job, all about how you can find spirituality and the meaning of life in the throes of all that is horrible and terrible in the world today. It is by surviving and making sense of all that goes wrong in the world, that uncovers the meaning of man."

Think about Pi's progression through the movie in the context of developmental stage and the unfolding of his faith. What lessons can you pull from the story about your own faith journey? What lessons can you use to help reach others as a part of your ministry?

Mid-Life Church Crisis

Post due by 11/1 class:

Consider this excerpt from an article on Christianity Today (see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/september/midlife-church-crisis.html for full article):

"A while ago, my husband and I went to a newcomers’ luncheon at a church we were considering attending. We watched as church staff, almost all in their early- to mid-30s, schmoozed with the young families. While I recognize the demands at these types of events, only one staff member connected with the newcomers who were obviously the oldest people in the room. We left the gathering feeling like we’d become an anachronistic punch line.

I’ve had one too many conversations with empty-nester peers about what it’s like to go to church once our kids are grown and gone. Our midlife crisis of faith came from questioning not our beliefs, but our role in the body of Christ."

Consider our discussion of Fowler's predicted faith stage for midlife adults, and your understanding of their developmental concerns according to Fowler. How does this complaint fit with what we know about this life stage? How might the church intervene?

Mental Illness and the Church

Post due by 10/25 Class:

Rob Lee, in his call to action for the church, states that the church must speak a Gospel of Resurrection for people suffering with mental illness. He goes on to say: For the church to proclaim this sort of resurrection it will require a sort of “coming out.” Clergy will have to proclaim from the pulpit their own struggles with mental illness; church members will have to have honest conversations with each other surrounding their own experiences. For this is part of resurrection — a realization that the worst is behind us, and that no matter what the future holds we can face it with a peace and a hope that may have eluded us for so long.

(See http://www.abpnews.com/opinion/commentaries/item/29069-time-for-the-church-to-respond-to-the-mental-health-crisis for whole article.)

Consider our discussion of human and faith development thus far. How might people's decisions to share about their experiences with mental illness (whether personal or familial) be impacted by developmental needs and/or faith stage?

Children's Definition's of Faith

Post due by 10/18

Take a look at this video: Children's Definitions of Faith. Reflecting on Fowler's stages of development, which stages do you think these children exemplify? You can pick a particular child, or talk about them as a whole.

Engaging Different Learning Styles

Post due by 10/11 Class

Let's say that you have these two learners, and  you are trying to teach about the process of salvation:

First, Identify the learning styles that each of the two learners is exhibiting. Second, how might you design a short lesson that would help both of these learners to grasp the concept?

Children's Morality

Post due by 10/4 Class

Take a look at this clip on "morality" in babies. How can we make sense of this considering what [think] we know about social learning (Vygotsky) and about the development of morality (Kohlberg)? Do these babies really have a sense of justice or sense of right and wrong? In the second portion, older kids seem to change in their understanding of right and wrong. How do we make sense of this based on Kohlberg's assertions?

Youth and Sticky Faith

Post Due by 9/27 class:
See the following excerpt from an article by Jen Bradbury published in May 2013 (See this link for the whole article: http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-05/sticky-faith). Bradbury makes an argument for ways youth ministries need to work to help teens build faith that is sustainable over time, rather than focusing on short-term excitement. She says that the key is to keep the focus on Jesus:

"For youth ministries to become truly Christ-centered, though, conversations about the Jesus of scripture cannot be limited to mission trips. Instead, cracking open a Bible and wrestling with its content must become part of a youth ministry’s DNA.

I saw the impact of this when I was teaching the story of the widow’s mite during one of my ministry’s weekly gatherings. Students reacted with shock at the thought of Jesus watching people putting money into the temple treasury. His scrutiny of people’s behavior seemed judgmental to these teens—it directly conflicted with their image of Jesus as a nice man. But after being surprised by Jesus in this story, these teens could no longer ignore him as easily. They were driven deeper into scripture to wrestle with a person who had suddenly become real to them.

In scripture, teens discover that Jesus’ message is neither fire and brimstone nor the string of never-ending niceties that they expect. By examining Jesus’ relationship with his disciples, they realize he wants more than their happiness and demands more than their half-hearted allegiance. He wants their very lives, something that appeals greatly to a generation looking for a leader worth following and a cause worth committing their lives to."

Think about our discussion of where teens might be developmentally, both in the cognitive and social realms. How does Bradbury's assertion relate to the primary developmental tasks of adolescence?