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CED 607: Assignment #1
John Elliott Lein — April 2, 2019
Adult Christian Education: ​Purpose and Accomplishment in the Episcopal Church
The purpose of adult Christian education is to form the people of God into the image
of Christ as they work to enact the in-breaking Kingdom in our world. Holistic formation of
mind, body, heart, and spirit is needed for disciples. Rather than Christianity being a series
of intellectual concepts, it has always been meant to be a way of being within the
world—learning to seek and see the sacred in the world, to be attuned with God’s character
and vision, and to go out with transformed imaginations to love and serve creation.
Formation must be rooted in loving community, shaped in liturgy, informed by instruction,
and strengthened by application out in the world.
The Episcopal Church offers both strengths and weaknesses in this effort. Our
liturgies and sacraments are rooted in that sense of using ritual as a way of re-tuning our
minds to see our world anew, yet too often our people and clergy have forgotten that and
see them as self-existing and self-validating exercises. We have a cultural understanding of
ourselves as the “church where you don’t have to leave your mind at the door,” yet instead
of that leading to solid teaching and formation it’s too often an excuse to avoid learning
doctrine and tradition. Coming from a “non-denominational” evangelical tradition, it’s good
that we give people room to question and think, but we have not encouraged deep study
and regular formation toward that end. There is a cultural expectation that Sunday School
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is for children, and adults only attend services, which needs to change if we’re going to
form disciples.
Finally, I believe that in our increasingly secular, multicultural, and pluralistic world
we need entirely new ways to form disciples deeply into their unique tradition while at the
same time respecting and learning from those in other traditions. We Christians need to
learn Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and secular philosophies and psychologies so that we
know better our unique contribution to the world while at the same time getting the help of
“the other” in refining and purifying our journey with God. We Christ-followers must know
how our calling is a special part of the body of the world that must be fulfilled to its highest
potential in partnership with other callings and unique approaches.
We are rooted in baptism—the sign of death to evil and resurrection into Christ.
This is a continuing experience that only begins with the sacrament of water and must
continue working its way through our lives deeper and deeper. Our faith is
incarnational—it celebrates the divine in human form meeting human needs and being fed
with human experiences.