Creating Kingdom Focused
Bible Curriculum
That Impacts Culture
FACCS 2010
© Kevin M. Adams, M.Div
The Problem: Statistics
• Barna’s 2009 survey indicates that
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34% of adults believe moral truth is absolute
46% of born-again adults concurred
27% of adults believe Satan is a real force
40% of born-again adults concurred
28% of adults believe it is impossible to earn your
way to heaven
– 47% of born-again adults concurred
The Problem: Statistics
– 40% of adults believe Jesus lived a sinless life while
on earth
– 62% of born-again adults concurred
– 9% of adults have a biblical worldview
– 19% of born-again adults have a biblical worldview
– Based on an earlier survey Barna reported that only
9% of born-again teens have a biblical worldview
The Problem:
Compartmentalization
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Dualism
Gnosticism
Secular/Sacred
Facts/Values
Science/Religion
Church/Home
Work/Home
Fact/Value Dualism
• “I operated on the assumption that what I
learned in school and science was really true,
while church was a kind of support group that
provides a nice story to help you cope with
reality.”
• “…when ‘serious issues are at stake’ people want
solutions based on ‘real knowledge.’”
– Pearcey, Nancy. Saving Leonardo: a Call to Resist the
Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning. Nashville,
TN: B&H, 2010. 29. Print.
Fact/Value Dualism
• “I stand in my synagogue and pray to God and
have an intense relationship with God, and yet I
don’t believe in God”
• “Religion is like reading a novel – you can get
pleasure and meaning from the experience even
though you know it is not literally true.”
– Peter Lipton as quoted in Pearcey 27.
The Problem
“The cartoonist’s message is clear: religion is a social construction to meet peoples
emotional needs and wishes”
–Pearcey 28.
Fact/Value Dualism
• After carefully defining the terms objective and
subjective church youth answered that
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Red is the coolest color  subjective
2+2=4  objective
God exists  subjective (75%)
Premarital sex is wrong  subjective (all but 1)
• As quoted in Pearcey, 30.
– Pro-life Christian teens favorite politician is prochoice because it’s just “their preference”
Current Print Resources
Presupposition 1
God Exists
• In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth. (Gen 1:1 KJV)
• For the invisible things of him from the creation
of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without
excuse: (Rom 1:20 KJV)
Presupposition 2
The Bible is the Word of God
• All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness: That
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works. (2Ti 3:16-17
KJV)
2 Tim. 3:16-17
Beliefs
(Thoughts &
Motives)
Doctrine/Teaching –
Standard (+)
Behavior
(Responses)
Correction – Change (-)
Reproof/Rebuke –
Comparison (-)
Training – Remedy (+)
Presupposition 3
The Word of God is Alive
• For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb
4:12 KJV)
Heb. 4:12-13
Motives
Thoughts
Judges
Analyzes
Dissects
Fact/Value Dualism
• Agnostics rule America … because their
metaphysics (i.e., scientific naturalism) rules the
universities, and the universities control the
social definition of knowledge.”
– Johnson as quoted in Pearcey 39.
Worldview: How you view the world
• Glasses
• Filter
• Puzzle
Discovering Our Worldview
Actions
Values
Beliefs
Worldviews in Action
• Worldviews are formed from the bottom up
– Beliefs  Values  Actions
• Worldviews influence from the top down
– The Universities shape the world view of the next
generation of leaders who shape policy and culture
– The Most Influential Cities shape the World
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DC
NY
LA
Hollywood
Biblical Worldview Process
• 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall
be in thine heart: 7 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. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a
sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon
the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deu 6:4-9
KJV)
Biblical WV Process Explained
• Love God with all your heart
– Inner core of personality
– The home of emotions, reason, planning, scheming,
discernment
– In short the heart is the mind
• To love God with all your heart means to open
to God all the processes of thinking, feeling,
deciding, to be shaped and honed as instruments
aligned to God’s purposes
Biblical WV Process Explained
• Love God with all your soul
– Does NOT refer to an immaterial part of man
– Animals are (not have) souls as is man
– Man IS a living being (soul) WITH a Spirit IN a
body
• As used in Scripture it often denotes appetite
– Desires, feelings, emotions
• To love God with all your soul means to place
your feelings & desires at God’s service and
conform them to God’s will
Biblical WV Process Explained
• Love God with all your might
– Literally “muchness” or greatness/intensity
– The point is – single-minded
• To love God with all your might is to have a
single-minded, love-inspired zeal and
determination to realize the whole will of God
• The New Testament
– Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Biblical WV Process Explained
• Teach ‘These Words’ diligently
– Literally ‘sharpened’ meaning to teach fresh for each
generation
• Sitting, Walking, Lying, Rising
– Daily activity from morning to evening
• ‘These Words’ of God are to guide every
movement of the hand and eye, every domestic
and community activity
Biblical WV Process Summarized
• ALL aspects of life are to be governed by God’s
desires
– Your Mind
– Your Desires
– Your Focus
• All aspects of our schools are to be governed by
God’s desires
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
– His Mind
– His Desires
– His Focus
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
Biblical Worldview Integration
• BWI is only necessary because we have adopted an
unbiblical view of reality and life. Claerbaut notes three
causes of the secular/sacred dualism;
– Disconnection of education from the church
• Thus the importance of our mission statement
– Absence of any binding theological standard to regulate
education
• Thus the importance of developing keen biblical minds
– Abandonment of commitment to an evangelical mandate
• Thus the importance of continuous evaluation & educating
The Problem:
Compartmentalization
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Dualism
Gnosticism
Secular/Sacred
Facts/Values
Science/Religion
Church/Home
Work/Home
Biblical Worldview Integration
• BWI is thus a corrective response to get back to
a proper view of life and reality
– BWI is a corrective to the secular/sacred;
natural/supernatural dichotomy that has created the
dogma of Scientism (reality is only that which is
verifiable – can’t see it, must not exist), which has
become the leading American Worldview
• BWI is a component of a truly Kingdom
Education (KE) School because in a KE School
it is God’s Kingdom and He is King, thus
everything is related to Him, the King
Kingdom Education
• Kingdom education is God’s plan to educate
future generations to develop a God-centered
worldview and, therefore, to think and act
according to God’s ways.
– Schultz, Glen. Kingdom Education: God's Plan for
Educating Future Generations. Nashville, TN: LifeWay,
1998. 49. Print.
Kingdom Education
• A Christian School operates under the umbrella
of a Christian Church or at least under the
umbrella of the mandate given to the Christian
Church; to make disciples of all nations.
• A Kingdom Education School aligns Church,
Home and School (the 3 legged stool) to
produce world changers for God.
Kingdom Education Goal:
Disciple Making
• 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(Mat 28:18-20 KJV)
Ancient Building Blocks of
Discipleship
• Community
– Relational community living life together
• Synagogue
– Study and memorize the Torah until age 12/13
• School
– Study and memorize the TaNaK until age 15
• Calling
– Live with Rabbi 24/7 until sent to make own
disciples
Modern Building Blocks of
Discipleship
• Community
– Modern Church Community & Life Groups
• Synagogue
– Modern K-8 Christian School Bible Class
– Modern Sunday School
• School
– Modern Christian High School Bible Class
• Calling
– Modern Obedient Follower of the Jesus Way of Life
Characteristics of a Disciple
• A disciple in the first century was known for two
primary things
– Knowledge
• Trace this word in the Bible, along with other words in its
semantic domain (mind, know, etc.) and you will quickly
see how important this word is in Scripture
– Passion
• A zeal to do something with their knowledge, to change
lives, to make an impact
• Jesus would include love and obedience here
Kingdom Education in the NT
• 16 For by him [Jesus] were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is
before all things, and by him all things consist.
(Col 1:16-17 KJV)
• Thus all aspects of curriculum must be related
to God, specifically Jesus
The Problem Clarified
• “I realize that I hold certain views because I’m
politically conservative, not because I see how
they’re rooted in the Bible.”
• Historian Martin Marty notes that every religion
serves two function; personal salvation & a lens
for interpreting the world.
– Evangelicals have not been good at the second;
typically “leaving men to their own devices to
interpret the world around them.”
Discovering our Worldview
• Why does God reveal himself to mankind?
– As a neutral, amoral fact – Just because
– With the expectation that mankind acts on the
revelation
• Why did God create?
– Neutrally
• Lacks purpose, meaning, value, etc. (Scientism)
• Additionally, Scientism implies that if something is not
measurable it does not exist
– Purposefully
• Gives meaning to all He created (which is everything)
• Infuses everything with a reflective quality
What’s the Difference?
• Learning is no longer a passive digestion of
amoral facts, it is rather a dynamic pro-active
exercise in coming to know the Creator for who
He is through His Creation
– This includes knowing people (part of Creation) and
their responses to the Creator’s revelation in His
Creation
• Notice the term Creation over Nature, Mother Earth,
Physical Universe, etc. Words convey meaning and our
goal is to convey God’s intended meaning in a manner
that exalts Him. There is no static, left-to-its-own nature
but there is a Creator who continuously interacts with His
Creation.
BWI and the Visual Valet
Visual Valet Explained
• “Biblical integration is not about finding the
"right verse" or "the only" Christian way to deal
with every class and every subject. It is about
fitting everything we know and teach into the
very BIG picture of what God is doing. It is
about expressing God-given uniqueness and
creativity while being the teachers He has called
each one of us to be (Matthew 28:19-20).”
Visual Valet Explained
• Because everything was created to bring glory to God,
the study of anything in creation should provide
glimpses of God. Wherever they look, believers should
expect to find reflections of Him.
• However, because of the fall, both the creation they
study and their own understanding of it have been
distorted by sin.
• The Bible also reveals how believers can avoid a selfcentered and unbalanced misuse of creation as the
Holy Spirit guides and teaches them (John 16:13-15,
John 14:26).
BWI and the Visual Valet
Creation
Restoration
Fall
Redemption
Visual Valet in Action
On Purpose
• All of life is connected to its purpose in God
• T.S. Eliot noted in 1950
– “the moment we ask about the purpose of anything,
we may be involving ourselves in asking about the
purpose of everything.”
Systemic & Specific Examples
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School Focus
Administration
Faculty
Enrollment
Other Factors
Systemic Examples
• Student Leadership Institute (SLi)
– Thinking
• Biblically
• Critically
• Creatively
– Serving
• Locally & Globally
• Church & Community
– Engaging Culture
• Making Disciples
• Solving Problesm
Systemic Examples
• Mini-Mester
– Week long missions opportunity for all students
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East Asia
Costa Rica
Keys
New York City
Local Missions
Internships
Systemic Examples
• Student Led/Involved Chapels
– Student Led Worship
– Student Preaching
– Student Creative Arts
• Service Opportunities
– Service Day
• Widows, Single Parents
• Food Banks, Soup Kitchens, Homeless Shelters, Homeless
Hangouts, Campus Beautification
Systemic Examples
• Service Opportunities
– New Tribes Mission Shoe Box Drive to Haiti
http://www.ntm.org
– Loose Change to Loosen Change
• http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/youth
– Sponsored Children
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Compassion International http://www.compassion.com/
World Vision http://www.worldvision.org/
World Help http://www.worldhelp.net/
Hope For Romania
Watoto
Specifics: Bible Scope & Sequence
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OT Survey I (Genesis - Kings)
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OT Survey II (Wisdom Lit. & Prophets)
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NT Survey (Matthew – Revelation)
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OT Survey (Genesis – Malachi)
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NT Survey (Intertestament – Revelation)
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Interpreting/Counseling the Word;
Ethics/Stewardship
Worldviews & World Religions
Apologetics & Cults
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Specifics: Bible Scope & Sequence
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OT Survey I (Genesis - Kings)
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OT Survey II (Wisdom Lit. & Prophets)
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NT Survey (Matthew – Revelation)
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OT: Histories (Genesis - Chronicles)
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OT: Wisdom Literature & Prophets
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NT: Intertestament & Gospels
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NT: Acts, Epistles & Revelation
Specifics: Bible Curriculum
• A comprehensive Bible-based curriculum that
helps students:
– treat the Bible as God’s revealed revelation to a
desperate people describing His unfolding plan;
not simply a book of character studies and
topical applications
– see God for who He really is – HUGE and able to
handle anything in their lives – He IS in control of
everything
Specifics: Bible Curriculum
• A comprehensive Bible-based curriculum that
helps students:
– Discern how the Bible fits together as one big story,
not a smorgasbord of “books”
– Discern the big picture of God’s plan
– Discern how they fit into God’s plan
– Be able to interpret & understand the Bible for
themselves
Specifics: Bible Curriculum
• A comprehensive Bible-based curriculum that
helps students:
– Understand & Respond to God’s call on their life
– Understand and get to know Jesus, the God-Man
Specifics: Bible Curriculum
• A comprehensive Bible-based curriculum that
helps students:
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“Own” their faith (know what and why they believe
Understand who God is and His character
Understand the evidences that support God’s Word
Understand how to “contend for the faith” and
“reason” with others
Specifics: Bible Curriculum
• To move beyond spoon feeding and
regurgitation a Bible Department must
– Have sufficient supply of research resources or,
– Have sufficient access to computers or,
– Teacher must supply copies of already researched
information
– Otherwise students will not learn how to find
answers for themselves
Specific Examples
• Critical Thinking (#1 Request in College/Jobs)
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SPSU & the Big Picture
Shared Pool of Knowledge
Cultural Background
Context (literary, historical, biblical, theological)
Scripture Analysis Form
Word Studies
Interpretation & Application
Specific Examples
– Simulations
• Using Bible Simulations by Miller, Snyder, Neff
– Synoptic Gospel Comparison Paper
• Compare & Contrast a story in 2+ Synoptics for SPSU
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Greek & Roman Comparison Paper
Worldview Comparison Paper
Cults Comparison Paper
Senior Paper
• Systematic Theology
• Practical Theology
Specific Examples
– Projects
• Choices of Models, Research Papers, Creative Writing,
Dramas, Videos, etc.
– Cross Curricular Projects
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Origins of S. Americans w/Noah’s descendants
Compare & Contrast Crusades with Joshua’s Conquest
Compare & Contrast Civil War with Joshua’s Conquest
Compare & Contrast Expansion of US with Joshua’s
Conquest
Specific Examples
• Engaging Culture
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Youtube response to false belief system
Adopt A School for Christmas
Ministering to Homeless
World Christian Awareness
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Prayer Maps & World Prayer Needs
Voice of the Martyrs www.persecution.com
Open Doors www.opendoorsusa.org
International Christian Concern www.persecution.org
Specific Examples
• Get out of the classroom
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Friday evenings
Sports events
Mission Trips
Weekend Trips
Family Dinners
Students to Lunch
• Don’t forget Love & Prayer!
Lastly
• Evaluate & Re-assess regularly
• Never stop learning  read, read, read
• Resources
– Freedom In Truth Ministries
• www.fitministries.com
Resources: Big Picture
• The Drama of Scripture by Bartholomew &
Gohen
• Unity of the Bible by Daniel Fuller
• God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts
• Preaching Christ from Genesis by Sidney
Greidnaus
Resources: Culture & Background
• General
– Manners & Customs in the Bible by Victor
Matthews
– Manners & Customs by Ralph Gower
• Geography
Resources: Combo’s
• Zondervan Handbook to the Bible
• Essential Bible Library includes student editions
of
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New Unger’s Bible Handbook
New Unger’s Bible Dictionary
Moody Atlas of Bible Lands
New Manners & Customs by Gower
Resources: Culture & Background
• OT
– IVP Bible Background Commentary: OT
– IVP Bible Background Commentary: Gen.-Deut.
– Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds
Commentary Set: OT
– Ancient Near Eastern Thought & the OT by Walton
Resources: Culture & Background
• NT
– The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary:
Matt-Luke; John, Hebrews-Rev; Acts-Philemon
– The Victor Bible Background Commentary: NT
– IVP Bible Background Commentary: NT
– Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds
Commentary Set: NT
Resources: Bible General
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Zondervan Handbook to the Bible
The Complete Guide to the Bible by Stephen Miller
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts
Holman Quicksource Guide to Understanding the
Bible
• A Visual Guide to Bible Events by Martin et. al.
• The Bible Reader’s Companion by Larry Richards
• Essential Bible Companion by Straus, Cooper, Walton
Resources: OT
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OT Today by Walton & Hill
A House For My Name by Peter Leithart
OT Turning Points by Victor Matthews
Exploring the OT by Schultz & Smith
Narrative as Pentateuch by John Salhaimer
(SPSU)
• Torah Story by Gary Schnittjer (SPSU)
Resources: OT
• Preaching Christ from Genesis by Sidney
Greidnaus (SPSU)
• Chronological & Background Charts of OT by
John Walton
• Biblical Creationism by Henry Morris
Resources: NT
• Getting the Gospels by Steven L. Bridge (SPSU)
• Four Gospels, One Jesus? by Richard Burridge
(SPSU)
• The Jesus of the Bible by Stephen Miller
• Chronological & Background Charts of NT by
Paul House
Resources: Curriculum
• Christian Schools International
– The Story of God & His People
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The House of Israel
The Day of the Lord
A Light to the Gentiles
God’s Unfolding Plan
Hope of the World
• Bible as Literature
• Bible Story Telling by John Walsh
Resources: Media
• That the World May Know Faith Lessons by Ray
Vander Laan. Published by Focus on the Family.
DVDs and Study Guides
• Grizzly Adams Entertainment Biblical DVDs
• TNT Bible Movies (see www.visionvideo.com)
Resources: Software
• The Word
– www.theword.net
• Logos/Libronix
– www.logos.com
• Bibleworks
– www.bibleworks.com