Worldview as Worship: The Dynamics of a Transformative Christian Education

by Eddie Karl Baumann

The goal of many evangelical educators is to facilitate biblical thinking and the worldview transformation of their students. Yet, aside from upholding a set of moral behaviors or maintaining positions on issues perceived to be ""Christian,"" the goals and aspirations of most evangelical young people differ little from their unbelieving peers. As George Barna has noted, ""We have a generation coming up that . . . isn't looking at Christianity to answer spiritual concerns . . . We either change or we lose them."" Worldview as Worship contends that the approach taken by most evangelical educators to the issue of worldview transformation has neglected to address two fundamental components of worldviews. First, that our initial worldviews are not philosophical systems but rather faith dispositions and that worldview transformation cannot simply present the biblical worldview as a more rational or logical system, but must address issues of the heart as well as the mind. Second, unlike philosophies that are individual, worldviews are communal and are learned and transformed within the context of community practice. Appealing to Paul's teaching in Romans 12:1-2, Worldview as Worship approaches the ""renewing of your mind"" as the result of the believer's presentation of themselves as a ""holy sacrifice . . . which is your spiritual service of worship."" The book advocates an approach to worldview transformation that focuses on believers as apprentices rather than simply as students--an approach that holds true to the biblical model of discipleship. As a result, worldview transformation works best when the application of faith to the issues of learning and life are modeled by the faith community and where students are given the opportunity to put faith into practice. ""If you are a Christian educator passionate about seeing your students' lives transformed, this book is a 'must read.' Baumann suggests that true worldview transformation is the result of living in community and cooperation, supported by an apprenticeship model of teaching and learning. This book is as relevant for Christian educators in P-12 as for faculty in colleges and universities."" -Rhoda C. Sommers Dean, School of Education and Human Development Malone University ""For more than twenty years Baumann's creative and inspirational teaching has helped teenagers, university students, and young adults 'develop a more consistent and all-encompassing biblical worldview in their own lives.' Now his simple but powerful biblical insights are available in this thoughtful and clearly written format that can help Christian educators better achieve the worldview transformation that we long for in our students and our selves."" -Phil Bassett Director of Teacher Training International Schools of China ""An educator's beliefs create altars in the classroom. Teachers are instructional priests, their beliefs impacting generations. If Christian higher education expects to be distinctive, professors will be helped by Worldview as Worship. Dr. Baumann enables a biblically transcendent orientation to education, maintaining that Christian community is essential for transformed Christian thinking. Everyone worships, everyone believes, and classroom beliefs will create worldviews which students worship."" -Mark Eckel Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Old Testament Crossroads Bible College ""Eddie Baumann has issued a much needed clarion call for Christian educators to understand anew that transformative Christian schooling must aim at the heart of each student. Discipleship, education, and worship are properly centered in the biblical concepts of justice, compassion, and shalom."" -James L. Drexler Dean, Social Sciences and Education Covenant College Eddie K. Baumann serves as Professor of Education at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.

352 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2011

Reviews

[Scott Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." That's what Dr. Ed Baumann says to American evangelicals.

He peels back layers of assumptions about the way Christian schools and churches usually attempt biblical integration and worldview transformation. We tend to make it overly intellectual, neglecting the need for application. We also make it overly individual, neglecting the influences of community.

He proposes three concepts to frame biblical integration: stewardship, reconciliation, and the image of God. I find these dovetail nicely with Harold Klassen's Visual Valet - a graphic capturing the common biblical summary: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Fulfillment. Baumann's stewardship corresponds to Creation and Fulfillment, that is, taking what God has made and making something of it according to His purposes. Baumann's reconciliation corresponds to Fall and Redemption, that is, recognizing that the way the world is now is a distortion of God's intentions, but that God has intervened and invites us to participate in restoring things to the way they should be.

I appreciate his emphasis on community. It is within community that our worldview is first formed and only within community can it be truly transformed. And this community must be a community of worshipful practice - not just philosophical and theological accuracy. Seeing discipleship as apprenticeship clarifies things for me. It's like a guild, a community of craftsmen giving novices experiences, routines, and skills. The admiration of novices motivates them to imitate. Then they are given the rationale for why we do things the way we do them. This helps the novices develop strong values that will guide their future application of knowledge and skills. Empathy is the final phase. In the case of Christianity, the thing we are crafting is a way of life. Just as God the Son put on skin so he could experience humanity, our Christian worldview is not mature until we can identify with people who are different from us. It means we have to stop thinking that we go out into the world to serve the needy, and start thinking that we learn alongside and from them.

Baumann is thorough. Read slowly, with a pencil in hand.