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Transformational Education: An “In Christ” Spiritual Formational Proposal for Integration

©Dr. Todd Pickett, Biola University, Jan. 2020 Northwest Univ.

1. Three customary approaches to integration.a. Ethos (personality, nurture, self-disclosure, etc.) b. Theological-Disciplinary (world view, “think biblically about,” etc.)c. Classroom practices (prayer, framing, spiritual disciplines, reflection papers).

2. Almost all Christian colleges aspire to integrate academic excellence and spiritual/character formation.

a. “equipping students in mind and character . . .”b. “a Christ-centered educational experience that integrates academics with

spiritual and social development opportunities.”c. Northwest Univ: “building a learning community dedicated to spiritual vitality,

academic excellence, and empowered engagement with human need.” d. There is probably not a course here that does not advance the spiritual life of

students.

3. To do: a. What 2-3 sentence comment would you like to see on “Rate Your Professor”

about how your class cultivated “spiritual vitality” and “academic excellence”? (Be specific: teacher’s ethos/style, messaging, framing, assignments conceptual and experiential, disciplinary/theological discernment or world view, classroom practices, readings, etc.). Write it out and share it with others.

4. For faculty eager to integrate, secular university training and traditional curricular and co-curricular structures have provided few methodologies and little modeling.

a. My conviction: classroom is still the best place for spiritual formation/character training for three reasons.

5. Among the ends of a Christian education, which are ultimate?1

a. Subservient endsb. Subordinate ends c. Ultimate ends

6. Ultimate ends in Scripture. a. Mt. 22:36-40, love of God and neighbor. b. I Tim. 4:7, training in godliness. c. Col. 1:28-29, to present every person complete in Christ d. I Tim. 3-5, goal of all instruction is love. e. Gal. 5:16, walk by the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh. f. (Phil. 3:8), to know Christ and his righteousness

7. Does integrating these “in-Christ,” spiritual formation ends require an approach beyond normal notions of integration, taking on methods or responsibility for learning?

1 The material presented in this seminar is an appropriation and expansion of initial work by Dr. John Coe at Biola’s Institute for Spiritual Formation that many of us have developed and carried out over the years since the publication of his seminar article in 2000, “Intentional Spiritual Formation in the Classroom: Making Space for the Spirit in the University,” Christian Education Journal 4NS.2: 85- 110

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a. Two temptations in learning that can become obstacles to spiritual formation. i. The temptation of autonomy (the flesh, doing things in “our own

strength”). Not particular to learning, of course. Autonomy: the flesh, or doing things in our own strength, to become God, is the original sin. Gen. 3:1-9: the original sin of doing life apart from God in anxiety, fear and inadequacy.

ii. The temptation of idolatry: the version of autonomy that seek identity in achievement, competence, and natural fortitude to save ourselves. Isaiah 44: 13-20.

b. Two tests to tell if students might be learning in their own strength.i. One is that with every failure or feeling of inadequacy, our first and

abiding response is, “I will do better.” ii. The second test is that we will seek to minimize, repress or escape the

reality or truth.

c. Relevance of these tendencies to our students. These versions of autonomy or the flesh seem to be more relevant now than ever.

i. The primacy of identity in the digital tournament of comparisons.ii. Psychological and physical toll of autonomy/loneliness in coping with

inadequacy, shame, and fear.

Part II: Hidden Heart of the Student

8. To do: What one idea, concept or unit in one of your courses do you hope goes to the heart of your students--that is transformational.

9. The Hidden Heart: Learning in Christ a. Eph. 3:14 ff. How we came to Christ is how we grow in Christ and how learn in

Christ. b. The Christian Faith is foremost about the heart

i. Mk. 12:29, "Thou shalt love the Lord your God with your whole heart"ii. Prov. 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart"iii. I Sam 16:6-7, God looks not at the outward like most men but at the

heart.iv. I Tim. 1:5, The goal of all instruction is love from a pure heart.

c. "Heart" is used for the real or core person: nexus of will, affect and intellect

i. Prov. 27:19, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man."

ii. Lk. 16:15, Pharisees looked good on the outside but "God knows their hearts."

iii. Prov. 23:7-8, "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is."

10.The heart directs our life: what is in the heart determines our whole of life.a. Prov. 4:23, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the

springs of life" (Internally and externally)b. The heart includes the biblical version of the unconscious, preconscious, pre-

theoretical drivers, imagination, social imaginary. c. Students need to be led to their hearts, because it has an aspect of

hiddenness.i. Jer. 17:9-10, the heart is deceitful.ii. Prov. 16:2, God looks at the heart. iii. Prov. 14:13, the heart is hidden.

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11. Things to know about the heart in education.

a. To learn in Christ is to open the truth of one’s heart to God (a “double knowledge,” Calvin).

b. The heart material of student is interacting, connecting or interfering with learning. There is always more going on in the hidden heart than what is on the surface. Be curious about students’ hearts.

c. What is in the heart can have huge explanatory value for students (the “leaking Christian”).

d. Some learning may stay at the cognitive level and not move into the heart, preventing learning from being transformational.

12.How does one grow “in Christ”? Love and truth will need to come into the heart as the heart is drawn out.

a. Practically speaking, transformation will involve:i. The Word of God.ii. Trialsiii. Relationshipsiv. Spiritual Disciplines and prayer work.

13.The course and classroom as a spiritual discipline, as a training “in Christ.”a. I Tim. 4:7-8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value

for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”b. I Cor. 9:24ff, “everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” c. The spiritual disciplines are a kind of training, not primarily to produce

change, fix, or develop character, but to create space for God. d. The temptation will be to create a self in autonomy through the spiritual

disciplines, to build a self without God, which can become idolatrous.

14. A definition of spiritual disciplinesa. It is a repeated body-spirit-Holy Spirit activity 2)the doing of which is

in our power (students can go to class) 3) which forms a “habit” over time and repetition, (intellectual and spiritual habits) 4) that in turn opens our heart to the work of the Holy Spirit (they can be led to open to the Holy Spirit’s use of the course material and practices) 5) who transforms us spiritually in cooperation with our spirit, filling us with his presence and by so doing in union conforms us more and more into the image of Christ.

b. Two kinds of disciplinesi. Classical disciplines: disciplines of attachment and disciplines of

abstinence (confession, prayer, study, worship, fasting, solitude, etc.)ii. Customized disciplines: takes a hoped-for goal, fruit or outcomes and

asks, what kind of body-spirit-Holy Spirit activity can be designed to open my heart (which includes the mind) to the Holy Spirit in the context of my circumstances (like a class)?

II. The customized discipline of the prayer or soul project as integrative methodologya. Uses the course content and outcomes (not a separate spiritual formation

curriculum)b. Devises an occasional assignment to establish rhythms of opening the

students to the material before God in prayer and to process it “in Christ.”c. (To do: See examples below: what observations do you have about

how they are constructed? What might be the benefit of

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assignments like these for a deeper integration? What might be some unintended consequences of concerns?)

III. Concerns about such integrative assignments. a. Invasivenessb. Non-specialist concernc. Grading concern,d. Legalism complaint

Prayer Project Examples

English 450: The Brothers Karamazov, Prayer Project #3 (40 minutes)

Dmitri’s falling asleep seems to be to be a kind of death--a death to the treasured ideal of his own goodness, and yet the birth of his acceptance of grace (offered tangibly in the gift of the pillow, which he feels profoundly). We’ve seen the painful journey Dmitri has taken to get to this point and the moves he has made to shield himself from painful self-knowledge. How difficult might such an acceptance be for you, to accept grace amid the knowledge of your own failures, sins, regrets?

1) Spend 10 minutes reading Eph. 3:14-19 to yourself (try it aloud). Be aware of what word or phrase you are drawn to.

 14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

2) Now, spend 15 minutes before God, asking the Spirit identify some failures, regrets or habitual sins in your life. As you identify these, ask, ‘how do I normally cope with this knowledge of the self,’ and whatever accompanying emotions you feel (shame, guilt, disappointment, etc.). Before God, ask if your perceptions are true or false? If true, what do you usually cope do with what is sometimes painful self-knowledge

3) Spend 15 minutes sitting with this in the awareness of God’s love for you. (You might even do it lying down, as Dmitri did.) If you find yourself straying, recall yourself back to God with the phrase you singled out from the passage from above. Monitor what you’re experiencing. Are you aware of His love in spite of your sin? Do you go into a self-accusing mode? Do you worry you won’t change if you allow yourself to feel loved and accepted? How do you imagine God seeing you? (30 minutes)

When you are done, write up the content and/or experience of your time in prayerful reflection, noting at the beginning how long you spent in prayer.

Psychology “Perspectives on Human Nature,” Rosemead School of Psychology, upon reading Horney’s Neurosis and Human Growth.

1) Investigate in prayer with the Lord in council with spirit regarding the degree and nature of the following (15 minutes):

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--Whether and how you sought early safety to avoid pain by constructing a false identity (a la Horney) by lying yourself pathologically around the three drives of toward, against, and away from others. --Whether and how you participated in what Horney calls a “comprehensive neurotic solution” not only avoid pain but develop a semblance of self-fulfillment on the basis of the false self.

2) Ask God and your soul (or if you do not identify with a faith, reflect with yourself) the degree to which a Christian life, your pursuit of being a professional, and your trek through the grad school relates to what Horney calls the False Idealized Self” and its search for glory (15 minutes).

3) In a non- clinical setting, what would you encourage another person to do with this information in their relationship to God and in what ways can you do so for your own relationship with Him now (or if you do not identify with a faith, reflect with yourself what advice you would give and then follow it for yourself.) (15 minutes).

When you are done, write up the content and/or experience of your time in prayerful reflection, noting at the beginning how long you spent in prayer.

Journalism course

-2 pages, MS Word file, typed double-spaced; turn in to Canvas drop-box by 11 p.m. and presentation during class session on due dates. This is a record of your interactions with God as before Him you venture into places where people of other faiths and cultures live, play, eat, shop, play or listen to music. (You can go to where they worship, but you’re encouraged to first meet them elsewhere, earning their trust and friendship.) You are there mostly to observe and listen. Find ways to interact — ask questions, seek to understand. Go prayerfully.   It is not necessary to have a car for these encounters. There are people of other cultures in parks and plazas within walking distance of our campus. And public transportation can get you into downtown Los Angeles (Imperial Highway bus line to Metrolink Station in Norwalk, one stop north to Union Station where you can walk to Olvera Street, China Town, Little Tokyo...) Logistics: Where you went to observe, why you chose it, when (day, date, time-duration), how you approached it/prepared for it, how you approached people for encounter (Worked? Didn’t?)

What did you experience (love, fear, connection, mistrust, awkwardness, inadequacy, sorrow judgment, confusion, etc.)? How did you open to God as you moved about? What did you pray for? How did you address before Him any tumult or uneasiness in your soul?

You will share your experiences in a narrative post. Narrative post (40 pts.) (1-2 pages, typed, double-spaced, Word file attached to Canvas site) includes: 

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Sociology 460: Death and Dying

Go to a cemetery for an hour alone. You should go during the day during business hours. In doing so, complete the following:1) Pray Romans 12:1-2, or another verse you know that opens you to God presence and guidance, praying that

God would open your eyes and change you in some way through this assignment. 2) Choose a cemetery. The closest is walking distance from Biola: adjacent to the La Mirada golf course on La

Mirada and Alicante.3) Look around and write down at least 15-20 observations—things that stood out to you. It could be a particular

inscription on a headstone, a conversation with a worker, items left by a gravesite, anything that you notice. 4) Note what can you learn about the people buried there from what is there e.g. age, ethnicity, cause of death, etc.5) What surprises you? 6) As you move around, open to what is going on in your heart, for instance: feelings of connection of loneliness,

questions about the body and resurrection, memories of loved ones you’ve lost or fear you have of loss, peace or unrest, love and sympathy, etc.

7) Talk to God as you move about, and before you leave spend 15 minutes in concentrated prayer, listening to what God might have to say to you about all of this.

Write up the observations above and especially your experience in prayer in 1200 words..

CEED 255 Introduction to Spiritual FormationPrayer Learning Assignment #2: The Return of the Prodigal (45 minutes). You will need the Nouwen’s book beside you for this in order to reflect on passages that are meaningful to you. Please be aware that although this parable speaks of brothers and a father, this of course applies to you as a sister or mother in Christ.

5 minutes: Place yourself in God’s presence. Be aware that he is in the room. Be reminded that his presence is a safe place for those who belong to Him. Know that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.

15 minutes. Using your book, reflect before God on his description of the prodigal son. Find a line or paragraph that has stood out to you. Meditate on it. In what areas of your life do you connect with the prodigal son’s behaviors, desires, needs? Is there something Nouwen says about or to the prodigal son in us that helps you know how to go forward?

15 minutes. Using your book, reflect before God on his description of the elder brother. Find a line or paragraph that has stood out to you. Meditate on it. In what areas of your life do you connect with the elder brother, who is willing to work for the father but resists or is incapable of finding his identity in the father’s love? Is there something Nouwen says about or to the elder brother in us that helps you know how to go forward?

10 minutes. In the end, Nouwen says, he feels like he needs to become like the father. Although we are not called to be God the Father, of course, however, there are certain qualities of the father we need to take on. Using your book, reflect before God on his description of the father. Find a line or paragraph that has stood out to you. Meditate on it. Is there something Nouwen says about or to the developing father in us that helps you know how to go forward?

5 minutes: Place yourself before the father, as one of the two sons or both. What do you want to say to Him? What do you imagine, based on this parable, that He wants to say to you?

Write up your reflection on this time according to the description and rubric in Appendix A, careful to note the actual time you spent in prayer, and submit it on Canvas.

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Prayer Project Prior to Exams (30 minutes)

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Before you begin studying for your exam, open your heart to God about the impact of these times of evaluation on your person, especially as it affects your identity.

1) To begin with, center yourself in God’s presence. Often, people do this by taking some deep breaths, and simply presenting yourself to Him who is already present. A simple, “Here I am, Lord,” or addressing him with a name from among the biblical options that you are comfortable with (“Abba,” “Jesus,” “Lord,” “Holy Spirit,” “Savior,” etc.). (5 minutes).

2) Reflect before Him on how grades or performances have affected you. To what degree have they influenced your sense of self or your identity. What have past performances ‘said’ about you, whether these have been positive of negative? How do you think they have shaped how you view yourself that day, that week, or over time? How much power do you give them? Ask God, how much power they should have and what they should and shouldn’t say about you in any given semester. (10 minutes)

3) Now reflect before God on what you are feeling as you approach this exam. A certain amount of anxiety is normal because we do now know the future. However, if you feel what seems like an inordinate amount of anxiety, talk freely with God in total honesty about what concerns you. You may also be feeling weary or disappointed. You may feel confident or eager. Spend this time presenting these feelings (which are always ‘evaluations’ of your situation) to God. (The fruit of this honesty, among other things, will be intimacy with Him---now or over time.) (10 minutes)

4). Now just sit with God and rehearse a few truths before Him. You belong to God (I Peter 2:9). You are known (1 Cor. 13:12). You are forgiven (Psalm 103:12). You are adopted (Eph. 1:5). You are loved (Eph. 3:14-19). Which of these means the most to you right now? Talk to him about this and ask for what help you need in receiving it.

APPENDIX A:PRAYER PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS

(Sample description of prayer projects and assessment from syllabus)

These assignments prayer projects will be scored on a 5-pt. scale, assessing your engagement. Most commonly, you will receive a 5, 3 or 0 (for not completing the assignment on time).

The prayer project prompt and required time frame (often 30 to 45 mins. of prayer, not including additional time for the write up) will be given in each class, and posted on Canvas.

The write-up must be submitted on Canvas and are minimally 400-500 words. Each prayer project will have a required time (usually 45 mins or 1 hr.), and you will be asked to note at the beginning of your write-up how long you spent in prayer/reflection.

The content of the reports will be entirely confidential.

Generally, a good prayer project is one where you have thoughtfully and honestly reflected upon your experience with God (what it was like being with Him this directly?), the content of your dialogue with Him (what did you pray/think about?), and/or the experience of prayer (what was it like or what did you learn about you and prayer this time?). Good prayer projects also find the best words in your write-up to describe your experience (so, careful and specific word choice and expression does matter because they require more precise thought). Solid prayer projects also often ask one more question (go one more level down) from your initial response, deepening your understanding. For instance, you might discover, “I have found I’ve grown tired of praying.” One might then ask, what do I mean by tired? Bored—I feel like nothing’s happening? Or, weary—of waiting? Or, literally tired: I fall asleep,

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and this has been happening since . . .”

Prayerful Learning Assignment Rubric5 points 3 Points 0 PointsPursues self-knowledge and knowledge of God with honesty and specificity (images can be specific), often reflected through thoughtful word choices (even if only to identify what is still a mystery or is puzzling).

Not quite as specific, often reflected in generalizations, lazy word choices, or unexamined clichés.

Does not provide a full response, failing to set down 400 words.

Does not turn in the project on time or at all. Understanding often demonstrated by

going one level down (perhaps by asking good questions or “wondering”) beneath your initial thoughts or experiences, even if that only results in a question you can’t yet answer. Alternately, the “deeper” understanding might come not by going “down” but by going “out”—to connections made in your readings, your past experiences, or other classes—so long as this helps you understand the thoughts and experiences you had (rather than “preaching” to the reader).

Seldom goes “one level down” or wonders about the roots or reasons for their concerns, thoughts or experiences. Prayer project write up becomes predominantly an academic exercise or essay response trying to teach or preach in ways disconnected from personal engagement.

Responds to the question, or if not, explains why one needed to address something else in prayer, and explains what that is.

Does not seem to be responding to the topic.

Well-written; no grammatical errors; appropriate length.

Grammatical or spelling errors; inadequate length.

Notes and fulfills the required time in prayer and reflection.

Fulfills only part of the required time in prayer and reflection.

Does not note the required time in prayer and reflection.

These assignments will often involve exploring your feelings because most feelings are thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, often deeply buried, that may be driving your life. Sometimes, identifying images can help get to the root of one’s thought/feelings (notice how often the Psalmist and Jesus himself reflect on their experiences or articulate the truth of the self or circumstances using images).

Don’t expect your prayer times with God to be always (or even often) dramatic, “victorious,” or peaceful. Sometimes they will not be, and having a mountaintop and powerful experiences are not criteria for a good prayer project. What we are learning to do is take what God gives, knowing that every experience in prayer can be fruitful if we ask God humbly to be with us, teach and transform us if He chooses. You should keep these prayer projects as a kind of journal that may be useful to you later—even as you look for examples if needed on the final exam.

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Introduction to Poetry By Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s roomand feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with a ropeand torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means.

Prayer By Marie Howe

Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more importantcalls for my attention – the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage

I need to buy for the trip.Even now I can hardly sit here

among the falling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outsidealready screeching and banging.

The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.Why do I flee from you?

My days and nights pour through me like complaintsand become a story I forgot to tell.

Help me. Even as I write these words I am planningto rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.