Superintendent's Focus

Building Instruction on a Biblical Foundation

~Pegi Flynt

The Sermon on the Mount—found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7—is the longest single example of the methods of teaching that Jesus employed. He provided practical examples of behavior and made clear that His teachings could exist in more than the world of ideas. He gave us a template for action and emphasized the applications of love and truth, resulting in the building of relationships. Through His instructional style and His words, He made clear that he desires a thought process that questions, looks deeper, and asks “What does this really mean?” and “Why is this important?” Each person is described as blessed, valuable, and participatory. The teaching method and philosophy found in the Sermon on the Mount lends itself well to curriculum development for learners of all ages. It is with this mindset of service, relationship restoration, and community building that professional development courses or modules can be designed with each topic built on Biblical principles and Christ’s model of servant leadership. Learners are asked to look deeper into the meaning and implications of God’s truth, examine their own purpose as related to God’s truth, anchor their purpose in service, and foster restoration through relationship and community building. “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). NOW is an acronym I have developed to reflect both the order of presentation and the urgency of a technological generation which needs more immediate access to knowledge than ever before. 

• Nourish: How can I nourish my current understanding of this topic with biblical truth? This is Christ’s model of thoughtful contemplation of truth. 

• Optimize: How can I optimize knowledge and practice in my given field with biblical principles? This is Christ’s model of practical application of truth. 

• Welcome: How is God calling me to welcome others into a deeper understanding of His truth? This is Christ’s model of relational invitation to truth. 

Nourish represents the thoughtful contemplation of truth where learners seek to understand the principles upon which the rules or information is based and emphasizes a deeper acquisition of and understanding of truth. 

Optimize represents the practical application of truth where learners are called to take action and utilize knowledge, God-given skills sets, and resources for service. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25). 

Welcome represents a relational invitation to truth and encourages learners to seek paths of restoration through relationship building. Welcome is revealed through the great commission to spread Christ’s teachings to all the nations of the world. “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’” (Mark 16:15). By using the principles found in the Sermon on the Mount, teachers can guide learners to not only think deeply and carefully but also focus their understanding of the subjects on service-oriented applications. 

Conceptual models encourage a deeper understanding of connections within context. I created a conceptual model to demonstrate the perceived relationships and interactions between scholarship, design, and action, or the subgroups of what teaching professionals and others (a) know, (b) create, and (c) do (see Figure 1). 

As Figure 1 demonstrates, the Know subgroup addresses purpose. The Do subgroup addresses process. The Create subgroup addresses product. As caring people, the Create objectives should encourage learners to recognize and solve problems for improved relationships and outcomes and functions. Think of these objectives as what learners transfer to new situations to FIX broken things and offer solutions broken people.

To Appreciate means to recognize and understand the full worth or value of something. Both the recognition of worth and value and the understanding comes from being firmly grounded in biblical truth. This firm foundation is essential to all aspects of planning for instruction as well as to the actual process of both teaching and learning. 

Comparing the “NOW” frame with these elements of continual professional learning as a system one can see that nourishment is necessary for understanding purpose. The practical application of truth, optimizing, takes on deeper meaning—or some might say real meaning—when grounded in biblical truth. Purpose is defined and process is enhanced when viewed in light of the biblical foundation which should literally be the bedrock underneath how we plan for teaching and how we implement our instructional planning. 

The foundation should surround all aspects of teaching and learning in our Adventist schools. The relational invitation to truth and welcoming others into God’s truth, becomes a result of understanding purpose, and implementing process. These subgroups together form the basis for instruction.

By partnering with the Holy Spirits, we, as teachers, are instruments that carry solutions to the brokenness of a fallen world. God’s people “have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention” (White, 1902, p. 138). 

Graduation Season