Interpretations

I am always trying to find ways to connect religion/faith personally to students. If a personal connection is not made for students the bible can become empty words. Our God is a personal God that wants a relationship with each of us. Like any relationship we must cultivate that relationship by spending time with our Lord in the word and opening our hearts to his never ending love. Often, teens do not make this connection. This is the time that students are psychologically discovering their "self". Students are questioning their morals, faith, and other personal traits during this time and this is where connections could be made in faith. 

Here is a link for a great article on the psychological development in the Middle School Setting: Middle School Development

Last month I found a really great resource that could be used to make personal faith connections. Faith coming alive for students can be vary powerful. Movies such as The Passion of the Christ and others have made connections for many individuals. Although their theology may/can often be skewed, they can be a powerful resource for teachers to use with students.

The movie "Noah" comes out in 2014 and it looks like a fantastic film. I would really like to dissect the theology in this film before I would use it as a resource in my classroom. Teachers must be aware of faith-cultural connections such as this upcoming film. This could be a powerful connector for students because of its "real" appeal. This is a Veggie Tale version of Noah that society is often used to. This seemingly historically accurate film could open the door for new questions/connections for students. Teachers and church workers should be very aware of these types of films or cultural influences because they could be used as a connection, not a hinderance for their ministry.

I think this film looks very good and I can't wait to see how it mimics the biblical text. Any thoughts? Feel free to comment!

Here is this upcoming 2014 film, "Noah":

Connecting Literature to Faith

Literature. Friend or Foe in a Christian classroom?

This is not a new idea/conflict to grace the minds of many individuals. Christian educators hear all the time about the "banned books" lists or the "Don't even think about using that in the classroom" books. However, it is completely unrealistic for us to think that these books will not filter into our classrooms. It is human nature to be curious about the unknown or in this case the contraband. Students are going to be drawn to these "no go" books and as christian educators we should prepare them for what they will find in those books. The Lord instructs all His disciples to put on the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18. As christian educators we have to help students develop their armor of God by not turning a blind eye to the worldly influences that they will be exposed to. To not connect faith to popular adolescent literature would be doing an injustice to our students.  

On a lighter side to this need for christian influence in popular literature, this integration of faith into literature is FUN! Using the New York Times Bestseller List for Young Adults, I started to develop a list that bridges the gap between faith and modern literature. 

Here is the list of the top three books on the New York Times Bestseller list and how we can integrate faith into their bindings to better our students connection between their faith and their modern world. 

The Book Thief 

By Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is narrated by Death, who tells us the story of Liesel Meminger. This book takes place during WWII and deals with many intense issues regarding love, loss, and self esteem conflicts. 

Theme: Humanity and Dehumanization

There are a multitude of ways that an educator could integrate the faith into this text. In todays society it is still apparent that our society does not value or respect one another. This can be found in this novel in the horrible treatment of the Jewish people. Philippians 2:3-4 is a verse that could be used as a faith connection for students because it is God's instructions on how to live/interact with others. 

Philippians 2:3-4

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interests of the others." 

The Fault in Our Stars

By John Green 

Hazel is sixteen, with terminal cancer, when she meets Augustus at her kids-with-cancer support group. The two are kindred spirits, sharing an irreverent sense of humor and immense charm, and watching them fall in love even as they face universal questions of the human condition

Theme: Death and Loss

This book discusses the issue of death. This is a topic that is heavily prevalent in the classroom and it is important to give students the biblical peace and guidance for their faith/armor. It is important to foster the idea that the Lord is all powerful, He has a plan and to rely on Him. 

1 Chronicles 16:11
"Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually."

Looking for Alaska 

By John Green 

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words–and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Themes: Sexuality and Choices 

It is important that with this books students understand that life is about choices. Students will be faced with many important choices in their lives and they need to be informed on how God has designed His people to live. Giving them verses about God's instructions is important when suiting them up in their armor of God. 

Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

These are just a few examples of how faith can be integrated into modern literature. It is important to prepare our students and make their faith connectable/relevant to their modern world. 

Any further ideas? Feel free to comment and share!  

Just a Verse.

Blogging. It is a word that often comes with a stigma. Images of hipsters sitting in coffee shops sipping on their double shots of espresso loft through my mind when hearing the label of "Blogger". This often is the case, but sometimes there is a rare writer who burst through this stigma shining the light of individualism into the world wide web.

I am not a hipster or individualist radiating creativity onto the world, but I am a future educator who wants to explore Christianity and its correlation to the modern classroom. Specifically focusing on Lutheran Education, I want to challenge myself and others to look into their world and find the light of Christ in everything and share that light with future generations.

This first post is an introduction. The focus of this first post is simply a verse. This verse has been a focus and a motivator to me as an educator and it is a constant reminder of God's love and His plan for me in this life.

2 Timothy 2:15 

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."