Integrating a Biblical Worldview
As Christian school educators, integrating a Biblical worldview into every classroom is most often the goal, but it can be difficult to fully attain. After all, teachers are tasked with being experts in their field, creating engaging lessons, cultivating a classroom ecosystem, differentiating content, tracking student growth, managing behavior, and the list goes on and on. There is no wonder that some things, sometimes even the biggest things, slip through the cracks. Teachers are master jugglers, but the ball that Christian educators must not drop is Biblical worldview integration.
What even is a worldview?
The first thing to know is that everyone has one, a worldview that is. A person’s worldview is the lens by which they see the world. It colors how they see themselves. It shades how they see God. Sometimes the scratches on their lenses even keep them from seeing others altogether. A worldview can be shaped by the culture where someone was born and/or raised, normative life experiences, and of course, difficulty and trauma. As a simple example, if someone grew up owning and loving chocolate labrador retrievers and had only beloved experiences with these dogs and then encountered one later in life, their pro-chocolate lab worldview would incline them to be happy. However, if the only past meeting between person and dog had been a dog bite, encountering a chocolate lab later in life would produce a different response.
There is another thing, though. Some worldviews are taught, while others are sought. Experiences, though very real, do not always, if ever, produce a healthy worldview. For the purposes of this article, a person can be raised in a lovely Christian home, can even have given their life to Jesus Christ, and still not possess a truly Biblical worldview. It is something that must be sought after.
So, how does one acquire such a thing?
To see the world, truly, through the lens of the Bible, teachers (anyone, really) must become Biblically literate. This does not mean that they have read the Bible through in a year’s time or have all of the key Biblical stories memorized. But they should have considered and wrestled with questions like the following:
Why did God create the world?
For what purpose did He create humans?
What should we be doing with our time on earth?
How has sin distorted God’s creation?
What was special about Abraham and his family, the Israelites?
Why did Jesus enter the world?
How did His life, death, and resurrection change the world?
What was the significance of the time and place He chose to enter into?
How does God call His people to live differently? For what purpose?
Is Christianity good for the world?
Is Christianity just another religion or just another explanation of why we’re here?
Is it true?
Are all other religions false?
Questions like these beg Biblical answers. They are too big for personal opinion or assumption. And in classrooms all over the world, students of all ages enjoy nothing more than stumping teachers with big questions. Of course, according to the Apostle Paul, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up,” so the goal of having a Biblical worldview as a teacher is not to avoid being stumped by an inquisitive tween. It is, though, most definitely to love God and that inquisitive tween well. To be so full of the truth of God that when teachers are prodded, and they will be, wisdom pours forth.
Another way to fine-tune a worldview is to have deep discussions with other Biblical worldview-seeking peers. Discipleship is a team sport and learning from one another is the main rule of the game. Over and over the Bible exhorts Christ-followers to meet together, to encourage one another, to build one another up, and yes, sometimes, to even remove specks and planks. The saying goes, “You are what you eat.” As unfortunate as that is, what is probably even more true is that “You become what you hear.” Whether it’s workroom chatter, the noise of social media or one’s own crooked thoughts, the messages people meditate on become their beliefs, words and actions. Those who are seeking a Biblical worldview should rehearse the gospel to themselves and others. They should recognize opportunities to infuse conversations with truth and love. And most of all, they should strive to recognize others as made in the image of God. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, we never cross paths with anyone less.
Lastly, saying someone does or does not have a Biblical worldview is just another way of saying someone is or is not wise. Since the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, one should probably start with Him. A seeker should ask the One who knows all to give them eyes to see everything like He does– the big and the small. Christians are to “take every thought captive” and make them submissive to the Truth of Scripture, applying this process to every area of life. To do this is to have a Biblical worldview.
So, once a teacher has put on their Biblical lenses, so to speak, how do they integrate that wisdom into their classroom and content?
Teachers should think Biblically about the content they teach, considering such questions as:
Why does this content matter?
How does it magnify God’s beauty, creativity, love for humanity, redemption, etc.?
What about it points to God’s goodness, sovereignty, holiness, perfection, etc.?
What can students discover about God through the struggle of studying this content?
Thinking through an entire subject or specific content through the lens of the Bible will help prepare teachers for big questions and equip them with opportunities to create faith-building moments within their classrooms.
Integrating Biblical worldview into a classroom must be intentional, relevant, and consistent. Weaving something into every lesson plan that requires students to put up their Biblical lenses is the goal. Intentionality could be as simple for a teacher as determining he will bring God into the discussion today or as detailed as pre-planned Biblical worldview bell ringers or closure questions. The connections should also be relevant to current studies. Devotions or memory verses that are disconnected from the content can come across forced or awkward. Instead, going back to the questions from the previous paragraph, finding something from the lesson that points to God naturally is an authentic way to teach students to have a Biblical worldview. Finally, it should be consistent. Thinking through content Biblically and planning accordingly can definitely be time-consuming, but eventually, it should become a natural part of lesson planning for Christian educators. Students should know they are going to encounter Biblical truths every day and in every class.
So, how do we do this?
For practical purposes, teachers should question, connect, share, and steward intentionally. Time is limited and requirements abound, but teachers should plan daily for two of the following four ways to ensure a consistent integration of Biblical worldview.
Question - A good lesson is full of questions. Maybe it’s the hook that grabs the students’ attention at the beginning of class. Maybe it’s a thought-provoking, perspective-shifting question to consider during a Harkness. Or maybe it’s part of the daily reflection or closure activity that a teacher prepares for the end of class. Wherever it pops up, a Biblical worldview question could be specific: “What Biblical truths would encourage someone to challenge the idea of absolutism?” or general: “Where did you see God in today’s lesson?”
Connect - Just like with annotating a text, connections lead to deeper understanding. Content can be connected to the character of God, a Biblical truth, or even a story or character from the Bible. “A man reaps what he sows” could be a great connection for a lesson on cause and effect or on the repercussions of the decisions made by a particular political leader. A connection could be a lesson-specific image at the end of a lesson, asking students to identify what God created, who God loves, what breaks His heart, etc.
Share - The power of stories cannot be overstated. Stories not only connect students to content but also to others, helping them see the world through the eyes of someone else. Stories of perseverance, faithfulness, failure, redemption, forgiveness…these can all be engaging and faith-building opportunities for students as they encounter new or difficult content. A story, when used wisely, can command the emotion and attention of students at any time during a lesson. They can be passionately told or watched or silently read and annotated by students. Biblical stories that connect to content can strengthen the lesson and also the validity of the Bible. For instance, reading the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch straight out of the Bible on the same day students are studying the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia could be both memorable and evidence for the reliability of Scripture. Teachers should be aware of appropriate boundaries in personal storytelling and intentional to point students back to the hope Christians have in Jesus with any story they tell.
Steward - Teachers should strive to create great lessons, but the most impactful way to model a Biblical worldview is in how they interact with students. Exuding the fruits of the Spirit, being just yet merciful, seeking the good of others and calling their students to do the same. This is creating an atmosphere of learning that would be pleasing unto the Lord. A teacher with a truly Biblical worldview seeks to see even their most difficult classes or students through God’s lenses. Much prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit is required, but it is in the daily grind that students learn what it means to apply the truths of Scripture to every area of life.
Teachers are the backbone and the front line of every school. The job is difficult but the reward is great. No person can compel spiritual transformation but teaching students how to look down at themselves and out at the world and up at God through Biblical lenses is something that can and must be done.
