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This article explores the purpose and the distinctiveness of Christian schools which are the contemporary concerns of church leaders and Christian educators in Korea. Based on this issue, the purpose of this paper is to provide basic ideas of Christian schools to Christian parents and educators. In order to delineate the purpose of this article following specific contents shall be discussed. First, this paper will describe why we need Christian schools today. This question will be discussed based on the religious nature and cultural aspects of education, God’s mandate and the Great Commission. Second, the purpose of Christian schools will be described in terms of helping parents to perform their tasks, pupils’ serving the Lord, teachers’ teaching biblically, taking up our cross to follow Christ, and God’s glory. Third, five elements will be explored as the distinctiveness of Christian schools such as truth, biblical integration, Christian staff, potential in Christ, and organizational practice. God wants us to establish Christian schools and our students to be educated in Christian perspectives. To accomplish this commissions parents, church leaders and christian teachers need to understand the necessity, purpose and distinctiveness of Christian schools. Christian schools intend not only to follow Christ and glorify God but to help students develop a God-centered world and life view.

This study is to examine teacher’s motivation in Christian education. Motivation theory has had a significant impact on education. It is also an important issue in Christian education. For the most part, Christian education has focused on the teacher’s vocation and teaching biblical content. It has paid little attention to how specific reinforcement and motivation theories influence student learning and teachers in the Sunday school classroom. How do we invite all students in an educational setting to participate in biblical learning in the Sunday school classroom? In establishing the basic foundations for education the church asks us, Christian educators, to consider: how do we educate our students? It is a significant question and it calls us to pay attention to the processes and methods that we use to help people learn. However, to answer this question we must approach it with care. This article will synthesize and analyze a large body of literature which should be read and familiarized with by educational leaders. First, this article will review the current understanding of motivation theories. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation theories will be discussed. Also Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in human resource organizations will be examined. Next this article will explore two motivational theories for teacher motivation. Finally, it will suggest how Christian education students and teachers can be motivated in the Sunday school classroom. Psychic rewards, empowerment and work enrichment will also be discussed as alternative methods for motivation.

A large portion of the Political functioning of Religious education has hidden connections between a particular religious higher education curriculum and social, cultural power in that society. In order to understand why religious conflict exists, one has to understand the link between the different levels of underlying causes. Often, conflict is a disagreement based on one or more combinations of unmet psychological needs, such as identity, security, control, recognition, fairness, between two or more parties. We do know more about the big religious events than we do know about the concrete role of political and ideological causes in creating conflict in our society. The contradiction and the interrelation within the Christian, so called fundamental rights and the progressive left, and between the religion and the political ideological superstructure are the ultimate determinants of the social conflict in Korea. Even in the Christians they are not sure who could trust for politics involved. Their political influence meant to economical interests, status, prestige, as well, which led to conflict in the society. Many people concern about the rise of fundamentalism and military expressions of religion, specially, in the case of Christians. The role of politics of education and religions is very important matters towards sustainable peace in Korea. But usually people pay less concerns, especially in Korea until this year, when the new M.B. Lee regime begun. Through curriculum and other university activities that practices, and the courses they opened in a higher educational institute, they reinforce and regenerate their religious power, specially, in the foundations by religious groups. Students are to be socializing values of that religion. Students is to learn to treat the privileges for their own religion and to resist other. This paper tried to analyze the politics that shape and regulate the religious ideology and to find the starting point of religious peace and reconciliation in Korea.

James Crenshaw explains “wisdom” in terms of four points. The first point has relation to a scholarly convention. He categorizes a collection of Wisdom texts: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon. The second point is that ancient Near Eastern parallels provide a significant indication that helps one in deciding correctly what forms wisdom. The third point is that wisdom is a specific perspective toward reality, a world view on what is good for men and women. The last point deals with ancient sages. On the basis of these perspectives of the Wisdom Literature, this article explores the world of wisdom including definitions of wisdom and Wisdom Literature. Then, it investigates the sages in Wisdom Literature. Then, it analyzes the relationship between wisdom and Old Testament theology and investigates the sages in Wisdom Literature. Finally, it generalizes the findings from the study to educational ministry.

The cultural shift in what is commonly referred to as the postmodern era has vastly influenced the minds and logic of young adult seminarians. An actual transition in different values was observed in how they expressed themselves, and in how they conducted their daily lives. The purpose of the research is to establish a foundation for spiritual education in Korean evangelical seminaries by investigating seminarians’ understanding of cultural change and its impact on their spirituality. For this aspect of the study, a qualitative research design was employed. Thirty-three evangelical seminary students between twenty-two and thirty years of age, from three evangelical seminaries, were selected for this study. An in-depth interview from the participants’ perspective was conducted to gather data throughout a year, and a constant comparative method of data analysis was used. The findings of this study indicated that young evangelical seminarians’ spirituality was formed and influenced by socio-cultural factors. Cultural change affected young seminarians’ notion of spirituality, be it individual, experiential, or post-modern.

This article explores Wesley’s class meeting, and what it might teach us today. It is often to debate whether the church is effective in helping and nurturing church members to live a faithful Christian life. Jesus Christ called people to follow Him on a lifelong adventure of discipleship, and the church was called to nurture and to encourage these people as they embark on this journey. Today, churches use various small groups to reach people for Christ and to nurture growing Christians in their faith. Wesley’s class meeting provides some practical and educational insights for the formation of dynamic Christian learning community in small group setting. Wesley was deeply concerned about the process of shaping persons into Christians, and his class meeting was a powerful and effective educational system that not only enabled a large number of people to become dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ, but also brought a moral reformation to the nation as well. The pressing issue for the church today is not that there are not enough Christians but rather that Christians are not growing to maturity. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the class meeting was that it enabled the Methodists to reproduce much of the practice of the early Christians, and to fulfill biblical admonitions. People in Wesley’s day found friends, received warm emotional support, and grown in their spirituality in the class meeting. In this sense, Wesley’s small-group innovation, the class meeting, reminds us the importance of forming an interactive, caring, and dialogical learning community to reach people for Christ and to nurture growing Christians in their faith. Although the class meeting cannot be a perfect model for Christian nurture, it still challenges and informs today’s churches to practice more of a ‘life’ than an ‘-ism’ in small group setting, and to breakdown the general congregation into more manageable parts and incorporate more persons into the caring ministry of the church, building mutual trust and loving relationships and nurturing each person a positive learner who experiences development for holy living.

人的生活当中最为重要的却容易疏忽的就是有关“饭”问题, 即食物问题。不仅是现代社会中日趋严重 的食物污染, 而且通过饭桌形成的对生命的敬畏、对自然的同伴意识、共同体意识的形成、对上帝经验的 仪礼化(formalization)等等社会、宗教层面的意识逐渐丧失。 本文从饭桌文化所具有的伦理问题、生态问题、文化问题等方面, 考察上述诸多问题的原因。具体而 言, 在伦理问题层面上指出食物问题在新经济主义当中所引起的全球性贫困和饥饿的严重性; 在生态问题 层面上指出生产至上主义农业所引起的反生命的食物在全球范围的扩散; 在文化问题层面指出消费至上主 义文化所引起的快餐食品蔓延的深刻性。 诊断这些现代社会的食物问题, 并为基督教共同体中树立食物文化新的理解, 指出对食物的神学意义如 下: 作为以色列信仰共同体历史性开端的出埃及事件, 不仅是他们信仰共同体主要的历史经验, 而且是他 们形成共同信仰的主要事件, 特别是以色列通过吗哪和鹌鹑延续他们生存的事件, 说明不取饱满选择自 由、不追富饶树立平等的圣经信仰形态。进而, 他们的信仰追求是在这样的饭桌共同体铭刻在他们生活之 中的。还有, 在耶稣的行迹里饭桌共同体也是先在地体验上帝之国的主要的事件。 因此, 基督教共同体有必要通过对现代社会饮食文化的批判省察进行新的创造性设计。即, 在伦理层 面, 设计经验着分享和关怀的饭桌共同体的教育课程; 在生态层面, 关心本土食品, 帮助富有民主市民意 识的信仰实践, 加强对生态灵性的教育项目; 在文化层面, 为了形成教会共同体——经验耶稣人生的饭桌 共同体, 要通过一系列教会教育, 重新认识并省察对圣餐礼仪中历史上耶稣所体现饭桌共同体精神, 即, 对 怜悯、包容、平等、关怀精神。这就意味着, 通过圣餐所经验的耶稣饭桌, 以虔敬的心立志要和邻舍分享 并记忆一同的喜悦, 以此实践耶稣饭桌精神。

The Biblical view of nurture is related to distorted human nature. Humans lost their image of God, through Jesus, God shows the concrete goal of our lives which is to regain God’s image. The process of regaining God’s image is Christian nurture. This is a changing process. Humans need to convert, and also, to nurture in the Christian faith. Therefore, Christian nurture is based on the developmental possibility of human. The content of Christian nurture is Christian faith. The Bible teaches that the goal of Christian nurture is Christlikeness. We need to strive for full maturity and completeness in our spiritual lives. Conversion in Bushnell meant coming more and more to the love of God, in other words, this is a process, a growth in grace and the development of a new spirit. Faith as it is defined includes the content of believing and a process toward higher stages, that is maturity. The goal in faith development is to reach maturity. Maturity in human being has a dynamic point of view, that is, a process of becoming. We cannot see maturity as a static point of view. Maturity is not a state of being. Maturity is not the highest moment in developmental stages. Maturity is an ongoing process towards growth, and a continuing development. Therefore, the concept of content and development in Christian nurture gives Christian educators some implications. First, Christian educators need to understand theology and science. Second, spiritual maturity which is the aim of Christian nurture can be led by education and by the Holy Spirit. Third, the content of Christian nurture should be the Bible. Fourth, through the understanding of content and aim of Christian nurture, Christian nurture can be understood as content and development. Fifth, through the understanding of Christian nurture, Christian educators can get insights of concrete ways for Christian nurture. This expanded understanding of Christian nurture may effectively accomplish the task of Christian nurture.