Creative Bible Teaching

Found this text to be very helpful in the study of the Bible. Written so that all can understand.

I am a Christian Educator and director of Christian Education for my local church and organization. I found Creative Bible Teaching a most important book to add to my library. It is a resource that cannot be matched.

Creative Bible Teaching has shown me many dimensions I had not known, regarding teaching. I think it to be of tremendous assistance especially to those who are just beginning as teachers and to those who are using it as part of an independent or online study course.

The book is divided into five sections: (1) "Studying the Bible," (2) "Focusing the Message," (3) "Structuring the Lesson," (4) "Teaching the Class," and (5) "Evaluating the Results." The question that is posed is, "How is it that a book (the Bible), given by God to transform, seems so unproductive when taught in the very churches where it is most honored and best known?"(29). It is that particular inquiry that drives the authors to find an answer. Their findings showed the lack of an effective teaching method. Through this book, the authors hope to educate ministry leaders and teachers the "hook, book, look, and took" technique of Bible teaching. The foundation of any Bible teaching starts with a clear understanding of who God is (that He is the Creator) (28) and how He speaks (that God used people to write the Bible) (38). The Bible provides the human race with God's plan for salvation and reconciliation. Richards and Bredfeldt discusses various ways to read and understand the Bible. For example, they suggest that while reading the Bible, one should ask probing questions like "Are there any repeated words or phrases?" (79). When teaching the Bible, it is imperative that the age of students is factored into the lesson. The authors point out that the task for teaching adults is different than teaching preschoolers. For instance, adults desire a challenge and an emotional supportive learning environment (245), while preschoolers learn best in an active, participatory play setting (296). The inclusion of the "summary of developmental characteristics" and "spiritual developmental tasks" for students from preschool to adulthood is helpful, but the student's needs assessment seems too complicated for the average Sunday school teacher to complete (106). The section entitled, "Questions for Discussion and Further Study" facilitates the application of the information read (333).

This book takes the reader through a five step process of biblical lesson preparation. It begins with Studying the Bible. This step assists the lay person, Bible college student or seminarian in the study of the Bible for the purpose of teaching the Bible. The second step is entitled "Focusing the Message". The reader is instructed in how to take the message of the passage and make it relevant to the modern day learner. Teachers are given practical help in assessing student needs and in designing the class to targe those needs. The third step involves Structuring the Lesson. Here readers are taught how to structure a lesson for maximum impact and student involvement. The fourth step is the teaching step. Here the actual teaching process is explored. The final step is the evaluating step. Effective teaching depends on evaluation and imporvement. This section of the book helps teachers gain insights into their teaching and assists in developing ways to improve. All in all the book is designed to be a systematic presentation of the lesson preparation process.