Problem Analysis
What problems are you trying to address?
Many Christians, and in particular, our church and denomination, believe that the Bible speaks authoritatively about how we should live. Therefore, reading the Bible and understanding what it says is a key skill for Christians. While there is benefit to the simple reading of scripture, a deeper and more complete and accurate understanding typically requires more intensive study. Some members of our church have developed strong Bible study skills, but others are lacking these skills and therefore have an inadequate understanding of what scripture says.
Ordinarily, this problem would be addressed by the church’s adult education program. However, the church has struggled with adult education for many years, meaning limited opportunities for people to learn Bible study skills.
What are the symptoms of the problem?
Some symptoms of the problem include an ignorance of Biblical content and concepts, including in some cases fairly basic teachings; a lack of confidence in reading and interpreting scripture, especially Old Testament passages; overdependence on teachers for explanations of scripture; and difficulty in determining the reliability of teachings that people may encounter online.
Regarding the adult education program, the church once had a thriving program. However, it has increasingly struggled over the last 20 years with declining participation.
What is the root cause of the problem?
The root cause is lack of training in Bible study skills. Many church members were brought up in the Catholic church and report that scripture study by lay people is often downplayed or outright discouraged. (“That’s something for the priest to do.”) Also, some were brought up in non-Christian households. The root cause of the struggles in the adult education program has been the increasing busyness of many families and individuals. People complain about their busy schedules and lack of time or schedule flexibility to come out for an adult education class that’s offered at a specific time and place.
Is instruction an appropriate solution for the problem?
Instruction is an appropriate solution to the lack of Bible study skills. The core problem is a lack of knowledge and skill, both of which can be taught.
Is WBI an appropriate instructional solution?
WBI appears to be an ideal solution to the problem. Past attempts to address the problem through instruction have been hampered by lack of participation due to time and schedule issues. Giving learners flexibility about when and where they do they do their learning can allow many more people to participate.
Instructional Goal
After completing this course, learners will be able to confidently study a passage of scripture, identify the core meaning, and apply it to their life.
Context
Organizational Infrastructure
The church currently has a website that is based on a customized implementation of Wordpress. The website is primarily updated by the church office manager, though there are volunteers who provide occasional tech support or who contribute content. The website structure was developed by an outside freelancer hired by the church. Due to the lack of in-house technical support and uncertainties about the capabilities and limitations of the current Web hosting, it would be best to develop the WBI as a separate website and link to it from the main church website.
Primary responsibility for the life of the church, including adult education, rests with a board of elders called the Session. The pastor is the moderator of the Session and has primary executive responsibility and also primary responsibility for the content of the Sunday services, particularly the preaching. However, at this point in time, the church has been without a pastor for about a year, and it may take anywhere from a few months to another year before a new pastor is in place. In the meantime, the Session has established various committees and teams of volunteers to fill the pastor’s roles. This means that any vetting or approval of the course needs to come from the Session, and administrative/executive support would come from a variety of sources.
The Session is supportive of the idea of offering WBI as one of the adult education offerings.
Allocation and Competencies of Personnel
I will be the course developer. Professionally, I have worked in K–12 education for over 25 years, most of it doing digital content development and instructional design. I also have extensive technical experience, with knowledge of HTML, audio and video creation and editing, comfort with Web 2.0 technologies, and years of experience with Microsoft Office. I have extensive experience as a small group Bible study leader, church adult education teacher, and I have also taken a number of seminary classes on various topics. I am an elder currently serving on Session.
Dave S. has agreed to assist me as a SME reviewer. Dave is also an elder currently serving on Session. He is a retired high school teacher and adult Christian education teacher. Dave authored a large discipleship manual/training program with another elder about ten years ago. Dave has given permission to use some of that material for the WBI course if it can be of use.
Other elders in the church are willing to provide limited assistance with ideas or reviewing materials if requested.
Learner Location and Technology
Most learners will be from the church congregation, which means they will generally live in the local area. However, since the course will be available online, it is possible that learners from other local churches or from other parts of the country or world may also take the course. Learners will need a computer with a reasonably up-to-date browser, ability to play audio and video files, and a reasonably high-speed Internet connection.
Learner Analysis
General Characteristics
The target learners are adults ranging in age from approximately 20 to 80 years old, though I anticipate that the core will be from 20 to 65. A few high school students may also be interested. Most of the learners will be members of the church, though the course could attract some learners from other churches. Most of the target learners are white, with some Asian-Americans. Socio-economically, they range from lower middle class to upper middle class. All have at least a high school education; many have completed at least some college work. I estimate that half to two thirds have a bachelor’s degree or higher. There are more white-collar workers than blue-collar workers.
Motivations
The primary motivation for most learners will be personal growth and enrichment. It will be important for the learning activities to be both meaningful and engaging to combat the possibility that busyness crowds out completion of the course.
Prior Knowledge
Prior knowledge varies widely among learners. A substantial number of members are former Catholics. Many remember basic knowledge learned in catechism classes or picked up at Mass, but this basic knowledge usually does not include Bible study skills. Though a minority, an important segment of the target learners were raised in non-Christian households and had little or no knowledge of the Bible prior to becoming Christians. Learners tend to know more about the New Testament than the Old Testament. Of the Old Testament, they may know a few familiar stories, but have difficulty locating the stories or understanding how they fit in the larger Biblical narrative.
Communication Skills
Learners generally have good oral communication skills. Writing skills vary considerably. All have at least basic writing skills, but while some are excellent writers, some struggle with spelling, grammar, organization, and comfort with the writing process. The average person has adequate writing skills for WBI (particularly in an ungraded personal growth course), but a few may need accommodations such as the use of video or audio for discussions/reflections.
Technical Skills
Most learners use email for personal and/or work communications, and most use the Web at home and/or work. Some have relatively rudimentary skills: they can use email and basic Web functions, but may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with things like Web 2.0, working with various media formats, or using features of Microsoft Office beyond very basic word processing. Others are power users, completely comfortable with technology in all forms and adept in its use. Most have at least enough keyboarding skills to get by. Search skills vary considerably.
Abilities and Disabilities
There are no known disabilities among target learners that would require adaptations in WBI delivery, other than using a font size that is considerate of those who need reading glasses.
Other Learner Characteristics
Observations of church members at various church activities suggests that some learners prefer a more participatory style of learning, while others prefer a more passive (lecture) style. The differences are probably not enough to justify significant adaptations of WBI.
Standards
After an extensive search (including consulting with teachers at a Christian school), it appears that there are no existing sets of standards for Bible education. In place of those, this course will use the following sources as a substitute for formal educational standards. As development of the WBI proceeds, these standards will be reviewed and adjustments in coverage plans may be made. The complete text of the “standards” is included; italics indicate portions that will not be covered in the WBI.
Reformed Theological Seminary Student Outcomes
- A Mind for Truth
- Articulation – oral & written. Broadly understands and articulates knowledge, both oral and written, of essential biblical, theological, historical, and cultural/global information, including details, concepts, and frameworks.
- Scripture. Significant knowledge of the original meaning of Scripture. Also, the concepts for and skill to research further into the original meaning of Scripture and to apply Scripture to a variety of modern circumstances. (Includes appropriate use of original languages and hermeneutics; and integrates theological, historical, and cultural/global perspectives.)
- Reformed Theology. Significant knowledge of Reformed theology and practice, with emphasis on the Westminster Standards.
(Reformed Theological Seminary, n.d.)
Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1
Note: the Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the constitutional documents of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (our church’s denomination), as well as many other Presbyterian and Reformed denominations. This portion of the Westminster Confession will be used primarily for content guidance, as it is difficult to parse it into discrete standards that can always be tied directly to learning activities. Note that it is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. (Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 2010, pp. 3–5)
- Our natural understanding and the works of creation and providence so clearly show God’s goodness, wisdom, and power that human beings have no excuse for not believing in him. However, these means alone cannot provide that knowledge of God and of his will which is necessary for salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at different times and in various ways to reveal himself and to declare that this revelation contains his will for his church. Afterwards it pleased God to put this entire revelation into writing so that the truth might be better preserved and transmitted and that the church, confronted with the corruption of the flesh and the evil purposes of Satan and the world, might be more securely established and comforted. Since God no longer reveals himself to his people in those earlier ways, Holy Scripture is absolutely essential.
- What we call Holy Scripture or the written word of God now includes all the books of the Old and New Testaments which are:
The Old Testament:
| Genesis | 2 Chronicles | Daniel |
| Exodus | Ezra | Hosea |
| Leviticus | Nehemiah | Joel |
| Numbers | Esther | Amos |
| Deuteronomy | Job | Obadiah |
| Joshua | Psalms | Jonah |
| Judges | Proverbs | Micah |
| Ruth | Ecclesiastes | Nahum |
| 1 Samuel | Song of Solomon | Habakkuk |
| 2 Samuel | Isaiah | Zephaniah |
| 1 Kings | Jeremiah | Haggai |
| 2 Kings | Lamentations | Zechariah |
| 1 Chronicles | Ezekiel | Malachi |
The New Testament:
| Matthew | Ephesians | Hebrews |
| Mark | Philippians | James |
| Luke | Colossians | 1 Peter |
| John | 1 Thessalonians | 2 Peter |
| Acts | 2 Thessalonians | 1 John |
| Romans | 1 Timothy | 2 John |
| 1 Corinthians | 2 Timothy | 3 John |
| 2 Corinthians | Titus | Jude |
| Galatians | Philemon | Revelation |
All of these books are inspired by God and are the rule of faith and life.
- The books usually called the Apocrypha are not divinely inspired and are not part of the canon of Scripture. They therefore have no authority in the church of God and are not to be valued or used as anything other than human writings.
- The Bible speaks authoritatively and so deserves to be believed and obeyed. This authority does not depend on the testimony of any man or church but completely on God, its author, who is himself truth. The Bible therefore is to be accepted as true, because it is the word of God.
- We may be influenced by the testimony of the church to value the Bible highly and reverently, and Scripture itself shows in so many ways that it is God’s word; for example, in its spiritual subject matter, in the effectiveness of its teaching, the majesty of its style, the agreement of all its parts, its unified aim from beginning to end (to give all glory to God), the full revelation it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, its many other incomparably outstanding features, and its complete perfection. However, we are completely persuaded and assured of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Bible only by the inward working of the Holy Spirit, who testifies by and with the word in our hearts.
- The whole purpose of God about everything pertaining to his own glory and to man’s salvation, faith, and life is either explicitly stated in the Bible or may be deduced as inevitably and logically following from it. Nothing is at any time to be added to the Bible, either from new revelations of the Spirit or from traditions of men. Nevertheless we do recognize that the inward illumination of the Spirit of God is necessary for a saving understanding of the things which are revealed in the word. We also recognize that some provisions for the worship of God and the government of the church are similar to secular activities and organizations; these are to be directed according to our natural understanding and our Christian discretion and should conform to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed.
- The meanings of all the passages in the Bible are not equally obvious, nor is any individual passage equally clear to everyone. However, everything which we have to know, believe, and observe in order to be saved is so clearly presented and revealed somewhere in the Bible that the uneducated as well as the educated can sufficiently understand it by the proper use of the ordinary means of grace.
- The Old Testament in Hebrew (the native language of the ancient people of God) and the New Testament in Greek (the language most widely known internationally at the time the New Testament was written) were directly inspired by God and have been kept uncontaminated throughout time by his special care and providence. They are therefore authentic and are to be the church’s ultimate source of appeal in every religious controversy. The original languages of the Bible, however, are not understood by all of God’s people. But all of God’s people have a right to an interest in the Bible and God himself commands them to read it thoroughly with awe and reverence for him. Consequently the Bible should be translated into the native language of every people to whom it is introduced. Then, the word of God will live fully in everyone; everyone will be able to worship God in an acceptable way; and all believers may have hope through the endurance and the encouragement of the Bible.
- The infallible standard for the interpretation of the Bible is the Bible itself. And so any question about the true and complete sense of a passage in the Bible (which is a unified whole) can be answered by referring to other passages which speak more plainly.
- The Holy Spirit speaking in the Bible is the supreme judge of all religious controversies, all decisions of religious councils, all the opinions of ancient writers, all human teachings, and every private opinion. We are to be satisfied with the judgment of him who is and can be the only judge.
Learning Task Map (LTM)
References
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church. (2010). The Westminster confession of faith and catechisms in modern English. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church: Livonia, Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.epc.org/resources/download-epc-documents/
Reformed Theological Seminary. (n.d.). Student learning outcomes. Retrieved June 23, 2013, from http://www.rts.edu/Site/Resources/student_learning_outcomes.aspx
