Family Education—Jewish, Greek or American:

Family Education—Jewish, Greek or American:
Molding a Model of Christian Family Life Discipleship
Gregory C. Carlson, Professor of Christian Ministries, Trinity International University

from chapter three, Passing the Torch of God's Truth From Generation to Generation
(to be released 4:00 pm, Friday, March 27th, at the Midwest Teaching & Discipleship Convention)

The family today hears much about shaping and discipling the next generation. But the call for discipleship in the home is muted by the seeming confusion and inactivity of parents. Solid observations from respected researchers assert that parents have great potential in developing spiritually healthy young people.

How can it be that even though we have more sermons and exhortation, more materials and methods, that we still do not see vigorous discipleship by parents? Could it be that we are not patterning our ministry in the home after a comprehensive model?

That is exactly what this chapter proposes! We need to look at the lessons we can learn from ancient Jewish education. These lessons may help us then frame the nurturing of our own families.

The practices of the Jewish home show strength and wisdom.

“The religious rites of the Hebrew people were occasions for pedagogy. Household ritual provoked wonder, reverence, and joy, as well as questions.”[i] We could seek to establish regular (but not legalistic) times of focus upon God and His Word, His Work, and His Ways.

Almost always the family was viewed in a way that we today describe as “the extended family.” This means we should look at creative ways of inter-generational education.

The home had all the generations learning together. Not until after the exile did Jewish people establish schools in which a learned scribe was educating the young away from the family context. Even then, these scribes sometimes had the training in their own homes or in the homes of wealthy patrons.[ii] The model of having children away from parents in a “school” happens at the end of the Old Testament, but the blending in the New Testament for home and school both guided by a spiritual leadership is still very dependent upon the home.

Conversations, working together, eating together and generally living life were more prevalent in Jewish homes. It’s hard to have conversations when you rise up (referring now to Deuteronomy 6) when dad is gone long before kids wake up. Equally difficult is having the conversation about God and the word on your heart when mom doesn’t get home until after kids have done their homework and supper is over and they are in bed.

Natural and informal education was practiced. “The education of this period was natural and informal instead of formal. The nomadic life of the patriarchs did not permit the founding of schools.”[iii] This has deep implications for us in Christian education in the church and home. It is probably why we also have such difficulty with Christian education in the home. We model at church very little informality, bemoan how people talking in the “fellowship hall” won’t come to our classes for “teaching,” and on it goes. The complete disregard for informal training in the church almost puts it at odds with Christian education in the home.

The establishment of schools. The inadequacies of the family education promoted the development of the schools, just as today. Orphaned children were entirely deprived of an education. Similarly, many children whose fathers were living would also be neglected because the parents were too preoccupied in their daily work earning a livelihood, or because the fathers themselves might not be conversant with the elements of Jewish learning.[iv]

Sound familiar? This presents the challenge for our present school education to involve and promote parents. To take over all education of children in the church without parental influence is something neither Jewish or Greek educators were able to do. And they had the government for the most part supporting their efforts!

[i] Hayes, Edward L., “The Biblical Foundations of Christian Education,” in Introduction to Biblical Christian Education, edited by Werner C. Graendorf. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985, page 26.
[ii] Graves, op cit., page 126.
[iii] Eavey, C. B. History of Christian Education. Chicago: Moody Press, 1964, page 46.
[iv] Ibid., page 43.