Jack L Seymour

Edited by Jack L. Seymour,
{not avail on Kindle or library; not buying!}

1. Approaches
2. Educating for Transformation
3. Faith Community
4. Educating Persons
5. Religious Instruction: Homemaking
6. Assessing Approaches
7. Listening to Churches
8. Agenda for Future

Reminds us that Jesus was a rabbi, [!] a teacher, who gathered disciples and preached to crowds about the new life that God was bringing…."He pointed to God breaking into history calling people to new meanings and new ways of living."

After Jesus' death, disciples followed his example themselves and their world and new ways of living in light of Jesus the Christ. They taught in synogogues, prayed with groups of people, and preached about meanings that had graced them. The sayings of Jesus were memorized. Christian leaders wrote letters answering questions that were raised in the new churches. Instruction sought to resolve conflicts among Christians…"Eventually, Gospels were written to clarify the meanings of Jesus' life and death. These Gospels provided portraits of Jesus, but more than that they taught people about the meaning of life and the ways of living. Luke for example, told the people how to be the church, how to be the hands and feet of Jesus until the day of the Kingdom. These traditions of Jesus and the church taught people who they were, what was expected of them, and how they were to act toward each other. [11-12]

"Most often people learned as they shared life with other Christians. For example, the poor Christians living in tenement houses in Rome learned how to be faithful together through sharing meals, worshiping, talking about life, and providing for each other (Romans 16). People learned the faith as they lived the faith with others. [12]

"The architecture of churches proclaimed God's presence, the bells of churches told time, plays in the streets reminded people of the major meanings of life and faith, and the rules of daily life were significantly-influenced by church leaders. " [12]… (mehr)