Today is a fitting day to begin a course about worldviews with the teens in our homeschool co-op. This is the 497th anniversary of Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany—the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation.
The Reformation is an example of one of the most important theological debates in the history of the Christian church: the debate over justification. How are we saved—by faith and our works, or by faith alone? But this wasn’t simply a renewal of vibrant Christian faith and a rediscovery of the gospel: it represented a massive worldview shift, completely changing how people understand how the world works.
As Christians, we have to understand this. We want to have a strong grasp of our own worldview, certainly. But just as importantly, we need to understand how the others see the world if we are going to reach them with the good news of Jesus. Having a foundational understanding of worldview allows us to enter into their world, to see affirm what is good and true and point those things back to the source of truth, while probing those aspects that stand in stark contrast to the Christian worldview.
That, in the end, represents the why of this course. So here’s what we’ll be doing over the next few weeks:
- We’ll be engaging in some good old-fashioned Bible study;
- We’ll be interacting with news stories and pop culture to see what story they’re telling about how the world works;
- We’ll be asking friends and neighbours about their worldviews;
- And we’ll be making the most of opportunities to put what we know into practice.
I don’t want these teens to engage this in a merely intellectual fashion. I want them to gain confidence in their faith, and I want to help equip them to confidently and humbly examine the competing ideas that exist so they can share their faith with others.
What the fruit will be, only the Lord knows. But I’m excited to see what happens.
Aaron, can you post some books that you recommend for this area? I’m a student pastor and have been considering doing something similar. What resources have helped you plot and prepare for this study? Are there any resources (books or particular articles) you will ask them to read? Thanks for your time.
Sounds awesome!
Have you heard of preparedtoanswer.org? I’ve worked with Scott, the founder, who married Andrew and I. He is developing curriculum for courses to teach within the church on apologetics. Anyways, this post made me think of his material, you should check it out. I will pray for the teens you will be ministering to!
I have not, but I definitely will!
Are you creating the material yourself or are you using a published study / curriculum? I would like to know because I would like to lead our youth in a similar study.
It’s something I’m creating myself, but with huge debts owed to a lot of other sources.