The Education Gospel

In this hard-hitting history of "the gospel of education," W. Norton Grubb and Marvin Lazerson reveal the allure, and the fallacy, of the longstanding American faith that more schooling for more people is the remedy for all our social and economic problems--and that the central purpose of education is workplace preparation. But do increasing levels of education accurately represent the demands of today's jobs? Grubb and Lazerson argue that the abilities developed in schools and universities and the competencies required in work are often mismatched--since many Americans are under-educated for serious work while at least a third are over-educated for the jobs they hold. The ongoing race for personal advancement and the focus on worker preparation have squeezed out civic education and learning for its own sake. Paradoxically, the focus on schooling as a mechanism of equity has reinforced social inequality. The challenge now, the authors show, is to create environments for learning that incorporate both economic and civic goals, and to prevent the further descent of education into a preoccupation with narrow work skills and empty credentials.

The word stewardship comes across as stale and mildly distasteful to many in the church today as a term limited in its scope to euphemistic conversations about financial giving. Yet, as Ronald Vallet points out, when the apostle Paul refers to "stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4:1), he's talking about something much deeper and richer than fund-raising. In Stewards of the Gospel Vallet recovers a more adequate understanding of Christian stewardship in light of both the New Testament and the realities facing today's church as it deals with challenges to justice, to the environment, and even to faith itself. He then applies his reinvigorated concept of stewardship in practical ways to congregations, to their pastors and leaders, and to the seminaries and denominational structures that mold and support those leaders. Enhancing Vallet's broad, gospel-oriented vision of stewardship are thoughtful responses from six seasoned theological educators: Daniel Aleshire, David L. Bartlett, Bruce C. Birch, Terry Parsons, Eugene F. Roop, and L. E. "Ted" Siverns.

Christian education has all but disappeared from the majority of educational systems around the world. As governments limit or banish God from among our schools in the name of "separation of church and state," we find the very foundation upon which many schools began disintegrating before our eyes. This is not a new problem. Over the centuries people have had the same concern of what is true education and the place of religion in the educational system. Among these were the newly devoted Christians arising from the Great Advent movement sweeping North America during the 18th and 19th century. Author Alonzo T. Jones, an important figure in Great Advent movement, felt that Christians should take a solid look at the educational systems of that day. Jones believed that true Christian education was the only becoming choice to Christians. In The Place of the Bible in Education, he outlines according to the Bible what exactly Christian education looks like. He also explores the true meaning of the separation between church and state and how Christian education does not fall under such discrimination. In this book, he discusses how secular education falls short of even the true meaning of education and how this has an adverse affect on our young people. Jones shows how there is a Biblical precedent for true education and how the Bible should and can become part of the educational system.

Growing in the Gospel is a word-about-God spoken not from a lectern, nor even from a pulpit, but from around a dinner table.

Phoebe, a fifteen-year-old slave living on a Virginia plantation, finds hope and a chance at freedom when a Canadian doctor visits the plantation and secretly plans to free its slaves.

Essential reading for anyone involved in Christian education, this classic bestseller outlines a strategic vision for education that is designed to produce Christ-like people.

"The education and training of the youth is an important andsolemn work. The great object to be secured should be theproper development of character, that the individual may befitted to rightly discharge the duties of the present life, andto enter at last upon the future, immortal life. Eternity willreveal the manner in which the work has been performed."The book is not only for teachers, but also for parents, whoshould be prepared to direct intelligently the education oftheir children. The whole subject of Christian education istreated from the broadest standpoint, with valuableprinciples and suggestions applicable to every stage of childdevelopment. This little work will prove a blessing, both in aricher personal experience and in an increased ability forservice, to every one who will read it thoughtfully.