EMQ » January–March 2022 » Volume 58 Issue 1
[memberonly folder=”Members, EMQ2YearFolder, EMQ1YearFolder, EMQLibraryInstitution”]Edited by J. Jonathan Kim and Charles A. Tidwell
B & H Academic, 2020
316 pages
US$34.99
Reviewed by Cameron D. Armstrong, International Mission Board, Bucharest, Romania.
From the beginning, God commanded his people to educate. To use the words of J. Jonathan Kim, educational ministry “belongs to the very nature or essence of a church” (1). Kim’s updated and revised edition of Charles A. Tidwell’s The Educational Ministry of a Church explores this concept from a variety of angles. The result is an even greater “comprehensive model” developed over the past twenty-five years since Tidwell’s book appeared in 1996.
Kim brings together fourteen Southern Baptist scholars and pastors to update Tidwell’s original work, though he leaves Tidwell’s chapter on the “biblical precedent” for Christian education untouched. Kim also retains the original titles of the book’s four parts. Part 1 considers the necessity of educational ministry, looking to the Bible, Christian history, and contemporary trends. One of the most insightful chapters in this section is Robert DeVargas’ analysis of the “needs of persons,” which includes a robust discussion of imago Dei and digs into educational theories such as learning styles, multiple intelligences, and andragogy. Part 2, basic components, discusses a church’s three types of ministries: “base ministries” like teaching and discipleship training, “emphasis ministries” like family and student, and “service ministries” such as media and administration. A fascinating chapter on music ministry, penned by Brent A. Thomason, demonstrates how music is innately instructional and can be powerful when “wedded together seamlessly” with the sermon (158). In Part 3, leadership personnel are considered, namely pastors, volunteer leaders, and organizational teams. The chapters in this section are some of the most well-researched, especially Walter H. Norvell’s convicting chapter on why and how churches should enlist and train volunteers. Part 4 considers how leaders lead through planning, conducting, and evaluating an educational ministry. Readers will find reams of practical advice, particularly in Josh Rose’s chapter on action steps for traditional Sunday School models versus small groups.
Two weaknesses to the book concern its treatment of history and its overall scope. First, Doug Powell’s survey of Christian education provides a simplistic view of the Middle Ages. Only three short paragraphs are given to this 1,000-year time frame, dismissing this period with its rise of universities as a time when “Christian education was largely absent or isolated” (28). Second, readers may consider the book’s scope limited since the authors are all Southern Baptists who, at times, appear to be writing for Southern Baptists. While this is to be expected to some extent, the authors’ almost exclusive use of Southern Baptist examples, statistics, and resources could limit the readership of the volume.
These weaknesses aside, The Educational Ministry of a Church succeeds in giving readers a truly “comprehensive” understanding of the whats, whys, whos, and hows of educational ministry. As the world continues to change at a rapid pace beyond anything Charles Tidwell could have imagined, such as the fallout from COVID-19, updating incisive works such as this will become a necessity.
For Further Reading
Estep, James R., Michael J. Anthony, and Gregg R. Allison. A Theology for Christian Education. B & H, 2008.
Habermas, Robert. Introduction to Christian Education and Formation. Zondervan, 2009.
