Children’s Perceptions of the Role of Biblical Narratives in Their Spiritual Formation

Annie George

Description

In the Bible, storytelling is an important means to pass on the revelation of God. God repeatedly commanded the people of Israel to tell his mighty acts to the next generation. Invariably churches follow this mandate and use biblical narratives as a means to transmit God’s self-revelation to enable transformation. The author, Dr Annie George, listens to the voices of children in order to understand their perceptions of how storytelling of biblical narratives help them in their spiritual formation. Dr George’s research highlights the importance of evaluating the impact of biblical narratives from a child’s perspective as well as emphasising the need to give the same priority to the spiritual transformation of children as with other areas of study and ministry.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 28 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783682379
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dr Annie George’s work, Children’s Perceptions of the Role of Biblical Narratives in Their Spiritual Formation, provides a perspective of storytelling in religious and secular traditions and its crucial role in the transformation of the hearers’ worldview and the formation of their faith, character and spirituality. The study makes a valuable contribution to understanding and evaluating children’s spirituality in a church context where storytelling is predominantly the teaching method for children. It is a must-read for Christian educators in Indian Christian churches concerned with the spirituality of their children.
Orbelina Eguizabal, PhD
Professor of Christian Higher Education,
Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, California, USA

Children’s Perceptions of the Role of Biblical Narratives in Their Spiritual Formation
Annie George

© 2017 by Annie George
Published 2017 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-236-2 Print
978-1-78368-238-6 Mobi
978-1-78368-237-9 ePub
978-1-78368-239-3 PDF
Annie George has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-236-2
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB
Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgments


Chapter 1 Introduction


Description of the Problem


Background and Significance of the Study


Children in India


Explanation of Key Terms


Statement of the Research Questions


Population and Sample


Assumptions of the Study


Delimitations of the Study


Summary


Chapter 2 Review of Relevant Literature


Rationale for the Domain of the Research


Children’s Spirituality Domain


Storytelling in Religious and Secular Traditions


Chapter Summary


Chapter 3 Christian Worldview: Integration and Synthesis


The Bible – the Story that Needs to be Told


The Old Testament and New Testament Use of Stories


Spirituality of Children


That the Next Generation Might Know: Psalm 78:1–8


Chapter Summary


Chapter 4 Research Methodology


Statement of the Research Questions


Research Design


Research Hypothesis


Operational Definitions


Informed Consent


Sample Selection Procedures


Seeking Permission from the Seminary Authorities


Recruiting and Training the Research Assistants


Pilot Study


Developing an Interview Protocol


Data Analysis Procedure


Children as Research Participants: Challenges and Response


Chapter Summary


Chapter 5 Results


Context of Study


Brief Summary of the Research Activities


Data Analysis


Chapter Summary


Chapter 6 Conclusions


Major Findings


Implications


Limitations


Recommendations for Future Research


Concluding Remarks


Appendix A Information Leaflet for Pastors and Parents





Appendix B Information Leaflet for Children





Appendix C Information Leaflet for Research Assistants





Appendix D Informed Consent Forms


Informed Consent Form 1





Informed Consent Form 2


Appendix E Permission Letter to Use the Textbook, God Our Security


Appendix F Tables Displaying Demographic Information about Participating Churches and Demographic Information of Children from Seven Churches with Respect to Age and Gender


Appendix G Children’s Expression of Their Awareness of God through Poems, Pictures, and Testimonies


Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Abstract
This research is to explore children’s perceptions of the role of biblical narratives in their spiritual formation. The Judeo-Christian faith has had a keen interest in children’s spiritual formation even before the recent emergence of the interest in children’s spirituality. Stories are seen as central to the Judeo-Christian worldview. The significance of the topic in the context of this research – Kerala, India – is that Sunday schools are seen as a crucial and exclusive ministry with children where children are spiritually nurtured primarily through telling the stories of the Bible.
This research involved 9- to 11-year-old children from seven Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in and around the town of Adoor, Kerala, India. As children are a vulnerable population, ethical concerns of research with children were considered in the study. The researcher was assisted by three seminary students. Class activities, focus group interviews, and member checking provided ample opportunities to listen to children’s verbal and non-verbal expressions about their perceptions. The data was analyzed using established qualitative data analysis methods. Categories developed through data analysis summarizes children’s perceptions on this topic.
This research facilitated an opportunity for children to express the following aspects: storytellers of biblical narratives, reasons for communicating biblical stories, life situations in which they remember stories, their experiences when listening to or remembering biblical stories, and I-Thou, I-self, I-other, and I-world understanding generated from biblical narratives.
The researcher hopes to challenge the view that adult’s experiences and perceptions are the norm to evaluate children’s spirituality. It is a fact that India has the highest number of children in the world. In such a context, time has come for theological institutions and churches in India to value issues of children at par with other areas of study and ministry.
Acknowledgments
With heartfelt gratitude . . .

to God, to you I owe my life.
to my parents and my husband’s parents (three of them are cheering me from heaven). Thank you for being my parents.
to my husband and my children, you give me unconditional love and acceptance. I am truly blessed.
to my sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, uncles, and aunts, you are truly God’s gifts.
to my friends, my church family – Adoor Vineyard Church, my students, and faculty at Faith Theological Seminary, you have enriched my life.
to my committee members Dr Lawson, Dr Carr, Dr Tally, you have equipped and enriched me with your wisdom and humility.
to the faculty, staff, and friends at Talbot School of Theology, you have showed me the meaning of what Jesus’ words, “love your neighbor as yourselves.”
to many children whom God has entrusted me to teach in Sunday school since 1987, you have helped me to realize your love for God is deep and colorful.
to the research team and research participants and participating churches, you helped me to make sense of what I was trying to explore.
to the Abrahams, in your house I again witnessed God’s orchestration in my life.
to those who have ministered in my life in various times, I am blessed by your kindness.

“I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord! Renew them in our days, In our time make them known”
Chapter 1
Introduction
Even though there is a recent interest in storytelling, storytelling is an ancient phenomenon. Morris Olper, an anthropologist among the Apache of southern New Mexico, noted that a person who had acted unethically within the tribe would be confronted with questions such as, “How could you do that? Didn’t you have a grandfather to tell you stories?” [1] As “the oldest all-ability teaching devic