Relevance of Death Education in Children’s Ministry

Jaime M. Kang 한국기독교교육정보학회 2015 Journal of Christian education information tech Vol.0 No.27

Christian ministry to any age group cannot avoid the topic of death and the afterlife, and this is also true for children’s ministry. Through their favorite cartoon characters or their favorite pets or even actual loved ones, children experience death as well. However, death is not something that adults feel comfortable talking about with children. Like sex education, death education is a highly sensitive issue. In this regard, this paper is to investigate the relevance of death education to children’s ministry, more specifically to children’s holistic growth in Christ. The question, “Does the topic serve children and help them grow in favor with God and men?” is the starting point of this paper. For this purpose, the writer intends to do the following: first, understand children’s concept of death through critical reviews on literatures on this topic; and second, explore the potential benefits of talking about death with children.

Learning the Most from Christian Social Services

Jaime M. Kang 한국기독교교육정보학회 2013 Journal of Christian education information tech Vol.0 No.24

The anti-Christian disposition in this contemporary world seems stronger than that of any other period in history, and the schism between the words and deeds of Christians is pointed to as being one of the major reasons. This situation draws our attention to the need for intensifying Christian citizenship education. Considering citizenship in terms of responsibilities and active involvement, we need to educate the next generation of the faith community to have a life committed to social services. For this, we can learn a lesson from the service learning model within the public education system. Service learning is a method of instruction in which classroom learning is enriched and applied through service to others. Since service learning integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection, it is assessed as being a successful model to have impact on college students, especially on their commitment to future civic engagement and social empowerment. With this background, this paper explores the nature of service learning and investigates how it can be implemented in Christian colleges and universities for the purpose of Christian citizenship education.

Reassessing Contextualization from an Educational Perspective

Jaime M. Kang 한국기독교교육정보학회 2009 Journal of Christian education information tech Vol.0 No.16

Living in a global community and confronting people of diverse backgrounds, Christian educators often find themselves busy translating the gospel into the concepts or ideals relevant and meaningful to the people in their own culture and situation. Nevertheless, this effort, known as contextualization, has not received as much attention in the field of Christian education as in missiology and theology. For this very reason, the writer has attempted to reassess contextualization from a Christian education perspective by doing research on three things: first, the relevance of contextualization in educational ministry; second, the potential areas of contextualization in educational ministry; and third, the significance of contextualization in the educational field. The underlying intention of this paper is to show how urgent the task of contextualization is within the faith community around the global world.

The Place of Liturgy in Children Ministry

Jaime M. Kang 한국기독교교육정보학회 2010 Journal of Christian education information tech Vol.0 No.18

Liturgy is perhaps the most fundamental means for Christians to retain their identity and tradition. Even those who call themselves as nonliturgical are indeed liturgical as long as they worship in a pattern, regardless of their denominational or theological backgrounds. Yet, with the industrial and scientific development, along with cultural changes, people wonder how liturgy and worship relate to their life. Contemporary Christian communities face profound challenges in the area of worship and liturgy. This is more so in the ministry for children. We are missing an important element?the awareness of God. It becomes urgent for us to reevaluate the place of liturgy in children ministry. If we have been focusing solely on the microscopic level of teaching and invested our energy and resources on the study of educational methodology, educational technology, or educational psychology, now we need to pay our attention to the whole of congregational life from a macroscopic level. This level of teaching requires a paradigm shift in education from cognitive apprehension to participation and practice in liturgical activities of church. It begins from our acceptance of liturgy as a potential pedagogy for children.

Faith Integration as a Way of Knowing in Higher Education

Jaime M. Kang 한국기독교교육정보학회 2007 Journal of Christian education information tech Vol.0 No.12

Learning shaped and formed by faith results in living that is shaped and formed by faith. The integration of faith and learning forms the foundation of Christian higher education and shapes its purpose and goal. Some would see faith and learning as contradictions that cannot exist together. Others would try to blend those that seem to be contradictions. We, Christian educators, on the other hand, maintain boldly that faith and learning must be held together. This is so because there can be no authentic Christian higher education without the marriage of these essentials. A task of a Christian university is to help a new generation think Christianly in order to impact the world for good with the truth of the gospel. For this outcome, the writer intends to call for special attention among Christian educators on the integration of faith and learning as a way of knowing in higher education in this paper. This objective is to be accomplished by doing the following: giving an overview of the key concepts of faith integration, explaining the epistemological understanding of knowing, and giving a brief study on the nature of higher education.

기독교교육에서 인문학 활용 가능성 모색

정정미(Jaime M. Kang) 한국기독교교육정보학회 2013 기독교교육정보 Vol.36 No.-

‘성도를 온전케 하며 봉사의 일을 하게하며 그리스도의 몸을 세우는 (엡 4:12)’ 교육을 하기 위해서는 인간이 당면하고 있는 왜곡된 세계 인식과 삶의 파편화 현상의 원인을 진단하고 이를 극복하는 신앙과 삶의 통전적 접근이 필요하다. 텍스트의 획일화된 전달이나 교리와 신조의 단순 암기에 머무르는 교육은 인간본성을 회복시키고 사회변화를 능동적으로 선포케 하는 것에 미치지 못한다. 이러한 맥락에서 인간 삶에 대한 이해를 추구하는 인문학에서 하나님의 지혜와 대립, 혹은 상충되지 않는 것을 선별하여 기독교교육에서 활용할 수 있는 가능성과 방안을 모색하려는 시도가 요구된다. 인간과 인간성을 탐구하는 인문학은 인간다움과 인간다운 삶이 무엇인지 모색하는 규범적ㆍ윤리적 학문이다. 특히 문학, 역사, 철학, 예술 등에 나타난 인간 삶에 대한 이해는 반복되는 복잡한 일상 가운데 자신의 삶을 돌아보고 성찰할 수 있는 전환점을 제공한다. 과거와 현재의 다양한 인문학적 자원 속에서 삶에 대한 성찰과 현상들 간의 연관성을 인식하게 되면서 사회적 역할과 책임을 발견하는 계기를 마련할 수 있다. 이울러 다양한 인문학의 내용은 기독교교육의 실천에 있어서 폭넓은 지성과 풍성한 삶으로 확장시키는 촉매제 역할을 하여 그리스도의 온전함에 도달하게 하는 협동적 지식으로 활용될 수 있다. 이러한 인식에서 기독교교육에서 인문학 활용의 필요성과 성경과 교회역사 가운데 나타난 인문학 활용의 예를 고찰하고, 이를 토대로 기독교교육현장에서 재발견과 재해석의 통로로서 인문학 활용의 가능성을 살펴본다.

유아 영성의 이해와 그 교육적 적용에 관한 고찰

정정미(Jaime M. Kang) 한국기독교교육정보학회 2010 기독교교육정보 Vol.27 No.-

The major purpose of this paper is to justify the spiritual education for young children by challenging the mainstream hierarchical stage theory of cognition, which concludes that children are not cognitively capable enough to understand spiritual matters. It is the writer's belief that the cognitive skills manifested by children are those which are necessary preconditions for spirituality. These skills being devalued, children are losing their opportunities to grow holistically. Theories of children's spirituality need to be built on their ability to appreciate that children's cognition is organized through structures that are essential to spirituality. This paper is to offer an alternative understanding of children's cognition, which reveals that the cognitive capacities of children are essential to the phenomenology of spirituality.

다문화적 신앙공동체 형성을 위한 교회의 교육적 과제

정정미(Jaime M. Kang) 한국기독교교육정보학회 2009 기독교교육정보 Vol.24 No.-

Being global in today's society heightens the consciousness of Christian educators to the place of racial and cultural minorities in the church's education. Motivated by an increasing commitment to church inclusiveness, Christian education increasingly seeks to incorporate cultural minority peoples and their experience into church education programs and resources. Little attention has been given, however, to the relevance of Christian education to those peoples whose cultural heritage differed from the majority population. Little effort has been made to understand indigenous patterns of teaching and learning or to incorporate multicultural perspectives on teaching and learning into Christian education theories or practices. The consequence may be evident in the continuing lack of enthusiasm among many of the church's cultural minorities for traditional Christian educational approaches. As a way to promote multiculturalism within the faith community, this paper attempts to do the following: first, to comprehend the sociological and biblical background of multicultural society; second, to understand the role of church within a multicultural society; and finally, to propose educational tasks that the church must strive to commit to becoming a culturally diverse faith community.

기독교 종합대학의 소명교육을 위한 제안

정정미(Jaime M. Kang) 한국기독교교육정보학회 2008 기독교교육정보 Vol.19 No.-

The word vocation is used theologically of God's call on people's lives. It is the call of God on a person's life which includes any job or career path within it. With this definition, vocation may be conceived of two levels. The primary level concerns a fundamental reconciliation with God; the secondary level of vocation is a calling to mission. A person's mission might include a profession such as medicine or business, yet another person's mission might be found within pastoral ministry or Christian education. In order to affirm the call of God on persons in a way which includes all professions, Christian colleges and universities need to implement an educational process for students to develop their ability to discern and affirm their callings both individually and collectively. This article is to propose a curriculum focused on vocation for Christian colleges and universities, based on the teachings of both reformational leaders and modem Christian educators. The curriculum is designed to involve the whole educational community of believers, including faculty, administrators, and staff. When the curriculum is properly proceeded, each student can be challenged to consider what, in the light of their circumstances and gifts, would be the most vital way she or he could contribute to the needs of God's mission in this world. Assisting students to gain a clear understanding of vocation can be an important why for a college to exist as Christian; and at the same time, a how for a Christian college to retain its identity.

기독교적 양육에 있어서 아동의 자율성과 부모의 책임에 대한 소고

정정미 ( M Kang Jaime ) 한국복음주의신학회 2013 성경과신학 Vol.65 No.-

본 논문은 부모가 자신의 신앙으로 자녀를 양육함이 교육적으로 정당한가에 대한 문제제기에서부터 비롯한다. 진보적인 관점에서 볼 때 기독교적 양육은 확고부동한 신념을 생산함으로써 어린이의 이성적 자율성의 발달이 저하한다. 그 결과 다른 상대적인 것은 거짓된 것으로 배척하게 되며, 그 결과자율적 비판을 가능하게 하는 개인의 이성이 해를 입을 수 있다고 보는 것이다. 여기에는 기독교적 양육이란 이름으로 부모가 자신의 신앙을 어린이에게 주입시킴으로써 어린이의 이성적 사고 능력을 저하시킨다는 의식이 짙게 깔려 있다. 그러나 이와 같은 논리는 기독교적 양육을 주입 혹은 세뇌 (indoctrination) 과정으로 단순화시키는 관점에 근거한다. 오히려 현대의 다양한 신앙발달이론은 신앙발달 과정에 있어서 주입보다는 자율성을 더 강조하고 있다. 이런 점에서 기독교적 양육이란 결국 이성적 자율의 개념과 모순됨 없이 양립될 수 있으며, 오히려 자율성에 대한 존중이 바로 진실된 기독교적 양육의 필수 조건임을 주장한다. 진정한 기독교적 양육은 어린이 자율성을 저하시킨다기보다는 오히려 강화시키는 과정으로 인지되어야 하며 이에 대한 부모의 책임 또한 강화되어야 함이 마땅하다. 이에 본 논문은 신앙발달이론과 기초문화에 대한 교육적 개념을 토대로 하여 기독교적 양육에서 아동의 자율성과 부모의 책임은 대립 개념이기보다는 오히려 상호보완적인 요인이자 필수적인 요인임을 제시하는 데 그 일차적 목표를 둔다. 나아가 이를 기초로 기독교적 양육의 의미를 보다 현실적으로 제시해본다. This paper begins with a question like "do parents have a right to bring up their children in their own particular, religious faith?" Within the liberal tradition of education, Christian nurturing is considered as something that prevents the development of children`s autonomy by producing unquestionable faith. As a result, it is assumed that the educational aim to nurture maximum toleration of diversity and a commitment to free critical debate as the most rational means of advancing the pursuit of truth in all its forms is hardly attained. However, such claim is based on the simple assumption of equating Christian nurturing as indoctrination. Contemporary faith development theories assert the value of autonomy for the genuine growth of faith. Religious belief is not necessarily a matter of non-rational faith or cultural conditioning. It is possible to harmonize the presentation of a particular set of religious beliefs with a concern for the development of the autonomy of the child. On this view, the objective of this paper is twofold: first, to present the relationship between children`s autonomy and parental right for Christian nurturing as reciprocate one rather than confrontational and second, to offer practical ways for Christian nurturing in the daily living.