An enquiry into the congruence of discipling as an educational strategy with the objectives of Christian faith communities

Collinson, Sylvia Irene (1999) An enquiry into the congruence of discipling as an educational strategy with the objectives of Christian faith communities. PhD thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

The Christian faith community regards the making of disciples as a prime directive from Jesus himself, though this theme is not dominant in contemporary models of teaching in the church. This investigation seeks to develop a theory of discipling and to test its congruence as an effective educational strategy with the objectives of modem Christian faith communities.

After briefly examining the Discipling Model of teaching as practised in the world of the Ancient Near East, a detailed study of New Testament texts investigates the practice of discipling by Jesus and his followers and in the church of the first century CE. An understanding of the concept of discipling is gained by gradually refining its definition as the study progresses through an examination of other informal models of education. Religious and educational research findings are explored to enable the validity of the Discipling Model to be determined. Finally- the definition is used as a benchmark to examine various contemporary educational theories within the community of faith.

In contrast to the schooling model, discipling has been shown to be an effective model for teaching knowledge and beliefs as well as attitudes, values and behaviours. Its emphasis on commitment to learning relationships within a nurturing community and active involvement in the mission of Christ to the world and its capacity to adapt to differences in age, culture, ability and interests makes it a model of teaching worthy of much greater attention by the Christian faith community.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	Division of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education
Notes:	Note to the author: If you would like to make your thesis openly available on Murdoch University Library's Research Repository, please contact: repository@murdoch.edu.au. Thank you.
Supervisor(s):	Hill, Brian
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/50512

Item Control Page