African-American Religious Education: Discussion and Lesson Plan (670 words)

You are invited to select at least two articles from the list below and use them as a reflection on education and hope. Create an outline for a lesson plan for a Teacher Training Event based on your readings and related to the theme of hope.

* African-American Religious Education, by Harold Dean Trulear
* Christian Education in The African American Church, by Lora-Ellen McKinney
* Nurturing Faith & Hope - Black Worship as a Model for Christian Education, by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly

This material may consist of step-by-step explanations on how to solve a problem or examples of proper writing, including the use of citations, references, bibliographies, and formatting. This material is made available for the sole purpose of studying and learning - misuse is strictly forbidden.

Reflection and a Lesson Outline

I have selected two articles from the list, “Christian Education in the African American Church” by Lora-Ellen McKinney and a book Chapter “The Creative Person.” At first glance they seem to be dedicated to different aspects of Christian education, the former defines Christian education within the African American context and discusses its goals, while the latter focusses upon the often neglected role of creativity in educating a Christian. On the other hand, both articles compliment each other very well. Indeed, many of the approaches suggested by McKinney are truly creative and can be applied in a variety of settings. For instance, for McKinney to be successful as Christian educators means to provide “a meaningful connection with our heritage,” an important fact that we had discussed previously, and to “address the varied learning needs [in a] meaningful, relevant, enjoyable, engaging, interesting” ways.

This requires a good deal of creative approach on behalf of Christian educators and helps unfold natural creativity in students. The other article on more than one occasion refers to such “injections of innovation” as participating in a Christian education tour with one of the largest black denominations, or an idea of having joint worship with a Vietnamese church, or mutual toleration, acceptance and co-operation with Christians that may have customs different from the mainstream, such as Mennonites and Seventh-Day Adventists....