Christian Worship
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 66, No. 1 - Fall 2023
Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Kyle R. Hughes. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022, 198pp., $27.00.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries were forced to adjust and revise their methods and models. From a heavier emphasis on remote work, to the further integration of AI technology, to entire new commercial enterprises formed altogether, much has changed since 2020. One of the industries most impacted by the pandemic has been education. Early solutions included a massive shift to online delivery, as well as the increase of homeschool and non-traditional models. While some of these developments have positive effects, the notion of effective pedagogy is constantly being reworked in our modern day. This raises the question of whether looking forward is always the best solution to education. What about ancient wisdom to address modern pedagogical needs? Teaching for Spiritual Formation: A Patristic Approach to Christian Education in a Convulsed Age is a practical work of retrieval, applying ancient wisdom for more effective discipleship and Christian education. In seven chapters highlighting different Christian thinkers of early centuries, Kyle Hughes offers readers time-honored methods for Christian educators. Hughes does more than read ancient texts, he reads them in conversation with modern educational philosophy alongside his own pedagogical observations. Thus, it is both a work of close reading and research as well as personal conviction. What comes across in these pages is more than a blueprint or static model, but a summons to consider the multi-faceted and ancient task of Christian education for the good of the soul and the good of the world.
Chapter 1 provides introductory observations on the state of Christian education, establishing the direction of the remaining chapters. Hughes recognizes that our current age is fraught with temptations towards pragmatism, utilitarianism, and hedonism. True Christian education should address these and other prevailing philosophies from God’s revelation in Scripture and the church’s tradition of theological reflection. Christian educators are called to help students become certain people, not simply prepare for certain tasks. A call to vocation apart from a call to virtue is antithetical to classical Christian pedagogy. Chapter 2 builds on this summons by enlarging our vision of the teaching vocation, with particular attention to Gregory the Great and his legacy of contemplative spirituality. Drawing from his Pastoral Rule, Hughes demonstrates how Christian educators act as shepherds, directing the soul of students out of the overflow of our own life with God. The spiritual and emotional health of educators directly impacts their work in the classroom. Christian administrators must also concern themselves with the spiritual health of their faculty. Hughes argues that biblical meditation and contemplation are just as important (if not more so) for faculty development as a continuing education module.
Chapter 3 moves towards exploring the identity of students in Christian education environments. For this purpose, Hughes turns to John Chrysostom and relates the idea of training athletes for Christ. This includes the ministry of “counter formation” whereby educators are tasked with addressing prevailing cultural concerns as they impact the mind and hearts of students. Through Chrysostom, Hughes advocates for educators “[providing] opportunities to train the ‘muscles’ of their [students’] souls” (p. 45). The teaching vocation is one akin to an athletic trainer. This means Christian educators advocate for what is good and discourage what is damaging to a student’s soul. Christian educators are ministers of virtue formation, even if the content is mathematics or science. This also means that educators submit to the same standards, modeling what receiving correction means with grace and humility. Chrysostom was also concerned with the role of the senses in spiritual formation, and Hughes adapts this to show how different pedagogical approaches are necessary to aid all kinds of students. This also means that Christian education is a team approach, utilizing the gifts and abilities of all educators and administrators to bring about meaningful intellectual and character development.
Hughes dedicates the next several chapters to the content and methods of teaching gleaned from different Patristic voices. Chapter 4 explores the understanding of virtue from Basil of Caesarea, which Hughes argues encompasses the main content of our teaching. Christian educators are tasked with promoting and inculcating Christian virtue, whether teaching Scripture, British literature, or chemistry. Hughes asserts that “the role of the teacher is to provide such opportunities by which students can practice the virtuous life, such that choosing virtue becomes the default course of action for the student” (84). This may require a complete reimagining of curriculum to meet this goal, a goal that Basil advances (90-91). Chapters 5 and 6 speak to methodology in Christian education, with attention to Benedict of Nursia and Cyril of Jerusalem. Both thinkers provide reflection on the formative practices and the structured approach necessary to give Christian education the proper trellis for student development. Christian educators ought to be concerned with holiness and should not be wary of time-tested methods of catechesis to reinforce ideas and promote spiritual activity. Hughes helpfully navigates the value of both asceticism and catechism for the sake of building healthy disciples of Christ in Christian education, whether in schools or churches.
Christian education has a unique opportunity to offer the world an anchor amidst prevailing waves of doubt and spiritual chaos. Parochial schools, classical Christian schools, Christian liberal arts colleges, and seminaries for training ministers of the gospel ought to be places of virtue formation just as much as intellectual and practical development. Hughes and his ability to elucidate Patristic voices offers readers the perspective needed to recover Christian education as formation in the intellect as well as the heart. While this work is written especially for institutions of Christian education, Hughes offers wider application for any church ministry involved in education and discipleship. Hughes presents a translatable paradigm for ministers and pastors in the local church, as well as leaders in parachurch ministries. Though his insights come from his experience leading in K-12 Christian classical education, these insights have challenged and encouraged me in my own ministry to undergraduates and seminarians. The treasures of biblical wisdom from the Church Fathers should not be neglected for modern methods but should be recovered for timeless results.
