Teach Biblically: A Guide to Worldview Education

What does it take to move Bible class beyond teaching biblical content to intentionally forming a biblical worldview? And how can Bible teachers help strengthen worldview formation throughout an entire Christian school?

In this episode of Teach Biblically, Dr. Roger Erdvig and Dr. Maggie Pope welcome Dr. Rhett Davis, Bible Department Chair at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina, to explore these important questions.

Drawing on more than two decades of classroom experience, Rhett shares practical ways Bible teachers can help students understand Scripture as one unified story, ask questions that connect biblical truth to everyday life, and develop habits and desires that reflect Christlike character. He also explains why a teacher's own spiritual formation may be one of the most powerful influences on students.

The conversation then turns to the broader role of Bible departments in Christian schools. Rhett describes how Charlotte Christian School is developing a shared biblical metanarrative framework to equip teachers across disciplines—and why relationships, collaboration, and ongoing professional development are essential to making biblical worldview formation a truly schoolwide commitment.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why biblical literacy alone isn't enough for intentional worldview formation.

• How carefully crafted questions help students process and apply biblical truth.

• Practical classroom liturgies that cultivate gratitude and other Christlike dispositions.

• Why a teacher's "redeemed personality" is such a powerful formational influence.

• How Bible teachers can support colleagues in every academic discipline.

• Simple ways to build relationships and extend the influence of the Bible department throughout the school.

Whether you're a Bible teacher, department chair, or school leader, this conversation offers practical encouragement for making biblical worldview formation central to both the classroom and the broader school community.

What happens when students move beyond reading about history and actually stand in the places where it unfolded?

In the final episode of our three-part series on teaching history biblically, Roger and Maggie talk with Joe Walton, former Director of Education at American Christian Tours (ACTS), about the formative power of educational travel. Joe explains how visiting historical and cultural sites can engage students' senses, stir their curiosity, and create opportunities for reflection that are difficult to reproduce in the classroom.

But a meaningful educational tour must be more than sightseeing. Whether students are walking the battlefield at Gettysburg, standing among the graves at Arlington National Cemetery, encountering competing accounts of human origins at a natural history museum, or serving people in the Bronx, Christian educators can help them interpret what they experience through the biblical story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.

The conversation explores how thoughtfully designed experiences can help students recognize competing worldviews, wrestle with difficult questions, and connect history with what is good, true, right, and beautiful. Joe also shares why skilled guides rely on questions, reflection, stories, and guided processing—not simply information—to help students develop the ability to think biblically for themselves.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why experiencing a historical site can affect students differently than studying it in a classroom

• How educators can move students from merely seeing a site to interpreting its meaning

• Why Christian schools should approach educational travel with biblical intentionality

• How the Creation–Fall–Redemption–Restoration framework brings historical places and events into a larger story

• Ways sites such as Arlington Cemetery, the 9/11 Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial can reveal contrasting worldviews

• Why students need safe, guided opportunities to encounter and process ideas that challenge their faith

• How educational travel can inspire curiosity, imagination, compassion, service, and even a student's future vocation

• How the same principles of questioning, reflection, storytelling, and processing can strengthen classroom teaching

Links: American Christian Tours

Screens are everywhere—in our homes, schools, stores, and children's social lives. How can parents establish healthy limits when technology feels nearly impossible to avoid?

In this episode, Maggie talks with author and speaker Arlene Pellicane about helping children develop a healthier relationship with screens. Arlene, author of The Great Tech Reset, explains why managing technology requires parents to resist cultural pressure, understand what excessive screen use may be displacing, and create an intentional plan for their homes.

The conversation explores how screens can affect children's habits, attention, emotional regulation, relationships, and readiness for adult life. Arlene challenges the assumption that online interaction is an adequate substitute for face-to-face relationships and encourages parents to create more opportunities for children to develop friendships, interests, practical skills, and meaningful hobbies away from their devices.

For parents who have already introduced phones, social media, or video games, the message is hopeful: it is not too late to make a change. Arlene offers a gracious, practical approach that begins with observing how technology is affecting each child, acknowledging earlier decisions without shame, and inviting the family into an experiment with new boundaries.

The episode also addresses one of the most common objections parents hear when screens are removed: "I'm bored." Rather than viewing boredom as a problem to solve, Arlene encourages parents to see it as a gift—one that can prompt children to create, explore, solve problems, and discover interests of their own.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why the availability and addictive design of screens make healthy limits difficult

• How screen habits may affect children's emotional, relational, and intellectual development

• Why digital communication cannot fully replace face-to-face relationships

• How delaying smartphones and social media can give children time to form healthier habits

• Signs that a particular game, platform, or device may be negatively affecting your child

• How to conduct a family screen-reset experiment without shaming your child

• Why parents must examine and model their own technology habits

• How screen-free meals can become a simple and effective starting point

• Why boredom can help children become creators rather than constant consumers

• How to develop a realistic one-year technology plan for your family

Arlene reminds parents that meaningful change will not happen accidentally. It begins by prayerfully envisioning what a healthier family life could look like, getting on the same page as parents, choosing achievable first steps, and confidently communicating the plan to your children.

Arlene Pellicane is an author, speaker, and host of the Happy Home podcast. She is the coauthor, with Dr. Gary Chapman, of Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World and The Great Tech Reset. Learn more about her books, podcast, courses, and Screen Kids Masterclass at arlenepellicane.com.

Want to go deeper? Reclaim your family's attention for what matters most and help your children love real life with God and others more than the counterfeit world technology offers! Order your free copy of Summit's newest parenting resource, The Great Tech Reset: Reclaiming Real Life for Christian Families by Arlene Pellicane. Get your copy at techresetbook.com

What does it actually look like to teach history from within a biblical worldview?

In the second episode of our series on teaching history, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope move from the why of teaching history biblically to the practical question every teacher eventually asks: What does this look like in my classroom?

And while the conversation focuses on history, the principles extend far beyond the history classroom. As Maggie reflects, learning to see one area of life through a biblical worldview can reshape how we see everything—from our academic disciplines to the ordinary work of everyday life.

Roger and Maggie explore three practical ways teachers can approach history from within a biblical worldview:

1. Use the biblical metanarrative as an interpretive framework. 2. Ask the Applied Worldview Questions. 3. Build instruction around biblical truth claims.

But teaching history biblically isn't only about what students know. History can also shape what students love, how they live, and how they understand themselves.

Roger and Maggie discuss how studying the decisions and consequences of people in the past can shape students' desires and habits. Teachers can invite students to compare historical decisions with choices they face today, evaluate those decisions in light of Scripture, and consider what might happen if they followed similar paths.

Finally, history develops worldview awareness. Encountering people and cultures dramatically different from our own creates contrast—and contrast can bring clarity. Studying the past gives students an opportunity not merely to judge another worldview, but to become more aware of the assumptions shaping their own.

For history teachers, that makes the classroom an extraordinary place for formation. As Roger concludes, teachers have all of human history available to help students develop a worldview increasingly aligned with Scripture.

Resources:

Learn more in Roger Erdvig's new book, Teach Biblically: History—A Guide for Seeing History Within a Biblical Worldview, available from Summit Ministries

What if history is about far more than memorizing names, dates, and events?

In the first episode of this three-part series, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope explore what it means to understand history from within a biblical worldview. Roger introduces his new book, Teach Biblically: History—A Guide for Seeing History Within a Biblical Worldview, and explains why teachers need a clear philosophy of history before turning to classroom strategies.

Together, Roger and Maggie discuss three essential purposes for studying history: preserving a people's story, gaining wisdom for living well in the present, and discerning God's interaction with His creation. They also examine Luke and Paul as biblical models for doing history—pursuing certainty about the past, carefully interpreting what happened, and applying its lessons to our lives today.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why adding Bible verses to a history lesson is not the same as teaching history biblically

• Why many Christian educators struggle to connect their faith with their subject area

• How history helps students understand their identity and live wisely

• Why truth about the past matters for navigating the present

• What Luke and Paul teach us about the work of a historian

• Why teachers must develop a biblical philosophy of history before focusing on pedagogy

• How multiple perspectives can help us form a fuller and more truthful picture of past events

Whether you teach history full-time, include it as part of an elementary curriculum, or teach your children at home, this conversation will help you move beyond facts and dates to see history as a meaningful exploration of truth, human choices, and God's work in the world.

Featured resource: Teach Biblically: History—A Guide for Seeing History Within a Biblical Worldview by Roger Erdvig

Order the book at store.summit.org by searching for "Teach Biblically History."

Join us for the next episode in this series, when Roger and Maggie turn from philosophy to practice and explore concrete strategies for teaching history from a biblical worldview.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become a hotly debated topic in Christian education. While many educators appreciate its focus on relationships and emotional health, others are concerned about the secular worldview that often accompanies it.

In this episode, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope welcome Tyler Groves, Head of School at Woodfield Academy and co-author of Growing With One Another, to explore whether Christian educators should reject SEL altogether—or reclaim it through a thoroughly biblical worldview.

Together, they discuss God's design for human flourishing, why Scripture provides a richer vision for social and emotional development than secular frameworks, and how Christian educators can cultivate Christlike character without simply adopting the latest educational trend.

Whether you're a classroom teacher, administrator, counselor, or school leader, this conversation will help you think more deeply about what it truly means to help students become who God created them to be.

• Why social-emotional learning has become such a controversial topic in Christian education

• The difference between secular SEL and a biblical understanding of human flourishing

• Why the Bible provides a richer framework for social and emotional development

• How the Biblical Meta-Narrative reshapes our understanding of identity and flourishing

• Why the goal isn't becoming the "best version of yourself," but becoming more like Christ

• How Christian educators can model biblical social and emotional maturity every day

• The importance of Scripture, the "one another" passages, and Psalm 139 in developing true self-awareness

• Why apologizing, extending forgiveness, and honoring image bearers are essential classroom practices

• Practical ways teachers can cultivate biblical social and emotional growth without adding another program to their workload

• Why worldview formation begins with educators before it reaches students

• Growing With One Another — Dr. Tyler Groves & Dr. Ken Coley

If this episode encouraged you, be sure to subscribe to the Teach Biblically Podcast and share it with another teacher, administrator, counselor, or school leader. As Christian educators, we have the opportunity not merely to teach content, but to cultivate classrooms where students learn what it means to flourish as image bearers of God.

Preparing for a new school year involves more than arranging desks, decorating bulletin boards, and writing lesson plans. Long before formal instruction begins, the classroom environment is already teaching students what matters, what success looks like, and how people should be treated.

In this episode, Roger and Maggie offer five practical questions to help Christian educators create classrooms that intentionally nurture biblical worldview formation. They explore how visual displays, daily routines, classroom celebrations, personal interactions, and the overall culture of a room quietly shape students' beliefs, desires, and habits.

Whether you are setting up an elementary classroom, preparing for a new group of high school students, or leading faculty into a new year, this conversation will help you think beyond organization and aesthetics to the deeper formative power of the classroom.

• Why formation begins before—and continues long after—formal instruction

• How classroom walls can reinforce biblical truth or communicate competing ideas

• Why even attractive, encouraging posters should be evaluated through a biblical worldview

• How to conduct a "secret shopper" review of your classroom environment

• Why classroom routines function as formative liturgies

• How classroom creeds, greetings, prayer, and student jobs can point students toward God's purposes

• What awards, grades, recognition, and celebrations teach students about success

• Ways to recognize humility, compassion, courage, service, and spiritual growth

• What a teacher's words, discipline, and responses to mistakes communicate about human dignity

• How remembering that every student bears God's image can transform classroom relationships

• Why conflict should be treated as a worldview-formation opportunity

• A simple reflection exercise to help teachers envision the lasting influence of their classroom

1. What are students looking at?

2. What routines are you creating?

3. What do students think success means?

4. What does your classroom say about people?

5. How will students remember your classroom?

A worldview-shaping classroom is not merely attractive or well organized. It is an environment that consistently points students toward what is true, good, and beautiful—and toward who God has created them to become.

• Beyond Biblical Integration by Roger Erdvig

• Summit's Train-the-Trainer program: summit.org/train-the-trainer

Subscribe to Teach Biblically wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode with a teacher or school leader preparing for the new school year.

Most Christians spend nearly a third of their lives at work, yet few have ever been taught a truly biblical theology of work. Too often, work becomes either a necessary evil, a means to financial success, or something that only "counts" if it's ministry.

In this episode, Roger and Maggie sit down with Summit Ministries' Director of Properties, Nathan Reitz, to explore how Scripture completely reshapes our understanding of work. Drawing from the four-chapter gospel—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration—Nathan explains why every vocation, from fixing plumbing to teaching students, can become an act of worship.

Whether you're a teacher, school leader, facilities director, parent, or business professional, this conversation will challenge you to see your daily work as sacred participation in God's ongoing work of cultivating and stewarding His creation.

• Why many Christians unintentionally adopt a distorted view of work

• The danger of separating "sacred" ministry from "ordinary" occupations

• How the four-chapter gospel transforms our understanding of vocation

• Why work existed before the Fall—and why that changes everything

• The biblical meaning of cultivation and stewardship

• How gratitude replaces frustration in difficult work

• Why identity must come before productivity

• The surprising connection between fixing plumbing and advancing God's Kingdom

• How unseen work becomes worship

• Practical ways Christian educators can help students develop a biblical view of work

• Every Good Endeavor — Timothy Keller

• How Then Should We Work? — Hugh Whelchel

• The Call — Os Guinness

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If this episode encouraged you, be sure to subscribe to the Teach Biblically Podcast and share it with another educator, school leader, or ministry professional who wants to help others see every area of life through the lens of a biblical worldview.

What makes a book truly formative?

In this summer reading episode, Roger and Maggie each share three books that have challenged, stretched, encouraged, and reshaped the way they think about leadership, creativity, worldview, faith, and everyday life. From classic literature to leadership development to spiritual formation, these recommendations go far beyond typical "professional development" reads to shaping our worldview.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why creativity is part of being made in the image of God

• What the Inklings can teach us about collaboration and feedback

• How service-learning transforms education

• Why Frankenstein is far deeper — and more relevant — than most people realize

• The importance of joy-centered leadership

• How everyday routines can become spiritually formative moments

Whether you're looking for a meaningful summer read, ideas for personal growth, or simply enjoy thoughtful conversations about books, this episode is full of practical insight and rich reflection.

• Bandersnatch — Diana Glyer

• Bring It to Life — Roger Erdvig & Lynn Swaner

• Naming the Animals — Stephen Roach

• Every Moment Holy — Douglas McKelvey

• Frankenstein — Mary Shelley

• Rare Leadership — Marcus Warner & Jim Wilder

How do biographies shape worldview, desires, and spiritual formation?

In this episode, Roger and Maggie sit down with author and Crossway publisher Champ Thornton to explore the formative power of biography, storytelling, and Christian imagination. Champ shares how a single worldview book deeply reshaped his thinking, why biographies are uniquely powerful tools for discipleship, and how his new children's biography series seeks to help young readers love truth, goodness, and beauty.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• How Creation Regained by Albert Wolters transformed Champ's understanding of worldview

• Why worldview formation begins with shaping desires, not just transferring information

• The importance of helping children become curious lifelong learners

• Why biographies are "efficient reads" that combine history, theology, psychology, and story

• How compelling Christian biographies can help students see themselves in the lives of faithful believers

• The challenge of writing biographies that are honest, engaging, and age-appropriate

• Why Christian education needs stories that capture students' hearts, not just their minds

Champ also shares insight into his growing Lives of Faith and Grace biography series for middle-grade readers, including books on:

• John Bunyan

• Corrie ten Boom

• Martin Luther

• C. S. Lewis

• Eric Liddell

• Elisabeth Elliot and more.

This episode is full of encouragement for teachers, parents, school leaders, and anyone who wants to help young people grow into faithful, thoughtful followers of Christ.

• Creation Regained — Albert Wolters

• The Really Radical Book for Kids — Champ Thornton

• Lives of Faith and Grace biography series from Crossway Publishers — Champ Thornton