Teaching for Faith: A Guide for Teachers of Adult Classes [Paperback]

Richard Robert Osmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1992

This useful, theologically informed guide prepares teachers in the church, whose purpose is to awaken, support, and challenge faith. Richard Osmer offers practical suggestions for preparing good lectures and leading lively discussions. He explores four important dimensions of faith--faith as belief, as commitment, as relationship, and as mystery--and describes different teaching approaches to address each of these dimensions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Robert Osmer is Thomas W. Synnott Professor of Christian Education and Director of the School of Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he is the author of Confirmation: Presbyterian Practices in Ecumenical Perspective, Teaching for Faith, and A Teachable Spirit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664252176
• ISBN-13: 978-0664252175
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Basic Theology of Christian Education and How to Teach Adults, October 5, 2006

By 

Carla Libby Gentry "Pastor and Social Geronto... (Lee's Summit, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teaching for Faith: A Guide for Teachers of Adult Classes (Paperback)

Osmer's book is an attempt to do two things: 1) provide a basic theology of Christian Education for Adult Learners and 2) provide four different teaching methods (lecture, discussion, life story, and paradox) to transmit knowledge to adults. For someone who has no background in adult education and specifically adult Christian education, this is a good book to get one started. Osmer provides numerous examples and outlines on how to implement giving a lecture, leading a discussion, using life review, and paradox to teach and deepen faith. The book contains a chapter on how to use the book alone or to instruct and train a group of teachers. The suggested reading list at the end of the book provides the teacher with many more sources to explore as their capacity and ability to teach and transmit faith grows.

The theological mode of a Faith Cube is helpful in understanding adult faith development and the role that good solid Christian Education plays in helping adults grow and mature in their faith. As a pastor with minimal Christian Education training I found this book education and helpful but it did tend to drag toward the end as the examples got detailed and numerous. Others may find that helpful and it did not detract from the usefulness of the book, just made it a bit `dry' to read.

If you are looking for a basic book on Adult Christian Education and want to gain a solid theological understanding of its need and how to begin teaching adults, I would recommend starting with this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Professor Osmer's book moves beyond the only guide book of teaching for faith., July 5, 2010

By 

Moon Son (Seoul, KR) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Teaching for Faith: A Guide for Teachers of Adult Classes (Paperback)

Preparing the lecture of the next semester, I am reading Professor Osmer's book, Teaching for Faith. At first, I thought that that book was the only guide book for Christian education of adult classes. However, reading Professor Osmer's book, I have known that my first thought is not right. Professor Osmer's book is beyond the only guide book for adult students. His book is the "storehouse" of new insights and information of Christian education as well as general education. His style is not difficult so that a foreigner out of U.S.A. like me can understand author's main theme. I am experiencing the new surprising findings in his book's page by page. And I am surprised at his faithfulness and modesty. Professor Osmer's book, Teaching for Faith, is a happy place for my mind and soul. I deeply appreciate Professor Osmer. God's blessing of peace will be with Professor Osmer, his family, and his academy.

Rev. Moon Son, Ph.D. (He is teaching Christian Education at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and is serving Jesus Love Methodist Church in Seoul as a pastor of Korean Methodist Church.)