Book Shelf

by William (Bill) Young

Our Spiritual Brain: Integrating Brain Research and Faith Development. Barbara Bruce. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002. (ISBN: 0-687-09266-3).

Brain research is about making discoveries. It is about learning how this most amazing organism works and how it influences every aspect of your life. As religious educators we need to know how the brain functions and how to translate that information into better, more usable lessons to help learners continue, with depth and purpose on their journey of faith.

Some will fault Bruce’s use of “spiritual brain.” As humans, we have a brain capable of engaging the word in multiple ways, including what we might call “spiritually”; but to call that a “spiritual” brain as though this is a different kind of brain is somewhat misleading.

That aside, this book is a good resource of practical applications of the brain research.

Bruce considers Brain Research the third side of a triangle, with Multiple Intelligences and Creative and Critical Thinking comprising the other two sides. She believes Brain Research is the undergirding of all our ability to learn and grow in faith and helps us understand why we do what we do and how we can increase our ability to learn.

The book has four sections. The first section is a brief background of the brain research.                                                                         The second section is about learning, particularly brain-based learning focusing on preschoolers, children, youth and adults. The largest section of the book, section three, is a presentation of twelve applications for connecting brain research with the classroom. Clear and concise statements, like “A safe environment is key to maximized learning,” challenges us to remember how the brain works and to connect that with our age-appropriate teaching. In this instance, we are reminded of the effect that threat has on the brain’s ability to function and the discussion that follows offers specific suggestions for applying this principle in a teaching context. The fourth section will help the reader take their learning about the brain into new areas of discovery.

As Mark Twain once said, “Take your brain out and stomp it. It’s getting all stopped up!”  This is an excellent read to start the stomping!

JUMPSTART:  Training Leaders for the Ages—A Sunday School Leadership Workshop. Sampson Resources, 4887 Alpha Road, Suite 220, Dallas, TX. 75244.

JUMPSTART is a dynamic Sunday school leadership series that consists of five separate modules for training age group leaders. Each module contains two 30-minute sessions on DVD and audio CD, a participant guide, leader guide, a promotion kit of posters, ads and clip art, and a beautiful vinyl album.

Five distinguished Christian educators are featured in the series:  Shelly Taylor, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL, leads the preschool module; Tommy Sanders, Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, TX, leads the children’s module; Phil Newberry, Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, TN, leads the student module; Jack Fiscus, First Baptist Church, Orlando, FL, leads the young adult module; and, Jeff Young, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX, leads the adult module.

William E. (Bill) Young, past president and Board member of BACE. He is a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church, Nashville, TN.