SPIRIT-DIRECTED EDUCATION

Inside each of us is a spirit. It is that part of us that is alive. James 2:26 tells us that our body without the spirit is dead. As Christians, we understand that we are a spirit being, not just physical beings, or mental beings. The students we teach are spiritual beings. Educators spend a lot of time planning to educate the mind and train the body but very little time is spent on training the spirit of a student.

The primary focus of spirit-directed education is on training the recreated spirit and releasing the power of the Holy Spirit. To gain a full understanding of spirit-directed education, we must know more about our spirit.

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The human body, one day is going to die, all mental functioning will stop. Yet, the spirit will live forever. More time needs to be spent on training the spirit of a student so they can live above all the pressures and circumstances of this world. The Word of God in John 17:16 Jesus said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”  We are just passing through this world, just like Jesus.

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Our body is like an earth suit, that has a spirit inside it. Or like a hand in a glove. Once the hand is removed from the glove, the glove is lifeless.  We’re on this earth for a very short period of time.

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The spirit that is inside of you and each of your students is the same spirit that God breathes into Adam. Adam was lying there formed by God out of the dust and dirt of the earth. It was a cold lifeless body until God breathed into Adam the “breath of life” (Gen 2:7). At that moment, Adam became a living being. It was the unseen human spirit that provided Adam, you, and your students the unique capability to comprehend and understand all the things that God had created (Job 32:8, 18).

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The book looks at the role of the human conscience, the recreated spirit, the human will, and the Holy Spirit, and how these interrelate in Spirit-directed education. The author shows how academic and behavior change begins with changes on the inside which produces changes on the outside. Change requires a willing mind, follows the perception of the recreated spirit, requires the submission of the will, new ways of thinking, and being able to deal with a rebellious body.

The book is divided into four Chapters, each having three to five critical topics. Chapter one presents Spirit-directed education as a new approach where the focus is on educating the spirit of a child.

Chapter two presents strategies for establishing and maintaining a Spirited-directed classroom—going beyond the expected, establishing a climate of change, creating awareness of God, setting up an orderly environment, teaming up with the Holy Spirit, releasing the anointing, speaking words that bring success, exercising authority, to name a few.

Chapter three focuses on Spirit-directed education and the teacher. Readers will learn the nine ingredients that produce a Spirit-directed teacher, as well as thirteen expectations of a Spirit-directed teacher. Readers will find out how to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in the classroom.

The final Chapter focuses on Spirit-directed education and the student. Attention is given to teaching Christian educators how to help students renew their mind, and how to feed their new nature. You will learn eight methods for training students on how to hate evil. Other topics deal with training the recreated spirit of the student by establishing a sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the importance of boundaries and expectations, and how to train students to respond to conviction. Readers will learn five strategies for encouraging right speaking, how to foster a "can-do" attitude, and how to build a positive self-image. Finally, the author provides seven strategies for Christian educators to build a student's positive spirit-image. Every Christian educator should have a copy of this book. As they implement the content of these volumes in their classrooms and schools, the effect on the lives of students will cause students to live above the influences of this present world and to become mighty in spirit.