Educating with the Brain in Mind: The Use of Popular Culture in Bible Class

Abstract

One of the most challenging aspects of a pastor’s ministry is teaching people the truth of God’s Word. This may sound easy, but any pastor knows that communicating the truth of Scripture in a way that people grab hold of it and make it their own is undoubtedly challenging. How does a pastor take God’s Word and faithfully secure it into the hearts and lives of those in his flock? He has no choice but to use the tools that are available to him. Of course, he will rely solely on the most powerful message in the world, the gospel. Yet how will he teach that message? How will he introduce that message? How will he make that message theirs? This paper suggests that using popular culture in Bible Class is a natural answer for these questions. This paper takes a brief view of what popular culture is and how it affects individuals. It overviews the way the brain assimilates information. Finally, it bridges the gap between the way the brain learns and the use of popular culture. It does this by offering educational practices that reveal popular culture as a readily available teaching tool that aids a pastor in his never-ending task of teaching the truth of God’s Word.