In Practicing Christian Education: An Introduction for Ministry, authors Mark A. Maddix and James Riley Estep, Jr. appear to be primarily concerned with Wesleyan tradition and ecclesiology in combination with a business model ecclesiology. While the stated purpose(s) of the text are unclear and sometimes contradictory, it is apparent that the book is geared toward those who are looking to be paid “Education Ministers/Pastors” in large congregations who fit the stated models with significant budgets. The book is not about Christian education in a broad sense (e.g., teaching various subjects from and with a Christian manner and perspective), and many will likely find it confusing and unhelpful if looking to it for any purpose other than that stated above.

Assessing it for what it is, and not for what I thought it might be, the text falls short of being very helpful. Disjointed, redundant, contradictory, and unclear throughout, I would not recommend it for the seminary students the authors hope will read it. While there are certainly helpful moments, largely by way of quoting others’ material, I do not find them to be justifiable reasons for wading through the whole. If I had not agreed to review the book, I would have stopped reading after chapter six (out of seventeen) because it felt like I was simply being taken for a ride with no purpose or destination in sight—it didn’t get much better.

While I concur with the authors that churches need to take seriously what, how, and when they teach so that all can (and will!) mature in their faith and life in the kingdom of God, I did not find this book as a whole to be a clear and helpful tool for educating those leading, guiding, and/or undertaking that task.

*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Baker Academic via NetGalley.

Books designed specifically for Christian educators are not as plentiful as they once were, particularly when it comes to introductions. This introduction is really more of a theories approach than an overview as many others are. The authors correctly state Christian educators must be students of both theology and the social sciences; however, their book tends to rely more heavily on the social sciences than on theology. The authors illustrated the ignorance of today's generation in Biblical knowledge, yet their approach still relies more heavily on application of Biblical truths than on imparting the truths to them. The authors never really delved into the methodologies to be used in Christian education. It is my observation that in our attempt to make Christian education "less boring" for students, we created learning experiences more memorable for the activity than for the truth it sought to impart. While I don't advocate a return to reading a lesson and answering questions based upon it, I do believe we need to focus more on teaching the Bible and creating informed students who hide the Word of God in their hearts, particularly as we see increasing intolerance for Biblical worldviews in our society. We need to address the problem of Biblical illiteracy in the church. Opportunities for service need to exist, but we need to make sure we are equipping those who are charged with making disciples. This review is based on an advance review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes. I should also disclose one of the authors is a friend of mine from years ago.