What if history is about far more than memorizing names, dates, and events?

In the first episode of this three-part series, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope explore what it means to understand history from within a biblical worldview. Roger introduces his new book, Teach Biblically: History—A Guide for Seeing History Within a Biblical Worldview, and explains why teachers need a clear philosophy of history before turning to classroom strategies.

Together, Roger and Maggie discuss three essential purposes for studying history: preserving a people's story, gaining wisdom for living well in the present, and discerning God's interaction with His creation. They also examine Luke and Paul as biblical models for doing history—pursuing certainty about the past, carefully interpreting what happened, and applying its lessons to our lives today.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why adding Bible verses to a history lesson is not the same as teaching history biblically

• Why many Christian educators struggle to connect their faith with their subject area

• How history helps students understand their identity and live wisely

• Why truth about the past matters for navigating the present

• What Luke and Paul teach us about the work of a historian

• Why teachers must develop a biblical philosophy of history before focusing on pedagogy

• How multiple perspectives can help us form a fuller and more truthful picture of past events

Whether you teach history full-time, include it as part of an elementary curriculum, or teach your children at home, this conversation will help you move beyond facts and dates to see history as a meaningful exploration of truth, human choices, and God's work in the world.

Featured resource:
Teach Biblically: History—A Guide for Seeing History Within a Biblical Worldview by Roger Erdvig

Order the book at store.summit.org by searching for "Teach Biblically History."

Join us for the next episode in this series, when Roger and Maggie turn from philosophy to practice and explore concrete strategies for teaching history from a biblical worldview.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become a hotly debated topic in Christian education. While many educators appreciate its focus on relationships and emotional health, others are concerned about the secular worldview that often accompanies it.

In this episode, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope welcome Tyler Groves, Head of School at Woodfield Academy and co-author of Growing With One Another, to explore whether Christian educators should reject SEL altogether—or reclaim it through a thoroughly biblical worldview.

Together, they discuss God's design for human flourishing, why Scripture provides a richer vision for social and emotional development than secular frameworks, and how Christian educators can cultivate Christlike character without simply adopting the latest educational trend.

Whether you're a classroom teacher, administrator, counselor, or school leader, this conversation will help you think more deeply about what it truly means to help students become who God created them to be.

• Why social-emotional learning has become such a controversial topic in Christian education

• The difference between secular SEL and a biblical understanding of human flourishing

• Why the Bible provides a richer framework for social and emotional development

• How the Biblical Meta-Narrative reshapes our understanding of identity and flourishing

• Why the goal isn't becoming the "best version of yourself," but becoming more like Christ

• How Christian educators can model biblical social and emotional maturity every day

• The importance of Scripture, the "one another" passages, and Psalm 139 in developing true self-awareness

• Why apologizing, extending forgiveness, and honoring image bearers are essential classroom practices

• Practical ways teachers can cultivate biblical social and emotional growth without adding another program to their workload

• Why worldview formation begins with educators before it reaches students

• Growing With One Another — Dr. Tyler Groves & Dr. Ken Coley

If this episode encouraged you, be sure to subscribe to the Teach Biblically Podcast and share it with another teacher, administrator, counselor, or school leader. As Christian educators, we have the opportunity not merely to teach content, but to cultivate classrooms where students learn what it means to flourish as image bearers of God.

Preparing for a new school year involves more than arranging desks, decorating bulletin boards, and writing lesson plans. Long before formal instruction begins, the classroom environment is already teaching students what matters, what success looks like, and how people should be treated.

In this episode, Roger and Maggie offer five practical questions to help Christian educators create classrooms that intentionally nurture biblical worldview formation. They explore how visual displays, daily routines, classroom celebrations, personal interactions, and the overall culture of a room quietly shape students' beliefs, desires, and habits.

Whether you are setting up an elementary classroom, preparing for a new group of high school students, or leading faculty into a new year, this conversation will help you think beyond organization and aesthetics to the deeper formative power of the classroom.

• Why formation begins before—and continues long after—formal instruction

• How classroom walls can reinforce biblical truth or communicate competing ideas

• Why even attractive, encouraging posters should be evaluated through a biblical worldview

• How to conduct a "secret shopper" review of your classroom environment

• Why classroom routines function as formative liturgies

• How classroom creeds, greetings, prayer, and student jobs can point students toward God's purposes

• What awards, grades, recognition, and celebrations teach students about success

• Ways to recognize humility, compassion, courage, service, and spiritual growth

• What a teacher's words, discipline, and responses to mistakes communicate about human dignity

• How remembering that every student bears God's image can transform classroom relationships

• Why conflict should be treated as a worldview-formation opportunity

• A simple reflection exercise to help teachers envision the lasting influence of their classroom

1. What are students looking at?

2. What routines are you creating?

3. What do students think success means?

4. What does your classroom say about people?

5. How will students remember your classroom?

A worldview-shaping classroom is not merely attractive or well organized. It is an environment that consistently points students toward what is true, good, and beautiful—and toward who God has created them to become.

• Beyond Biblical Integration by Roger Erdvig

• Summit's Train-the-Trainer program: summit.org/train-the-trainer

Subscribe to Teach Biblically wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode with a teacher or school leader preparing for the new school year.

Most Christians spend nearly a third of their lives at work, yet few have ever been taught a truly biblical theology of work. Too often, work becomes either a necessary evil, a means to financial success, or something that only "counts" if it's ministry.

In this episode, Roger and Maggie sit down with Summit Ministries' Director of Properties, Nathan Reitz, to explore how Scripture completely reshapes our understanding of work. Drawing from the four-chapter gospel—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration—Nathan explains why every vocation, from fixing plumbing to teaching students, can become an act of worship.

Whether you're a teacher, school leader, facilities director, parent, or business professional, this conversation will challenge you to see your daily work as sacred participation in God's ongoing work of cultivating and stewarding His creation.

• Why many Christians unintentionally adopt a distorted view of work

• The danger of separating "sacred" ministry from "ordinary" occupations

• How the four-chapter gospel transforms our understanding of vocation

• Why work existed before the Fall—and why that changes everything

• The biblical meaning of cultivation and stewardship

• How gratitude replaces frustration in difficult work

• Why identity must come before productivity

• The surprising connection between fixing plumbing and advancing God's Kingdom

• How unseen work becomes worship

• Practical ways Christian educators can help students develop a biblical view of work

• Every Good Endeavor — Timothy Keller

• How Then Should We Work? — Hugh Whelchel

• The Call — Os Guinness

Connect With Us

If this episode encouraged you, be sure to subscribe to the Teach Biblically Podcast and share it with another educator, school leader, or ministry professional who wants to help others see every area of life through the lens of a biblical worldview.

What makes a book truly formative?

In this summer reading episode, Roger and Maggie each share three books that have challenged, stretched, encouraged, and reshaped the way they think about leadership, creativity, worldview, faith, and everyday life. From classic literature to leadership development to spiritual formation, these recommendations go far beyond typical "professional development" reads to shaping our worldview.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why creativity is part of being made in the image of God

• What the Inklings can teach us about collaboration and feedback

• How service-learning transforms education

• Why Frankenstein is far deeper — and more relevant — than most people realize

• The importance of joy-centered leadership

• How everyday routines can become spiritually formative moments

Whether you're looking for a meaningful summer read, ideas for personal growth, or simply enjoy thoughtful conversations about books, this episode is full of practical insight and rich reflection.

• Bandersnatch — Diana Glyer

• Bring It to Life — Roger Erdvig & Lynn Swaner

• Naming the Animals — Stephen Roach

• Every Moment Holy — Douglas McKelvey

• Frankenstein — Mary Shelley

• Rare Leadership — Marcus Warner & Jim Wilder

How do biographies shape worldview, desires, and spiritual formation?

In this episode, Roger and Maggie sit down with author and Crossway publisher Champ Thornton to explore the formative power of biography, storytelling, and Christian imagination. Champ shares how a single worldview book deeply reshaped his thinking, why biographies are uniquely powerful tools for discipleship, and how his new children's biography series seeks to help young readers love truth, goodness, and beauty.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• How Creation Regained by Albert Wolters transformed Champ's understanding of worldview

• Why worldview formation begins with shaping desires, not just transferring information

• The importance of helping children become curious lifelong learners

• Why biographies are "efficient reads" that combine history, theology, psychology, and story

• How compelling Christian biographies can help students see themselves in the lives of faithful believers

• The challenge of writing biographies that are honest, engaging, and age-appropriate

• Why Christian education needs stories that capture students' hearts, not just their minds

Champ also shares insight into his growing Lives of Faith and Grace biography series for middle-grade readers, including books on:

• John Bunyan

• Corrie ten Boom

• Martin Luther

• C. S. Lewis

• Eric Liddell

• Elisabeth Elliot
  and more.

This episode is full of encouragement for teachers, parents, school leaders, and anyone who wants to help young people grow into faithful, thoughtful followers of Christ.

• Creation Regained — Albert Wolters

• The Really Radical Book for Kids — Champ Thornton

• Lives of Faith and Grace biography series from Crossway Publishers — Champ Thornton

What does authentic biblical worldview immersion actually look like in real classrooms?

In this episode of Teach Biblically, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope pull back the curtain on nearly 300 classroom visits completed during the 2025–26 school year. Rather than focusing on theory, they share real examples of what they've seen teachers doing well—and where important opportunities for worldview formation are being missed.

From elementary Bible classes to high school math classrooms, Roger and Maggie unpack how seemingly small instructional choices can profoundly shape students' habits of thinking, relationships, ownership, and heart formation.

The conversation highlights a central conviction of Biblical Worldview Immersion: teachers do not need to reinvent their lessons or force spiritual conversations into every moment. Instead, they can intentionally harness what they are already doing to cultivate the dispositions and skills of lifelong worldview formation.

• Standards for Worldview Formation: www.summit.org/standards

Can preschoolers really understand the big story of Scripture?

In this episode of Teach Biblically, Roger Erdvig and Maggie Pope are joined by preschool ministry leader Renee Blaine to explore how biblical worldview formation begins earlier than most schools realize. Far from "babysitting," preschool classrooms are a critical place to lay the foundation for how students understand truth, identity, and the story of the Bible.

Renee shares practical ways to teach young children the biblical metanarrative—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration—in developmentally appropriate and engaging ways. Through repetition, movement, storytelling, and simple visual tools, preschoolers begin to see how every Bible story fits into God's larger story—and how their own lives fit within it.

If we want students to grow into a strong, lasting faith, we can't wait until middle or high school. Formation starts at the very beginning.

• Video explaining how to use the Gospel Story Cube (https://youtu.be/q89WkxOlUfg?si=PiKEATaGV27T55Z0)

• Files to create and use the Gospel Story Cube (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NHfxZNn5Fdw8qMbFtai4ADwVj7z2EXUN?usp=sharing)

• Summit Ministries: https://www.summit.org/