On-Demand
Session
Empowering educators to joyfully fulfill their God-given calling
Teaching Christianly: How to Live Out our Faith in Day-to-Day Choices
with Dr. David Mulder of Dordt University
What does it mean to be a teacher and a Christian at the same time? How do we carry the goodness of Christ with us into the classroom--whether in public or private schools? Dr. David Mulder joins us to share about what it means to "teach Christianly" and how even our smallest decisions in the classroom can be means of sharing God's Kingdom with the students and staff that we meet there.
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About David Mulder
Dr. Dave has been teaching for a long time now, and while he takes his work very seriously, he tries to not take himself too seriously. He currently serves as Professor of Education and Department Chair at Dordt University. With a background as a math, science, and technology teacher in Christian schools, and a doctorate in educational technology, he works to translate research into practice for PreK-16 educators.
He recently published the book Always Becoming, Never Arriving: Developing an Imagination for Teaching Christianly. He is a cohost of the Hallway Conversations podcast and also hosts the It’s Good to Be Smart! podcast, a STEM podcast for 10 to 15 year-olds and their teachers.
He plays the ukulele (badly) and loves superhero movies.
Connect with Dave:
We want to thank our sponsor....
Dordt University
Dordt University is a Christian university located in Iowa that seeks to equip students to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all areas of life. Dordt offers a Master of Education, Master of Special Education, and Master of Arts in Teaching—all taught 100 percent online and from a Christian perspective. Dordt is known for its affordable and engaging online master’s programs and excellent faculty. Dordt is also home to 1,500 undergraduate students with more than 88 percent living on campus. Students can choose from over 40 programs of study, and education is one of the largest majors.
Dordt University also runs the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE) which serves as a Christian education resource for schools, churches, families, and professionals.
Free Resource from Dordt
This vibrant, quick-reference guide highlights the six pillars of the Science of Reading and provides practical tips to support effective learning in each area. Keep it by your desk or with your lesson plans to help students thrive and become confident, capable readers.
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This was a great session! I loved how you can disciple to your students by intentional planning and being the best you can be. Also the part about if it’s not interesting to you, it’s not going to be interesting to them so how will you make it interesting?
Thank You Dave! I loved this presentation. Your infectious way of sharing “Christianly” is evidence of your heart for God and HIS Word. Effective “Christianly” teaching begins in the heart that loves God and HIS Word. Starting our day with prayer or talking to God, and expecting HIS response through the leading of the Holy Spirit, is the only way we can effectively educate the children of God. I will share this presentation with my fellow Christian Educators. It was a true blessing.
We can live out our Christianity in our classrooms. Our classroom need to be fun and exciting places, so find things that are fun and exciting as a teacher to present to your students. It is easy to get stuck in a rut and routine.
I create the daily weather in my classroom – that’s a powerful reminder. I hope I can remember that when the little breezes blow furiously in my door tomorrow morning! I want my classroom climate to be welcoming, belonging, engagement, and joy. I think the engagement piece is the piece I need to work on. I hear too many groans from my littles when I bring certain things out for us to work on. It’s discouraging. I need to turn that around. Thank you for your zest, and for the reminder that we *get* to do this, and that if I believe Christ is Lord, then He is Lord of my classroom! Powerful messages in this seminar.
I’m so glad this was an encouraging message for you, Anita. Blessings to you as you keep working to develop that classroom climate!
I loved this because I always want to make sure my students know that I care and I want them to see me as different- because of Jesus. I do many of these things already without even thinking about it. I connect with the kids and it is known throughout the whole school.
Blessings to you, Fleur, in the good, God-delighting work we *GET* to do as Christian educators!
What a great session! So many takeaways-the one that resonated with me was the analogy between weather and climate. I never thought about myself being the one who creates the daily weather. I always felt that I was responding to the destructive weather that the students created, but in reality, it was I who made the thunderstorm. Very humbling. Thankful for the awareness and ideas to change the forecast in my classroom.
It’s a good reminder for us about the “real” work of teaching, isn’t it? I think that fostering a classroom climate where everyone can flourish is one of the most important things we do as teachers, and for Christian educators in particular, this is a key part of working out our discipleship in our classroom practices. Blessings to you in the joys and challenges, Barbara!
I am so excited to go back to work on Monday. Thank you for reigniting a joy for teaching that can be “driven” by my faith. I cannot wait to watch how the Holy Spirit can lead in my classroom. It was a pleasure to take notes on your session. Thanks for sharing how God is in what might seem the mundane tasks (desk arrangement) as well as our instruction. Very inspirational session!
I’m so glad to hear this, Tricia! Blessings to you as you continue to teach Christianly!
I love this session. So many takeaways.
I love how when he was talking to his one student about arranging desks, preparing our lessons that “Jesus is Lord over our classrooms” .
I love how he shared to start his day in scripture and prayer.
The four steps at the end are a gem. I’m ordering his book. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear this, Molly! I hope the book will be a blessing for you too. That idea that “Jesus cares how I arrange the desks in my classroom” was a game-changer for me–and it helps me keep my focus on faithfully living out my discipleship in all those little decisions in my classroom. This is definitely a “We *GET* to do this!” sort of thing for me!
“Christianly”–what a great word that reframes our perspective as Christian educators! Our beliefs are the filter through which everything else we do as teachers flows, all the way down to our seating arrangements. So many powerful truths in this session. I so appreciated the passion and authenticity of the speaker!
I’m so glad this session resonated with you, Katelynn! Thanks for taking the time to share your response to it. Blessings to you as you seek to teach Christianly!
I just started reading Dr. Mulder’s book last week. It is very interesting and informative.
I admit that I have never prayed over the desk arrangement in my room.
I found Dr. Mulder’s list of ways to create the climate in the classroom very eye-opening. I, too, have been bored with some of my teaching. To look at it through the lens of “what gets me excited will get the students excited” is an excellent way to engage the students.
This was a great session. I’m interested to see what else the book holds.
Thanks so much for watching, and for taking the time to respond, Barbara. Thanks too for reading the book! I hope it is a real blessing for you on the journey of teaching Christianly. 😀
I liked the four points for fostering a good classroom climate: hospitality, belonging, engagement, and joy.
I’m so glad that connected for you, Suzanne! Blessings to you as you work to foster that kind of classroom climate too!
Thank you for the great ideas.
My pleasure, Beth! And thank you for watching and taking the time to respond!
Thank you! What stood out to me most was your emphasis that “teaching Christianly” isn’t an add-on, but the very lens through which every decision, relationship, and curriculum choice flows. Your examples of how faith shapes daily actions and choices in the classroom felt so practical and real. I left reminded that the deepest way we teach is by who we are and how we live. Thank you for that encouragement — I’m eager to lean more fully into Christ-centered decision making in my classroom.
What I want to say that I think is most important is that is incredibly evident that Dr. Dave loves teaching and what he does. That is infectious and makes everything he says all the more valuable to me. Well done!
Thanks, Patrick! I’m truly grateful that this came through for you. I absolutely LOVE the work I get to do–we *GET* to do this good, God-delighting work! What an amazing thought, isn’t it? Blessings to you as you pursue teaching Christianly.
This was a great choice for my first session! I like the term “Christianly”. This has already been a focus for me as I started out this new school year.
I’m glad that concept of teaching Christianly connected for you, Heather! I think it’s a great way to think about living out our discipleship through our service as educators. Grace and peace to you as you pursue Jesus in your classroom.
tons of info, exciting topic leads to exciting presnetation!
JOY!!!!
Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to comment, Michel! Glad you found it joyful! 😀
I love that God cares about how I arrange the desks in my classroom because it shows I care deeply about the mission He has called me to.
Amen, Emily!
I love this term! Teaching Christianly is really just living Christianly. Walking worthy of my calling in Christ should impact my teaching from the bottom up, including the smallest of details, for His glory. Thank you for sharing these wonderful truths and reminders!
Amen, Brittany! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts in response–I’m grateful to hear it was an encouragement for you!
I love how Dave reminds us to think of the ‘WHY” we teach Christianly. It’s easy to get stuck in the grind of feeling like we have to cover the material, and forget the reason why we are teaching it.
You are so right, Paul! The grind is real–but we have to remember that we *GET* to do this good, God-delighting work!
As Christian educators we are Christ’s ambassadors in our schools. This sessions promotes a mindset and practices that will truly bring Jesus into our classroom. Love it!
Thanks for watching, Heather, and for taking the time to comment! I am glad to hear it was an encouragement for you. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the practical ways you demonstrate Christ to your students. The thought and care we put into stewarding Christ’s image-bearers in our classroom speaks volumes. So thankful that He allows us to continue to grow in this area.
Thanks for watching, Melanie, and for taking the time to share your response! Praise God that we *GET* to do this good work!