Trinitarian Paideia

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8.32

At its best, learning for people of all ages is a gateway to life in all its fullness. The question is how to achieve this ‘best’.

Imagine a school in which learners from Muslim, Hindu and Christian backgrounds each morning look together at a Bible story, bring to it understandings from their own traditions, and use their discussion to gain life skills and insights which will support them to grow, develop and flourish as individuals and as a community.

The prevailing wisdom is that this approach to education in Christian foundation school shouldn’t work: different traditions get into conflict when they meet. This approach not only can work, but with the right support and training, it help can generate an integrated, supportive, well-motivated and cohesive teaching and learning community with strong spiritual and religious literacy. The prior need is to establish relationships of trust with stakeholders, to undertake insightful analysis of the organisation and its setting, and to provide energetic and creative leadership.

Having pioneered a range of development initiatives in organisations that others believed couldn’t work, I’m passionate that incisive analysis should provide their foundation: I bring critical thinking which responds to the-world-as-it-is rather than the world-as-I-suppose-it-to-be.

In a faith context, my work is directed to support Christians, people of faith, and individuals with worldviews within and beyond these groups to place appropriate value on analysis for transformation: to help leaders to think outside the box, in order to see and better understand the box, and so provide for communities and individuals to live richer lives.