Truth Weaving: Biblical Integration for God's Glory and Their Abundant Living

by D.P. Johnson

As a Christian teacher, do you strive to show your students the living God in the world around them? Have you struggled with how to weave God’s truth into your daily lessons? Whether you teach English, algebra, biology or art, whether you work in a Christian school or public, whether you teach eight-year-olds or eighteen-year-olds, you will profit from Truth Weaving.

Through insightful analysis, entertaining anecdotes and real-world application, D.P. Johnson will challenge you to examine how you teach your students and, even more importantly, how you reach your students. With profound, yet practical instruction, you’ll gain a rich understanding of true biblical integration and the guidance you need in order to successfully put it into practice in your own life, and the lives of those you seek to inspire.

Engaging, relevant and real. Truth Weaving will revolutionize the way you teach. This book is one that every Christian teacher should own.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Christianity

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2015

About the author

D. P. Johnson is a full time teacher and international church and conference speaker. He has taught students of every age from three through adult, and has spoken in nine different countries on three continents. Currently, he teaches high school philosophy and worldview formation courses at an international school in Asia. He has been weaving biblical integration lessons for twenty-three years.

D. P. Johnson completed his undergraduate studies in Bible, science and education at Cedarville University and earned a Masters of Religious Education (MRE) and a Masters of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MA) from Asia Biblical Theological Seminary of Cornerstone University. He is currently a confirmed PhD candidate working on his dissertation in worldview education.

When not in the classroom, he enjoys cross-country running, art and studying theology, philosophy and ancient cultures. He also enjoys traveling with his wife and two children. Together, they recently completed a backpacking trip across Tibet. In the future, they hope to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru and the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid little book on both the importance and the practice of Biblical integration for educators. Instead of focusing solely on philosophical questions OR on the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration paradigm, Johnson uses both worldview categories and biblical theology in his framework.

For any (particularly Christian school) educator who is looking to demonstrate to their students how all truth is God's truth, this is a great asset. This book is rather short, but it is clear in little comments that the author was himself a good teacher, and any Christian educator would be doing their students a service by being more like him.

[Kiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by a fellow international school Bible teacher seeking to guide Christian educators on a model for biblical integration, the perennial and perilous task of every Christian teacher. For its brevity it is helpful, and actually gave me some good ideas for how to help teachers who ask me for this kind of help. But the task remains a challenge because it requires such deep literacy of ones subject area, the Bible, and the students. 75 pages of truth weaving.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

practical questions to evaluate ones worldview as well as encouragement for personal growth in the Word of God.

I would highly recommend this book to all Christians, especially teachers, whether in public or private schools. Great questions to help oneself clarify ones worldview.

[Adria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for my ACSI certification to teach at a Christian School. Having spent 8 years in public school, this was an important read to get me thinking about integrating the Bible into my lessons. It gives a good overview of what Biblical integration is, then an easy-to-follow guide to looking at your lessons with a biblical mindset. It's definitely not an easy thing to do, but by looking at one unit at a time, this will help me lots.

[Isaac Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Integrate the Biblical Worldview with Any Subject

What a find this book was! If your Christian faith is important to you and if you want to communicate its truths to others, this is a book you will want to read and digest. Written primarily for teachers (of any subject with students of any age) it is nonetheless a valuable resource for anyone who speaks in public or tutors in private. The author, D. P. Johnson, himself a teacher of vast experience, offers a practical guide for integrating biblical truth with any subject (science, math, history, philosophy, literature—any subject. Even if you don’t teach, this book will help you integrate the biblical worldview into your own pattern of thinking.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not an educator in the same vain as Derek yet as a Bible teacher I still found this book very helpful. I read it in one sitting (about 3 hours). It was worth the time and effort. He's a man who influenced each of my sons in profound ways through his teaching. He and Yoshi are the real deal - living out their convictions daily.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read like a self published book that rehashes what has already been written dozens of times already and can readily be found online. Author confuses biblical integration with analogies from the lesson. Would not recommend. Read instead "Beyond Biblical Integration" not perfect but is deeper and more comprehensive.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the teaching books & resources I've had to study, this is by far my favorite. I had to read this one for my Christian school accreditation, and I really enjoyed it.

Each chapter has a personal story, which are engaging. It doesn't read like a boring textbook 😂 Just a quick little book that gets to the point about Biblical integration.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but took me awhile because it was kind of deep. I didn't totally agree with everything he said, but there were parts that really made me think about the way I approach teaching and the way I set up my lessons.

[Abby Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t go into the book expecting much. But ended up appreciating the authors experience and message. He has so much wisdom and had some realistic methods for implementing these ideas.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I thought it would be. Some good material here. Useful.

[Chrisann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for my private school license renewal. It was one of the better choices, I think. It’s short, to the point, and gave lots of examples for Biblical integration in the classroom.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a helpful and worthwhile book to read. It was a fast and fairly easy read, enjoyable and applicable. I feel like this was actually helpful.

[Gabriela Freitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book on the theme of Christian education so far. Very practical with lots of good examples.

[Annie Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a super short read but packed with so much truth about how to teach with a biblical worldview and weave truth into lessons.

[Kayley Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most concise, yet thorough description of biblical integration in education.

[Micah Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

About 1/3 surprisingly astute theology, about 1/3 stating the obvious, and about 1/3 "That's the connection you're making to Scripture?"

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read with practical advice for teaching the Gospel in the classroom.

[Scott Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on biblical integration I've read yet.
- Of a size that wouldn't discourage anybody from reading.
- Makes it easy to understand, but is honest about the complexity of planning.
- Engaging stories and illustrations in each chapter. Really pulls you into the conversations. Even invites you to coffee!
- Love the "test" for biblical integration: if you remove the Bible part, the lesson "unravels."

Our only difference of opinion is about the first example of biblical integration (p. 57). Because I use a slightly different definition of biblical integration, I wouldn't call his first example integration. It's illustration. It may seem a subtle difference but it is vital. In illustration the academic content is used merely as a springboard to explain spiritual truth. That's good for sermons, Bible classes, and conversations. But in integration the learner will have a better understanding of the academic content itself BECAUSE OF the biblical perspective. Despite that difference, this is a worthy read.

This book is now top of my list of recommendations for those who want to understand Biblical integration.

(Disclosure: D. P. Johnson was a classmate in our undergraduate education program and remains a good friend to this day. I've always relished exchanging ideas with him. But he didn’t ask me to plug his book for him.)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that is very practical about the methods of biblical worldview integration. It has a many great examples, stories, and is an easy read.

[Leslie Johnson]

Excellent book with practical advice on how to develop biblically integrated lessons.