What is Christian adult learning? What questions are raised when Christian faith and learning meet? Many existing approaches primarily address issues such as curriculum content or teacher character. Building on the work of John Hull, Disruptive Inclusion approaches the intersection of theology and pedagogy suggesting that the christianness of Christian adult learning is best expressed by the posture adopted by learners, not only via what is taught and by whom. Specifically, Jen Smith claims that a key to Christian adult learning posture is how learners include the unexpected and disruptive in their learning. Drawing on key resources, such as the biblical narrative, Christian tradition, liturgy, community and her own experiences, Jen takes us on a deeply personal and practical journey into disruptive inclusion and invites us to re-imagine what effective Christian adult learning might look like in the classroom, pulpit and online learning settings.

Blogpost: Disruptive Inclusion: why and how Christian adult learning is for everyone

"Robust, helpful books on Christian adult learning are a rarity. Jen Smith has gifted us one! Inspired by and building upon John Hull's ground-breaking What Prevents Christian Adults from Learning? published in 1985, Jen has produced a masterpiece of practical theology. Offering us her new model of disruptive inclusion, Jen lays out an exciting vision of learning which is scholarly, biblically-grounded, accessible and achievable. This is a must-read for all teachers, preachers and educators that could offer a whole new vision for their work of 'making disciples'."

Jen Smith is a tutor at the Queen’s Foundation Birmingham. She has a Masters in Biblical Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California and a PhD in Theology from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Her doctoral research focused on Christian adult learning methodology and she is passionate about facilitating conversation about what it means to teach and learn both in the church and other theological educational settings.