Divided Loyalties

Sometimes when I watch movies, especially James Bond ones, I listen out for when the title of the movie will be mentioned. (Obviously in my opinion Roger Moore always delivered his best of all the Bonds, that raised eyebrow just convinced me from the start.) I think that sometimes it is whilst writing the narrative or some dialogue in the narrative that the title for a book or a movie emerges, just as a significant theme in a song that is repeated can lend itself as the song title. In the same way I was engaging in a conversation when the phrase of this blog entry came to mind.

I said it to the person and it had a resonating effect on me. This dear friend had said some things around looking forward to spend more time with the family. I was thinking, however, that the reason why things have come to this point is because there’s always a competing force for the attention that means the family suffers.

I also thought that it’s not just this person who suffers from divided loyalties. To some extent there is an overriding interest that takes up the heart, even if the time is otherwise taken with other activities, the mind is just going over that issue again and again. It is so often the case that someone is physically present and to some degree engaging in the activity of the time, but it’s obvious that they are elsewhere either in spirit or mind. Their mind is taken up with their own thing of desire.

As ever Jesus exposes the issue slap bang in the middle of his famous teaching on the mount where he simply says,

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

That which captures the heart and takes up the attention has virtual mastery over us. It’s funny really, we run away from the sense of anyone owning us or telling us what to do. We make a big deal of being autonomous, independent, free-thinking individuals when in most cases, (come on it’s presumptuous and arrogant to say all in a blog like this when you’re not that brave yet) we’re actually not that autonomous, or independent or free-thinking. Sooner or later some master will take us under his wing – especially the enticing allure of money and all it can seemingly buy and what it can mean in the sight of others. We come under its wings and before you know it moods, thoughts, decisions, temperament, life activities and relationships are determined by what masters us.

Not only that, but it’s not as if there’s choice to be mastered or not. All this liberalism and free country jargon may keep us warm in our thoughts at night, but slavery has not been abolished, just either blatantly ignored in the so-called Third-World, or made to be far more sophisticated in the so-called First-World. Slavery and mastery is wrapped up with the whole human psyche and it’s then a case of discovering which mastery will give us the best chance of not being oppressed, compressed, distressed, depressed, repressed and even negatively possessed.

That sounds a bit harsh, doesn’t it. I’m not going to make it any softer, though. Think of it this way, though. As a slave if your master is responsible for upkeep and takes that seriously to ensure that your working conditions are as conducive and constructive to your benefit as possible and you are just required to be obedient to instructions that are actually to your overall benefit, how is that a bad thing? If the Lord who has mastery over us instructs us … commands us to love each other and empowers and equips us to do that how is that a bad thing? If the Lord who has mastery over us instructs us … to find the truest sense of liberty in being like His Son by linking with Him and allowing Him to carry the bulk of the burden how is that a bad thing?

Obviously it’s a bad thing to us because we don’t appear to be in control, even if we’ve been deluding ourselves in thinking that the autonomous, independent, free-thinking position has improved our situation. It’s got to be a definition of madness to think that illusive and elusive living is somehow any better.

The divided loyalty continues though and in reality it’s not that divided at all, whenever something else other than that which is meant to be occupying the heart is there, then we’re always giving cheap second-hand service to everything else. The funny thing is, under the Lordship of the creator there’s more than enough time to look after the family. There’s more than enough time to be effective at work. There’s even enough time to pursue pastimes that help you in building relationships and the like. Indeed under this mastery all of those activities are effused with life and purpose possible because it’s rooted in acknowledging first and foremost the Lord who makes it all possible.

Until then, though, it’s the ongoing challenge of seeing where the heart is and asking this kind, forgiving and liberating Lord to help us find our hearts in Him.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Getting All Orchestral

I interrupt the flow of insight into what’s been going on with me lately to give another update of sorts on the teaching front. Yes you do recall some of the sessions I’ve had of date as I’ve made note about them of late. The last note I made was the one before the big date on 20^th October. It was a big date as I was scheduled to do a micro-teach – that is prepare a lesson of 20 minutes to present to my peers. It is not as straightforward as it appears and the preparation work was likewise not that easy to do either. Still do it we had to and it was done. I was very disappointed in my effort. Very disappointed indeed.

What was illuminative about the experience looking back on it was how it didn’t actually subscribe to one of the lessons I’ve learnt and continue to learn from church. You see I remember clearly being upset about how I was doing at church. Especially on things like lessons or preaching I always felt somewhat as if once I had done it then I was under scrutiny. Had I done a good job, I didn’t always feel I had. It became an issue especially when I was asked to do stuff on a regional and national level. To me at that stage if you’re really going to ‘minister’ you have to be good. I mean there’s the usual Christian cliché about being anointed, but what that is all about is being in a stream of doing what God has called you to do.

When you’re there, then it’s a matter of submitting to that and going with it and that works just as much when you’re being a mother, a student, a bank clerk or a preacher. I didn’t feel I was being ‘good’. I thought I was just trotting, just giving out stuff cos I could just give out stuff. It’s not that I had to do 72 hours of deep biblical interrogation and a further 72 hours of cultural application before wrapping it with a 72 hours session of fasting and prayer before turning up to teach/preach. It’s just about …

Well where the breakthrough came for me and the teaching thing was first to realise that it didn’t matter whether it was a national, regional, local or family thing. The audience is always an audience of one. That one the one hand relieves the pressure and can heighten it all at the same time. It heightens it because no longer am I looking to ‘impress’ a crowd. Now I’m actually looking to get something done that will be pleasing to the Creator of the universe. In His presence there is no fooling of anyone, everything is exposed and there’s nothing to hide.

That however relaxes things immensely because then we are humbled to be in the presence of one who knows everything and everything I am and can do is down to Him. He knows my capabilities and in the light of who He is I can know what I am capable of and not only that but how it’s applicable to that given time. So I am free and impassioned to give of my best for Him out of gratitude and love for all He is.

Once in that frame of mind, I’m not under any pressure to perform and likewise I’m not under any pressure to know if I’ve performed well because the heart has been true and the focus has been single as well, not only that but because it has been responsibly based I have only gone as far as I’ve been led. That’s not to say others will like it, others will get it or it will be to anyone’s great taste. The deal is that I would have pleased the audience to whom I’ve directed it because of those factors.

I was fascinated relating that to the whole orchestra metaphor where you are an instrument among other instruments privileged to be playing a beautiful symphony. You can either play yourself or be arranged to play by the orchestrator being able to play at the right time, to add your notes and rhythm to the appropriate stage of the music and when it’s all together the blend of tone, feel, emotion and timing can make the heart soar. I forgot all about that on Tuesday 20^th October. Instead I was doing a micro-teach, it was a job to be done, it was a chores to be completed and as a result I forgot my whole part in God’s great symphony of life at that point. What a pity. What a shame.

It’s for similar reasons that I now face some interesting questions now as to where I fit in that symphony, what note I am to play at this particular time. When you’re going with the flow of what’s been played by the Lord you get to enjoy others’ contribution and see how yours fits with others and appreciate just how simple and yet complex the piece can be. It’s like a song, it may sound simple but when you check the component parts and their subtle arrangements you get to see why songs are not that simple and why the part we get to play in making a song is so crucial and why paying attention to the orchestrator and learning what the place we play is so important.

Oh and just out of interest, I passed the micro-teach, but as you know it’s not always the passing that counts it’s passing well. Where the song is concerned, thankfully it’s not just putting out a boring track of pop junk, but it’s a memorable musical masterpiece made by so many but orchestrated by and for the audience of One.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

The Only Pressure In Teaching Is From You

There’s quite a lot to consider in teaching those from the post-compulsory age (i.e. post 16). No wonder some go crackers when you consider the level of paperwork involved. In fact there is so much involved I wouldn’t be surprised if teachers are responsible for most of the trees decimated. It is understandable to some extent to work through some of the paperwork, but it does really come across as too much. I often consider if there’s any real time for creative work in putting lessons together.

Then you consider the different learning styles of the learners in the class, you consider their individual learning profiles, characters and personalities. You know that for the lesson to work it has to be shaped around those who are learning and sometimes that may require stretching beyond the realms of that with which I’m comfortable. It is not easy being a teacher.

Yet what I learnt more than anything today was the only pressure from teaching came from the teacher. It’s a bit like Jesus’ directions about discipleship. It’s about sitting down and counting the cost. Once that cost has been calculated and you begin to go down the street of the teaching deal then the only applicable pressure applied is from the teacher. The paperwork is not the core of the teaching, the academic progress is not the key at least at first. Where the real deal starts is the initial assessment but more than that it is about recognising what our limitations are and allowing others to work and get their own learning.

In a very real way, the only pressure comes from within. That is why it is so important people passing by are aware of what’s going on within. Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us and that which we think is pressure is not pressure at all. Sometimes we need to know what’s going on behind the scenes so that all fears can be allayed and actually the teacher can go on with the teaching. It is not easy, biut it is possible where the focus is clear and straight. Knowing that this is where the real deal is can help in determining where to invest in the resources.

Pressure can be a good thing if it produces fruit, but this in itself is an internal matter where it is determined what are we doing for Jesus reasons and when they are selfish whims. There’s no excuse in the light of the factor that thte pressure comes from within. Now for the process of getting wholeness whilst looking to share with others that which has been learnt.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

What Is It About The Teaching On The Mount?

It’s fair to say what is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount has not always captured my imagination.

Indeed I got a bit bored with people taking snippets from it and having them as poster campaigns for their own agendas. Like the ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’ mob that defiantly went about telling others they couldn’t be judged as only God could judge them. Or the ‘golden rule’ crew who just went about thinking it was a decent ethos to go about saying do to others as you’d have done to you. I was brought up in a church was a bit of a stickler for getting the Word right.

Not that we got the Word right ourselves, after all our church hardly grew out, in, up or down – that’s not a slight, more of a general fact. In any case as a stickler for the Word it wasn’t always cool seeing people nick these bits and pieces without getting the whole thing. Not that I ever thought about getting the whole thing myself.

That changed in 2006 though. I’ve yet to write about how significant a year that was in my own spiritual development but it was a renaissance period for me in a number of ways. One of those ways was to go back to basics again checking what it was to love God – for who He revealed Himself to be in His Word rather than the faith of my father or the doctrine of the church in which I was brought/dragged up.

One of those fundamental building blocks was an appreciation all over again of the Beatitudes. You’ll know it’s something when I committed them all to memory and let it soak in me especially the fourth one that focussed on hungering and thirsting after righteousness. I got in major deep into that section of scripture and realised just how much I had to start from the beginning in cultivating a living relationship with God through His Son. As you can imagine it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. More on that in a future blog I hope.

That as you may have calculated was three years ago and since then I’ve had my fancy taken with other scriptures and theological concepts. In the background however has always been especially that Beatitude and the issues that spring from that, for example a definition of righteousness that doesn’t capitulate to having right this or right that – a bit too tautological for my liking.

Anyway along life’s journey since then I’ve come across a book or two on what I prefer to refer to as the Teaching on the Mount. (After all at the start it says he taught and at the end people were amazed at what he taught, it occurred to me that perhaps calling it a teaching might be a tad more accurate. Having said that it’s obviously later scholars who referred to it as a sermon just as some bright spark referred to the first part as Beatitudes.) As this year has proceeded I was drawn again to the theme of this tremendous teaching.

A friend of mine came across a dude who majored on the piece of scripture and that caught my interest and I began to be a lot more interested in seeing the Beatitude in its context. As love would have it then just as I was skirting round the edges the whole topic became the subject of our recent 13-week study. So now I get the chance to mix life, business and pleasure and share what I love about it as I study it and reflect on how I put it in practice and how it convicts of the areas that still are in need of better practice.

On reading it as regularly as I am at the moment the thing that catches my eye about this brilliant monologue is how Jesus is not just outlining and clarifying how the law was fulfilled when it was a part of our hearts turning us into the character of our Father, but how He Himself typifies all that we talk of. The point of worship is to show love for God and that is first expressed in the profession of faith in Jesus and here He outlines what that faith means for our heart’s attitude to God and to others.

Also as I read it, the thing becomes ever clearer to me in terms of how it should be read as one. Not just a collection of random thoughts by Jesus as to what would Kingdom life be like, but one coherent piece pointing people not just to the Kingdom or Kingdom living, but to the King Himself and how He stands as an example for us to follow. I’m drawn by the counter-intuitive and counter-cultural quality of this teaching. I’m drawn to how it challenges me to be light and salt not by conforming but by being distinctive and a clear beacon to others of who God is. I’m excited by the power of the secret life of prayer, fasting and giving and how that helps us to get priorities straight in not worrying about temporal worldly stuff, but getting caught up with the things that matter.

I love the areas that remain a bit mysterious – what the pearls and swine bit all about really? I’m sobered up pretty quickly by the definition of a hard way through a narrow gate. I’m particularly made sharp by the reality of professing Christians being called workers of lawlessness because Jesus does not know them as evident particularly from their fruits. I don’t just read, I envisage Jesus teaching it whilst using word imagery to get people’s heads grasping what He’s saying. I get caught up with the flow of the piece and am brought to a sombre yet stimulating close by the house analogy. I can easily see why people get carried away with it, it is a brilliant piece of work. As I explore further I hope to share some of the things that come to me and let it settle with you.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Laying The Ground Rules

Ah this is more like it. It’s a Tuesday. It’s late night. I’ve ministered to the wife’s needs and heard her day. I’ve had the day at work and the evening at the session and I’m ready to write.

We learnt a fair amount of stuff today in the session, legislation, communication and the importance of referral systems to support the learner in their holistic approach to effective learning. Among other things we learnt today was the importance of setting ground rules with the learners in our given class. As we discussed some of the things to be stated in any set of ground rules I found it intriguing how much for granted people took their own values, almost as though their own values should naturally be followed by others just because it’s the standards of their day. What’s also fascinating is how on the one side imposing views and beliefs on others is a bad thing, but in actuality that’s what teaching seeks to do by one means or another. Nothing is rigorously challenged about those beliefs and they are taken on face value. What lies beneath however, is often something that appeals to an objective authority. It is as if it is good because it was good for me and my parents and the upbringing I had.

Ground rules, however are important in any given venture. A certain understanding of the guidelines and necessary boundaries to experience the best of what’s available can only be a good thing. The alternative of feeling anything goes and finding out it’s hugely detrimental effects can make any venture fraught with danger after danger. Ground rules are cool, ground rules are important. In the sense of being with a group of learners who you want to empower in their understanding and overall development sharing the experience and having ownership of the making of the ground rules can only be a good thing.

As I thought further on the subject I looked at it in the light of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. In a very real way these can be considered the ground rules for access to the Kingdom of Heaven and His ability to teach them obviously left his listeners amazed at the level of authority with which He spoke. When you read it out – not as if you’re reading a menu, but as if you’re reading someone teaching – when you read it that way it is quite something to see how connected it all is and how challenging these ground rules are. Imagine being told that the way is going to be hard, imagine being told that only a few would ever find it – that doesn’t exactly sound like an inclusive deal does it. That doesn’t sound all-embracing really. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making out that Jesus had an agenda that fell neatly into a right-wing version of heaven brought about by as many wars and offensive behaviours as possible. I’m definitely not making out that Jesus was applauding those with a mentality to completely opt out of the world as we know it and live in communes and enclaves and even worst Christian ghettos where we have Christianised versions of world products and lifestyle.

What I am suggesting, back to my desire about wanting to teach people who want to be taught, in as much as I want what I teach to be accessible to people of different backgrounds and style, there is actually something about the content and it’s challenge that not everyone will live up to or want. Them are just the ground rules.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Role of the Teacher and Praise Perspectives

Just to say how happy I am and honoured to have made it to 200 posts this year before the last quarter begins. I am really grateful to God for getting the level of consistency to this level.

I’ve been rather poorly lately, but have battled on despite everything to carry on with things like work, family and being an usher at the wedding of a dear friend. As ever, however, tonight has been the teacher training session and it has proven again to be a source of much thought and contemplation. Indeed after it I felt somewhat refreshed by the experience and in the context of the day I’ve had today from it I came out with two outstanding thoughts.

The first was on the topic of the role of the teacher. Is teaching a lonely vocation? In the light of the micro-teach and being able to see how our tutor did what happened it got me thinking about what the role of the teacher really is. There is the assumption that the teacher is the fount of all knowledge in a given area and all must bow and learn from them. I don’t think that’s the case and so I believe there must be an alternative,

I believe Jesus lives out that alternative. It is a testament to His impact that He has been able to get people to remember His teachings and endeavour to live them out and pass them along as they do so. This is so much the case that we have gospel accounts where He has not written a word of it yet He speaks resonantly clear for all to read and hear, see and learn from.

So I’m thinking that the measure of a good teacher is not the wealth of their information base, or their charismatic personality and beguiling communication style. There has to be more to it. There has to be an element of authenticity and challenge in that which is taught and the nature with which it is taught that engages the learner to actually take on board the material and allow their lives to be shaped by it. So much so that when the teaching is transferred from the teacher to the learner and then the learner becomes teacher and looks to replicate the process in their own personal style.

The second thought was about the importance of the perspective of praise. I was encouraging a friend in a text sharing that I had prayed for wisdom, peace and clarity in the situation. What it reminded me of is that our first place is not to consider what we have to do, but what God has already done. It really was a balm to my own recent health challenges triggered by self-imposed pressure by the things I have assumed and feel I should do. I’ve had good words of counsel to pace myself and to ensure I do not to put myself through the mill. All of these were sound words of guidance for me leading to this reminder.

As I pondered further I looked at how God made the garden and then set the man in it and then told him what to do in it. Especially in the context of Genesis 2 it is clear that all the fruit in the garden is for man to enjoy. That is to say the work it/keep it deal, is in the light of what has already been done for him. So man does what he does in the light of what has been done for Him.

When I consider what has been done for me in God creating me, Jesus dying for me and the Holy Spirit making me alive again. When I consider the provisions made for me in relational, physical, financial, intellectual and spiritual issues it shows how great God is and what great things He has done. It is on that premise of praise that I go forward in doing what I am called to do with much joy, not in the light of apparently averse circumstances, but in the light of God’s promise, presence and power.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Seeking in the Sermon: Live It - Teach It

As you can appreciate in preparation for the new study series that begins next week I’ve begun reading the Sermon on the Mount. I am big on not missing out on the big picture and the connected nature of all the pieces in the puzzle when we start segmenting scripture for teaching purposes.

It is crucial to see Jesus after His Beatitudes making it clear that He’s not here to abolish the law but fulfil it and then proceeding to state the primacy of the law and the importance of living righteously beyond a religious definition of it. To say that if your righteousness doesn’t exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees doesn’t mean that the Kingdom values are easy. On the contrary His outline will allow us to see how much we depend on God to be able to live up to them hence the Beatitudes themselves which depict a people desperately dependent on God to be able to enjoy life in His Kingdom according to His rule.

To prove just how exacting the standard the is for the rest of Matt 5 and into half of Matt 6 Jesus shows how the gist of the law wasn’t to monitor behaviour but to reveal the state of the heart that is towards God. The arresting point for me in my recent reading was the bit where Jesus says if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off and if your right eye causes you to sin gouge it out as it would be better to be a one-eyed, one-armed Kingdom-dweller than a full-bodied hell-dweller. The deal here though is not the physical act that’s being suggested – although in mentioning it Jesus shows how seriously we are to take sin.

What we would have missed out on though is the source of the sin – the heart. In essence Jesus is saying take radical action from the heart to deal with issues that can cause you to sin and that means heart surgery – indeed a heart transplant. My contention is, and reality reflects I believe, that just because you get rid of an external stimulus doesn’t mean the heart has been dealt with at all. The issue needs to be exposed to the light of the love of God even as we mourn over our inability to please God and its resultant sinful condition of the planet. That mournful approach has a desire to see God impact the world with His original plan. That takes place personally with a heart towards God that is about radical approach to that which the world rejoices in. So it’s not just about stopping pornography and blatant adultery but to develop a devout hatred for anything that would promote lust and develop that faithful, monogamous capacity within us that means because we can love God with all, so we can love with purity those who come in our lives.

This fits in with the gist of what Jesus is saying in this portion of his teaching – it’s an issue of the heart when it comes to the law, when it comes to the spiritual disciplines, when it comes to the fundamental basic issues of life – it is about the state of our heart and who we commit that heart to.

Speaking of teaching, one thing I find fascinating is our tendency to call this section the Sermon on the Mount when the beginning and end of the talk seems to indicate that this is Jesus teaching. Not only that but in the larger context of what Jesus would commission His disciples to do at the end of this gospel account it is pretty important that any true follower of Christ digests this teaching.

Even near the top of his teaching he states clearly that people who relax the observance of the law AND teaches others that is considered the least and it is those who practice it AND teach it who will be considered the greatest in the Kingdom. That is to say not only in the great commission but in the great teaching there is an expectation on ALL FOLLOWERS to live it AND teach it. This fits well with the concept of the book of Matthew being about Jesus the great Rabbi.

This should immediately challenge some of the current expressions of church that in no way prepares disciples to teach disciples, but promotes a thinking to say there’s a class of people who can teach – the gifted as it were – and the rest are to learn from these. It should be a shot in the arm for all teachers that in the spiritual sense of things you are only as successful a teacher as you are in encouraging and enabling others to live and teach that which you live and teach.

That should stretch our understanding and definition of teaching to incorporate ways in which people teach that is not straight talking business but far wider, but no less intentional – we are not doing this by accident or by osmosis, this is something deliberate and understood by all parties even as those who followed Jesus knew what they were getting themselves in for in terms of being followers.

Lots of food for thought in considering this issue, food which I hope to share further as I delve further in this wonderful work.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Teaching - Loving It When A Plan Comes Together

Well it’s been another evening teaching session and it’s been a good one. The wife reminded me last week that for anonymity purposes especially seeing as though I’ve not asked permission from anyone that I do not divulge info that might implicate others with the experiences I’ve had. Fair enough. Should any of those who are on the course happen to come by this blog, they’ll know who I’m referring to and I’d like to think I’m not breaking confidences by the things I share here.

It’s a bit tricky at the moment getting into the momentum of the learning process again especially in the course of a working week. I’m slowly picking up some things and the class sessions have been good so far. What I’ve liked about them is how we’ve been able to share in the lessons and it’s not about monologue and just listening to the tutor drone on and on, but plenty of room for conversation and interaction and engagement with the issues. Not just from me as well but from the cool small group of people who are also on the course.

I love learning in small groups, there’s something about different personalities that stimulates interest in learning. It doesn’t always work because of some of the tensions in relationships, but when you get the right mix of people and give it time it is some of the best experiences in life.

There was quite a lot I took from tonight’s session and there’s so much I could mention here. For example how I heard the saddest thing about how the system can wreck people’s dreams. Or looking at the purpose of teaching as to whether it’s there to make a crucial difference in the lives of people or just help churn out more productive contributors to economic development. (Indeed are the two incompatible?) That topic reminded me of the first in this series of reports on the learning experience that I posted a couple of weeks back. Also remind me to blog about why I have a problem with the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The main thing that stuck out about today’s session that I wanted to cover in this review was the importance of having a lesson plan. Last week we were looking at aims and objectives as well as touching on teaching styles. Until this week the full force of how important it is to have an aim and a set of objectives didn’t really hit home. As we explored the issue further the whole principle of starting with the aim in mind made so much sense to me that it explained a lot more than teaching.

What particularly rang so true for me looking at some of the ingredients going into planning and wonderful teaching experiences (on both sides of the experience) is the level of preparation and flexibility in it all. It was not about getting something done to tick a box, but there was such a natural flow to the learning and it reminded me of Col. Hannibal Smith’s famous phrase in the A-Team on how he loves it when a plan comes together.

That’s how the learning deal should be for all parties concerned. The sharing of a few brief moments in time when certain elements come together and we leave having gone through something that has at least stimulated our approach to something, even if all the objectives have not been met, but something close to the aim has been realised in the journey of the learner through the session.

That takes planning – that takes the hard work of putting stuff together, but then not being too rigid about it and having that level of flexibility to roll with the punches and land a few of your own and end up having had a good fight over it all. So I raise my proverbial and indeed metaphorical hat off to those who have taught me over the years and have displayed those qualities both in the formal and informal learning area. It’s not easy at all, but for the outcomes and changed lives, it is more than worthwhile.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Teaching Basics

I met a very good friend today. By very good friend I mean the kind of friend who I don’t see regularly, but when we sit down and talk they are always … always … fruitful occasions. We can get as deep as we need and there’s often something said that makes me go back and ponder on some of the true things of life.

Today whilst we were conversing he shared about the need to get back to basics on what it is to follow Jesus. He looked at how easy it can be to get distracted with other peripheral issues and make them the big day and avoid the main things. Whereas when our focus is on the basics we never stray from what could ever make us successful in life. It is almost as though the basics work as a seed and we must get back to that seed to get an idea of what kind of plant we really are meant to be.

Today’s teacher training session reminded me of that principle. We teased out some things about establishing aims and objectives and key concepts in terms of what it is to set objectives. It was a draining session in some ways … that being considering some of the material being laid out and how it fit into the bigger picture of what we’re going to learn. It is also still the initiation stages in terms of learning the system of the course structure and what’s expected, how and when. It was looking at those basics though and understanding what to have in approaching the subject. (I’ve used a word for which I would be shot if it were applied to an objective – understand is not a concept easily measured and so requires something else in terms of an active verb to state the intention.)

I have found it fascinating to consider the different ways that people learn and the different methods that can be used to meet those tastes. We have affirmed again that the deal of teaching is getting something across to a group of people who differ in their learning style. The irony is, however, to effectively put together something that could possibly meet the tastes of an individual is based on generalities in terms of definitions for teaching methods. Sometimes I’m not sure if the pupil-focussed approach stretches the teacher beyond his own capabilities, but I guess it is good to be stretched in considering what the outcome of your teaching should be.

When looking at these issues it baffles me again that the highest place of learning in the formal education structure – university – does not reflect these important issues on the whole and persist in methods that it as learning institution itself would hardly describe as an effective learning method, i.e. the lecture style. My experience of Philosophy and Politics back at Essex University was mostly of the lecture then tutorial method. Looking back it makes it all the more remarkable that I made it through that as I did.

Looking wider at the issue of how best to learn, when I consider some of the tensions of the education system and pressures on teachers, it reaffirms my scepticism towards the mainstream education system being the best place for my children to be educated. A holistic approach to learning incorporating the key facets of the individual whom you are teaching is something the system is not set up to do at the level most effective (I believe it’s the affective domain to which I refer). It is way too taxing to expect our system to be able to get children to engage with that on the attention they deserve, not just because of class sizes, though that is an issue, but because of the nature of the investment in the child that is required.

So lots to take on board and ponder. Much to work on and the plan is that I will do so over the weekend and get myself up to speed as much as I can. So far so good and there are a lot of connecting points with other projects and schemes I’m considering. After all to be a good teacher, you have to be a good student, and being a good student can allow me to stretch myself as a reader and a writer – that can only mean good things for pursuing God through the gifts He’s given me. Keep praying.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Why Teach?

Another remarkable milestone was reached in the life of Christopher Dryden. This evening I enrolled to study a two year part time teacher training course. Had me first class this evening, really just about getting the paper-work sorted more than anything. It was a good evening overall and the course looks interesting in terms of what’s expected of us. The course tutor/lecturer looks very good in terms of being someone to guide us through the course and so it’s all looking promising for the years ahead.

So a good question to ask is – why teach?

There is a cruel statement that says those who can – do, those who cannot – teach. I think this a gross misunderstanding of what teaching is. I would say that those who cannot commentate which is seen in no better a field than football where the television, radio and newspapers are full of former pros who no longer have it in them to kick the ball but are more than happy to give the benefit of their wisdom about those who are playing. Teaching requires something far more than just talking at people.

I have found teaching to be hugely fascinating since I was taught at school. One special teacher who I’ve been reconnected to recently made teaching look fun and more than that made learning so wonderfully fulfilling. This was the seed to the desire of my heart to see people reach their full potential. Enabling people to do this is done through teaching.

There have been many over the years who have really shown me the value of teaching – not as a profession but as a vocation. This is why I have a strong position on the education system. My development is not so much about the system, but about individuals who bucked the system to actually engage with me person to person and passion to passion. The subjects I’ve loved the most are because of the people who have taken me deeper into it through their own passion and personal investment. Not really anything to do with systems, curriculum or any such thing.

Being able to share concepts and help people in their understanding and application of priceless gems fills me with enormous joy. Being part of the process of ingesting those gems myself whilst appreciating people’s different styles whether at school, in church, in conversation or in observation has shaped the man that I have become. To me teaching is so vast and such a pit for creative play that for it to be limited to the stuff of exams and paperwork breaks my heart. To see people assessed by their ability under artificial conditions at a certain period of time is so sad. To also see people never being able to see what they’re capable of because of repressive indoctrination makes my blood boil whether that is done aggressively or subliminally.

My own belief is that my mother suffered under such a regime and she is an incredibly intelligent who was never allowed to blossom in that intelligence. I’m not talking about English brilliance or holding profound concepts to mention in conversations, but an ability to work out her stuff and do what she was good at with diligence and creativity that Oxbridge dons would be stunned at.

I know my mother is no exception. I know many others who have not been released to express the natural intelligence they have in a given area – because it’s not about who is the most eloquent or verbose. So teaching – when it is creatively applied and transferred is about releasing people in those areas. I want to be a part of that process in whatever way I can and that’s why I want to teach.

As well as that there is also the fact that it’s a natural outlet for all the reading and writing that I love engaging in. I teach what I learn and get to write about what I teach. It is my desire to blog part of the journey through the course right here so look forward to meeting some interesting characters and coming across some intriguing techniques, processes and experiences.

Keep praying for dmcd, it’s been 7 years since I was last subjected to a formal education environment of this nature. I know I have it in me to excel, but I want to make the most of this opportunity to really do that – not to please me mother or me wife, not for personal prestige but to benefit others and primarily to bring honour to my Father who has granted this opportunity to me.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd