What successes have you celebrated with your class/group recently? In yesterday’s sermon Pastor Sean reminded us that although the church at Philadelphia had little strength, He had opened doors for them and they had been faithful to his name.
Sometimes a culture of celebration yields a spirit of hope. I know that I often focus on the things to be corrected rather than taking time to celebrate the successes. It was invigorating for me to celebrate the successful Ladies retreat yesterday!
I would like you to consider 2 steps. 1) reply to this posting with one of your recent successes so that others in the leadership community can celebrate with you. And 2) schedule some time in your next class/group meeting to share successes.
Since I grew up in the fundamentalist Baptist tradition, we often had “say so” meetings on Sunday nights. This was just an opportunity to “let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Obvious and Hidden Threats
The last couple of days have been pretty crazy around the Thomas home. You probably heard the flood warnings on the radio Sunday morning. With frozen ground and blocked sewers, residents in low-lying areas were told to prepare for flooding as the rains fell.
While we are nowhere near a natural waterway, we fell prey to that warning. The gutters on our building were solid chunks of ice and as the rain fell, it melted the snow on the roof which caused a torrent of water in the courtyard in front of our home. Ann called for help since she noticed the carpets were wet.
The obvious threat was the standing water in the courtyard. Most thought it was threatening to come over the threshold and flood the house so sandbags were purchased and shovels and brooms were employed to keep the water at bay, but the carpets continued to get wetter and wetter.
When the carpet restoration people arrived they pulled back the carpet to remove the soaked padding and found what I had expected – Two cracks in the floor that were allowing ground water to enter the house even though the threshold was not breached.
What does this have to do with teaching? I’m glad you asked!
While we rightly put much emphasis in crafting a creative, meaningful lesson and take steps to ensure a hospitable environment where learning can take place, damage may be happening in unwatched places. Most teachers rightfully guard the “threshold” of their class/group, but may be unknowingly neglecting their own souls and allowing damage to creep in. Pastor Sean spoke directly to one of these threats on Sunday – lethargy.
Psalm 78:72 tells us that David led with “integrity of heart” and “skill of hand.” Outwardly your students can pretty easily observe your skill of hand. But many leaders have become adept at hiding the weaknesses of our integrity (remember the Televangelist and Priest sex scandals?).
Can I encourage you to take some time today to consider the threats to your foundation before you have a mess on your hands?
While we are nowhere near a natural waterway, we fell prey to that warning. The gutters on our building were solid chunks of ice and as the rain fell, it melted the snow on the roof which caused a torrent of water in the courtyard in front of our home. Ann called for help since she noticed the carpets were wet.
The obvious threat was the standing water in the courtyard. Most thought it was threatening to come over the threshold and flood the house so sandbags were purchased and shovels and brooms were employed to keep the water at bay, but the carpets continued to get wetter and wetter.
When the carpet restoration people arrived they pulled back the carpet to remove the soaked padding and found what I had expected – Two cracks in the floor that were allowing ground water to enter the house even though the threshold was not breached.
What does this have to do with teaching? I’m glad you asked!
While we rightly put much emphasis in crafting a creative, meaningful lesson and take steps to ensure a hospitable environment where learning can take place, damage may be happening in unwatched places. Most teachers rightfully guard the “threshold” of their class/group, but may be unknowingly neglecting their own souls and allowing damage to creep in. Pastor Sean spoke directly to one of these threats on Sunday – lethargy.
Psalm 78:72 tells us that David led with “integrity of heart” and “skill of hand.” Outwardly your students can pretty easily observe your skill of hand. But many leaders have become adept at hiding the weaknesses of our integrity (remember the Televangelist and Priest sex scandals?).
Can I encourage you to take some time today to consider the threats to your foundation before you have a mess on your hands?
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