Life2gether

John Piper, from his message on Racial Harmony:

1. Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in creating them with the body that they have.

2. Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in making other people with the body that they have.

3. Help the children believe that they and all other children and adults are made in God’s image.

4. Teach the children that God tells us to do to others as we would like others to do to us.

5. Teach the children and model for them that their own sin is uglier than anybody they think is physically unattractive.

6. Teach the children that God loves them in spite of the ugliness of their sin and that he proved this by sending his Son to die for our sins and give forgiveness to all who would trust him.

7. Teach the children that because Jesus died for them and rose again, he becomes for them an all-satisfying Friend and Treasure.

8. Teach the children to love others who are different from them, not in order to be accepted by God, but because they already are accepted by God because of Jesus.

(Read, Listen, or Watch the whole sermon here)

Mark Driscoll gives a short history of Santa Claus here.

Here.

Are you looking for tips to become a better teacher?  Whether you teach in a church or school (or even at home), the following is a collection of posts that I think will be helpful to you.  These teaching tips below come from an online book discussion that I conducted a couple years ago over the book, Teaching to Change Lives, by Howard Hendricks.  I trust they will challenge you to become a better teacher and life-long learner.

Law of the Teacher 

Law of Education  

Law of Activity     

Law of Communication 

Law of the Heart 

Law of the Encouragement

Law of Readiness

• In addition, here’s John Piper’s essential characteristics of a good teacher. Very helpful!

Scott Klusendorf, author of The Case for Life, writes about his experience in helping a class of 2nd graders understand the value of life for those who are yet to be born.  The kids helped him learn a few things as well:

Admittedly, I was having a blast with these kids. At the same time, they were teaching me an important lesson. The pro-life movement must find ways to reach kids earlier, before the surrounding culture talks them out of what they already know to be true. In many ways, these youngsters had better moral reasoning skills than many college students I meet!

(HT: Z)

Mark Driscoll with some wise, balanced counsel on a father’s role in the education of his children:

A father needs to think through the education of his children and have a theology of childhood education. The first question a father must resolve is, what is the purpose of an education? Paul tells us that the goal is that the child would become mature “in the Lord,” and Proverbs teaches that the goal of all instruction must be a redeemed heart that fears the Lord. The second question is, which educational option will help cultivate my child in the Lord? Since each child is different, there are multiple answers to this question, and the father, in conjunction with the mother, is best suited to make the decision between home schooling, public schooling, private schooling, and Christian schooling. As the father, you will also need to determine how you will make enough money to educate your children.

As a father, you must recognize that if your child will be sitting in a classroom for six or eight hours a day, for twelve years, you must know the teachers, their curriculum, and the goal of that education, because you are responsible before God for the cultivation of your child. Children need to learn math, English, history, and the like, but these subjects must be connected to the Lord and must help children see how they are connected to the Lord. Wise fathers know that just because a school has “Christian” in the name does not guarantee that Jesus rules in the curriculum. Fathers must do their homework before sending their children to school to do their own. Idealistic fathers tend to be legalistic fathers and the truth is there is no single decision that is right for every child every year. Therefore, the educational options need to be reconsidered every year for every child, depending upon the various circumstances that the parents are dealing with.

~ Taken from Chapter 3 of Pastor Dad (an online e-book) by Mark Driscoll

I especially appreciate the last line about parents evaluating the various educational options for their children each year.  This is what Jaime and I have done and will continue to do with every one of our children.

True teaching aims at life change.  I can teach an amazing lesson complete with powerpoint and handouts, but if my students haven’t changed, then have I really taught?

Knowing full well that life change is impossible without God’s intervention, there are still some things that we as teachers must do.  I call it the M.I.A. (Missing in Action) as these 3 elements are often missing in our teaching:

• Modeling – (ME) It starts with me.  The more I change, the more I can influence others to change.  I must become what I want my students to become.  Not a perfect example, but an authentic one.
• Involvement — (WE) I must get my class involved in the learning process.  I must learn the art of asking good questions and become more of a leader than a lecturer.  Too much of our teaching is entirely too passive.
• Accountability — (YOU & ME) When I’m done with my lesson, I’m not done.  I must create an intentional plan of action to be done outside the classroom.  Oftentimes, teachers feel the pressure to “get through the lesson” and leave out this important step.  But good teachers follow up with their students to see if they did what they were asked to do in an environment of humility and grace.

If you’re aiming at life change, look for ways you can build these three elements into your teaching, all the while depending on the Holy Spirit to do what you cannot do.

• Check out more Teaching Tips here
• Get a PDF version of My Sample Lesson Plan here

Is your church ready to jump in to the New Year?  A recent study by Group Publishing aims to help Christian leaders get the information they need to impact their ministries in 2009.

Some of the study’s finding include:

• effective ways to partner with parents
• the future of youth ministry
• how to equip volunteers for service
• finding and recruiting younger women in women’s ministry

Check out the website for more information here.

This looks like a great deal! I’ve got the My First Book of Questions and Answers and I like to use it as a game after we eat dinner to quiz my girls on questions like, “What is sin?” and What is the 5th commandment?”  They really enjoy it!

My First Book 5 Book Set
Carine Mackenzie & Philip Ross

List: $14.95… WTS $9.72 (buy it here)

Endorsed by John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Douglas Kelly, and C. J. Mahaney

In this set:

The Sunday School Revolutionary offers the positives of taking prayer requests in Sunday School as well as some helpful suggestions to avoid taking too much time:

Positives

• Class members feel like someone cares for them
• Class leadership has the opportunity to serve through prayer
• Praying for each other builds community

Suggestions

• Take requests at the end of class
• Take written, not verbal, requests
• Send requests out by e-mail

What do you think?  Do you have any other suggestions?