Posts Tagged ‘teaching’

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Mentoring and Training

February 3, 2015

The other day at the coffee shop I chanced into a conversation with a young woman. She is a local community college student who is heading toward a degree-granting (BA/BS) university. She was full of enthusiasm for a career. She knew what she wanted to do.

I started thinking (that’s my weakness, but fortunately not while she was talking) that what people want to do is a question of training them in a skill. They can do computer science, plumbing, tool making, selling, marketing, writing.

But, what if we who are older and have been down the road realize that what is even more crucial is to help people realize who they can be.

Sometimes these things can be accomplished at the same time. I help teach young people how to become a soccer referee. That’s a skill. But that’s only the first step. Of course, they must continue to develop their skills–foul recognition, mechanics, physical stamina.

We also teach them how to be. Through providing them games and mentoring, we show them how to develop strength of character, decision-making skills, people skills. These things help them grow as people no matter what they choose to do with their lives.

Then we can reflect  even on ourselves as we are mentoring young people–realizing that learning should never end; evaluating who we are vs who we want to be; growing in emotional intelligence.

As we get older, one thing we should become is a mentor. Pick someone, help lead them into becoming what they can be. Help them explore their spiritual gifts and talents.

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The Non-Religion of Jesus Followers

October 22, 2014

The social and religious environment of first century Mediterranean peoples had expectations of what constituted a religion.

Religions sacrificed animals as part of high worship. The priest killed an animal and prayed to his god for atonement or crops or whatever. The Jewish religion was recognized as a religion because it looked like a religion.

Then along came Jesus. He appointed apostles, not priests. He didn’t make a big deal out of ritual sacrifices.

The movement grew and people gathered mostly in small groups for teaching, worship, and fellowship meals. No killing animals. Part of the teaching was that there was one sacrifice that ended the necessity for endless sacrifices.

The Romans didn’t know what to think. This new movement wasn’t a religion. So, what was it?

There was a small group that met over the course of several years. We met at a woman’s house. She had coffee made. We sang worship songs, studied from the Bible, prayed.

There was another small group we were part of that met after worship to share a meal. We did this for a year or two.

Both experiences were similar to the Acts ekklesia gatherings.

Then the idea came to go back to Acts. To worship with song and prayer and listen to a teacher. These grew to “mega-churches.” But the mega-churches are nothing without their small groups that meet for worship, study and prayer. Just like the old days.

The other thing that the early organization (sort of) did was appoint deacons to look after the physical welfare of the people. Later, Christ-followers in Rome took that tradition and served as nurses and healers during an immense plague that hit Rome. The church grew tremendously because of that witness.

Perhaps today we should add to our adoption of the Acts 2 church by doing more than the monthly canned food drive. We could minister to our neighbors like those Roman spiritual ancestors. It would make a huge difference in the way “welfare” is done. It would make a huge difference in the spiritual life of the church. It could eliminate at least one of the contentious political debates that pollute our minds.

How do we reach out with teaching, worship, praying, and also meeting physical needs?

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Teach Your Children Well

October 9, 2014

OK, so the song by Crosby, Stills and Nash is one of my favorites (although I never got the sheet music and added it to my repertoire). In this 60s song, one verse says parents teach your children well; then in typical fashion for the times, it flips it over and tells the children to teach your parents well.

This week my travels took me again to Orlando and another engineering conference. A friend of mine put together a session on transferring engineering and process knowledge from the aging baby boomers to the new millennial generation. His co-presenter was not only young but also female. She has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, is 29, and a staff engineer for Eastman Chemicals Co.

Their topic was learning styles.

Collaboration. Younger people are much more collaborative than we were when I was learning engineering. We were given tasks by the almighty and all knowing manager, and we went out to do them. Because knowledge is more easily found on the Web, young people don’t look to their superiors (organizationally speaking) as the fount of all possible knowledge. They look at them as mentors and coaches who collaborate with them and teach how to approach problems.

New data sources. They have books on iPads, smart phones to look up things on the Web and to text peers to find answers to questions.

Conclusions. What surprised me in the session which was well attended by a mixture of ages was the attitude of several of the older engineers. “Well, if they get all knowledge from the Web, will they have any depth? Any problem-solving skills?”

In this case, they all have college engineering degrees. An engineering degree is primarily a course of study on problem solving. Depth comes through experience. If the guy would mentor a young person, then growth happens.

So, I’m thinking about this paradigm in relation to other organizations. I’m not a youth pastor, but are they able to incorporate this collaborative learning style and mentoring capability? Today’s crop of younger pastors tend to be more “teachers” than “preachers.” People don’t like to be preached at, but most people enjoy learning new ideas.

The weird thing is that even though I am technically a “boomer,” I’ve never felt like one. I’m much more at home with the style and thinking of the millennials. I hope more people of my generation can adapt and help bring the new generation along–whether it’s engineering or become a disciple of Jesus.

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There Are Consequences

July 25, 2014

“There was an old lady,
who swallowed a fly.
I don’t know why
she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she’ll die.”

I was visiting my son’s house and one of his kids said something about swallowing a fly, and I sang that verse.

“You can’t say that anymore,” my son said. “It isn’t PC [politically correct].”

He was being mildly sarcastic about the PC crowd. I didn’t train one of those. He couldn’t remember the revision that someone put forward so that we wouldn’t mention death to a child.

Kids know things die. Bugs die. Animals die. Sometimes they know humans who die. It’s just a fact of life.

There are consequences to actions.

In fact, Jesus followed an ancient teaching about thoughts preceding actions by teaching that what we think about is as sinful as the action. And there are consequences.

Kids must be taught if…then logic as early as possible. If you walk into the street without looking, then you may get hit by a car and die…oops, something bad might happen. If you touch the flame…. If you tease your sibling….

The Bible is full of if…then logic. Almost the entire Old Testament talks about people of God telling the Israelites, If you keep living in this way, then God will do something or allow something bad to happen.

Jesus also taught us about consequences for our actions.

The earlier we learn the truth of that logic, the better off we’ll be.

If I swallow a fly, perhaps I’ll die. Well, not really. Sometimes things are just silly.

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Why Priests

July 21, 2014

The first time I took a deep dive into the book of Hebrews, I went about half-way in. Then something just didn’t sound right. So, I went back to the beginning and pulled out a copy of the book (or essay or whatever, it’s definitely not a letter) and read it along with the author of the exegesis. I thought, what in the world is this guy reading? Closed the book and never read another work by Hal Lindsey–one of the major proponents of knowledge of the secrets of the end of time.

I wrote a post about Why Priests? by Garry Wills a few weeks ago. This is a much better exegesis of the Hebrews. It is researched, scholarly yet readable (we’ll see if my wife makes it through–the test for readability) and well thought through. Not the least of which is that Wills seems to be Augustinian at the core–as am I.

Read this book if you are drawn to deeper understanding of the Bible. I like these works that stretch my thinking and increase my knowledge.

The thing is, I also have never considered priests or ministers as some sort of super-humans with some mysterious power. Every time I considered going to a seminary, I would think through and consider the curriculum and conclude that for the most part a seminary degree is just a ticket into a club. I’m with the the wit (was it Groucho Marx or Mark Twain?) who said “I wouldn’t join any club that would have me as a member.”

I think the model of church that is best for today combines the best of the Acts 2 house churches (small groups) with a combined larger church where you can hear the best of teachers and collectively provide service with much greater impact than a few people working alone. See Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren and many others.

Find your group or groups. Search out good teaching. Study, pray, serve. Follow Jesus.

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Word Vs Deed

July 7, 2014

The mission trip to Mexico ended less than a week ago. We painted, gave away food staples, played with orphans. Our short-term missionaries seemed to grow a lot from the experience.

I used my early-morning and late-night meditation time to read and ponder “Word Vs Deed: Resetting the Scales to a Biblical Balance” by Duane Litfin.

There are people who believe that to fulfill Jesus’ teachings and commands, we should emphasize preaching (word). Others believe that Jesus’ commands require us to go and do–at various levels from helping individual members of our family or tribe to solving world-wide economic and environmental problems.

Litfin wants us to do both (I think). And he wants us to do it for sound Biblical reasons. “It is a gospel that not only must be preached; it must be lived,” he states at one point.

He includes this quote, “Christians cannot be governed by mere principles. Principles [can] carry one only so far. At some point every person must…know what God is calling him to do.” —Eric Melaxas, Bonhoeffer

And one I particularly like, “Christians need to look like what they are talking about.” — John Poulton

We earn trust from others when our words and our deeds are congruent. Hypocrisy can mean saying one thing and doing another.

But as I read, I pondered his struggle for an “accurate” and strict Biblical interpretation. I suddenly wondered if he had studied the way that Jesus and Paul used Scripture to prove their points or as a jumping off place for presentation of their teachings.

This book is a good read, especially for those who are caught up in one or the other ends of the pendulum swing and are seeking a reasoned argument for balance.

Word or Deed? Yes!

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Spirit or Religion

January 29, 2014

The other day a thought popped into my brain–I don’t think about religion. I think about living a life in the spirit. I don’t think about religion. Ever. I like to read books by (not about) spiritual seekers of all paths. I don’t really know much about religions since my early reading. I’ve seen Hindu paintings and Buddhist art. In the West, we’re filled with Renaissance art that still fuels the popular mind with pictures of what Jesus looked like, or what Hell looks like.

Last Sunday John Ortberg and the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (California, of course) took a chance that would never fly in rural Sidney, Ohio. The message was a panel discussion conducted with respect and honor that included representatives of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, humanism and Christianity.

It was interesting. You can navigate here and find it or go to iTunes.

As a Jesus-follower, I live the words “I am the vine and you are the branches” and “I am the way.” But I’ve known so many spiritual seekers who know nothing, or very little, about Jesus, yet their spiritual quest seems little different from mine. Well, forget the humanist who denies a spiritual realm. Sorry about his luck.

Most of the people I grew up with or relate with today would say that all these people are going to hell. Heck, I grew up taught that Catholics were going to hell! I am not prepared to be that judge. To me, that’s a God thing.

It was interesting to learn that in both the Judaic and the Islamic traditions, the Scripture is more of a living document. Most Christians seem to think that revelation from God ended somewhere around 100 AD or CE. When I’m interpreting Scripture, I tend to go back to the 4th or 5th Centuries and before. But there are many people who lived in the ensuing 15 centuries with tremendous Spiritual insight whose writings are worth studying.

Anyway, blessings on the MPPC and the ability to listen to others. Listening surely beats wishing bad things on them or even trying to kill them.

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Teach Them Well

January 27, 2014

Paul’s letter to Titus came up last week in my reading and listening. It’s been a while since I read it. There’s a wealth of information for leaders and others in that little piece of writing.

If you step back and look at the entire thing, you can see that Paul expects Titus to be a teacher as a leader. Many years ago I read about how legendary basketball coach John Wooden compiled such a winning record over so many years. He was observant of the strengths and weaknesses of his players. He devised ways for them to be successful. He put them in the situations where they could become successful. And he taught them what it took to be successful.

Paul expected the same from Titus. Teach the people well. Put people in a position to be successful. Even though Titus was on an island where the people were evidently looked down upon by the rest of Roman society. But Paul believed in Titus’ ability.

In whatever leadership position that we have, we need to remember Paul’s thought–to lead is to teach. Even in the largest corporations when leading extremely driven people, there is still the need to teach everyone about the mission of the organization (company, church, committee), why it matters, how to behave, where to focus.

We tend to forget these things. Even leaders tend to forget. That’s why Paul is reminding Titus, the person he left behind in Crete to lead the new Christian community there.

The song recorded by Crosby, Stills and Nash years ago keeps popping into mind. “Teach…your children well.” Followed by “Teach…your parents well.” We all have something to teach. We’re all leaders in some contexts and followers in others. When you lead, teach…them well.

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Giving and Receiving Appropriate Feedback

December 19, 2013

I can’t believe I had gone so many days without writing. Yesterday I tried out a new iPad app for WordPress. It published before I added categories and tags. Today, I’ll play around with it a little, but I’m far behind in my other two blogs–not to mention a feature article about using Ethernet networking in manufacturing and a column on automation standards.

These days much of my leadership seems to be behind the scenes guiding others into thinking through things so that they arrive at sound decisions and move their projects forward. In the midst of that, I forgot that others are constantly evaluating me.

Someone in a position of some authority offered some feedback that just seemed a little lame to me. So, I pondered the feedback and what sort of feedback is useful. Part of the feedback was that “I hear great things about you, encourage more people to tell me how good you’re doing.” Was that useful feedback? What sort of sample size was that? Was it just one or two off-hand comments?

Then it sounded like how we are trained to offer feedback to soccer referees after a match where we are assigned officially as an assessor–point out one or two strengths and one or two areas for improvement with guidance containing a strategy for improving that area.

The soccer feedback assumes that I as the assessor know what constitutes good officiating and that I have already proven myself so as to lend credibility to my feedback. In other words, if the feedback is given from a person whom I respect and given to help me improve my performance, that’s one thing; but if the feedback is superficial pointing out only superficial things that do not really guide me into a way to improve, then it just feels lame.

I spent the better part of ten years setting and developing the direction of a magazine and constantly asked people wherever I went for ideas on improvement. Starting from September, I’m doing that all over again. In this case, I didn’t start the magazine but rather have assumed leadership of one that is older but has been failing for several years. So, I want ideas on what I could do to improve the property. My ideas will be shown next month to the public. Then I start the feedback process again.

A few thoughts:
Solicit feedback from people affected or people with expertise
Offer feedback that is truly helpful
Consider the feedback, but neither be unduly uplifted by superficial praise nor discouraged with unthinking criticism
Take all feedback as a source of potential personal improvement

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