Singing: Sometimes I Really Miss Middle School

This morning I led singing at our local Christian school, the one where I served on the faculty for eleven years before moving to my current position. I have many friends there, and the students--the older ones, at least--still know me by name. ("Hi Mr. Mulder! Are you here to sing with our class today??") I have to admit, that feels pretty good.

So as I met up with a class of middle schoolers, I picked out some of my favorites. Some newer songs, some oldies-but-goodies from when I began teaching almost 20 years ago. I included this one, which was always a hit with the middle school crowd:

"Spring up, O well, within my soul!" (Splish, splash!)

The kids sang with gusto. So did I.

When we wrapped up after 30 minutes, they were begging for a few more favorites. I took that to be a good sign. What a blessing to lead young people in worship--and for them to want more!

I love to sing, and music has always had an important role in my life. For those who say junior high boys just won't sing...I have much evidence to the contrary, both from my own experience as a middle schooler and from the years I spent teaching young adolescents. I'm convinced that your approach, and the songs you choose, and your willingness to build a relationship with the kids make all the difference. Evidence today: the kids sang.

It's been three school years now since I taught at that school, and it's still a little weird for me when I'm there. I thought it would be better by now. But I suppose that when you pour out your heart and soul for over a decade into a place that you care deeply about, it's bound to leave a mark.

I love what I do now, teaching future teachers. But sometimes, I really miss meeting up with middle schoolers on a day-to-day basis. I miss the chance to teach them, heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And today, with the singing...I'm missing middle school.

God Loveth Adverbs

This morning I had the chance to sit in on a conversation with a hero-of-sorts for me: Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff. I've been reading things written by Dr. Wolterstorff since I was an undergraduate student 20 years ago, and it was fascinating to hear his thoughts on Christian Higher Education in this rather informal session.

Dr. Wolterstorff (right) in conversation with President Hoekstra.

I Hate Christmas

I went through a really low period in my spiritual life about seven years ago, and I was tremendously cynical about almost everything faith related. I wasn't walking away from my faith or anything like that, but I was really wrestling.

The Christmas season was especially challenging for me. In fact, I know I went so far as to say I hated Christmas. I was disgusted by all of the commercialism, and sparklyness, and blaring Christmas carols in the mall, and cheesy decorations, and all the demands and expectations and outright busyness of the season. Taking note of the ridiculous mismatch between what our broader culture says the Christmas season is about (STUFF!) and what I know Christmas is really about (celebrating the birth of Christ--the fullness of God wrapped up in human flesh!) I was disgusted. I was disgusted with how much the church has bought into the cultural message about Christmas. And I was really disgusted with how much I had bought into it as well.

I was angry.

I was fed up.

I was sick of it.

Something had to happen.

The Colossian Force: A Theory of Everything

I first applied to serve as an adjunct instructor teaching science methods at Dordt College back in 2006. I remember that after my interview with the Provost, I was strolling through the Campus Center, admiring some of the artwork on the walls. There was one interesting sculpture hanging on the wall that really caught my attention—bright colors and shapes leaping out at odd angles. I was curious, so I walked over for a closer look.

On the card next to the sculpture there was a note explaining the artist’s inspiration. He had been talking to a scientist who is looking for a “Theory of Everything.” (Maybe you’ve heard of such theories? Basically, the idea is that scientists would love to find one set of laws and equations that will elegantly explain all the forces and energy in the whole universe—gravity, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism…everything!) In the artist’s statement, he notes that the scientist mentioned a “Colossian force” as a possible Theory of Everything. The artist noted Colossians 1:16, 17 as a source for the idea of this “Colossian force.”

I was curious, so I looked it up. Here’s what it says: “For by him, [that is, Jesus Christ,] all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…and in him all things hold together.” Wow, right? This is the ultimate Theory of Everything!

God surely has created an amazing universe. And the thing that really gets me is this: it all works together all the time! God’s designs are so much greater than we can possibly imagine! This is one of the reasons I love to teach science, and I love to study Creation myself: the more we study and learn about the world God created, the more we can be awestruck at the incredible power and amazing care He has. Thanks be to God!

The Blessing of Conferring

This week I had the pleasure of presenting at a conference held at Redeemer University College. It was the biennial conference of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education. This is a pretty amazing group of educators from across North America, and beyond, and I'm proud to now be counted among their membership: dedicated Christian educators seeking to shape the next generation of Christian teachers.

I had quite a time getting to the conference. My flight left 14 hours later than it should have. I was stranded overnight in Chicago on my way to Toronto. I finally arrived at Redeemer about 30 minutes before I was scheduled to begin presenting. I found my room, got settled in, and was immediately at peace. The warm welcome of these colleagues in Christian education set my mind and heart at ease.

I presented a paper on developing technology integration skills in our preservice teachers, which is a topic near and dear to my heart. After my presentation, those gathered had the chance to raise questions and offer their ideas in response. I had some gentle push-back from a few of my new friends, as well as affirmation of some of my ideas. I'm hoping to get the paper published, and the feedback--both positive and negative--are going to make the paper stronger.

Throughout the conference I connected with fellow educators. They shared their stories and asked me to share mine. It was a blessing to find that we have so much in common, so many of the same issues, challenges, and joys. I gleaned some fantastic ideas that are going to shape my own teaching practice in higher education, and I have a few things I want to discuss with my colleagues when I'm back on campus.

I recognize that I am becoming an academic. This is a strange realization for me...but not unwelcome. I love to research and write and share what I'm learning. I love to learn, to think, to encounter new ideas, to have conversations.

This meeting affirmed it for me: conferring with colleagues from across the globe is a blessing.

Maundy Thursday: "On Us and On Our Children"

Tonight we had a Maundy Thursday service. We spent time in song, in the Word, in prayer. We remembered the Last Supper. We came to the table.

[Dave Mulder, CC BY 2.0]

At our church, I come forward to take part in the sacrament. I take the bread, and one of our shepherds (elders) says, "This is Christ's body, broken for you," As I dip it into the cup, another reminds me: "Christ's blood, poured out for you." I love that at our church, my kids come forward with me; they need to see this. This is for them too. This is faith-formation.

We move back to our seats, join the congregation in song. In remembrance. In joy!

Later, we continued the story of Christ's passion. Prayer in the Garden. The arrest. The mockery and trial. Finally, we come to Pilate.

The 60% Rule

(Note: I wrote this post for CACE. Please visit to view the original piece and check out the other great stuff there! You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter...and you should, if you're at all interested in Christian Education.)


Do you have a favorite teaching strategy? What is your best approach in the classroom?

Do you lecture with passion? Do you involve your students in collaborative groups? Do you have students complete stacks of worksheets? Do you use project-based learning? Do you have students craft personal, creative responses to demonstrate what they have learned? Do you use digital simulations? Do you show videos? Do you play games? Do you tell stories that capture students’ imagination and pull at their hearts? Do you have students role-play or use drama? Do you have students investigate solutions to authentic problems? Do you have students actively serve in their communities?

The methodologies we choose clearly show what we value. You might say that the teaching strategies you choose flow out of your personal philosophy of education. What you believe to be true and important and necessary are the things you will emphasize.

Parker Palmer, in his excellent book The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life makes the claim, “We teach who we are.” Think on that. Who you are as a human being is embodied in your teaching practice!

Early in the book, Palmer states, “Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together” (p. 2). As I reflect on this, I think it’s important to think about the methodologies I choose for my teaching…and what these say about me…

Kingdom Building

Hanging on my bulletin board, directly above my desk so it is staring me in the face, I have this sheet of paper tacked up:

It is the chord sheet for Rend Collective Experiment's song "Build Your Kingdom Here." This song is getting a lot of airplay on our local Christian radio station, and I have to confess, I love it. I printed out the chords so I could work on learning it myself.

If you haven't heard the song yourself, you should give it a listen.

Always Reforming...

By Lucas Cranach [Public domain]
via Wikimedia Commons

Today is October 31st. In Protestant circles, it's a big day: Reformation Day. On this day we celebrate a German Roman Catholic priest and professor who went rogue back in 1517. On this day, almost 500 years ago, Martin Luther kicked off a domino rally that began another whole branch of the Christian Church. Luther wasn't the only one...folks like Zwingli, and Calvin, and Huss, and a host of others were part of this reaction to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church

The very name "Protestant" indicates a mindset for these early reformers. They were protest-ant; they were boldly speaking out against things they saw as needing change. The history of Protestantism is full of protest of injustice and against heresy. The Reformation is all about reforming--not replacing, mind--what is broken.

7th Grade Police Officer

I ran into a former student last night. He was in my 7th grade homeroom 12 years ago. Sharp kid: smart, hard-working, great sense of humor; he was the sort of student that makes teaching a joy. I was leaving the grocery store and he was on his way in...wearing his uniform.

He's now a 25-year-old, and serves as a police officer here in town.

He smiled as soon as he saw me: "Hi, Mr. Mulder!" with a wave.

I said my hello in return, and got into my van with my peanut butter and aluminum foil and potato chips and memories of this former student.

And this realization: he still calls me "Mr. Mulder."

I haven't been his teacher for more than a decade, but I'm still "Mr. Mulder" to him.

That was a bit of an eye-opening experience for me. I wonder what would happen sometime if I rolled through a stop sign, and he happened to pull me over? Clearly, he would have authority in that place, and I would surely get the ticket I deserved.

But this was a good reminder for me of the Office of the Teacher. Teachers have a high calling; we have a tremendous impact--for good or ill--on the lives of the students we encounter each year, each day, each class period. And for distinctively Christian teachers, this takes on an even deeper role, perhaps: are we being Christ to our students? Maybe this is why James admonishes the church: "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (James 3:1)

Teachers, remember your Office!

I Know the Plans I Have for You

I have a pet peeve about Jeremiah 29:11 being used as a celebratory text at graduation ceremonies. Here it is, from the NIV:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Image made freely available via pixabay.com
Thanks to dustytoes for sharing.

Now, don't get me wrong--that is a lovely verse, one from the inspired Word of God. It's actually a pretty amazing reminder that all things are in God's hands, after all. And that sort of blessing is probably very appropriate for graduates embarking on a new adventure, a new phase of life--especially when some are heading out into unknown territory.

The problem I have with people using this verse this way is that people are taking it completely out of context. Go and read the whole text of Jeremiah 29, and you'll see what I mean.

Christian Education: Simple Truth

I.

18 years ago I was a freshman in college and my roommate introduced me to a little-known Canadian band called Hokus Pick Manouver. These guys are Christians, and they don't really pull any punches, but they also don't take themselves too seriously. The have a silly song called "Simple Song" on their album Pick It Up. Here, give it a listen...

For those of us in Christian education, I think this is something we need to think about, and talk about.

How shall we profess the Truth to our students?

Twitter as a Key Part of Your PLN

I'm a guest blogger last month and this month at Christian Schools International's Nurturing Faith blog. Always great stuff there for Christian teachers to read and reflect on !

Anyway, my two-part piece was on getting teachers to use Twitter as a part of their personal learning network (PLN.) Many teachers are, of course, already doing this. But few of the teachers with whom I have regular contact (outside of Twitter!) are using Twitter in this way. I would like to see more folks benefit the way I have from following interesting people and developing a PLN to whom they can turn for ideas and conversation.

A Game to Make You Think

In case you are running stuck with things for your middle schooler (or high schooler, or yourself...) to do over Christmas Break, let me encourage you to play a computer game. But this game is serious. It's a serious game--one intended not only to entertain, but also to educate.

The name of the game is Third World Farmer. The goal: survive as long as possible.

Required Reading for Christian Schools

Last school year I was privileged to be part of a small group of teachers at my school who met together monthly to read and discuss things that would challenge or affirm our thinking about schooling, and Christian education in particular. We read a variety of things on different topics related to education: assessment, instructional practices, faith development...but there is one slim volume we read and discussed that I think should be required reading for all Christian teachers. (And administrators, board members, and parents, for that matter.)

My friend Dan Beerens, who writes and curates Christian Schools International's Nurturing Faith blog first turned me on to this one. The book is entitled 12 Affirmations 2.0: Christian Schooling for a Changing World, by Steven Vryhof. It's a short, digestible read designed for discussion with a group. In the book, Vryhof (with the support of other Christian educators) provides a dozen "affirmations" for Christian education in contemporary society. At the same time, he challenges his readers to evaluate how well their schools are in fact meeting the mission of Christian education.

If you are a Christian teacher, or a part of a Christian school, you really owe it to yourself and your school community to take the time to read and discuss the book. I hope and pray that it will be a challenge and encouragement to you as it was to me and my colleagues!

A Distinctively Christian Approach to Teaching Science?

I'm thinking a lot lately about how we teach science in Christian schools.

I teach a Science Methods course ("how do we teach science?") for elementary education majors. Being a Christian institution, we talk about being "distinctively Christian" in our approach to teaching...everything! In our department, "distinctively Christian" means more than slapping on Scripture to Christianize a lesson, and more than teaching Bible classes or holding chapel services in school. We want students to think deeply about their faith and how it intersects with lesson planning, with assessment, with classroom management, with school culture, with how they interact with students and colleagues...basically with every part of their teaching practice. As I've said it to my students: "Where do you want your students to end up? That's the point you should start teaching from."

So it's fundamentally a question of religious orientation: Who owns your heart? And how does that influence your "moves" in the classroom?

The problem with this: my students hear about "distinctively Christian teaching"--in general, at least--in practically every education course they take.

I've done this too--speak about teaching Christianly in very general terms. My friend John Van Dyk has developed a pretty useful organizing methodology for thinking about teaching Christianly, which has informed my own teaching practice. I, in turn, share this with my students as a means of getting them to think about a distinctively Christian approach to teaching. In his way of thinking (I'm paraphrasing here) the teacher has three roles to play:

• Guiding - The teacher is an experienced fellow-traveler on the road. Just as a guide on the hiking trail is able to draw attention to both points of interest and possible pitfalls, the teacher seeks to point way on the trail to understanding.
• Unfolding - The teacher is charged with making choices about what parts of the curriculum to "uncover" along the way. Just as unfolding the whole map all at once might prove overwhelming--and not always useful--the teacher may decide to "uncover" just small sections of the terrain at a given time.
• Enabling - The teacher provides opportunities for students to use what they have learned to love God and serve others on the journey. Students aren't just learning for learning's sake, but to make them more faithful disciples.

(Side note: if you like the sound of this and would like to find out more, I'd heartily recommend Dr. Van Dyk's book The Craft of Christian Teaching: A Classroom Journey. You can find out more information here.)

How does this apply to teaching science? As we think about teaching science Christianly, I've made the argument with my students that this might mean:

• Guiding students into inquiry-infused learning situations. You aren't going to just tell them...but you also are going to ensure that the things they are trying are safe, and wise, and will result in understanding science content. As an experienced fellow traveler, you can both give suggestions, and prevent disasters before they happen.
• Making curriculum decisions about what you choose to unfold at a given time. Maybe 3rd graders aren't ready to learn about particle physics just yet. Maybe middle schoolers really should spend some time examining Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. Maybe Kindergartners need time to just play with magnets to get some working understanding of how magnetic force works. Maybe senior Anatomy and Physiology students should dissect fetal pigs to help them see the interrelatedness of mammalian body systems. 
• Enabling students to think about how their faith affects the way they think about the world around them. This allows for conversations about ethics and stewardship and wisdom (not just knowledge.)

But here's the thing...my students see where I'm coming from...and they basically agree that this all sounds good, and they would like to do this sort of teaching. But...there's usually some level of dissatisfaction, a feeling of "This isn't enough, Mr. Mulder! I mean, you're describing good teaching in general! Of course we're going to do this stuff. What makes this a distinctively Christian approach to teaching science?"

They've got me there. I can't argue with that--I would hope that all science teachers are going to use inquiry-infused approaches, and wisely ensure that the curriculum topics they teach are developmentally appropriate, and that they would engage their students in discussing ethical situations and stewardship of the world's resources. Does Van Dyk's methodology fall short then?

This has been bothering me for a while, because Van Dyk's methodology makes so much sense to me as an organizing framework for applying my worldview--my "ground rules"--for how I approach my classroom practice, my interactions with students, my thinking about assessment and curriculum and marking papers and the rest. So why doesn't it feel like enough for my students when we talk applying this methodology to teaching science in particular?

I've started thinking about how I can better articulate my perspective for what a distinctively Christian approach to teaching science might look like. I'm still working out all the details of what this might look like, but here I'll share my thinking so far. I'd love to hear your feedback about this.


A Distinctively Christian Approach to Teaching Science

1. Distinctively Christian teachers will begin with a biblical worldview comprised of Scripture-based convictions about the nature of creation. For example, I believe:

• "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
• "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it; the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1)
• "For in him [that is, Christ,] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible...all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17)

The way in which we teach our students about the creation should point them toward the Creator!

2. Distinctively Christian science teachers will allow for--and even plan for--opportunities for their students to simply stand in awe at the way the Lord has created the cosmos. I believe that God has revealed aspects of himself to all people through the creation. (This idea is clearly expressed in the Belgic Confession. Also, I love Psalm 19:1-4 as a poetic description of this reality.) While we won't come to saving faith in Christ simply through studying the creation, we can clearly stand in amazement when we consider the way God has designed things to work together, and we can see his providential hand sustaining the order of the world he has made.

3. Distinctively Christian teachers will embrace questions. While our knowledge is imperfect and our understanding incomplete, questions are good! We should wonder about the world we live in--I believe God has created us with a curiosity planted in us--and we should give students the freedom and latitude to pursue their own inquiries, and support them in looking for answers to their questions. We should help our students to understand that some questions are "scientific" questions, that can be answered by scientific methods--observation, measurement, experimentation, data collection, inference, and the like.

4. At the same time, distinctively Christian teachers will recognize that not all questions are "scientific" in nature--they can't all be answered via scientific inquiry. Some questions are fundamentally religious in nature, and while they should be asked and wrestled through (even in science class), we should recognize them as questions that are not fundamentally "scientific." An example might include: "How old is the Earth?" This question has a scientific flavor to it, and scientifically-derived data might help us answer this question, but the way we interpret the data will be influenced by our "ground-rules," our faith commitments. [I picked this question deliberately, as there are a range of perspectives on this topic, even within the realm of Christendom.] Challenging as controversial topics like these can be, distinctively Christian teachers should embrace controversy as a means of engaging with students in faith development.

5. Much of the current literature about science education seems to indicate that students best learn science when it is taught in "Hands-on and Minds-on." Hands-on implies that students should be actively manipulating materials and conducting investigations, and minds-on implies that they should be engaged in thinking their investigations, making connections, and developing understanding. This comes largely from a Constructivist educational philosophy. While I don't wholly embrace Constructivism--carried out to it's conclusion, Constructivism reduces the Truth to each student's own experiences and the knowledge they build for themselves--I do think there is some merit to this sort of approach to teaching science. So I would advocate that distinctively Christian science teachers should also teach science in a way that is "Hearts-on": that we should evaluate the ideas we encounter about the way the world works in light of the truth of Scripture. "Hearts-on" science would acknowledge that God has called us to understand the world around us, not simply for the sake of having that knowledge, but rather so we can better take care of the world. (See Genesis 1:26-28, which is sometimes called the Creation Mandate--God's command to humankind to "rule" over the creation by learning to take care of it.)

--

So that's where my thinking is at this point. What did I leave out? What needs firming up? Where am I way out in left field? Could a Christian teacher in a public school still use this framework?

Demand Great Teachers!

I spent a couple days last week at a convention with several hundred Christian teachers. It was, as these things tend to be, a great time of renewal, worship, and interacting with colleagues in Kingdom work. I had the opportunity to reconnect with friends in Christian Education that I hadn't talked with in a year or more, and the chance to make some new friends. (There's another whole post in there--started some great conversations with colleagues from Michigan, and my wheels are really turning right now.)

Anyway.

One speaker in particular though has prompted a lot of reflection. I'm actually a little troubled by his presentation, because it hits really close to home. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but here is the gist of what he said that has been working on my heart and mind:

• "How many of you are 'good' teachers? How many of you are 'godly' teachers? You can be 'good' without being 'godly,' but you can't be a 'godly' teacher without being 'good.'"
• "Imagine a parent praying for his or her child just before the beginning of a new school year: 'God, please let my child have an average teacher this year!' No one says that. That would be crazy."
• "The fact is, most teachers are average...to awful."
• "Over the course of your schooling, from Kindergarten through college, you have about 100 teachers. How many of you had 100 great teachers?" <crickets> "How many of you had 50?" <No response.> "25?" <Uncomfortable shifting in the room...> "10?" <Finally a smattering of hands go up in a room full of hundreds of teachers.> "5? 4? 3? 2? 1?" <Lots of hands.> "So...maybe 5% of teachers are GREAT teachers?"

This was very challenging to me! I think of myself as a good teacher. I hope I am a "godly" teacher too. And I hope I'm on my way to becoming a great teacher. But this was pretty sobering!

He went on with this challenging thought:

There are three categories of teachers:

1. Some teachers are "on fire." (The ones who are genuinely sad when school is out for summer...)
2. Some teachers are "losing the fire." (The ones who work hard through the heartache of the job...)
3. Some teachers need to be fired. (Whoa...did he actually just say that?)

No pulling punches--he laid it right out there, that some of the teachers in the room need to go.

Wow.

Truth is, I agree with him: some teachers, even in Christian schools, are simply bad teachers. But what would this look like in practice? 

My friend Brenda (a former Christian school teacher who is perhaps a little cynical) once quipped, "Fire a bad teacher in a Christian school? It's easier to hire a hitman."

She's joking, you know. But is there some truth there? I'm really wondering about what would happen if tuition-paying parents would start to hold school boards accountable for retaining poor teachers. 

What if Christian schools and school boards were bold enough to actually demand that their teachers are good...or even great! 

What would schools look like if teachers who just aren't doing their job fully were encouraged to find another line of work?

What if bad teachers--even in Christian schools--were fired?

What if school boards would only hire great teachers to replace the poor teachers?

Okay, I'm also realistic...where are all these "great" teachers hiding? Because I'm pretty sure there aren't a surplus of fantastic Christian teachers in hiding someplace, just waiting for someone to swoop in, liberate them, and put them to work in schools. So I think we need to think about this in terms of expecting teachers to become great teachers, and provide them with the professional development to become really great. 

And then expect them to be great.

And...after a reasonable amount of time (maybe two years or so?), if they aren't on their way to becoming great...maybe it really is time to fire them. 

So here is my threefold challenge: 

• Parents, demand great teachers! Hold your children's teachers accountable.
• Teachers, be great! Expect a culture of continuous improvement and professional development in schools.
• Christian school boards, hire good, godly teachers! And then support them and encourage them and expect them to become great!

The Wheels Didn't Fall Off...

I'm struggling a little bit to reconcile not teaching in a K-8 setting this year. That has been such a large part of my identity for the past 14 years--probably too much of my identity, actually (see my last blog post for more about that.)

I dropped my kids off at school yesterday for the first day of school for the new year. It was really, really strange to walk through the hallways and see the place as "just a parent" now. Actually, the weirdest part was having so many of my former students waving with a "Hi Mr. Mulder!" or giving me high-fives in the hall; I even got a few hugs.

I was very involved in the life of school for years. In a lot of ways, I thought of myself as a "linchpin" member of the team--involved in many things, providing leadership in many ways, relating well with the kids, the facutly, the staff, the administration. Especially in my most recent role as Technology Coordinator, I felt like a critical piece, keeping everything moving down the rails.

But now I'm not there. At least, not in the same sort of role.

And you know what? The wheels didn't fall off. The train is moving down the track and picking up speed, and I'm not on it--not the engineer, not the conductor, not even a passenger, really.

I'm not a linchpin. At least, not anymore, if I ever was.

Causes me to pause, and reflect on just how important a role I played there. This comes out of a place of selfishness and self-centeredness, probably. Do I have an over-inflated sense of self-importance? (Very likely.) They say, "everyone is replaceable," and while I know in my head that is true, my heart sometimes begs to differ. My sinful human nature picks at me and makes me think I'm somehow irreplaceable.

But I'm thankful to see that things are working well without me there. My kids reported that the first day was a really good day. Many of my former colleagues' Facebook posts last night were celebrating a wonderful first day.

Actually, I'm thankful that it doesn't all depend on me. God has provided great teachers and staff members at the school. I was blessed to be a part of the team for eleven years, and believe I used my gifts and talents in useful service. I contributed to the Kingdom in large ways and small ways throughout my time there, both with individual students and teachers, with whole classes and the whole staff, and even influencing decision-making for the entire school. Maybe I was a linchpin team member while I was there, but God has blessed the school with new staff members to replace those of us who left this year, and He's raising up new leaders even now to continue to shape the direction the school will go in the future.

...

Today, I dropped my kids off again.

"Bye, Dad!" They jumped out of the van, and ran to meet their friends. They didn't look back.

But I did.

I looked back as I drove away. And I said a prayer of thanks for the school, for the place it has been and the place it is and will be.


Today at school, Christ's name is being proclaimed. Teachers are putting tremendous amounts of effort into excellent teaching, building community, and developing the Kingdom. Kids are learning--and not just math and science and music and the like; they are learning to be disciples!

Is school different without me there this year? Probably. But it's probably not different in any way that really matters, thanks be to God!