I share a story which is true, but it is not about me. Credit is due, but it is not credit to me. That’s what makes it a good story. Recently I had to travel for a conference. I asked an alum of the college and a friend if he would fill in for me in one of my classes. I think it is my responsibility to find someone good to cover for me, so the learning process can go forward, even if I am not there. I know students would probably prefer not to have class when I am gone. It has nothing to do with me being a good teacher. Oddly enough even though they are paying tuition to be in the class, they would miss it if they could!
Part of my teaching is to model to the younger ones what I think makes an effective adult in the world. I don’t think that is a vain statement, so much as a comment based on experience. Of course, I recognize they have a choice what kind of person they want to become. But they don’t have a choice about how people perceive them and receive them into jobs and relationships.
And so, it was that I lined up my friend to cover for the class. No one in the class would know the guy. He does not have a Ph.D. and there is nothing stellar about his resume that would make them look forward to his presence. I don’t try to tell them he will be great. Whether he is great or not is not in my hands. Besides, they will decide whether he is great; it is in the eye of the beholder. After all, I am not even going to be there!
I know he will be effective. He had many classes with me, so he knows the style I would use and he will use it, too. I know he will talk more than I do, but that is his personality. He can’t help himself and, at least, he is interesting and usually funny. He is a big guy in stature and has a great deal of energy, so he is difficult to avoid and not engage. His presence is compelling without being overwhelming. He also knows the content well and is passionate about the book he is leading them to focus on, so I know the hour will be solid.
But I don’t know for sure what he will do. I trust him and I trust the folks in the class. I also trust the Spirit in these matters, but recognize that is a spiritual issue. Some folks would not even think the Spirit is involved. I smile; for me I think the Spirit does pervade what we do. It is not always evident. There is no speaking in tongues, but that Spirit manifests itself in small, but growing, ways. That makes it easier to trust!
I was in class again the next time the class met. I ask them what happened? I wanted to know how they felt about things. They told me they liked my friend. They said he talked more than I do. They found his own life story, which he shared, to be quite interesting. Knowing his story, I agree with them. And then one young gal spoke up about her experience.
This gal is in her first year of college. She seems pretty outgoing and engaged, but I don’t know her very well. She confessed that my friend had profoundly changed her perspective. Now I was intrigued. She said, “I have always been an atheist. I had no belief in God and thought it was never going to be an issue for me.” This was already more than I knew about her. I asked for some more detail.
She calmly declared, “I am not an atheist. I am an agnostic!” She now knew the difference in these two words who seem to be quite similar. But they are very different. An atheist is one who is convinced there is no God. The Greek word for God or the Divine is Theos. We clearly get our word, theist, from that. On the other hand, the Greek word for knowledge is gnosis, which obviously is in the word, agnostic. In Greek one puts an “a” on the front of a word to negate it. So, theist becomes atheist.
In effect the gal had learned to say, “I don’t know if there is a God,” rather than, “There is no God.” This is a huge different. This moves her from being sure of something to saying that she does not know. As she talked, she was excited to be open to new possibilities. She is more than eager for the class and what she can learn. And of course, that gives me a clear sense of how I can continue to be helpful to her.
My job is not to make sure she becomes a believer or any particular kind of Christian. But I can talk about my own experience and she can listen and figure out how, if at all, that applies to her experience. I will teach her and care about her regardless of how she develops. That’s what I will do for all students. And again, I trust the Spirit to be in the middle of this whole process. If she moves toward faith, I am assuming the Spirit is at work.
What I am sure about it the power of words. Getting clear about the meaning of two little words has made all the difference in her pilgrimage. I have no idea what my friend did. I don’t know how they got into that place in a discussion. I don’t know how he figured out how to use these two words. I know he has seen me do a similar thing many times. I smile because he modeled an important teaching moment.
He has learned the power of words. And now, so has this gal. I have known it for a long time.
Part of my teaching is to model to the younger ones what I think makes an effective adult in the world. I don’t think that is a vain statement, so much as a comment based on experience. Of course, I recognize they have a choice what kind of person they want to become. But they don’t have a choice about how people perceive them and receive them into jobs and relationships.
And so, it was that I lined up my friend to cover for the class. No one in the class would know the guy. He does not have a Ph.D. and there is nothing stellar about his resume that would make them look forward to his presence. I don’t try to tell them he will be great. Whether he is great or not is not in my hands. Besides, they will decide whether he is great; it is in the eye of the beholder. After all, I am not even going to be there!
I know he will be effective. He had many classes with me, so he knows the style I would use and he will use it, too. I know he will talk more than I do, but that is his personality. He can’t help himself and, at least, he is interesting and usually funny. He is a big guy in stature and has a great deal of energy, so he is difficult to avoid and not engage. His presence is compelling without being overwhelming. He also knows the content well and is passionate about the book he is leading them to focus on, so I know the hour will be solid.
But I don’t know for sure what he will do. I trust him and I trust the folks in the class. I also trust the Spirit in these matters, but recognize that is a spiritual issue. Some folks would not even think the Spirit is involved. I smile; for me I think the Spirit does pervade what we do. It is not always evident. There is no speaking in tongues, but that Spirit manifests itself in small, but growing, ways. That makes it easier to trust!
I was in class again the next time the class met. I ask them what happened? I wanted to know how they felt about things. They told me they liked my friend. They said he talked more than I do. They found his own life story, which he shared, to be quite interesting. Knowing his story, I agree with them. And then one young gal spoke up about her experience.
This gal is in her first year of college. She seems pretty outgoing and engaged, but I don’t know her very well. She confessed that my friend had profoundly changed her perspective. Now I was intrigued. She said, “I have always been an atheist. I had no belief in God and thought it was never going to be an issue for me.” This was already more than I knew about her. I asked for some more detail.
She calmly declared, “I am not an atheist. I am an agnostic!” She now knew the difference in these two words who seem to be quite similar. But they are very different. An atheist is one who is convinced there is no God. The Greek word for God or the Divine is Theos. We clearly get our word, theist, from that. On the other hand, the Greek word for knowledge is gnosis, which obviously is in the word, agnostic. In Greek one puts an “a” on the front of a word to negate it. So, theist becomes atheist.
In effect the gal had learned to say, “I don’t know if there is a God,” rather than, “There is no God.” This is a huge different. This moves her from being sure of something to saying that she does not know. As she talked, she was excited to be open to new possibilities. She is more than eager for the class and what she can learn. And of course, that gives me a clear sense of how I can continue to be helpful to her.
My job is not to make sure she becomes a believer or any particular kind of Christian. But I can talk about my own experience and she can listen and figure out how, if at all, that applies to her experience. I will teach her and care about her regardless of how she develops. That’s what I will do for all students. And again, I trust the Spirit to be in the middle of this whole process. If she moves toward faith, I am assuming the Spirit is at work.
What I am sure about it the power of words. Getting clear about the meaning of two little words has made all the difference in her pilgrimage. I have no idea what my friend did. I don’t know how they got into that place in a discussion. I don’t know how he figured out how to use these two words. I know he has seen me do a similar thing many times. I smile because he modeled an important teaching moment.
He has learned the power of words. And now, so has this gal. I have known it for a long time.
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