How
can one ever underestimate the influence of a good teacher?
Who was your 1st grade teacher? I’ll start.
My first grade teacher was Mrs. Maddox.
Go ahead and turn to someone near you and tell that person the name of
your 1st grade teacher.
Just in case you were traumatized by your
1st grade teacher and have blocked that person out of your mind, turn
to a different person this time and share the name of your fifth grade teacher. Go ahead.
My fifth grade teacher was Mr. Smith. The first male teacher I ever had. Besides wearing more cologne than any man
should ever be allowed to wear, Mr. Smith taught me that you should be excited
about learning new things. Of all the
teachers I had in elementary school, he seemed like the one who had the most
passion for teaching. I remember wanting
to be just like Mr. Smith.
How can we ever underestimate the
influence of a good teacher?
Frank McCourt, who wrote the book, Angela’s
Ashes and then his second book, “Teacher Man,” had a 30 year teaching career in
New York City’s public high schools beginning in the late 1950s.
Frank McCourt became a great teacher and
had a positive influence on his students because he was able to find ingenious
ways to motivate them to learn. To help
students appreciate writing in all forms, he had them read cookbook recipes
while other students played music in the background. To help them to be better writers, he had
them write critiques about the school cafeteria as well as restaurants in New York City.
He tells of his second day teaching in
1958 when a fight broke out and one of the students threw a sandwich in
anger. To calm the situation, he simply
picked the sandwich off the floor and started eating it much to the surprise of
his students.
In one of his chapters, he writes about a
time that he took 20 to 30 rowdy teenagers to a play there in New York
City. He writes that it was one of the
most challenging things that he ever had to do to get those teenagers safely to
the play and back to the school.
One of those girls, who was one of the
more difficult young ladies on this field trip, ended up having such a positive
experience, that it later changed her life.
All because of a teacher who was willing to go above and beyond his
duties to help students explore and learn new things.
In his book, Frank McCourt makes the
observation that in America we don’t value teachers like people do in the
countries of Europe. I think he’s on to
something.
Never underestimate the influence of a
good teacher.
So it shouldn’t surprise us in the least,
to read in our Gospel Lesson this morning that one of Jesus’ first miracles
happened to be while he was teaching in a synagogue.
Jesus wasn’t known as a Priest or a Reverend.
People called him “Rabbi” or “Teacher.”
And there he was one day, early in his
ministry, teaching away right there in the middle of a worship service. Wouldn’t you have loved to be a fly on one of
those walls that day?
What was he teaching? What did Jesus tell the people?
I don’t know, but it must have been really
good, since Mark tells us that the people were astounded at his teaching,
because he didn’t teach like the scribes taught. Jesus taught with authority.
At a farm house retreat center in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1984, I sat in utter
astonishment, as Dr. Paul Schaeffer was teaching on the Book of Acts.
Dr. Schaeffer, or Paul as we often called
him, was leading a spring retreat for the college students of the Philadelphia
area. I already knew that he was a
brilliant man who could speak a thousand words a minute, but it was at that
moment of his teaching, that I really began to feel a tug on my heart about
entering the pastoral ministry.
Here
was a man who had a doctorate in the History of the Reformation and who knew
the Bible backwards and forwards, but who also had the wonderful ability to
teach the Bible to college students in ways that we would understand and apply
it to our lives.
I was drawn to him. And I felt God calling me into some kind of
teaching ministry.
Not too long ago, I got motivated to track
down this wonderful teacher, pastor, and scholar. Figuring that he was no longer at the same
church in Philadelphia, I discovered that he is now the Chairman of Religious
Studies at Grove City College located in western Pennsylvania.
I must have caught him in between classes when
I called him on the phone that day, because he indicated that he was in a bit
of a hurry. But I had just enough time
to tell him that he was one of the reasons that I felt a calling into the
pastoral ministry.
How can we ever underestimate the
influence of a good teacher?
About seven and a half years ago in
Maumee, Ohio, which is close to Toledo, I was sitting in the bleachers during a
baseball game, minding my own business when these two giggly girls who looked
to be somewhere in their early teens sat a few rows down from me.
After about an inning, one of the girls
happens to turn back to get my attention, and she says in this giggly voice, “Are you Mr. McDowell? Are you Mrs. McDowell’s husband?”
I could just tell that my peaceful late
afternoon was about to change dramatically.
And the one girl says, “Oh goody.”
And immediately, both of them
moved on up a few rows to sit next to me. I was afraid that was going to
happen.
And
the one girl says, “Oh my gosh. Mrs. McDowell is our teacher. And we just love Mrs. McDowell. We just love how she is so organized. She has a container for everything. For paper clips. For books.
For pens and pencils. We want to
be just like Mrs. McDowell. What is it
like to be her husband? Is she the same
way at home? Does she keep everything in
its place there too? We just love Mrs.
McDowell. She loves to read. We love to read.”
And these two girls proceeded to talk to
me non-stop for the rest of the baseball game.
They wouldn’t even pause to take a breath.
How can we ever underestimate the
influence of a good teacher?
I was just a rookie pastor serving on
staff at a large United Methodist Church in Findlay, Ohio. Even though I had been to seminary and served
a little country church for a few years, I really didn’t know what I was doing
or that much about pastoral ministry.
But by the grace of God, the Senior Pastor
of this church took me under his wing and taught me a few things and was very
helpful to me.
And these might sound like trivial things,
but to him, these were things you should know and practice if you want to have
an effective and fruitful ministry.
The first thing was one I heard over and
over again. Stay focused on Jesus. “Robert
– No matter what you do, always remember to stay focused on Jesus. Don’t depend on your own strength because you
will be tempted to rely on your own abilities and strengths. Keep your prayer life and your devotional
life strong because you’re going to need it.
Remember to stay focused on Jesus.”
I still have this small bible
that he gave me at my ordination that I keep in my car. In the front, he wrote these words to remind
me of this first lesson he taught me, the words are, “Jesus said, “Follow me. He will empower you. Trust him. He has
everything under control.”
Another thing he told me was,
“Now, when you visit someone in the hospital, always remember to take off
your coat before you walk into their room.
If you have your coat on, you might make them feel like you’re in a
hurry.”
On another day, he told me,
“Keep records of all your calls and activities. Be aware of how you spend your time in
ministry so you can always keep your priorities in order.”
One day over a cup of coffee, he said,
“Be aware of your feelings and express your feelings to someone you can
trust. And I hope you know that you can
always share anything with me. You just
can’t survive in ministry if you keep your feelings to yourself. You need someone to go to so that you can
stay balanced and focused in ministry.”
And I can go on and on with
several more of these pearls of wisdom, but you get the point. What is the point again?
How can we ever underestimate the
influence of a good teacher?
Mark says that things got even more
interesting while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. He says that “Just then, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,
and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?’”
Worship got interrupted and
the real test of Jesus, the Teacher Man is on the line. Is this man truly a teacher sent by God? Can this man truly back up what he has been
teaching?
Jesus, not one to back down from an
opportunity to bring healing, commands the unclean spirit to come out of this
man and after a few cries, the unclean spirit leaves this man. And he was healed.
Now, remember, that even before this
miraculous healing, the people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching. Imagine what they think of Jesus now. And we are told that they were all
amazed. This Teacher Man is something
other. This Teacher Man brings
healing. And as you read through the Gospel
of Mark, you see many more moments like this, where Jesus heals people and
makes them whole again.
I wonder if this isn’t the whole point of
the teaching ministry of the church. Our
Sunday School program, our Bible Studies, our Small Groups, the Sunday
preaching – to teach and preach God’s Word in such a way, that it brings
healing to people who are in desperate need for more of God in their lives.
Physical healing? Perhaps.
Emotional healing. Certainly. Spiritual healing? No doubt.
Perhaps St. Mark is calling us to lift up
special prayers this week for those who are involved in the wonderful and
exciting calling of the ministry of teaching.
And while we are thinking about those who teach,
this is a good time for us to remember to pray for the adult leaders of our
confirmands who are meeting with our young people each week as they prepare to
join the church in a few months. They
are helping to teach them a little about their faith journey and how Christ is
an important part of their lives.
Our church is preparing for a
congregation-wide six week bible study called, “Unbinding the Heart.” Our goal is to have 100% of our worshipping
congregation receive a free “Unbinding the Heart” book which includes a 40 day
prayer journal and sign up for one of the several groups which will be meeting for
six weeks beginning less than a month from now.
Let’s watch this video testimony of how
“Unbinding the Gospel” has been making a difference in people's lives. Let’s watch:
.
Many of us have already received our book
and have signed up for one of over 30 small group opportunities that will be
meeting during a six week period beginning the week of February 19th.
Today is a day to celebrate the teaching
and preaching ministry of Jesus Christ.
It’s a ministry that astounds us and can even usher in healing and new
life. Allow your life to be changed and
transformed by this Teacher Man, this Son of the Living God.
Why?
Because, you just can’t underestimate the influence of a good teacher.
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