How do you prepare your students for an assessment?
08/05/13 08:35 Filed in: Christian Ed
Kim wants her students to make connections, including connections between God's world and God's Word. So, at the end of her course, she gives her students the following assessment:
Give a presentation (5-8 min. individual; 8-10 min. group) on something from 2nd semester English class that grabbed your attention in which you demonstrate 3 connections (literature, Bible, life), using your project as support. (Your project is worth about 1 week’s work / 5% of semester grade.)
One way she prepares her students for this assessment is by providing them with a list of the Biblical principles they studied in each unit, the questions they reflected on during the course, and questions about creation-fall-redemption-restoration framework they used. She does this to help her students review what they learned, use what they learned, and avoid prooftexting. Here's what she shared with her students:
Biblical principles we studied in English 10:
1. Meeting Image Bearers: Introduction
- 1.1. Because people are in the image of God (Gen. 1.27; 9.6; Jas. 3.9), we are creative (Gen. 2.19; Gen. 4.21-22; Exod. 35.30-36.1), communicative (Gen. 2.20-24; Exod. 4:10-12; Jer. 1.4-9) truth-seekers.
- 1.2. God charges us with developing the potentials of creation, including language. This is called the Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1.26-28; Ps. 8.5-8; Heb. 2.5-9).
- 1.3. All truth is God’s truth: truth people can deduce from creation (Ps. 19.1-6, Rom. 1.19-20, Rom. 2.14-16) as well as truth God reveals in scripture (Ps. 19.7-11, 2 Tim. 4.16-17).
- 1.4. The Bible is the clearest revelation of God’s truth, the touchstone for all other truth claims (Isa. 8.20; Acts 17.11; 2 Tim. 3.16-17).
3. Disregarding Human Dignity: Night
- 3.1. Because people are made in the image of God (Gen. 1.26-27), every human being is worthy of honor and respect and should not be murdered (Gen. 9.6) or cursed (Jas. 3.9).
- 3.2. Because the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must seek the good of anyone it is within our power to help (Lev. 19.18, Matt. 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke10.27, Rom.13.9, Gal. 5.14, Jas. 2.8).
5. Weightlifting with Language: Grammar—As a person redeemed by God (John 3.16), you can learn and use different languages (Acts 2.5-12) to serve God and others (Gen. 39-41, 45.7; Acts 7.22; Dan. 1.3-4) by reducing alienation and restoring shalom.
6. Dancing with Language: Poetry
- 6.1. God values poetry: a large part of the Old Testament is poetry. (All of Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon; most of Job and Ecclesiastes; vast portions of the prophetic books. Even the books of law and history contain passages of poetry.)
- 6.2. Poetry can communicate truth. Paul quotes it on several occasions to connect with his audience and support his point (Acts 17.28, 1 Cor. 15.33, Tit. 1.12).
- 6.3. Anything that sounds like truth must be checked against God’s Word—even if it comes from a Christian source (Acts 17.11). The writer of Acts praises the Jews of Berea because everything they heard from Paul about the gospel, they checked against the scriptures to see if it was true.
8. Finding Myself: A Doll's House
- 8.1. Every individual has value (Gen. 1:27, Psa. 139, Matt. 10.31, Luke 12.7, Rom. 12.3-9).
- 8.2. Secure in her worth in God's eyes, the Christian follows Jesus' example of service, humility, submission (I Cor. 10.24, 12.12-26; Mark 10.42-45; Phil. 2.1-11; Eph. 5.21).
- 9.1. Romantic love is a good gift from God when used according to directions (Gen. 2.18-25, Song of Solomon, John 2.1-2, Eph. 5.25-32) but devastating when used otherwise (Dinah, Gen.34; Samson, Judges 12 & 16; Amnon & Tamar, 2 Sam. 13).
- 9.2. The love God intends for a man and woman is a lifetime determination of the will to seek the good of the other person (Gen. 2.20-25, Matt. 19.3-9 [esp. The Message], Mal. 2.13-16, Eph. 5.22-33, I Cor. 13). Are you becoming the type of person capable of this type of determination?
- Who am I?
- Who is my neighbor?
- What’s wrong with the world?
- What is the significance of words?
- What was God’s intention for this thing when He originally created it?
- How has this thing been affected by the Fall? How do humans misuse or abuse it? What difference does Jesus make? What reason is there for hope?
- How can we be involved in God’s work of restoring this to His original intention?
These essays make me smile
12/04/13 08:48 Filed in: Christian Ed
I want my students to understand the words they hear. I want them to understand the song lyrics they hear, especially in terms of the theme and how poetry enhances the theme.
So 2 weeks ago, I asked them to write an essay on the following: “Your task is to write an article for a Christian teen magazine analyzing the poetry and truth of the lyrics of a song of your choice.”
It’s now Friday afternoon. I’m grading those essays. And I’m smiling.
I’m pleased because my students learned how the poetry of a song lyric affects the theme. One student wrote on the reflection that he handed in with his essay, “As a fan…I [previously had]…not noticed the depth of the song…. I myself learned that poems/songs still have deep meaning these days.”
I’m especially pleased because my students used creation-fall-redemption-restoration to critique the theme, for example:
- “The poet may not be aware of it, but the only rescue to a broken situation on Earth is through the hope God provides….”
- “Because of Christ’s act of redemption for us...we are able to forget these past wrongs and move forward; just like Bedingfield’s lyrics say, we have a blank page before us.”
- “The lyrics of Macklemore’s song ‘Wings’ allude to the meaning behind brand-name shoes…. Society continues its attempts at materialistic satisfaction, which can’t restore the broken relationship with God.”
Try using the 4Rs
08/03/13 12:05 Filed in: Christian Ed
Do you want to help your students learn even more? One way you can do this is by leveraging your unit maps on an ongoing basis. How can you do this? Try the 4 Rs:
(1) Review your unit map for 5 or more minutes before starting each unit—this will help you focus on what you want your students to learn:
(4) Regularly talk about your unit maps—this is fun and will keep you focused on your unit maps. Each year, talk through at least 4 units with a colleague. As necessary, talk through various parts of your unit maps, for example, enduring understandings, essential questions, and assessments.
To find out how you and your colleagues are using the 4Rs, rate each statement below. Use the following scale: 4: Strongly Agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly Disagree
___ Before starting each unit, I take 5 or more minutes to review the appropriate unit map.
___ I reflect on how each unit went, noting possible ways to improve the unit.
___ I revise each unit (as appropriate) before teaching the unit again.
___ I regularly talk about my unit maps with colleagues.
___ Before starting each unit, my colleagues take 5 or more minutes to review the appropriate unit map.
___ My colleagues reflect on how each unit went, noting possible ways to improve the unit.
___ My colleagues revise each unit (as appropriate) before teaching the unit again.
___ My colleagues regularly talk about their unit maps with others.
Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:
- Review your unit map before starting each unit.
- Reflect on how each unit went.
- Revise each unit map, based on your reflection.
- Regularly talk about your unit maps.
(1) Review your unit map for 5 or more minutes before starting each unit—this will help you focus on what you want your students to learn:
- Look at your learning targets, enduring understandings, and essential questions. Ask yourself, "What do my students need to learn?"
- Look at your content and skills. Ask yourself, "How are the content and skills connected to my learning targets and enduring understandings?"
- Look at your assessments, noting which learning targets a given assessment addresses. Ask yourself, "To what extent do these assessment give high quality evidence for student achievement of the learning targets?"
- Look at your resources, making sure you know where all of them are. Ask yourself, "How helpful are these resources?" and “Do I use anything that is not documented in my map?”
- What did your students learn during the unit?
- What is encouraging/discouraging about what your students learned?
- To what extent did you carry out your unit plan?
- To increase student learning, what changes could you make to your unit map?
(4) Regularly talk about your unit maps—this is fun and will keep you focused on your unit maps. Each year, talk through at least 4 units with a colleague. As necessary, talk through various parts of your unit maps, for example, enduring understandings, essential questions, and assessments.
To find out how you and your colleagues are using the 4Rs, rate each statement below. Use the following scale: 4: Strongly Agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly Disagree
___ Before starting each unit, I take 5 or more minutes to review the appropriate unit map.
___ I reflect on how each unit went, noting possible ways to improve the unit.
___ I revise each unit (as appropriate) before teaching the unit again.
___ I regularly talk about my unit maps with colleagues.
___ Before starting each unit, my colleagues take 5 or more minutes to review the appropriate unit map.
___ My colleagues reflect on how each unit went, noting possible ways to improve the unit.
___ My colleagues revise each unit (as appropriate) before teaching the unit again.
___ My colleagues regularly talk about their unit maps with others.
Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:
- How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s are there?
- What excites/concerns me about the data?
- What can I do to increase the practice of the 4 Rs (review, reflect, revise, regularly talk)?
- What will I do?
4 ways to lead change even more effectively
07/02/13 08:24 Filed in: Empower Others
You are sitting at a coffee shop, thinking about a change that would make your ministry more fruitful. You are pumped. Then you remember what happened with previous changes you tried. Like when you pushed for working in teams, but no one really understood why. Or when you proposed changing your mission’s organizational structure—everyone seemed like they were on board, you developed a plan for the change, but no one followed up.
You want this change to go better, and you are wondering what you can do. Here are 4 suggestions:
(1) Make your case, instead of announcing the change. I’ve tried announcing. It doesn’t work. For example, I remember emailing a team leader, instructing her to have her team to use a tool. I did not explain why. The result? After 8 years, the team has yet to fully implement the tool.
What should I have done? I should I have made my case by having the team (1) examine the data I had looked at, (2) compare their conclusions about the data with mine, (3) identify how my proposal could help and what might happen if the proposal wasn’t adopted, and (4) give additional feedback on my proposal. Doing this would have taken time, but doing this would have resulted in the team using the tool more.
(2) Once you have made your case for change, you’ll need to collaboratively develop a plan for change. First, get the group involved. The more involved they are, the more they will implement the plan. Next, make sure the group develops a plan that answers these 5 questions: What is our goal? What action steps do we need to take? Who’s responsible for what? What resources are needed? How will we report progress?
(3) Recognize that different people have different responses to change. A few people love change and are ready to try anything new (like those who lined up for hours to get an iPhone 5 the day it came out). Some people will consider the change and implement it. The majority of people, however, will need to see the change being implementing before they take action. Finally, some people might resist the change. Bottom line? Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get everyone on board immediately.
(4) Talk with others before developing policies and procedures. This came home to me while taking a graduate class with school administrators. In teams, we were doing a simulation to see who could implement change the fastest. My team was moving across the board at a good clip, developing policies and procedures.
We were about half way across when another group shouted, “Done!” I was stunned. We had done all the “right” things. How had they beaten us? Simple. They realized that change starts with people, so they talked with others before developing policies and procedures. I’ve never forgotten that lesson.
What can you talk about with others? You can ask how they feel about the change and tell stories about people implementing the change.
What about you?
You want this change to go better, and you are wondering what you can do. Here are 4 suggestions:
(1) Make your case, instead of announcing the change. I’ve tried announcing. It doesn’t work. For example, I remember emailing a team leader, instructing her to have her team to use a tool. I did not explain why. The result? After 8 years, the team has yet to fully implement the tool.
What should I have done? I should I have made my case by having the team (1) examine the data I had looked at, (2) compare their conclusions about the data with mine, (3) identify how my proposal could help and what might happen if the proposal wasn’t adopted, and (4) give additional feedback on my proposal. Doing this would have taken time, but doing this would have resulted in the team using the tool more.
(2) Once you have made your case for change, you’ll need to collaboratively develop a plan for change. First, get the group involved. The more involved they are, the more they will implement the plan. Next, make sure the group develops a plan that answers these 5 questions: What is our goal? What action steps do we need to take? Who’s responsible for what? What resources are needed? How will we report progress?
(3) Recognize that different people have different responses to change. A few people love change and are ready to try anything new (like those who lined up for hours to get an iPhone 5 the day it came out). Some people will consider the change and implement it. The majority of people, however, will need to see the change being implementing before they take action. Finally, some people might resist the change. Bottom line? Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get everyone on board immediately.
(4) Talk with others before developing policies and procedures. This came home to me while taking a graduate class with school administrators. In teams, we were doing a simulation to see who could implement change the fastest. My team was moving across the board at a good clip, developing policies and procedures.
We were about half way across when another group shouted, “Done!” I was stunned. We had done all the “right” things. How had they beaten us? Simple. They realized that change starts with people, so they talked with others before developing policies and procedures. I’ve never forgotten that lesson.
What can you talk about with others? You can ask how they feel about the change and tell stories about people implementing the change.
What about you?
- What is one way you lead change?
- What is comfortable/uncomfortable about leading change?
- How could you lead change even more effectively?
- What will you do?
Difficult conversation?
07/01/13 08:38 Filed in: Empower Others
Now what?
07/01/13 07:49 Filed in: Empower Others
You are chatting with Henry, an employee you supervise. Just a regular conversation. But then Henry gets defensive and starts talking loudly. You wonder what happened and so quickly review what the 2 of you have said. You realize that Henry reacted to your comment about Project Z not being on schedule and that now is the time to address how to get this project back on track.
So, you clarify your comment: “Henry, when I said that Project Z is behind schedule, I didn’t mean that it was all your fault. I was just stating the fact.” Then to establish common ground, you say, “We both understand the importance of the project, and we both want to meet the upcoming deadline.”
Henry calms down and nods. And you think, “Now what?” Good question.
When you find yourself asking that question, try using the SALT framework:
(1) Share facts (instead of giving interpretations). Why? Because sharing facts helps you moderate your tone of voice—when you’re frustrated or angry, it’s all too easy to talk in ways to cause others to react negatively. Because sharing facts helps you avoid saying volatile things (like “You always do that”) that can cause others to get defensive and stop listening to you. And because sharing facts helps you focus on what actually happened—the facts.
(2) Ask questions to learn about the other person’s thinking (instead of saying what the person is thinking). How do you feel when others say what you’re thinking? Personally, I don’t like it—it seems that they don’t really want to know what I’m thinking and that they’ve already made up their minds. I much prefer that others ask me questions. This shows they are interested in me and my thinking, and questions help me provide quality feedback, questions like “From your perspective, what happened?” and “What am I missing or not understanding?”
(3) Listen to understand (instead of listening to judge). People who listen to judge are more likely to be thinking about how they disagree with what the other person is saying or about what they are going to say next, to interrupt the speaker, and to come across as critical, all of which can shutdown a difficult conversation. People who listen to understand, instead, ask questions and then just listen. They don’t talk, they wait patiently for the other person to speak, they focus on what the other person is saying, and they use eye contact and body language to show interest in what the other person is saying.
(4) Take action together (instead of leaving the matter unresolved). Too often in difficult conversations, we target being heard, rather than resolving the matter. We operate on the assumption that if both side share, the matter will be resolved, only to find out later that it is not. Instead of targeting being heard, target taking action together. How? By collaboratively developing a SMART goal and determining how you will follow up.
Bottom line: SALT difficult conversations.
What about you? Think about a difficult conversation you’ve had:
So, you clarify your comment: “Henry, when I said that Project Z is behind schedule, I didn’t mean that it was all your fault. I was just stating the fact.” Then to establish common ground, you say, “We both understand the importance of the project, and we both want to meet the upcoming deadline.”
Henry calms down and nods. And you think, “Now what?” Good question.
When you find yourself asking that question, try using the SALT framework:
- Share
- Ask
- Listen
- Take
(1) Share facts (instead of giving interpretations). Why? Because sharing facts helps you moderate your tone of voice—when you’re frustrated or angry, it’s all too easy to talk in ways to cause others to react negatively. Because sharing facts helps you avoid saying volatile things (like “You always do that”) that can cause others to get defensive and stop listening to you. And because sharing facts helps you focus on what actually happened—the facts.
(2) Ask questions to learn about the other person’s thinking (instead of saying what the person is thinking). How do you feel when others say what you’re thinking? Personally, I don’t like it—it seems that they don’t really want to know what I’m thinking and that they’ve already made up their minds. I much prefer that others ask me questions. This shows they are interested in me and my thinking, and questions help me provide quality feedback, questions like “From your perspective, what happened?” and “What am I missing or not understanding?”
(3) Listen to understand (instead of listening to judge). People who listen to judge are more likely to be thinking about how they disagree with what the other person is saying or about what they are going to say next, to interrupt the speaker, and to come across as critical, all of which can shutdown a difficult conversation. People who listen to understand, instead, ask questions and then just listen. They don’t talk, they wait patiently for the other person to speak, they focus on what the other person is saying, and they use eye contact and body language to show interest in what the other person is saying.
(4) Take action together (instead of leaving the matter unresolved). Too often in difficult conversations, we target being heard, rather than resolving the matter. We operate on the assumption that if both side share, the matter will be resolved, only to find out later that it is not. Instead of targeting being heard, target taking action together. How? By collaboratively developing a SMART goal and determining how you will follow up.
Bottom line: SALT difficult conversations.
What about you? Think about a difficult conversation you’ve had:
- What were the facts? How well did you share just the facts?
- What questions did you ask? What questions could you have asked?
- How well did you listen?
- What action did you both take?
- How could you apply this article in a difficult conversation you need to have or are likely to have?
5 ways to lead when you’re not up in front
06/12/12 08:07 Filed in: Empower Others
You don’t have to be up in front to lead. You don’t have to be the team manager, meeting facilitator, or workshop presenter. You can lead without being up in front. This is good news for those who would like to lead but prefer not to be up in front. And this is good news for those who enjoy leading from the front and are looking for more opportunities to lead.
But don’t leaders by definition need to be up in front so their followers can follow them? Not necessarily. Without being up in front, leaders can still lead in a variety of ways, including providing staff support, building confidence, provoking reflection, encouraging partnerships, and helping others grow.
Let me explain. If you want to lead when you’re not up in front, you can . . .
(1) Support others by praying. Ask God to help your ministry team live for him, pursue their callings, and use their gifts. Ask God to help those in your mission and church have good life balance, have healthy relationships, and regularly read the Bible.
(2) Build confidence by believing in others. When people are confident, they serve more effectively. How can you demonstrate that you believe in others? By acting like they can do it, instead of micromanaging. By asking, “What progress did you make?” instead of asking, “Did you make any progress?” By saying, “You have good ideas,” instead of saying, “Here are my ideas.”
(3) Provoke reflection by asking open-ended questions. Reflection helps people to focus, solve problems, and achieve their goals. If a ministry team is having trouble focusing, ask, “What’s your team purpose? What’s it take to achieve that purpose?” If a Sunday school teacher is struggling with how to cover all the material in 45 minutes, ask, “What do you really want the kids to learn? How can you help them learn that?” If a fellow missionary is proposing new activities, ask, “What’s causing you to propose new activities? To what extent will these activities help you achieve your goals?”
(4) Encourage partnerships by connecting people. I’m grateful that friends have connected me with key people. For example, Valerie connected me with Dan, a school consultant. As a result, we’ve refined our odels for Christian education and developed better training materials. I’ve connected house church leaders, providing them with a venue to talk on a regular basis. As a result, they clarified the pros and cons of house churches and identified ways to empower house church members.
(5) Provide resources to help others grow. I’m glad that colleagues recommended books like Crucial Conversations and An Essential Guide to Public Speaking. These books helped me work more effectively with others and focus on serving. I’ve helped others grow by sharing books like Leadership Coaching, blogs like missionalchallenge.com, and online training from leaderbreakthru.com.
Other ways you can lead without being up in front include modeling servanthood, modeling zeal for God, showing you care, spending time with others, and listening.
What about you?
But don’t leaders by definition need to be up in front so their followers can follow them? Not necessarily. Without being up in front, leaders can still lead in a variety of ways, including providing staff support, building confidence, provoking reflection, encouraging partnerships, and helping others grow.
Let me explain. If you want to lead when you’re not up in front, you can . . .
(1) Support others by praying. Ask God to help your ministry team live for him, pursue their callings, and use their gifts. Ask God to help those in your mission and church have good life balance, have healthy relationships, and regularly read the Bible.
(2) Build confidence by believing in others. When people are confident, they serve more effectively. How can you demonstrate that you believe in others? By acting like they can do it, instead of micromanaging. By asking, “What progress did you make?” instead of asking, “Did you make any progress?” By saying, “You have good ideas,” instead of saying, “Here are my ideas.”
(3) Provoke reflection by asking open-ended questions. Reflection helps people to focus, solve problems, and achieve their goals. If a ministry team is having trouble focusing, ask, “What’s your team purpose? What’s it take to achieve that purpose?” If a Sunday school teacher is struggling with how to cover all the material in 45 minutes, ask, “What do you really want the kids to learn? How can you help them learn that?” If a fellow missionary is proposing new activities, ask, “What’s causing you to propose new activities? To what extent will these activities help you achieve your goals?”
(4) Encourage partnerships by connecting people. I’m grateful that friends have connected me with key people. For example, Valerie connected me with Dan, a school consultant. As a result, we’ve refined our odels for Christian education and developed better training materials. I’ve connected house church leaders, providing them with a venue to talk on a regular basis. As a result, they clarified the pros and cons of house churches and identified ways to empower house church members.
(5) Provide resources to help others grow. I’m glad that colleagues recommended books like Crucial Conversations and An Essential Guide to Public Speaking. These books helped me work more effectively with others and focus on serving. I’ve helped others grow by sharing books like Leadership Coaching, blogs like missionalchallenge.com, and online training from leaderbreakthru.com.
Other ways you can lead without being up in front include modeling servanthood, modeling zeal for God, showing you care, spending time with others, and listening.
What about you?
- What is one way you lead when you’re not up in front?
- What excites/concerns you about leading when you’re not up in front?
- How could you lead more effectively?
- What will you do?
How can you encourage safety?
05/11/12 08:51 Filed in: Empower Others
You’re in a serious conversation with Steve—and he’s not saying much. You’re thinking, “What’s going on? I mean, we both agreed we needed to talk about the status of this project. We’re not going to get anywhere if he doesn’t talk. Why isn’t he saying anything?”
Then you recall times where you didn’t feel like saying much, either because you found a situation stressful or because you didn’t see the point. Like when you were in a recent planning session and Jim kept interrupting you. Or when your supervisor said loudly and without any warning or explanation, “It’d be good for you to stay in the office more.” Or when you were really looking forward to a quiet weekend and your wife planned a big dinner party without asking you.
Why did you go silent? Because you didn’t feel safe—you didn’t feel respected or you didn’t feel like others cared about your goals.
You look back at Steve, and you ask yourself, “What can I do to encourage Steve to feel safe?” You haven’t been rude or said anything wrong, so you don’t need to apologize. You both care about getting this project done, so you don’t need to show you care about the goal. But you did say something that needs clarification. You said, “Your team isn’t on schedule to meet the project deadline,” and then he stopped talking.
Then it hits you—Steve’s team has really been working hard and prides itself on getting things done on time. And the delay was caused by Mark, a supervisor in another department, making incorrect decisions. As a result of your comment, Steve is thinking that you don’t respect his team.
You say, “When I said your team isn’t on schedule to meet the project deadline, I didn’t mean that your team hasn’t been work hard or that it was your team’s fault. I recognize Mark made some decisions that caused delays. I just meant that the project isn’t on schedule. I said that because I wanted to talk with you about how I can help your team as it works to get the project done on time.”
Steve sighs and re-engages in the conversation.
Bottom line: Encourage safety.
What about you?
Then you recall times where you didn’t feel like saying much, either because you found a situation stressful or because you didn’t see the point. Like when you were in a recent planning session and Jim kept interrupting you. Or when your supervisor said loudly and without any warning or explanation, “It’d be good for you to stay in the office more.” Or when you were really looking forward to a quiet weekend and your wife planned a big dinner party without asking you.
Why did you go silent? Because you didn’t feel safe—you didn’t feel respected or you didn’t feel like others cared about your goals.
You look back at Steve, and you ask yourself, “What can I do to encourage Steve to feel safe?” You haven’t been rude or said anything wrong, so you don’t need to apologize. You both care about getting this project done, so you don’t need to show you care about the goal. But you did say something that needs clarification. You said, “Your team isn’t on schedule to meet the project deadline,” and then he stopped talking.
Then it hits you—Steve’s team has really been working hard and prides itself on getting things done on time. And the delay was caused by Mark, a supervisor in another department, making incorrect decisions. As a result of your comment, Steve is thinking that you don’t respect his team.
You say, “When I said your team isn’t on schedule to meet the project deadline, I didn’t mean that your team hasn’t been work hard or that it was your team’s fault. I recognize Mark made some decisions that caused delays. I just meant that the project isn’t on schedule. I said that because I wanted to talk with you about how I can help your team as it works to get the project done on time.”
Steve sighs and re-engages in the conversation.
Bottom line: Encourage safety.
What about you?
- What is a conversation you’ve had in which you did not feel safe?
- How do you behave in a conversation when you feel safe/unsafe?
- What helps you feel safe?
- How can you help others feel safe?
- How could you apply this article in a serious conversation you need to have or are likely to have?
What do you need to be aware of?
04/10/12 08:17 Filed in: Empower Others
What do crossing the street and hitting a tennis ball have in common? They are both situations in which you need to be aware of yourself and others. Let me explain:
(1) Crossing the street: You want to cross the street at an intersection without a stoplight. You pause and look both ways to check for oncoming traffic. You see a single car moving slowly toward you about 3 blocks away, determine that you can safely walk across the street at your usual pace, and proceed. Being aware of yourself and the location of the oncoming car helps you get across the street safely.
(2) Hitting a tennis ball: You’re playing a singles tennis match. It’s the third set, you’re down 4 games to 5, and you need to win this game to stay in the match. Your opponent hits a hard cross-court shot to your forehand and rushes net. As you move to hit the ball, you consider how you will play it. You can go for a passing shot or a lob. You remember that your opponent is a pretty good net player and that earlier in the match you won a point by hitting a deep lob. You hit a deep lob to his backhand corner. Being aware of yourself and your opponent helps you win the point.
Being aware of yourself and others is also helpful when you are having a serious conversation. Imagine you are a math department chair at a high school. You are talking with a teacher about one of her curriculum maps so you can learn about the extent to which she is applying the Understanding by Design framework. You keep in mind that this is the first time the teacher has talked about her maps with someone and that she tends toward perfectionism.
You start slowly, letting the teacher explain her map. Everything seems to be going fine until you ask, “How do your content and skills align with your big ideas?” With an edge in her voice, she replies, “Does everything have to align? Can’t my content and skills just align with my objectives? This is getting to be a hassle.” She stares at you, waiting for a response, and you get uncomfortable.
You think, “Here we go again. She always stonewalls. I’ve talked with her before about aligning content and big ideas—and it’s right on the checklist. All I did was ask a simple question, and she gets snippy, snippy, snippy. Typical. What am I supposed to do now? Maybe I should just let this go. It’d be easier to just move on to another part of the map.”
Then you recognize this is your usual response to conflict and that her defensiveness isn’t aimed at you—it’s just that as a perfectionist, she’s put a lot of effort into this map and has fallen short. You say, “When I asked about the alignment, I wasn’t trying to point out errors. I was trying to learn more about what you are thinking and how I can help. OK?” She replies, “OK,” and you continue your discussion.
Bottom line: In a serious conversation, be aware of yourself and others.
What about you?
Read Crucial Conversations, especially chapter 4
Take a free self-assessment about your interaction style when you’re under stress
(1) Crossing the street: You want to cross the street at an intersection without a stoplight. You pause and look both ways to check for oncoming traffic. You see a single car moving slowly toward you about 3 blocks away, determine that you can safely walk across the street at your usual pace, and proceed. Being aware of yourself and the location of the oncoming car helps you get across the street safely.
(2) Hitting a tennis ball: You’re playing a singles tennis match. It’s the third set, you’re down 4 games to 5, and you need to win this game to stay in the match. Your opponent hits a hard cross-court shot to your forehand and rushes net. As you move to hit the ball, you consider how you will play it. You can go for a passing shot or a lob. You remember that your opponent is a pretty good net player and that earlier in the match you won a point by hitting a deep lob. You hit a deep lob to his backhand corner. Being aware of yourself and your opponent helps you win the point.
Being aware of yourself and others is also helpful when you are having a serious conversation. Imagine you are a math department chair at a high school. You are talking with a teacher about one of her curriculum maps so you can learn about the extent to which she is applying the Understanding by Design framework. You keep in mind that this is the first time the teacher has talked about her maps with someone and that she tends toward perfectionism.
You start slowly, letting the teacher explain her map. Everything seems to be going fine until you ask, “How do your content and skills align with your big ideas?” With an edge in her voice, she replies, “Does everything have to align? Can’t my content and skills just align with my objectives? This is getting to be a hassle.” She stares at you, waiting for a response, and you get uncomfortable.
You think, “Here we go again. She always stonewalls. I’ve talked with her before about aligning content and big ideas—and it’s right on the checklist. All I did was ask a simple question, and she gets snippy, snippy, snippy. Typical. What am I supposed to do now? Maybe I should just let this go. It’d be easier to just move on to another part of the map.”
Then you recognize this is your usual response to conflict and that her defensiveness isn’t aimed at you—it’s just that as a perfectionist, she’s put a lot of effort into this map and has fallen short. You say, “When I asked about the alignment, I wasn’t trying to point out errors. I was trying to learn more about what you are thinking and how I can help. OK?” She replies, “OK,” and you continue your discussion.
Bottom line: In a serious conversation, be aware of yourself and others.
What about you?
- What is a serious conversation you have had?
- What is comfortable/uncomfortable about serious conversations?
- How aware are you of how you behave in a serious conversation?
- How aware are you of how others behave in a serious conversation?
- How could you apply this article in a serious conversation you need to have or are likely to have?
Read Crucial Conversations, especially chapter 4
Take a free self-assessment about your interaction style when you’re under stress
God is growing His people
13/09/12 08:07 Filed in: Empower Others
Imagine you’re sitting at a coffee shop. Across the table from you is a Christian leader you want to help grow. As you sip your coffee, you both share about your families and ministries. You notice that he seems a little anxious, so you ask, “How’s it going? Really?” He pauses, looks at you, and says that he’s discouraged and wondering if he should continue his ministry.
And now you start to feel a little anxious. Questions race through your mind: What should I say? How should I say it? What advice should I give? How can I help?
My advice? Remember three things. First, remember that God is growing His people, and the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer. God is already at work in the life of this leader. To help him grow, God saved him, gave him key relationships, blessed him with abilities and character qualities, and provided him with education and useful ministry experiences.
Second, remember that while God may use you to help this leader grow, it’s God who is actually growing this leader. God can do it!
And third, remember that because God is at work in this leader (Romans 8:28-29), you’re free. You’re free not to give suggestions or advice to him. And you’re free to invite him to listen to the Holy Spirit, to inquire about how God is working in his life and what the Holy Spirit is saying to him, to focus him on what the Holy Spirit wants him to do, and to encourage him to consider his goals in light of God’s Word and leading.
So, how should you respond to this leader who is discouraged about his ministry and wondering if he should continue? How about asking questions? You could ask: How’s your relationship with God? What’s the Holy Spirit been saying to you? What might God be teaching you? How might God be using this to help you grow?
Remember, God is growing His people, and the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer.
Reflect on the Holy Spirit’s work:
And now you start to feel a little anxious. Questions race through your mind: What should I say? How should I say it? What advice should I give? How can I help?
My advice? Remember three things. First, remember that God is growing His people, and the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer. God is already at work in the life of this leader. To help him grow, God saved him, gave him key relationships, blessed him with abilities and character qualities, and provided him with education and useful ministry experiences.
Second, remember that while God may use you to help this leader grow, it’s God who is actually growing this leader. God can do it!
And third, remember that because God is at work in this leader (Romans 8:28-29), you’re free. You’re free not to give suggestions or advice to him. And you’re free to invite him to listen to the Holy Spirit, to inquire about how God is working in his life and what the Holy Spirit is saying to him, to focus him on what the Holy Spirit wants him to do, and to encourage him to consider his goals in light of God’s Word and leading.
So, how should you respond to this leader who is discouraged about his ministry and wondering if he should continue? How about asking questions? You could ask: How’s your relationship with God? What’s the Holy Spirit been saying to you? What might God be teaching you? How might God be using this to help you grow?
Remember, God is growing His people, and the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer.
Reflect on the Holy Spirit’s work:
- How is God growing you? How is the Holy Spirit working in your heart?
- How do you feel about the Holy Spirit working in the lives of leaders you work with?
- What happens when Christian leaders focus on what the Holy Spirit is saying to them?
- To help Christian leaders focus on what the Holy Spirit is saying to them, what do you need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
- How will you demonstrate that you believe the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer?
How is your heart?
16/08/12 10:23 Filed in: Empower Others
Each time, I should have asked myself a question. Just one question. But I didn’t. And that resulted in ill will, disharmony, bad stuff. Bummer.
It’s 1987, my wife and I haven’t been getting along all morning, and I hear myself say in a loud voice, “That’s not the logical way to wash the car.” Not one of my better moments—she has washed way more cars than I have, she is more patient and understanding than I am, and here I am pontificating on the logical way to wash the car. My wife replies with understandable vehemence, “There’s a logical way to wash a car?” Before speaking, I should have asked myself a question.
It’s June, the end of the school year. I’m in my office, and I realize I have not yet gotten a curriculum document from a high school teacher. Classes are over for the day, so I head to his classroom. I knock, step in, and see him sitting at his desk, marking papers—report cards are due in a few days. But since I’m not teaching, I don’t pay attention to this. Instead, I ask, “Could I get that curriculum document from you?” (Again, not one of my better moments.) He says, “It’s not yet done.” I reply, “You should have had it done by now,” and leave the room. Before speaking, I should have asked myself a question.
What question? I should have asked myself, “How is my heart?” If I had done so, I would have reflected on what God says and what I really wanted; consequently, I would have handled things better.
If I had asked myself “How is my heart?” I would have remembered that God says the human heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9)—when I thought I was talking with my wife about the logical way to wash the car, what I was really doing was getting back at her for the morning’s disharmony (which in all probability I caused). I would have kept in mind God’s command to love Him with my whole heart and my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39)—when I was asking the teacher for the curriculum document in June, I was focused on myself, used bad timing, and took out my frustration on the teacher, instead of being supportive.
And maybe if I’d have asked myself “How is my heart?” I would have focused on what I really wanted:
Instead of asking myself the question to get me reflecting on what God says and what I really wanted, I blew it. Plain and simple.
Bottom line: The next time you’re about to express your frustration (or when you know you’re struggling with how to handle a key conversation), ask yourself, “How’s my heart?”
What about you?
Want to learn more?
It’s 1987, my wife and I haven’t been getting along all morning, and I hear myself say in a loud voice, “That’s not the logical way to wash the car.” Not one of my better moments—she has washed way more cars than I have, she is more patient and understanding than I am, and here I am pontificating on the logical way to wash the car. My wife replies with understandable vehemence, “There’s a logical way to wash a car?” Before speaking, I should have asked myself a question.
It’s June, the end of the school year. I’m in my office, and I realize I have not yet gotten a curriculum document from a high school teacher. Classes are over for the day, so I head to his classroom. I knock, step in, and see him sitting at his desk, marking papers—report cards are due in a few days. But since I’m not teaching, I don’t pay attention to this. Instead, I ask, “Could I get that curriculum document from you?” (Again, not one of my better moments.) He says, “It’s not yet done.” I reply, “You should have had it done by now,” and leave the room. Before speaking, I should have asked myself a question.
What question? I should have asked myself, “How is my heart?” If I had done so, I would have reflected on what God says and what I really wanted; consequently, I would have handled things better.
If I had asked myself “How is my heart?” I would have remembered that God says the human heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9)—when I thought I was talking with my wife about the logical way to wash the car, what I was really doing was getting back at her for the morning’s disharmony (which in all probability I caused). I would have kept in mind God’s command to love Him with my whole heart and my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39)—when I was asking the teacher for the curriculum document in June, I was focused on myself, used bad timing, and took out my frustration on the teacher, instead of being supportive.
And maybe if I’d have asked myself “How is my heart?” I would have focused on what I really wanted:
- What I wanted to avoid (ill will and disharmony)
- What I wanted to preserve (unity in Christ)
- What I wanted to achieve (pursuing my calling by having a good morning with my wife and by supporting the teacher in developing the curriculum)
Instead of asking myself the question to get me reflecting on what God says and what I really wanted, I blew it. Plain and simple.
Bottom line: The next time you’re about to express your frustration (or when you know you’re struggling with how to handle a key conversation), ask yourself, “How’s my heart?”
What about you?
- What is a conversation you didn’t handle well?
- How did you feel during that conversation?
- How was your heart? (How well did you remember what God’s Word says? How clear were you on what you wanted to avoid, preserve, and achieve?)
- How could you apply this article in a key conversation you need to have/are likely to have?
Want to learn more?
- Study God’s Word: Jeremiah 17:9 (and Matthew 7:1-5), Proverbs 4:23 (and Matthew 12:34), Matthew 22:37-39, Matthew 6:33, and James 3:1-12.
- Explore using avoid, preserve, and achieve.
- Read Crucial Conversations, especially chapters 1-3.
Student reflects on biblical perspective
13/07/12 15:44 Filed in: Christian Ed
Anneke Essenburg, a recent graduate of Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on Biblical perspective assignments and questions.
Here are 8 assignments I have had that helped me to understand and apply a Biblical perspective:
Here are 8 assignments I have had that helped me to understand and apply a Biblical perspective:
- Project: My friend and I wrote a narration mimicking Sophie’s World that explained the Christian ethical system.
- Project: As part of a semester presentation, I had to actually live out the biblical principle I used in my presentation in one specific way.
- Project: In groups, we created posters that analyzed different worldviews’ perspective of a crime.
- Essay: I wrote several papers on different philosophical topics (e.g., souls and free will), explaining and supporting my view.
- Essay: I analyzed a piece of media (first a song and then a movie) to discern its worldview.
- Discussion: My classmates and I watched short video clips of people reacting to different situations (e.g. an unconscious homeless man and a child bride) and then discussed which ethical system each person acted by.
- Debate: My partner and I debated another pair over several topics (e.g., smoking and lying) for two minutes each, being randomly appointed to the pro or con side for each argument.
- Presentation: In a group, we presented on an ethical system, including elements such as a short skit enacting that system and a comparison between that system and Christianity.
- What do you believe and why?
- How will you live out your beliefs?
- What do other people think and why?
- Why do people act in certain ways?
- If you thought in a different way, how would you act?
- How would different perspectives view one event?
- What are the similarities and differences between the way I think and other people think?
Teachers, use enduring understandings
13/07/12 07:24 Filed in: Christian Ed
As Christian school teachers, we want to help our students develop a Christian worldview. An effective way to do that is using enduring understandings that help connect the part of God’s world that they study with God’s Word.
Here are 31 sample enduring understandings used in secondary English at Christian Academy in Japan:
Here are 31 sample enduring understandings used in secondary English at Christian Academy in Japan:
- A Christian speaker seeks to serve her neighbor/audience.
- All truth is God's truth.
- An author's personal values and ethical beliefs shape the worldview presented in his/her writing.
- An identity rooted in God allows for the flexibility to listen carefully to others.
- As God's creatures, we exist within nature in a special role as stewards; a role that is often neglected or distorted.
- As image-bearers, we're responsible to seek out and listen to the stories of others so that we can better understand the world we live in, and better understand ourselves.
- Because people are in the image of God, we are creative, communicative truth-seekers.
- Being made in God's image means that we must learn to communicate to the best of our ability with a variety of audiences.
- Belief systems set the precepts from which we live our daily lives and understand the world around us.
- Christians must act whenever and wherever human dignity is disregarded.
- Comparing motivations and actions of literary characters from different historical eras reveal man's sinful nature.
- Creation was designed to function according to God's design and those patterns are still visible despite the fall.
- Defects in society are directly related to the defects in human nature.
- God created people to exist in shalom: flourishing in right relationship with God, others, creation, and ourselves.
- Greed affects everyone, regardless of racial, gender or financial positions.
- Humans long for restoration and search for transcendence.
- Humans make sense of the world around them through various art forms, including narrative.
- Knowing grammar helps us learn other languages, giving me opportunities to restore shalom by increasing understanding of, collaboration with, and responsibility for the neighbors I am to love, regarding both salvation and justice.
- Knowledge implies responsibility. (If you know a biblical principle, it should make a difference in how you live.)
- Leaders set the pattern for the whole group, leading to sin or to righteousness.
- Nature is part of the created order, worth caring for but not worth our worship.
- Personal belongings and riches do not bring satisfaction; satisfaction lies in being content with what one has.
- Reading and talking about literature helps humanity understand how to restore what is broken in the world.
- Romantic love is a good gift from the Creator that has been twisted by the Fall, but can be redeemed through Jesus and restored by his followers.
- Seeking God's perspective in the midst of chaos brings cosmos and heals the human tendency to escape or blame God in the midst of chaos.
- The same disregard for humanity that allows for slavery also allows for much more common-place problems like gossip & bullying.
- Though fallen creatures, we're significant because we bear the image of God.
- Truth is not relative; the basis for truth can only come from God and His Word.
- Understanding God's nature offers a healing response to the problem of evil and suffering.
- We are called to care for and develop culture--Knowing how to engage information is part of this cultural mandate outlined in Gen. 1:26-28 and 2:15-25.
- We are fallen and incapable of achieving God's standard of goodness (perfection) on our own. Our instinct itself has been corrupted, and our "natural" drive is to satisfy and serve ourselves.
My revised plan is working!
21/06/12 07:04 Filed in: Christian Ed
She isn’t connecting what she studies and what the Bible teaches. Hiroko, a Japanese student from a Christian family, is talking with me about a book she has read.
I ask, “What is the theme of the book?” Hiroko says, “It’s about friendship and how giving your life for someone is the ultimate act of love.” I respond, “What’s a biblical perspective of the book?” And she says, “The book didn’t talk about God, so I don’t think there’s a biblical perspective.” Bummer.
Clearly, my instructional plan hadn’t worked for Hiroko. I had modeled making connections between what we read and the Bible. I had taught a biblical principle for every short story, novel, and play we studied—for example, that people’s desperate search for belonging can only be completely fulfilled in God. I had then required students to articulate each biblical principle and how it connected to the work we studied.
But I hadn’t actually taught them that God created everything with a purpose and for His glory. I hadn’t actually taught them that there is nothing to which God and His Word are irrelevant. Bummer.
My revised plan? To start by teaching a biblical principle about the possibility and necessity of seeing every piece of literature through the lenses of Scripture. And then to teach several broad scriptural themes to which every piece of literature could connect—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
The result? Book talks are now about the brokenness of the world and about the importance of pursuing biblical justice, reconciliation, faithfulness, and wholeness! And not a single student says, “The book didn’t talk about God, so I don’t think there’s a biblical perspective.” My revised plan is working!
People grow as they take responsibility
17/05/12 08:15 Filed in: Empower Others
I grow when I take responsibility. I grow when I take responsibility to define, commit to, and achieve my goals. Defining my goals helps me understand how I can more effectively pursue God’s calling. Committing to my goals helps me know what to focus on and what not to focus on. And working to achieve my goals results in things like a growing spiritual life and better life balance.
How about you? How does taking responsibility affect your growth? And how does taking responsibility to define, commit to, and achieve goals affect the growth of the leaders you’re developing?
Want to help others grow by empowering them to take responsibility? If so, do these 4 things: (1) To empower others, listen to them. Help them take responsibility by listening to them, instead of talking. Listen a minimum of 80% of the time. Listen in order to help them talk through what their goals are. And when you listen, be sure you look interested and sound interested.
(2) To empower others, inquire about their goals. Help them take responsibility by asking questions, instead of suggesting goals. Ask questions like: What are your goals? How can you pursue God’s calling even more? Where are you and where do you want to go? What can you do to move forward on your goals? What will you do?
(3) To empower others, focus them on their goals. Help them take responsibility by encouraging them to identify their goals. You can do this by inviting them to take 5-10 minutes to list their goals for areas like spiritual life, relationships, leadership, work, and life balance. After they have identified their goals, invite them to select a goal and identify the action steps they can take to achieve that goal. Encourage them to make their action steps SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound.
(4) To empower others, encourage them to achieve their goals. Help them take responsibility by encouraging them to talk about progress on their goals. It’s easy to do—when you see a leader, say, “Tell me about the progress you’ve made on your goals.” And when they achieve their goals, encourage them to celebrate!
Remember, people grow as they take responsibility.
Reflect on responsibility:
How about you? How does taking responsibility affect your growth? And how does taking responsibility to define, commit to, and achieve goals affect the growth of the leaders you’re developing?
Want to help others grow by empowering them to take responsibility? If so, do these 4 things: (1) To empower others, listen to them. Help them take responsibility by listening to them, instead of talking. Listen a minimum of 80% of the time. Listen in order to help them talk through what their goals are. And when you listen, be sure you look interested and sound interested.
(2) To empower others, inquire about their goals. Help them take responsibility by asking questions, instead of suggesting goals. Ask questions like: What are your goals? How can you pursue God’s calling even more? Where are you and where do you want to go? What can you do to move forward on your goals? What will you do?
(3) To empower others, focus them on their goals. Help them take responsibility by encouraging them to identify their goals. You can do this by inviting them to take 5-10 minutes to list their goals for areas like spiritual life, relationships, leadership, work, and life balance. After they have identified their goals, invite them to select a goal and identify the action steps they can take to achieve that goal. Encourage them to make their action steps SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound.
(4) To empower others, encourage them to achieve their goals. Help them take responsibility by encouraging them to talk about progress on their goals. It’s easy to do—when you see a leader, say, “Tell me about the progress you’ve made on your goals.” And when they achieve their goals, encourage them to celebrate!
Remember, people grow as they take responsibility.
Reflect on responsibility:
- What is one way you encourage leaders to take responsibility?
- What is satisfying/unsatisfying about getting leaders to take responsibility?
- How does taking responsibility affect the growth of leaders?
- What can you do to help leaders increasingly take responsibility?
- What will you do to help leaders increasingly take responsibility?
Develop a Biblical perspective standard (4 of 4)
11/04/12 11:15 Filed in: Christian Ed
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
Tom, who teaches 7th grade English, wants to more effectively help his students develop a Christ-centered worldview. He walks down the halls and see his instructional coach.
How are you doing, Tom?
Long day—grading essays. My students are doing better on their thesis statements, which is good, since that’s what we worked on. But I wanted to tell you that our department adopted a Biblical perspective standard!
Students connect God's world (standards 1-9) with God's Word (creation-fall-redemption-restoration).
That’s great! So, I take it that your presentation to your department about this went well. Good for you.
And good for our students. Having this standard will focus us more on helping our students connect God’s world and Word. I think we’ve started something. A couple of teachers in other departments have talked to me about this. They want to learn more about how and why we developed our Biblical perspective standard.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
Questions for discussion:
This blog entry addresses the following Biblical perspective teacher training benchmarks:
Tom, who teaches 7th grade English, wants to more effectively help his students develop a Christ-centered worldview. He walks down the halls and see his instructional coach.
How are you doing, Tom?
Long day—grading essays. My students are doing better on their thesis statements, which is good, since that’s what we worked on. But I wanted to tell you that our department adopted a Biblical perspective standard!
Students connect God's world (standards 1-9) with God's Word (creation-fall-redemption-restoration).
- Students connect God’s world (standards 1-9) with God’s Word in terms of creation—God’s creational purposes and what creation reveals about God.
- Students connect God’s world (standards 1-9) with God’s Word in terms of the fall—the impact of sin on God's creation and how we misuse God's creation.
- Students connect God’s world (standards 1-9) with God’s Word in terms of redemption—Jesus' work and its impact on God's creation.
- Students connect God’s world (standards 1-9) with God’s Word in terms of restoration—how we can apply God's Word to restore His broken creation.
That’s great! So, I take it that your presentation to your department about this went well. Good for you.
And good for our students. Having this standard will focus us more on helping our students connect God’s world and Word. I think we’ve started something. A couple of teachers in other departments have talked to me about this. They want to learn more about how and why we developed our Biblical perspective standard.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
Questions for discussion:
- Do you want your students to connect God’s world and Word?
- What can you do to help your students better connect God’s world and Word?
- How can you help your colleagues help their students make connections?
- Connect God's world, God's Word, and life
- Start small and get started
- What Biblical teaching connects to what students are studying?
- How can you more effectively target Biblical perspective?
- Help your students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration
- Develop a guaranteed, viable, Biblical perspective curriculum
This blog entry addresses the following Biblical perspective teacher training benchmarks:
- 2.2. Explain the creation-fall-redemption-fulfillment/restoration framework.
- 4.4. Develop, document, and explain content and skill standards/benchmarks.
- 4.6. Develop, document, and explain enduring Biblical perspective understandings.
Find ways to more effectively carry out your mission
03/03/12 05:35 Filed in: Productivity
School improvement can help you find ways to more effectively carry out your school’s mission:
- Start with your mission. Consistently link everything back to how it helps you carry out your mission. Keep everyone talking about your mission—including students! In other words, focus on your mission.
- Next, implement your school improvement process. Make your process is centered on your mission (student learning) and is ongoing (meaning, the process gets used every year, not just in reaccreditation years). Make your process collaborative (have people work in groups and use Google Docs/online data). And make sure everyone understands the process—using a visual aid helped us.
- Finally, work on your report. For focus group reports, make a list of questions each group can respond to. Use a set of criteria to develop your school improvement plan. Publish your report in a wiki.
Students make connections in presentations
02/03/12 14:16 Filed in: Christian Ed
S, T, C, and K gave a presentation on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. When another student asked about their personal application, S said that we can't right now do anything for people in Zimbabwe, but the most important thing is to learn empathy for the people around us. Then we will become people who will someday do something for people across the globe.
M, J, and T gave a presentation on the disregard of women's human dignity. They had started with the introduction to Half the Sky I had available for jigsawing, and each of them researched abuse of women in a given part of the world. They did a great job and were quite informed and passionate.
They had quite a full-orbed biblical perspective, including that the subjugation of women to men was a part of the curse, that the creation story includes the statement that both male and female are equally in God's image, and that the word for helper that women were created to be is also used of God as a help to us—so not necessarily subordinate. They also told their classmates in no uncertain terms that while sexist jokes are funny, in the long run, they communicate that women are inferior and are not appreciated.
Their concrete application, though, was to write "thankful" at the top of their agenda for each day of this past week, to remind themselves to be thankful for all the opportunities they have as females in a developed nation that others don't have. They had a powerful quote about a black man knowing the fear of walking down a dark street in a white neighborhood, and a white man knowing the fear of walking down a dark street in a black neighborhood, but a woman knows the fear of walking down a dark street in any neighborhood, because it is someone else's territory.
C, B, S, and K tackled the tough topic of morality. They ended up saying all humans share a common sense of morality, but we use our frontal and prefrontal cortex to decide to do what we know is right or what will benefit us.
For their personal application they each talked about being metacognitive about that decision-making process in themselves—whether it was S sitting on the train after an exhausting wrestling practice and struggling with whether or not to give up his seat for an old woman who was having problems standing, or C making excuses to himself for why he didn't have to pick up trash he saw on the ground next to the trash can when it was not one of his mornings to be on the job.
A, M, K, and E presented on the topic of taking action—not being a bystander. A had a lovely personal application. She said an old people's home was recently built near her house. Before, she had just complained about the noise of construction and then ignored the new residents when they moved in. But because of this project, she had started saying hi to them when she saw them on the street. And there's one old woman who she always talks to now. M also told about trying to speak up for someone who was being dissed in a group, though she didn't feel terribly effective.
The audience asked questions like, "Does it ever happen that taking action makes things worse?" A asked for clarification, "Do you mean for the person intervening, or for the person being targeted?" Several girls answered about the person intervening that in a fallen world, yes, often it does make things worse. But that shouldn't stop us because it's what God wants us to do.
Growing is more about motivation than information
16/02/12 08:12 Filed in: Empower Others
In my experience, people grow as they take action to achieve their goals. And in my experience, taking action is more about being motivated than about having information. When I’m motivated, I take action and grow. When I’m not motivated (even if I have good information), I don’t take action and don’t grow.
For example, I wanted to get in shape. I had information about a variety of exercise programs, including weight lifting, biking, walking, and jogging. I had information that weight lifting would be good for my upper body and that biking would be easy on my knees. But I wasn’t motivated to lift weights or bike. I was motivated to walk and jog. And now I’m walking and jogging. I am getting in shape—even though according to the information, walking/jogging might not be the optimal exercise program for me.
How about you? What happens when you’re motivated and unmotivated? And what happens when the leaders you’re developing are motivated and unmotivated? My guess is that both you and the leaders you’re developing grow more when motivated.
Want to grow by targeting what motivates you? Get a coach. Your coach will focus you on what motivates you and encourage you to take action on what you’re motivated to do.
Want to help others grow by targeting what motivates them? If so, here are 4 things you can do: (1) Listen to others. Really listen. When people feel listened to, they share. And as they share, they clarify their motivations. (2) Ask questions to provoke reflection. When people reflect, they identify what motivates them. Ask questions like “What 3 dreams do you want to make real?” (3) Focus others on what motivates them and on turning their motivations into actionable goals. (4) Encourage others to talk about their interests and dreams. As they talk, say things like, “Tell me more.”
Remember, growing is more about motivation than information.
Reflect on motivation:
For example, I wanted to get in shape. I had information about a variety of exercise programs, including weight lifting, biking, walking, and jogging. I had information that weight lifting would be good for my upper body and that biking would be easy on my knees. But I wasn’t motivated to lift weights or bike. I was motivated to walk and jog. And now I’m walking and jogging. I am getting in shape—even though according to the information, walking/jogging might not be the optimal exercise program for me.
How about you? What happens when you’re motivated and unmotivated? And what happens when the leaders you’re developing are motivated and unmotivated? My guess is that both you and the leaders you’re developing grow more when motivated.
Want to grow by targeting what motivates you? Get a coach. Your coach will focus you on what motivates you and encourage you to take action on what you’re motivated to do.
Want to help others grow by targeting what motivates them? If so, here are 4 things you can do: (1) Listen to others. Really listen. When people feel listened to, they share. And as they share, they clarify their motivations. (2) Ask questions to provoke reflection. When people reflect, they identify what motivates them. Ask questions like “What 3 dreams do you want to make real?” (3) Focus others on what motivates them and on turning their motivations into actionable goals. (4) Encourage others to talk about their interests and dreams. As they talk, say things like, “Tell me more.”
Remember, growing is more about motivation than information.
Reflect on motivation:
- What was one time when you were motivated/unmotivated?
- What is satisfying/unsatisfying about focusing on what motivates a leader you want to help grow?
- How does motivation affect a leader’s development?
- What helps you target motivation? What hinders you?
- What will you do to target motivation?
Students make connections in essays
21/01/12 15:21 Filed in: Christian Ed
- "Selfishness, pride, and the desire for power are the driving forces for one to ignore, insult, hurt, and kill others. That is why Christians have been called to carry out the only thing that can rise above these troubles and give hope to life: love."
- "Within my own life I can see myself disregarding others' importance compared to what I want to accomplish and do. The most clear example for me is when friends ask me for help on homework. Some of the time I find myself thinking that as long as I understand it, it's fine; what a waste of time to teach. In these times I am placing myself and my own convenience over someone else's learning. I am stating that they are not worth my time and effort....In his letter to the Philippians Paul clearly states, 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves' (New International Version, Phil. 2.3).”
Now what?
13/01/12 08:10 Filed in: Empower Others
How can you lead groups more effectively?
12/01/12 08:00 Filed in: Productivity
Like you, I want to lead groups more effectively. Something that has helped me improve my effectiveness is reflecting with others on questions about leading groups.
Try this—ask yourself the following 5 questions:
Related resources you might want to explore:
Try this—ask yourself the following 5 questions:
- What helps a group function effectively?
- What’s your role in a given group? (Are you a facilitator/coach, consultant, or presenter?)
- How can you promote thoughtful group conversation?
- What's the purpose of the conversation? (Do you want the group to explore a topic? Do you need the group to make a decision?)
- How can you get everyone involved? (How can you help reticent people contribute? How can you help talkative people make room in the conversation for others?)
Related resources you might want to explore:
How can we more effectively prepare students to connect God's world and Word?
09/12/11 08:43 Filed in: Christian Ed
I'm smiling. I'm reading an introductory paragraph of an essay written by an alum of Christian Academy in Japan (who is now in her senior year of college):
There are over 27 million image bearers of God enslaved today.1 Twenty-seven million men, women, and children whom Jesus died and rose again to save are trapped in an existence in which they are told that they are not human, that they have no worth, that they cannot escape, and that they do not even own themselves. This invisible population is woven into our global economy and touches most of the products we buy—"[h]uman trafficking tears apart the structure of local economies, adds to the bureaucratic and law enforcement burden at all levels of government, and destroys people's lives."2 And because of the complicated nature of supply chains in our world, casual consumption indirectly supports slavery by buying products that were in part made by slave labor. In order to faithfully live out our Christian call to justice in this new global society, it is necessary to carefully evaluate our consumption practices in order to be faithful stewards of our resources in the restoration and bring shalom.
2 questions:
1 K. Bales. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 8.
2 E. M. Wheaton, E. J. Schauer, and T. V. Galli. "Economics of Human Trafficking." International Migration 48.4 (2010): 114-141, esp. 132.
There are over 27 million image bearers of God enslaved today.1 Twenty-seven million men, women, and children whom Jesus died and rose again to save are trapped in an existence in which they are told that they are not human, that they have no worth, that they cannot escape, and that they do not even own themselves. This invisible population is woven into our global economy and touches most of the products we buy—"[h]uman trafficking tears apart the structure of local economies, adds to the bureaucratic and law enforcement burden at all levels of government, and destroys people's lives."2 And because of the complicated nature of supply chains in our world, casual consumption indirectly supports slavery by buying products that were in part made by slave labor. In order to faithfully live out our Christian call to justice in this new global society, it is necessary to carefully evaluate our consumption practices in order to be faithful stewards of our resources in the restoration and bring shalom.
2 questions:
- How can we more effectively prepare students to connect God's world and Word?
- What can we do to make it possible for students to write essay introductions like this at an earlier age? Say, during their senior year of high school?
- Connect God's world, God's Word, and life
- Start small and get started
- What Biblical teaching connects to what students are studying?
- How can you more effectively target Biblical perspective?
- Help your students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration
- Develop a guaranteed, viable, Biblical perspective curriculum
1 K. Bales. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 8.
2 E. M. Wheaton, E. J. Schauer, and T. V. Galli. "Economics of Human Trafficking." International Migration 48.4 (2010): 114-141, esp. 132.
Believe in others to empower them to grow
11/11/11 08:10 Filed in: Empower Others
You and I both want to grow. We want to grow so we can pursue God’s calling even more. So, we target growth areas like leadership, spiritual disciplines, conflict management, life balance, and Japanese language proficiency.
You and I both know that people who believe in us empower us to grow. I’ve experienced it in my own life. You have, too. When people believe in me, I can do more. I remember talking with my regional director about a workshop. He invited me to lead workshop sessions about focusing on the mission’s purpose and on asking open-ended questions. I felt hesitant. So, I asked some questions. He responded, “Do what you want. I trust you. You’ll know what to do.” I was energized to develop and deliver quality workshops.
I’ve also experienced that believing in others empowers them to grow. For example, I was working with a missionary who was serving in a new ministry, one that really stretched him. I was listening as he reflected on the past 9 months. And then he said, “One of the biggest things you did for me was believe in me. You thought I could do it. That gave me confidence to accomplish new things.”
As a result of these and other experiences, I’ve become increasingly convinced that believing in others helps them grow. I now work to interact with others in ways that show I believe in them. For example, I target helping others become better problem solvers (instead of targeting solving their problems). I also strive to listen (instead of talking), ask questions (instead of advising), focus on drawing out (instead of on putting in), and encourage (instead of critiquing)—remember, Barnabas encouraged Paul.
Empower God’s people to pursue their calling. Believe in someone. Today.
Reflect on believing in others:
You and I both know that people who believe in us empower us to grow. I’ve experienced it in my own life. You have, too. When people believe in me, I can do more. I remember talking with my regional director about a workshop. He invited me to lead workshop sessions about focusing on the mission’s purpose and on asking open-ended questions. I felt hesitant. So, I asked some questions. He responded, “Do what you want. I trust you. You’ll know what to do.” I was energized to develop and deliver quality workshops.
I’ve also experienced that believing in others empowers them to grow. For example, I was working with a missionary who was serving in a new ministry, one that really stretched him. I was listening as he reflected on the past 9 months. And then he said, “One of the biggest things you did for me was believe in me. You thought I could do it. That gave me confidence to accomplish new things.”
As a result of these and other experiences, I’ve become increasingly convinced that believing in others helps them grow. I now work to interact with others in ways that show I believe in them. For example, I target helping others become better problem solvers (instead of targeting solving their problems). I also strive to listen (instead of talking), ask questions (instead of advising), focus on drawing out (instead of on putting in), and encourage (instead of critiquing)—remember, Barnabas encouraged Paul.
Empower God’s people to pursue their calling. Believe in someone. Today.
Reflect on believing in others:
- Who is someone who believed in you? What was the impact of being believed in?
- Who is someone who didn’t believe in you? How did he/she communicate this?
- What excites/concerns you about believing in others?
- How does believing in others empower them to pursue God’s calling?
- How could you show that you believe in others?
- How will you show that you believe in others?
Ask questions
03/10/11 07:45 Filed in: Productivity | Empower Others
Do you want to...
Does asking questions work? I think so. Asking questions has helped me lead change, empower others to clarify ministry goals and to get organized, and get students to apply a Biblical perspective.
Would you like to learn more about asking questions? If so, try these resources:
Coaching/Leading
- Be a more effective leader?
- Help others focus, work smart, and/or pursue excellence?
- Help students connect God's world and Word?
Does asking questions work? I think so. Asking questions has helped me lead change, empower others to clarify ministry goals and to get organized, and get students to apply a Biblical perspective.
Would you like to learn more about asking questions? If so, try these resources:
Coaching/Leading
- 75 Coaching Questions
- Ask Open-Ended Questions
- Lead by Asking Questions: Article • Self-Assessment • Tutorial
- Sets of questions you can use to empower others pursue excellence, reduce frustrations, get organized, target strengths, pay attention to goals, and prioritize.
- Using Reflection to Leverage Results
