Nine years after leaving my job as a Spanish teacher I once again find myself in the front of a classroom giving assignments and directing the learning of people. This time I am teaching a one-unit course on vocation in the seminary. Quite a bit different from teaching middle school students the basics of Spanish.
And yet, tonight as I finished reading the first round of papers that I have assigned, I was struck once again with the thrill that I received from teaching all those years ago. I was and continue to be amazed at how people take what I offer and make such incredibly rich and meaningful things out of them.
When I was teaching Spanish, I always looked forward to the creative writing pieces I assigned because these allowed the students to show me how they had taken in the information I had shared with them and really made it their own. That feeling came back to me full-force as I was reading the papers from the seminary students today.
I'm left with the feeling of, "Really? They were able to get there from what I gave them?" It's exciting. I plant the ideas and the students run with them. And I'm always surprised (usually in good ways) with what that looks like.
I'm glad to be back in the classroom.
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March 24, 2009 — 10:02 AM
I've found a new love - road cycling.
Now that may sound strange coming from me since I follow Pro-cycling racing on the TV and when it comes anywhere near San Francisco. It also may sound strange since I've ridden bicycles for years.
But I haven't had a road bike for years. I road as the stoker on the back of a mountain tandem that we eventually put skinnier tires on and used on the road. I road a mountain bike that I also ended up putting skinnier tires on to use on the road. But now I have a dedicated road bike. A bike that could even be used in racing if I were so inclined.
Then I bought this beauty last May.
I rode it at most once a week as a good cross-training exercise. In my heart I am a medium- to long-distance runner. Cycling was just a way to introduce more variation into my routine.
But then late last fall I decided to register for the AIDS/LifeCycle 2009 Ride. This is a 545 mile, 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I have thought about doing this in the past but finally decided that this year is the right year for it.
Part of my preparations for this ride have been to go on training rides. The AIDS/LifeCycle organization puts together several rides each week for people of varying levels. And every Saturday morning they have rides that increase in length and difficulty so that by the time the ride actually happens at the end of May, people will have a good feeling for what a day's ride will feel like.
I have been riding in these Saturday morning rides. And I have loved it! In spite of chilly temps and even some rain last week, I have found new joy in being on a bicycle. Last week as I was winding my way along the Nicassio Reservoir churning the pedals over I found I couldn't help but sing because I was so happy.
I'm glad to have this new love in my life. And I'm glad that registering for the AIDS/LifeCycle ride helped me to discover it.
Help me put this fun training to good use by supporting me on the ride to LA:
tinyurl.com/ride-that-bike.
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This past Sunday I had the pleasure of preaching to and with the mbcc community. And as I reflected on the experience afterward I realized something that really isn't very novel or surprising but that made me stop and go "Hmmm!" anyway.
This sermon, and I would argue that all of my sermons, is really written to an audience of one: me. I'm glad to share them with other folks - in the room or over the web - but I realized that all of the points that I have made in my sermons are points that I am trying in some way to convince myself of. I need my sermons as much or more than anyone who happens to hear them or read them.
I guess that only stands to reason since I am the one reading the passages and I am the one picking out phrases or concepts that strike me in them. Since this is the case, then it seems obvious that I am the one for whom the sermon being written has the most to say.
I don't think that is the norm by any means. I know plenty of preachers who in their sermon preparations seek a word that they think their congregation needs to hear. That type of preaching is often labeled "prophetic" and I have never felt that my preaching falls into that category. Most of my sermons are of the type that explore a word or a phrase that made me pause while I was reading. And, therefore, they explore topics of interest to me.
Does this seem overly narcissistic? Or is it rather being authentic (the huge buzzword of the day)? I don't know. But I do know that I will be sitting with my most recent sermon for a while trying to really live in to the ideas that I expressed there.
Read it for yourself here.
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