…“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You did send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.” John 17:16-19 – RSV

Education must come from the individual learner. You as the teacher cannot pour it in. You have to draw it out. And by the way, “to draw out” is the root meaning of the word education “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well…for in my experience the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates and the great teacher inspires” Alexander the Great

 “You stir us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you.” St. Augustine  Despite humanity’s proclivity toward sin, “we exist from, in, and towards God.  Humans were made to seek after God. This is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human.  As those who were created to seek after God, it is notable that humans may become the instruments of God.  Rather than “truth-centered,” teaching and learning can often fall into the trap of “self- seeking.”

 Ministry – so it must not be a Burden  The Product is often the Fruit of Preparation  Our own hearts  Our lessons  Our contacts  We Are Servants  Teaching Sunday School is about making disciples  When teaching Sunday School, focus on transformation  Invite  Discover  Connect

  Teachers must live in a manner worthy of their calling - Ephesians 4:1  a. Walking in unity - cf. Ep 4:1-16  b. Walking in truth - cf. Ep 4:17-32  c. Walking in love - cf. Ep 5:1-7  d. Walking in light - cf. Ep 5:8-14  e. Walking in wisdom - cf. Ep 5:15-17 Take up the CALL

  The Law of the Teacher  The Law of Education  The Law of Activity  The Law of Communication  The Law of the Heart  The Law of Encouragement  The Law of Readiness A PASSION TO COMMUNICATE

  The teacher must know that which he/she would teach.… Imperfect knowing will be reflected in imperfect teaching.  If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow. Ever learning and ever loving.  “I rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.”  Good teachers, I always says are FAT people— those who are Faithful, Available, and Teachable. The Law of the Teacher

  How have you changed … lately? In the last week? Or the last month? The last year?  Effective teaching comes only through a changed person…TRANSFORMATION  The more you change, the more you become an instrument of change in the lives of others.  If you want to become a change agent, you also must change. MAKING CHANGE

  To strengthen your own commitment to change and development, look at Luke 2: 52 – the life of Jesus Christ: “Jesus grew,” in four areas:  He grew “in wisdom”— intellectual development.  He grew “in stature”— physical development.  He grew “in favor with God”— spiritual development.  And he grew “in favor with men”— social and emotional development. Commitment to Change

 Some of your values need to be retained.  Some of them need to be refined.  And some of them need to be rejected.  We’re all in process.  Maintain a consistent study and reading program.  Enroll in continuing education courses.  Get to know your students.

  The true function of the teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning.…  True teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it.  “The words of a teacher must be words of a person who educates rather than rebukes, who instructs rather than chastises, who brings order rather than exposes, who amends rather than tramples on the life of a student” The Law of Education

  There is not just one kind of student. Some pupils are eager and ready to learn, while others need rousing to learn.  Once the students are ready to learn, the teacher must assess where the students are.  At times students need instruction; whereas other times they need clarification.  With respect to those students who need rousing, it is important for the teacher to employ methods in order to stir up their emotions in order for them to learn. Student Knowledge

  Failure is a necessary part of the learning process  As so often happened, the disciples’ taste of failure provided one of their greatest learning experiences  No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes  Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future A FOUNDATION CALLED FAILURE

  Knowledge cannot be passed like a material substance from one mind to another, for thoughts are not objects which may be held and handled.…  Ideas must be rethought, experience must be re- experienced.  Your task as a communicator is not to impress people, but to impact them; not just to convince them, but to change them.  Chinese proverb: I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. The Law of Activity

  It is the teacher’s mission … by sympathy, by example, and by every means of influence— by objects for the senses, by facts for the intelligence— to excite the mind of the pupils, to stimulate their thoughts.…  The greatest of teachers said: “The seed is the word.” The true teacher stirs the ground and sows the seed.  The word communication comes from the Latin word communis, meaning “common.”  Before we can communicate, we must establish commonness, commonality.  And the greater the commonality, the greater the potential for communication. The Law of Communication

 Aim of the Teacher is to teach, delight, and move the student.  Quoting Cicero, “To teach is a necessity, to delight is a beauty, and to persuade is a triumph.”  It is better for the teacher to keep in mind that wisdom is more important than eloquence and that truth is more important than expression.  Another important trait of the teacher is for the teacher to live in harmony with his teaching.

 To truly impart information requires the building of bridges.  All communication has three essential components: intellect, emotion, and volition— thought, feeling, and action.  Communication involves something I know, something I feel, and something I’m doing.  Communication is both verbal (primarily speaking and writing) and nonverbal (actions and “body language”), and both these forms must be congruent.  What you say must correspond with what they see.

 The person who speaks wisely and eloquently, but lives wickedly, may instruct many but ‘is unprofitable to himself.’  Most importantly, the teacher should depend on God in his teaching.  Before teaching, the teacher should pray for himself and for his students.  “Before the Teacher opens his/her mouth, to lift up his/her thirsty soul to God, to drink in what he is about to pour forth, and to be himself filled with what he is about to distribute.”

 FEEDBACK  Get feedback.  As the teacher I want to find out what the learners know, how they feel, and what they’re doing.  But this time it’s not your concept-feeling-action and your words, but theirs— the learners’.  After every class – go reflect how you taught the class. How you were received? What was effective? What was not effective? How to change – what to change?

  Teaching that impacts is not head to head, but heart to heart.  That’s the Law of the Heart, and it’s true as long as you understand the biblical meaning of heart.  Heart embraces the totality of human personality— one’s intellect, one’s emotions, one’s will.  You can impress people at a distance. But you can impact them only up close. The Law of the Heart

  The essence of communication has three fascinating concepts called ethos, pathos, and logos  Ethos embraced character.  Pathos embraced compassion.  Logos embraced content.  Character is what produces the learner’s confidence.  Compassion produces the learner’s motivation.  Content produces the learner’s perception. CHARACTER— COMPASSION— CONTENT

  The nature of mind, as far as we can understand it, is that of a power or force actuated by motives.  Teaching tends to be most effective when the learner is properly motivated.  There are two levels of motivation.  The first is extrinsic motivation— motivation from without. The second is more significant— intrinsic motivation, which comes from within.  Your task in all extrinsic motivation is to trigger intrinsic motivation. The Law of Encouragement

  Many teachers go to their work either partly prepared or wholly unprepared.  They are like messengers without a message.  They lack entirely the power and enthusiasm necessary to produce the fruits which we have a right to look for from their efforts.  The Law of Readiness is this: The teaching- learning process will be most effective when both student and teacher are adequately prepared. The Law of Readiness

  Creative, designed with a purpose.  Thought provoking - should question more answers rather than answer more questions.  Assignments must be doable. Don’t heap on an unrealistic load. Good Assignments

 T The Law of the Teacher— Stop growing today, and you stop teaching tomorrow  E The Law of Education— How people learn determines how you teach  A The Law of Activity— Maximum learning is always the result of maximum involvement  C The Law of Communication— To truly impart information requires the building of bridges  H The Law of the Heart— Teaching that impacts is not head to head, but heart to heart  E The Law of Encouragement— Teaching tends to be most effective when the learner is properly motivated  R The Law of Readiness— The teaching-learning process will be most effective when both student and teacher are adequately prepared

  Humbly, Confidently Pointing the Way  Making Ready a People  God’s work versus Our Vision Life of Sunday School Teachers

 Sunday School teachers are to be proclaimers of the message of the God who transforms  Sunday School teachers call students to wake up to God’s presence  Sunday School teachers lead them in the work of reflecting on what difference that presence makes  Sunday School teachers give witness to who God is  Sunday School teachers also help students know how the big truths about God intersect with their daily lives

 These “laws” are principles—only principles.  When it comes to carrying out His purposes, God does not use principles but He uses people.  Your success depends not on your knowledge of these laws, but on you as a person, and most strategically on your openness to God’s power in your life.  The key is not what you do for God but what you allow Him to do through you.  God wants to use you as his catalyst— and as you let Him transform and renew your thinking, you’ll be ready for his use.  Are you, therefore, willing to permit God to change you so you can truly impact others?