Are You a Teacher? You are!

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Teaching? Yeah. This week I've had a recurring thought. I am a teacher. It isn't simply my occupation, my job. It's a large part of my identity. In fact, it doesn't even matter if I don't have a classroom right now. Or whether or not I have a class roster, or an attendance book, or even a grade book. I am a Teacher. And, (this is really what has me thinking HARD), because I AM a teacher, IF I AM TALKING, I AM TEACHING. Corollary: EVEN IF I AM NOT TALKING, I AM STILL TEACHING. Now the question is less about WHO am I teaching, and more about WHAT am I teaching? If anyone reads my posts on Facebook or other social media: what are they learning FROM me? What are they learning ABOUT me? It's quite astonishing to think that I learn a lot about people by what they post, share, like on Facebook. Makes me stop and think about what I post, share, like on Facebook. Right?

If I encounter someone OUT THERE, in the world outside my four walls, what am I showing them? Am I showing them Fear? Am I showing them that I am foolishly disregarding all advice about limiting my social interactions, maintaining a safe distance? Hopefully, with a smile and a wave and a nod, and maybe, if we're both moving slowly enough, a friendly exchange of some words.

Hey, think about those people who are your students. I spent some time recently with one of my grandsons. He doesn't watch the news. He doesn't know about COVID-19 or social distance or any of the other things that most of the rest of us are thinking about, talking about, worrying about. Whenever I'm around him, I'm definitely teaching. And, strange as it may sound, today, he was teaching me, too. Life is still happening. It's different right now. For sure. It's almost the end of March as I'm writing this. April Fools Day is just a few days away now. It's going to be April, and really Spring! The sun is going to shine. The temperatures will get warmer. And this present thing will eventually be over, and the next thing will begin.

May my teaching reach beyond this present grim moment and look ahead to the time after this time. There's a lot more to learn, and a lot more to teach.

Class dismissed.

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 30: Influencers

Today, on this last day of the original challenge/exercise, I am expressing my thanks to God for all of the men and women that He has used in my life to influence me over the past 50 years. Some have been in my life the entire time, and others have passed through more quickly. Still others simply brushed past me and jostled me as we passed.

I have in mind today those who were, have been, and are “live” players in my life, including mentors, teachers, leaders, and friends whose voice I have heard and whose touch I have felt. I am also thinking, however, of those who have stirred me without knowing it. Some, even, have influenced me even after they have departed this life. Not in some eerie, ghostlike phantasm but in the form of the words that they left behind, written down on pages for anyone to read.

“No man is an island,” John Donne said. The man that I am today, and the man that I shall become, has been and is being shaped and fashioned by a host of influencers. It is quite likely that, if you are reading this, to have been, you are, and/or you will be one of the influencers in my life. Thank you, and thanks be to God for you.

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30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 21: My "Job"

Today, I am thankful for my "job." I put the word in quotes because I don't think of my work as a job in the normal or traditional sense. As a pastor, I think of my work as a "calling" or an "assignment" from God, who is my "Boss." I don't mean to reduce God to the mundane by saying this. Everyone would not agree with how I view my work as pastor, but in my mind, I signed up for God's team back when I was a teenager and I made a decision to "dedicate my life to God." Back then I told Him that I would do whatever He assigned to me (though inwardly I was putting certain conditions on that), little imagining that He would accept my offer.

Anyway, God has given me a number of assignments along the way, and I've enjoyed them all in varying degrees. My current assignment, though, is my favorite so far. I am really enjoying the work God has given me to do among the First Family at First Baptist Church in Newburgh, and I am very thankful to God that He has given me this particular assignment.

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 19: My Pastors

Today in my thoughts of thankfulness marches a squad of remarkable men. These men have little in common in their outward appearance. Some are tall, some slim, some erect, some bent over. Some are smiling and cheerful in their countenance, while others wear a grim visage.

These men are my Pastors. Each one has had the role of shepherd in my life, and I render honor and respect to every one of them. Some taught me by their words, some showed my by their example, and a few did both consistently. Some little part of each one of these men has molded and shaped the person I am today, and the person I am becoming. I liken them to the tools a master craftsman carries in his toolbox. Each tool has a particular purpose and is used to accomplish a particular task. The hammer is used to drive nails home and to tap the chisel. The file and the rasp are used to shape and smooth. The screwdriver is used to...well, anyway,  the sandpaper and polishing cloth are used to smooth and finish the job. God has used each of the men on my list to do in my life what God knew needed to be done at that time in my life. I thank God for these men, and for those who are still living and serving God, I honor them and pray for their continued fruitfulness. This list is generally organized in chronological order.

Pastor Jack Beukema, First Baptist Church, Afton, NY
Pastor Howard Carlson, First Baptist Church, Afton, NY
Pastor Louis Caruana, First Baptist Church, Afton, NY
Pastor Ken Rogers, Berean Bible Church, Greene, NY
Pastor Joseph Mugglesworth, Lehigh Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Pastor Tom Rauch, Lehigh Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Pastor Ken Wilcox, First Baptist Church, Bristol, PA
Pastor James Bates, Mansfield Baptist Church, Port Murray, NJ
Pastor Don Stone, Victory Baptist Church, Berlin, Germany
Pastor Mike Peper, First Baptist Church, Aston, PA
Pastor Bruce Baker, Immanuel Bible Church, Campbell Hall, NY
Pastor Cam Thompson, First Baptist Church, Newburgh, NY

And, in a unique ministry to me,

Pastor Don Ashley, Scipio Community Church, Scipio Center, NY and Highland Bethel Evangelical Mennonite Church, Fort Wayne, IN.

Thank you, Pastors. God has blessed me through your ministry.

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 18: Goshen Christian School

Today I am thanking God for the students, teachers, staff and parents that shared their experiences with me at the Goshen Christian School from 1997-1999 and 2009-2010, during the 3 years that I taught Bible at the school. In my first at-bat, I taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Bible classes (and threw in a Health class and even P.E.) In my second at-bat, I taught 7-8th grades, and 9-11th grades.

During these years at the school, I made some great friendships with a group of very professional educators. These teachers did not limit their lessons to their students or their classrooms--they all taught me as well. They welcomed me into their circle and never made me feel like an outsider, and treated me as a valued colleague.

I enjoyed the classroom experience and the challenge of bringing timeless truth to eager young minds, and even a few not-so-eager young minds. From time to time, I think of those mornings on bus duty, greeting students as they arrived for the day, and those afternoons, sending them on their way.

The clock does not turn backward, and days gone by are gone. So, I thank God for the Goshen Christian School, and I thank God for memories, so that gone does not have to mean forgotten.

Father, please bless my friends from Goshen Christian School today--teachers, staff, parents and students--wherever they find themselves. They are under your watchful Eye and protective Hand, I know. Thank You.