Even in Teaching

Today for homecoming chapel, we honored the CIU class of '59 and the Thompson family of whom many attended CIU. One of the speakers was from the Thompson family and he talked about his influence. The first influence he spoke of was a teacher named "Buck" Hatch. This man must have been amazing because I have heard a ton about him! As the speaker went on, he talked about what Buck Hatch had done as a teacher that was so great. I was on the edge of my seat. Then, he spoke of the best part of Buck's teaching. Can you guess what it was? Humility. I sat back. Really? This topic, again? Despite all that this teacher did, humility made him great. Wow.

Let me give you an example, real quick. This teacher once came to class and said to his students that he had no word to give them because it had not yet gotten into his heart. So, he dismissed the class. I don't know many that would admit that their heart was not right and actually not teach that day. I have a lot to learn.

Humility, Humility, Humility

God, I think I get it! You want to teach me about humility!

In the past month, I really feel that God is throwing humility at me over and over and over. Recently, Piper preached a sermon on humility, boundless.org had an article on humility, Driscoll preached a sermon on humility, and my books here and here keep talking about humility. Enough already! Oh, and if that's not enough, let's have a PowerPoint on it in class with a list of questions to, well, humble me.

1. Do you have a stronger desire to do your will than God’s will?

2. Are you more dependent upon your resources than God’s?

3. Do you often believe your opinions are better than others?

4. Do you often consider yourself as more important than others?

5. Do you have a tendency to think you have no needs?

6. Do you find it difficult to admit that you were wrong?

7. Do you have a tendency to be a people pleaser?

8. Are you overly concerned about getting the credit you think you deserve?

9. Are you driven to obtain recognition from degrees, titles, or positions?

10. Do you often consider yourself as more important than others?

11. Do you become defensive when you are criticized?

That's not all. There's much more to the PowerPoint on what humility is and is not. If you're interested, let me know and I can send it to you.

As a result, I feel humbled knowing how prideful I am. Every day there seems to be one or twenty blows to my pride. You're probably thinking "Wow, that's really good." And indeed, you are right. However, it's hard to have that perspective when the blows keep coming in unexpected ways throughout the day. The resources cited above are knowledge, but God keeps speaking to me through experiences, which are the real lessons.

Well, I have a meeting so I can't continue on talking about the impact of some of the books from class. Let me just say that if I am in contact with you, I might mention some of these "textbooks" to you over and over. They're that good.

Dropped Course & Transformation

Well, first off, I made some changes to the last two posts because I dropped a class. My favorite class, actually. I was sad to do it, but it made sense. Why? Well, after following advice from a good friend, Shannon, I tried to figure out why I'm here at CIU. Why am I here, you ask? I believe I'm here to know Christ more intimately and to find out what role He has for me in His great plan. When I looked at my schedule, I realized I would only have time to be a student if I kept all five classes. I would be pressed for time and unable to open up my life to hallmates or classmates. If I am to find out how God has gifted me, I have to do something! And, this can't happen if all I do is sit in my room to read and write. Then the next decision was to decide what class to drop. In looking at my five classes, only Systematic Theology didn't fit into my purpose for being here. This was confirmed by my adviser. So, I dropped it.

In other news, I'm finding some good community here! I am connecting with more girls on my floor and with fellow seminary students. Man, the cafeteria is the best place to grow in community! Food unites. Without a meal plan, I would hardly know anyone here. So, I'm thankful for growing in community. One thing that I have heard many times here is "Transformation happens when you're within 3 feet of another person." It's so true. Two of my classes have small groups and I also have a hall small group that I'm privileged to co-facilitate. Plus, this past weekend was a mandatory retreat with Grad Life and we continued our small group from the Spiritual Formations class.

To be honest, I feel like there's so much learning that I'm overwhelmed. It's good, and yet it's also hard. I have a desire to grow more and more, but only a small ability to do so in such a short amount of time. Please pray for me, that I will simply trust God to do His work