We model what we want to see
We follow the One whose very life was his message.
Image by Sophie Killingley
The lecturer entered the lecture hall bellowing, ‘What questions do you have about the assigned reading?’ The room went silent. No one engaged.
by Rev Greg Bakker
The lecturer then raised the temperature in the hall. ‘Please take out your exam booklets,’ he replied. ‘If you don’t have any questions, I’m assuming that you have mastered the content and are ready to demonstrate this.’
Hands were quickly raised in hopes of heading off an exam few were adequately prepared to sit. What followed was extraordinary. There was no lecture. There was only engagement around the questions, insights and connections of the learners in the room. Sometimes questions raised were even answered by other students.
I was in that lecture hall. I was profoundly changed that day. What Ted Hamilton, “lecturer” in Geography, did was transform me into an active participant in my own learning. His whole approach to teaching was to model what he expected of himself and what he wanted to see in us – participative learners who were curious, questioning, noticed patterns and able to explain our understanding of content to someone else in a way which contributed to their learning. His medium was his message.
One of the key values of Pioneering Parishes is ‘we model what we want to see’. In many ways, this aspiration is the pinnacle. It is the value into which all our other values flow. This value is the commitment to embody who we aspire to be in the little and big things we do. The implication is that if, for example, we aspire to be creative and pay attention to the use of power, we will cultivate systems, ways of going about things which in themselves convey our aspirations. The medium of communication, as people say, becomes the message.
This, of course, isn’t fancy corporate speak. It is deeply Christian for we follow the One whose very life was his message.
Come along to Values Day to find out more about modelling what you want to see. Book your place now.
