Have you ever taken a college class where the professor was downright incompetent? As a linguist, I sometimes find myself stuck in language classes which were very arbitrarily thrown together. While the Defense Language Institute is famous for its breakneck pace and rigidly structured curriculum, some of the smaller language schools the Navy subcontracts to for shorter classes are abysmally poorly prepared. I don't ultimately blame the school; the fact is that many of the languages I'm expected to learn are relatively unknown to non-natives, and finding a local native speaker who actually has professional teaching experience is almost a one-in-a-million shot. Sometimes I'm literally placed into a classroom with nothing but a notebook and a foreign immigrant and ordered to learn.
In situations such as this, it behooves one to be proactive about one's learning. When a "teacher" is woefully unprepared to provide structured learning, it becomes your job to ask smart questions, seek out supplementary resources, and ultimately to take control of your own learning process rather than passively waiting to be fed. Some teachers take it as a personal affront if you suggest to them that perhaps their teaching style, or lack thereof, could be improved upon. In those situations, cultural and interpersonal differences can sometimes turn ugly.
While it can be a tolerable inconvenience to have a bad teacher in a collegiate setting, in my current line of work people's lives may very well depend upon my ability to provide accurate and timely translation. There simply isn't time to waste when learning a new language for the military.
We have all dealt with bad instructors at some point in our lives. Unfortunately, some of them mistake their role as a teacher for the idea that they somehow control us, or that they are the infallible lord of knowledge to whom we must bow if we expect to receive any of their precious insights. One place where I see this often, sadly, is in church.
In situations such as this, it behooves one to be proactive about one's learning. When a "teacher" is woefully unprepared to provide structured learning, it becomes your job to ask smart questions, seek out supplementary resources, and ultimately to take control of your own learning process rather than passively waiting to be fed. Some teachers take it as a personal affront if you suggest to them that perhaps their teaching style, or lack thereof, could be improved upon. In those situations, cultural and interpersonal differences can sometimes turn ugly.
While it can be a tolerable inconvenience to have a bad teacher in a collegiate setting, in my current line of work people's lives may very well depend upon my ability to provide accurate and timely translation. There simply isn't time to waste when learning a new language for the military.
We have all dealt with bad instructors at some point in our lives. Unfortunately, some of them mistake their role as a teacher for the idea that they somehow control us, or that they are the infallible lord of knowledge to whom we must bow if we expect to receive any of their precious insights. One place where I see this often, sadly, is in church.
In my last post, I essentially said that "bad preaching is better than no preaching." While I wholeheartedly believe that anyone who acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord is essentially on the same side as me, it's fair to say that not all who preach Jesus are necessarily good at it. One of the reasons why I left DC Metro Church is because even though I respect much of the work being done by the people of that congregation, I still have to call B.S. on the actions and scriptural interpretations of a few key people.
The entire purpose of the torn veil at the crucifixion was to symbolize that, once and for all, the barriers between God and man had been utterly destroyed. That means that, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you need absolutely nobody's permission, approval, or intercession in order to talk to God. When you sign a membership agreement at a Church, you may be giving them your written consent to submit to their spiritual leadership, but in my mind that consent carries conditions. Most importantly, my submission is predicated on the condition that the Church will make their best effort to bring me closer to God, and encourage me in doing the work of His Kingdom. I never signed up to build 17 campuses. I also definitely didn't agree to put my money in the plate, especially once you started cutting the altar call to make more time for the offering.
One thing I'm realizing lately, both at work and at church, is that when faced with a bad teacher, it becomes necessary to reevaluate the numerous scriptures about "submission to authority" and start taking a more proactive role in directing your own way. These words were echoed by the founding fathers of our nation, where they succinctly stated that when a leader loses sight of his people's best interests, that leader's authority is no longer valid.
Pastors and clergy enjoy a special position of honor within the Church. It is fitting and proper that they be accorded the respect deserving of their position. That being said, we are also known collectively as the priesthood of all believers, which means that nobody is allowed to lord their position over me and demand my loyalty. My loyalties belong first and foremost to God and Jesus Christ, not to any man, clergy or otherwise.
I encourage you by all means to seek guidance and counseling from pastors. That being said, don't ever let a man's word be the final authority on the rightness of your walk with Christ. Study and show yourself approved.
The entire purpose of the torn veil at the crucifixion was to symbolize that, once and for all, the barriers between God and man had been utterly destroyed. That means that, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you need absolutely nobody's permission, approval, or intercession in order to talk to God. When you sign a membership agreement at a Church, you may be giving them your written consent to submit to their spiritual leadership, but in my mind that consent carries conditions. Most importantly, my submission is predicated on the condition that the Church will make their best effort to bring me closer to God, and encourage me in doing the work of His Kingdom. I never signed up to build 17 campuses. I also definitely didn't agree to put my money in the plate, especially once you started cutting the altar call to make more time for the offering.
One thing I'm realizing lately, both at work and at church, is that when faced with a bad teacher, it becomes necessary to reevaluate the numerous scriptures about "submission to authority" and start taking a more proactive role in directing your own way. These words were echoed by the founding fathers of our nation, where they succinctly stated that when a leader loses sight of his people's best interests, that leader's authority is no longer valid.
Pastors and clergy enjoy a special position of honor within the Church. It is fitting and proper that they be accorded the respect deserving of their position. That being said, we are also known collectively as the priesthood of all believers, which means that nobody is allowed to lord their position over me and demand my loyalty. My loyalties belong first and foremost to God and Jesus Christ, not to any man, clergy or otherwise.
I encourage you by all means to seek guidance and counseling from pastors. That being said, don't ever let a man's word be the final authority on the rightness of your walk with Christ. Study and show yourself approved.
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