Field Trips

I just read something by Beth Moore this morning that got me thinking. She talked about how when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, it was not the first time He had taught that lesson to the disciples. The lesson was: greatness is found in humility. Service is leadership. I am your example of how to live your life like this. In other words, Jesus had already instructed, talked, and illustrated with words. There came a time, He realized, when the lesson had reached its maximum potential and it was necessary to go on a field trip. To learn through experience, demonstration, to illustrate not with words, but with physically doing.

I agree with Moore, that Jesus sometimes taught using field trips. How can I not take this to heart as a teacher and as a follower of Jesus? When I look back on my teaching methods these past three years, I can only recount a few times where my students learned through a filed-trip-esque approach (on my part). Did we ever venture outdoors? No. Even another part of the school? No. The best I can come up with is the time I had them do a frontloading activity (teacher jargon for something that will whet their appetite for a book before opening its front cover) which involved them to move by foot to the quadrant of my classroom that said they either agreed or disagreed with controversial/moral statements I was making, which related to the book's character's main struggles.

If only I'd had them play more games! The teacher down the hall did that and I was in perpetual awe of the way she managed to get students' bodies involved in the learning process, which is (I think we can ALL agree) overly cerebral. Even incoming med students love activities, such as a quasi-anthropological game called "Bafa Bafa," according to a woman I work for who also works at UMC. After all, life is not all mental, not even close. Although I never did get my students playing instructionally-adjusted games like Memory, Bingo, or something that required individual creation time, I suppose these little leaflet flipchart things we made, as well as the index card vocabulary project and stapleless mini-books, gave them a little outlet for that. But as far as an impressive illustration of a concept by doing, as Jesus did with the feet washing? I give you props for that Jesus -- I don't know how to cross into that Territory of the Deep. I want to, though.

And I have a jubilant and sneaking suspicion that maybe teaching this way actually isn't so hard. Maybe it's easier to do than contriving an elaborate, tiresome written lesson. (BTW, did you know that some rookie teachers start off my writing scripts for themselves to perform each and every class period?! Wow! I saw that in MTC. Those lucky students...who wouldn't benefit from such careful preparation. That's a true gift, and a job fully done. Others of you may be thinking, ugh, that's too much. I retort with, better too much than too little!)

Alright, now to shift the the religious side of the field trip analogy. I want to enter into a new phase of learning from the Messiah how to be His follower. Less instruction and mental agreement with Him; more doing, acting out the Word. That means to be His hands and feet (Thank you Audio Adrenaline, bastion of the Suburban-American-Christian teen's radio in the early oughts.). That means....

• comforting those in grief (visit the mourning, lonely, imprisoned, sick)
• aiding those in distress (providing housing, food, materials, resources [beyond physical, too- our time, labor, social capital, etc.] where they've been depleted or are depressed)
• giving lavishly when the opportunity presents itself (giving others and the church our money, time, assets, labor)
• giving routinely, when we think there's no opportunity/ability for us to do so
• giving joyfully, out of the abundance He's given us
• returning good for ill to our enemies (not cursing, hindering, or punishing them, but showing grace and offering peace however best we can. This involves guarding our tongue and not allowing anger to control us, and praying for our enemies' healing.)
• resisting sin, both in our relationships with others and in social systems (speaking against it, avoiding tempting situations, confessing [rather than hiding or rationalizing or comparing or minimizing or denying] my own sin, rebuking and not following worldly patterns)
• strengthening our brothers (in regular fellowship, sharing our trials and how God's helped us through each.)
• sharing God's love, the story of redemption He has written for His children by the life of His Son, the Gospel, with a confidence and urgency that reflects the depth of our belief that this News really is Good.

Let's review all the verbs I just wrote: comforting, visiting, aiding, giving, guarding, praying, resisting, speaking, avoiding, rebuking, strengthening, sharing. Not only accepting and meditating on Jesus. This is part of the body of the Gospel: to learn by doing.

I need an action plan. Take me on a field trip, Jesus; this classroom of the daily life of comfort I choose is growing stuffy...