Mastering Teaching

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Secular education seeks to make better, more effective, more successful, more intelligent people. The Christian educator aspires to nothing less than the transformation of a believer into the image of Christ.
—Howard Hendricks

As a teenager I was offered a scholarship to Northwestern University as a premed student. I am fascinated by the human body and love to watch surgery. But one year before going there the Lord impressed upon me: I could work on the body, which ultimately would deteriorate and die, or I could work on the soul, which will last forever.

I chose to be a physician of the soul. I gave up the scholarship and went to Wheaton College to prepare for ministry. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made, for I've become convinced that Christian education, my field of ministry, is one of the highest of all callings.

I've also become convinced that pastors and Christian educators need to keep reminding themselves of the unique role of Christian education.

All around us we see status given to secular education. Children spend the bulk of their childhood in it. School board elections can become the focus of the entire community. Universities are the center of society's greatest research and most profound discoveries. The media constantly seek the opinions of university professors.

Amid all that, pastors and Christian educators are likely to feel like second-class educators, people who "merely" teach the Christian faith, while "real" educators are out there shaping the world.

Nothing could be further from the truth. So periodically, I like to remind myself and other Christian educators and pastors about the difference between secular education and our calling. Ultimately, I believe it's like the difference between ...

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