Teaching in the Spirit

By Willie Jackson

Most teachers attain their college degrees and believe that is their only backing in being a successful educator. Yet, there are moments when school handbooks, old textbooks, and development workshops cannot offer any help in dealing with an ordeal at school. It could range from dealing with a student that lacks a stable foundation in the home or the right words to comfort a student that needs the confidence to express her God-given talents. This book can serve as a vehicle to ignite that passion within teachers so that they can lead their students towards their rightful paths. The passages and verses from the Bible (NIV) will give a teacher insight and clarity on how to deal with everyday trials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Feb 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452545516

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Don’t Be Afraid

Say the Right Thing

Do The Right Thing

Who Cares For the Poor?

Listen Carefully

Faith Overrides Despair

Hope Born Out of Despair

Accepting the Call

Rewards of Faithfulness

Obedient Living

Laying Foundation

Facing Our Unbelief

Playing a Supportive Role

Mission Accomplished

The Power of Jesus

Enlist Help

Partnering in Mission

Encouraging Words

Purposeful Friendships

Preparing the Way

Getting Back on Track

Hope For The Future

Celebrating Victories

Conclusion

About the Author

References

For the students that have come along my path

and my daughter, Megan

Introduction

I remember one morning I was at the kitchen table reading the Bible. I cannot recall the particular scripture but I do remember what came over me. I started off just by reading line by line. I read a verse and then the next, as if reading any other book. I was even eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes at the same time, so my attention was not solely on the text. Yet, I’m not sure when but my cereal intake became less frequent and my reading slowed down a bit, so slow that I read each line breathing in every word as if it were my only fuel for living. The sentences spoke to me, unveiling a secret that was only disclosed to me in that given moment. Images were created in mind’s eye awakening my senses to a higher sensation. I could not stop reading. I was in so deep. It seemed like you were in another world, my wife later mentioned to me when she witnessed the intense interaction of the Bible and I. She was right I was in another world but more like a higher spiritual level. It was a divine level where I could actually feel the presence of Jesus and our thoughts were one. When I left the kitchen table I was at peace and was filled with such clarity that dismissed all confusion that was once present.

Since then, I start every morning reading from the Bible, even on those rushed school mornings when I have to wake up my daughter, take out the trash and iron my clothes. It is part of my morning routine. I make time for it, and it is not something that I feel obligated to do but something I look forward to do. The very act expands awareness and I know what steps to take. I have been a teacher for a number of years and everyday is a learning experience. There are moments when I cannot rely on my Masters in Education to figure out what choices to make or what actions to take. Yet, when I started making time to meditate on the scripture I relied on just that, the scripture. Job, Proverbs, Matthew, John, Esther, among others, were my teachers and they gave me clear instruction. I coined the term, Teaching in the Spirit in which a physical education in teaching is then balanced with a spiritual meditation, or education, on the Bible. It is my mantra.

As a teacher, I have the ability to make a student a success or a failure. I can do the ordinary and walk in the classroom, write a lesson on the board, sit at my desk and never leave it until the clock rings at 3:00pm. It is a pretty uneventful day that leaves the students and I unfulfilled and stagnant. Yet, I am moved to do the extraordinary and make contact with each and every student in my classroom to make sure that they are a success. I look at each student as a child of God, as we all are, yearning to be loved and cared for. Yes, my role as a teacher does not call for me to act this way but I feel God has lead me to do so. In my years of Teaching in the Spirit, I have seen the changes in my students and how the scripture is a vehicle for this change … a change for the better. The following passages are experiences that have enhanced my goal to teach in the spirit, and ultimately to live in the spirit.

Don’t Be Afraid

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

My son attended Abilene Christian University for his undergraduate education. He had received a scholarship to play football, yet he walked away with more than just a few injuries and weight gain but cultivated a strong spiritual foundation. The school was set in the north, rural part of Texas and upholds a Bible-belt atmosphere. Christian values lingered in every corner, crevice of the city. You stuck out like a sore thumb if you spoke of anything other than Christianity. The university only emphasized its stronghold on Christian values. So, when I attended my son’s graduation dinner I was not surprised to find that the majority of the graduates were embarking on spiritual journeys or had already experienced revelations