Today begins our faculty workshop for the new school year. Thus I begin my 30th year of teaching. What have I learned in this time? That the essence and heart of teaching is shepherding (rather than research and writing and lecturing). That Christian education is likeness education (Luke 6:40). That students have legitimate rights: the right that their lectures be intrinsically interesting and inherently worthwhile; that the professor be available outside of class and be willing to care for them personally; the right to have their papers and other assignments returned in a timely fashion; to have their classes begin and end on time; the right to be treated with respect and dignity, even when the professor disagrees with them; to be taught not what to think but how to think biblically and logically. I've learned that my main task in teaching is not disseminating information but motivating students to be all that God is calling them to be; that all learning is self-learning (even in a lecture, we listen and remember selectively); that fill-in-the-blank and multiple guess tests are usually worthless; that students should want to come to class and not be required to do so; that collegiality among faculty is not an option but is essential to good teaching; that good administrators make all the difference in the world when it comes to academic effectiveness; and that the best legacy I can leave behind me are students who are fully committed to following the Lord Jesus in humble obedience to the teachings of His Word. How much of my teaching in the past 30 years has been wood, hay, and stubble? The Day will reveal it. But I imagine that a good deal of my work has been done in the "strength" of the flesh and has been tainted by my humanness. I know one thing for sure: If God has accomplished anything, it has been through an unworthy and weak vessel. So here's my prayer for this day of new beginnings:

Help me, Lord Jesus! Help me to have Thy mind this semester, help me to esteem others as more important than myself, help me to look out for the interests of others and not for my own selfish gains. Let me be nothing more than an earthen pot of clay in which the surpassing greatness of the power is Thine, and not mine. For Thy glory's sake, Amen.

Have a wonderful school year!