I treasure the relationships I have with students. Last night Michelle and I had dinner with one of our great young men I teach and mentor with his wife. They also serve at our church and are in our Young Pros ministry. We were joined by our daughter and her boyfriend and another young man and young lady we are just getting to know by God’s grace.
Teaching involves a lot more than what happens in a classroom. It involves investment. For instance, I had a great conversation with another one of our outstanding students this week. A bright, passionate follower of Christ, this young lady also actively participates in our Young Pros ministry. She has taken several of my classes as well, including being a part of Team Cape Town this summer.
We talked about decisions she had made, good decisions–some wise choices. She described how she sensed great peace once she stepped out in faith on the immediate, next chapter of her life.
I had her given her the book Quitter by Jon Acuff.; in fact, I bought five copies and am passing them around like candy to different young adults. It is an excellent read, but for many young adults like this one, it served to show at least a couple of things. First, it encouraged her to remember that while she is preparing in school she is not wasting time; she is still ministering to people, growing, and learning more how she can glorify God with her life.
But it pushed her in a second way, and that is pretty much the point of the book (read it for yourself). She realized there were some tangible things she could be doing now to prepare for what she believed God has put in her heart. This would include preparing things that she may never actually use, but they will in doing them help to prepare her for when she does have further opportunities in the future. In her case the “thing” includes mentoring and teaching young ladies, and writing.
We talked about her starting a blog, not for anyone to read, just for her to get started writing. If you have a passion for writing like her, stop thinking about writing a whole book. Don’t even focus on getting known just now. Just write. Blog. Journal. Start. No one has to read it. Just move.
I also encouraged her to start preparing lessons even before she had a place to teach them. Such preparation would prove helpful practically, but would also demonstrate her belief in a God Who uses His children for His glory.
That leads me to one more thing she needed, something so many young people need. Something I needed. No, something I need. She needed encouragement. I am like her dad here at SEBTS, and as noted above I have had her in a few classes. I know her well enough to know she is a remarkable young adult with a great love for Christ and His gospel and the hand of God on her life. She just needs encouragement.
A great leader sees the potential in those they lead that they do not see in themselves. So I encourage. I push. I try to help those God brings into my life to see what they could be, and not to start later. Now is the time, even while in school, even while young, to start preparing.
I told my class today about how as a young pastor I began doing outreach even though our little church had reached no one for years when I came. And soon God began to bless. He began to send people to us seeking Christ. “If you visit those you don’t reach, you will reach those you don’t visit,” I told my class. Why is that?
Because God honors expectancy. He responds to faith. When we have a dream to live our lives for Him, we should do more than sit around and daydream about it. We should do more than talk about it. We should begin acting on it. I started teaching long before I got a job as a professor: I taught at a senior citizens’ home, I taught Sunday school, I taught anywhere I could get someone to listen. I wrote a lot, I mean a LOT of articles that were never published anywhere back in the day.
I believe God is going to use this young lady in a remarkable way. And I want to help.
What do you believe strongly right now that God is shaping you to be and do for His glory? What are you doing to prepare? Or, who are you encouraging?
By the way, yesterday I wrote about discouragement. One of the best ways to overcome discouragement is by finding someone else to encourage. And I will do that today.
