Welcome to the premier issue of 21st Century Christian’s e-Teacher Digest, an online, monthly resource for teachers, education directors, youth ministers, and more. Our goal is to provide you with trends, statistics, new products, book reviews, quotes, and other useful information to help you in your role as a teacher. We’ll even include some humor to lift you up! Thanks for joining us in this endeavor.
A TV news camera crew was on assignment in southern Florida filming the widespread destruction of Hurricane Andrew.
In one scene, amid the devastation and debris stood one house on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when a reporter approached him.
“Sir, why is your house the only one still standing?” asked the reporter. “How did you manage to escape the severe damage of the hurricane?”
“I built this house myself,” the man replied. “I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for two-by-six roof trusses, I used two-by-six roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did, and it did. I suppose no one else around here followed the code.”
When the sun is shining and the skies are blue, building our lives on something other than the guidelines in God’s Word can be tempting. But there’s only one way to be ready for a storm.
David R. Culver
“Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground.”
God’s Little Instruction Book Class of 2006
Family News In Focus
Christian Purchasing Power Prevails to Reach the Lost
(December 18, 2006)
A new report from Baylor University finds that nearly 12-percent of Americans spend more than $50 a month on religious products; a third of them made that purchase in a Christian bookstore last year. Jerry Park with Baylor University says even non-Christians are buying religious products.
“This suggests that religion is not just simply the thing that happens on Sunday. But really it affects all parts of our culture and all parts of our society.”
Park says Christian retail growth is evidence that people of faith have always seen the marketplace as a way to reach a lost world.
“Contrary maybe to some people’s stereotypes, of Christian life being very austere and non-consumer oriented, Christians of all different denominations actually use a lot of products that have some sort of a religious angle to them.”
According to Christian book sales, the best-selling Christian book this year and every year is the Bible.
A third-grade Sunday school teacher was uneasy about the lesson “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” By way of introduction she asked, “Would someone please explain what adultery means?”
A young sage answered matter-of-factly, “Adultery is when a kid lies about his age.”
Jonathan R. Mutchler
THE BARNA UPDATE (October 31,2006)
A New Generation of Adults Bends Moral and Sexual Rules to Their Liking
(Ventura, CA) – Do Americans share much common ground when it comes to defining appropriate moral behavior and attitudes? Most Americans say they are concerned about the moral condition of the country and the vast majority of adults describe themselves as moral people.
But the nation’s residents have difficulty agreeing on what a “moral” life should look like – much less how to make ethical decisions or how to define moral standards. A new nationwide survey from The Barna Group examines one of the largest gaps in the moral persuasions of Americans: the difference between those in their twenties and thirties (an age group comprised primarily of the so-called “Buster” generation) and those over the age of 40.
For instance, more than two-thirds of the generation said that cohabitation and sexual fantasies are morally acceptable behaviors, compared with half of older adults.
For the rest of the story – www.barna.org (Recent updates)
SEVEN LAWS OF THE LEARNER
by Bruce Wilkinson
The following is the first installment in a series taken from The Seven Laws of the Learner – How to Teach Almost Anything to Practically Anyone! by Bruce Wilkinson. These are time-tested principles to help you become a master teacher.
Each of the seven laws is discussed in two chapters. The first aims at changing your beliefs about teaching, and the second aims at changing your behavior as a teacher.
Chapter 1: Law One – The Law of the Learner
The essence of the Law of the Learner is these three words: “Cause to learn.” The teacher should accept the responsibility of causing the student to learn.
MAXIMS- a maxim is a brief statement of a general principle or truth, and therefore each of the maxims that follow reflects a different facet of “cause to learn.”
Maxim 1: Teachers are responsible for causing students to learn. The students are responsible to learn the material – but the teacher is responsible to cause them to know the material. At the very heart of The 7 Laws of the Learner is a total commitment to the full responsibility of the teacher to do everything in his or her power to cause the student to learn.
Maxim 2: Teachers will stand accountable to God for their influence. James 3:1 says “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (NIV). God views the role and responsibility of the teacher as very important.
Maxim 3: Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style, and speaker. The teacher has full control over what he teaches, the way he teaches, and over himself. The teacher has control over every major element in the teaching-learning process except one - the student! The teacher causes the student to learn by the correct and appropriate use of the subject, style, and speaker. Those three elements have the overwhelming power to cause the student to learn.
Maxim 4: Teachers should judge their success by the success of their students. The most important test of teacher effectiveness is student performance. It’s what the student does that counts, not what the teacher does. If the student has succeeded, then so has the teacher.
Maxim 5: Teachers impact more by their character and commitment than by their communication. “Who the teacher is” (character and commitment) is more influential than “what the teacher says” (communication). The timeless proverb “Actions speak louder than words” is true. When words and actions are in opposition actions always overpower words.
Maxim 6: Teachers exist to serve the students. Teachers exist to meet the needs of their students, not their own needs. This series will help us learn how to meet those student needs.
Maxim 7: Teachers who practice the Laws of the Learner and Teacher can become master teachers. Great teachers are made, not born. The best rarely are the people who have most natural talent, but rather those few who have a passion to fulfill their God-given talents and reach for their full potential.
Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up.
Joyce
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 Heaven: A Christian’s Journey Into Eternity by Dennis Doughty
As Christians our hope is not in this life, but the next. Focusing on the teachings of Jesus, Heaven provides a vivid and clear description of what happens to us at death, the resurrection, and the second coming of Christ. This Scripture-based study includes 12 chapters, informative charts, and discussion questions for class, small group, and personal use. ($11.99 paperback)
 As You Are Going by Dr. Joyce Hardin
Planning a short-term mission trip? By working through thirteen lessons, featuring Bible study and a variety of activities, leaders introduce mission concepts and principles to prepare teens, college groups and adults for campaigns, especially in a culture different from their own. Student book includes pages for note-taking, personal reflection, journaling, photos and a pocket for keepsakes. The teacher’s manual, available only on CD, contains simulation games and activities. ($12.99 each for Teacher’s Manual on CD or Student Journal).
 Thomas Nelson has produced a totally waterproof New Testament called “Immerse”. Its compact size (4.5” x 6.5”) makes it easy to pack for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Read it in the rain or while you’re soaking in the tub; you can’t hurt it. This New Century Version is always easy to read, impossible to drown! ($21.99 in orange or lime zippered cover).
Falling In Love With The Bible by Mike MacIntosh
“Most people would love to fall in love with the Bible- but tend to think of the Bible as a have to instead of a get to! If this is how you feel, it’s time to let one of America’s favorite ministers, Mike MacIntosh, help you start Falling in Love with the Bible! Mike will help you move beyond a sense of obligation (where the Bible is concerned) to the realization that the Bible is the way to discover true intimacy with God and to realize His presence in your life. The Bible is a personal message from God to you - and whatever situations you may face, you will find hope, wisdom, encouragement, and the very purpose for you life within its pages.” ($16.99 Hardcover)
Attend a 21st Century Christian Teacher Training Workshop in your area. Listed below are upcoming seminars.
• January 27 2007
Little Mountain Church of Christ
Winchester, TN (931) 967-4043
• February 3, 2007
Oxford Church of Christ
Oxford, MS (662) 234-1735
• February 10, 2007
O'Fallon Church of Christ
O'Fallon, MO (636) 272-3080
• February 10, 2007
West Central Church of Christ
St. Louis, MO (314) 367-0060
• March 3, 2007
Jefferson Ave. Church of Christ
Cookeville, TN (931) 526-4605
• March 30-31, 2007
Harding University
Searcy, AR
• March 31, 2007
Blacksburg Church of Christ
Blacksburg, VA ( 540) 552-1331
Just a reminder...
Spring quarter starts March 4th. Don't forget to order your curriculum!
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