What have you learned in all your years of education and experience
that you could use in the marketplace? What can you do to expand your
impact on others?
I’ve been preparing for my next teaching assignment with Mt. Vernon Nazarene University. I’m an adjunct professor and I've been asked to teach Financial Management to a classroom full of adults in an accelerated degree-completion program. Why do I do it? Don’t I already have enough to do? Good questions.
The truth is I love to teach. It’s one of my spiritual gifts, along with administration. But I guess there are other, less demanding ways to exercise my gift.
I do it because it forces me to stay a “learner.” I’m forced to master the ideas and concepts in the textbooks before I can explain and teach them to the students. That keeps me fresh and current with ideas and trends that help me to be a better church manager. It expands my thinking so that I can look at situations or problems more broadly.
I helps me develop my ability to think clearly and speak publicly. Adult students are different than 19-year olds. They ask tough questions. When you step into the classroom for four hours, you better be prepared. It challenges me to find and present resources that are compelling and relevant so that the material comes alive. I think that helps me to be a better communicator overall.
It places me among a group of people that don’t particularly care that I’m a pastor. I have to go back to the drawing board so to speak, in thinking through how I can present my faith naturally and effectively.
