Teaching with Passion

Last week I began teaching my second semester class at Victoria Baptist Bible College. The feeling I experienced during the first class session was very different from the one I felt when beginning first semester. I didn't know the student who I was teaching, had very little experience in teaching on campus, and was not totally sure what would be expected of me during the class. All these things made a bit nervous when teaching my first class in April. But my first second semester class session last Tuesday was totally different.

Actually this new attitude started about a month and a half ago. I was reading from a book on leadership that discussed the importance of being passionate about what we do. The author began to explain that many individuals do their jobs without energy, enthusiasm, or creativity. While they accomplish their jobs these individuals are left feeling unsatisfied because it isn't something they are passionate about.

As I read from the book it became clear that I was one of those people with no passion. I covered all of the information that I had in that class and did it very well. And I did put energy and hard work towards my teaching. But there was no real passion in first semester. I completed my goals, but did not look forward to teaching during the week. The morning I read about the importance of passion I decided that next semester would be different.

I began by thinking about the burden that God has placed upon my heart. It was a calling for discipleship that teaches truth in a practical way. Then I developed a teaching style that fit with that calling. Last year my teaching style involved covering the questions or reading that the student completed the night before. Then I would take some time to focus on the Biblical principles found in that lesson. There may have been some discussion questions at the end.

This semester the class session still revolves around the students homework. But pointing out the principles in that class work is not the end. Instead I use illustrations to show how the principle works in daily life. Some come from research and others come from personal experience. I also use video clips and audio to illustrate the truth that we discussed during the class session.

One of the core values in my class this semester is being able to think about what you have learned. In other words, it is not important to just know information. But the student should be able to think about the principles he learned. In most classes I bring up a hypothetical situation or belief that is different than the one he holds to see if he can defend his view or show the weaknesses of others.

Another core value is application. We get into many interesting conversations about how the Biblical Truths we learned can be applied to the Australian Culture. As I write this article I am excitedly thinking about tomorrows class period when we discuss whether sarcasm (good natured joking is a huge part of the Australian culture) is honoring to God. I realize that it has only been a few classes, but I truly feel that God is using my teaching ministry more now.

What does that mean for the rest of us? Find the passion, burden, or dream that you have from God and invest your time in it. It is true that not everyone that not everyone can do something that they are passionate about (current statistics tell us few are). But we can all find those passions and invest our time, energy, and perhaps finances into them. Even if it is for a few moments each week, taking time to do something you love makes a real difference. It will give you an excitement and adrenaline rush that is absolutely amazing.