In class we applied the characteristics of emerging churches to our case studies. I feel like I could have monopolized our small group discussion with all my ideas for the classroom!
By its very nature, my case study is transforming the secular realm (2) of public school and would be very communal (3) if I lived in the same neighborhood.
The one that perhaps made me think the most, however, was sharing generously (5). There are probably a million ways this could be lived out as a teacher: in relationship with students, families, staff members, administrators, and community members, with my time, resources, and ideas. In fact the easy part is recognizing ways to be generous. The hard part comes in being able to recognize my own limitations and how to maintain a healthy balance.
I am excited to put all of this into practice and at the same time I am exhausted just thinking about it. Relationships can be hard for me. I am an introvert by nature and that isn’t going to change. A day of teaching and being “on” drains my energy and I need time to recharge without people to be ready to start the whole thing over the next day and the next and the next. That doesn’t figure in the before school conference with the principal, the lunch meeting with my co-teacher, the parents that stop by after school and want to chat, the community meeting in the evening, my neighbor that stops by to talk, the phone calls and emails that pile up.
I pray that God will show me how to trust that he will provide the right amount of energy for the right amount of activity each day and teach me wisdom to recognize when I am pushing past his will for me into my own abilities and ideas of what I think I should get accomplished.
