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Sep 6, 2014    |      Comments Off on Having Done in Room 1501(Wk5 (Education > Classroom Academics)

Having Done in Room 1501(Wk5 (Education > Classroom Academics)

After last weeks blog I’ve been curious how this week’s blog would go in regards to what is being done in Room

Room 1501 pic.

 

 

I simply want to say this.  The administrative team at Joy Christian School are overwhelmingly supportive.   I am grateful for the team environment at Joy.  I don’t think I need to remind anybody that any conflict has the potential to cause great disaster…even a smaller conflict like the one I posted about last week.  The Bible says in James 3:5 referencing our tongue/mouth, “But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.”  The best way to snuff out a spark is to douse it with water.  I could have chosen to bring gasoline to the spark, but I’m grateful I chose water.  Are you bringing gasoline or water to your “fires”?  In John 4:14 of the Holy Bible, Jesus says, “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Does what you bring to a conflict/argument add life or bring death?

Sometimes we think it feels good to win arguments.  I’ve found, that most of the time, when I think I have won the argument…I actually lost the person in my win.  Can you relate?  I would warn us all to be careful in enjoying a battle we are winning, because our focus on just the battle may blind us to the fact that we are actually losing the war.  Some “wins” are not worth winning.  I’m grateful for how my meeting went.  

Enough about last week. This week flew by.  First of all, Labor Day weekend used up Monday, leaving Joy School with a 4 day school week.  Oh, I’m not complaining, 🙂  I’m just stating a fact.  The 3 day weekend was great.

The remaining 4 days were packed with what is called extra-curricular activity that caused a lot of interruptions in Rm 1501.  Many people needed to come into Rm 1501 to announce future events and bring clarity to school and church functions.  We had a picture day where every student had to leave class to go and get their school photo taken.  We had chapel on Wednesday.  We had our first, All-School Pep Rally….And, our football team and Spirit line had to leave early on Friday to head to Tucson, AZ to play Pusch Ridge Christian Acadamy in what was called the 7th most recommended football game to watch in the state of AZ this week!

Pusch Ridge was ranked 4th in the state in our division.  Joy Christian was ranked 7th.  Joy beat Pusch Ridge decisively 28-6.  (The competitor in me has to add that with 13 seconds left, we took a knee on the one yard line where we would have scored another touch down making the final score 34-6.  (The competitor in me grumbled about this classy and great sportsmanship decision by our coaching staff.) 🙂  It was a great decision!  I love the direction that JCS is going!

So, as you can tell, this past week was very challenging to get any academia completed in my 40 minute classes. I spoke briefly about this with one of Joy’s School Administrators.  I suppose it might have sounded close to complaining.  The administrator with a big smile looked at me and said, “Wow Trent, you are starting to sound like a teacher!”  I laughed.  They laughed too.  That comment stuck with me and I have thought about it further.

As a teacher, I have an agenda and a lesson plan that I want to accomplish every day…every week.  This agenda is full of academia…A very important thing.  But, is it the most important thing?  If I’m not careful I could easily slip into thinking that my academia lesson plan/agenda is the most important thing.  I must pause and remember to…

Never let school get in the way of our student’s education!  

education war

Academia is a part of education.  It is not all of education.

Education > Classroom Academia

Sports, Art, Extra Curricular activities, field trips, student council, free time, sick days, etc…are all a part of the world classroom’s education process.  The world is our classroom…nothing can truly be controlled and the best schools in the world accept this fact.  The best education is a diversified education.  Even the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 8:1, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”

The students in Room 1501 will get to spend the rest of their lives learning knowledge.  I am teaching the students of Room 1501 Bible Knowledge…and at 43 I am still learning it too.

I must make sure, in my attempts to transfer knowledge, to never forget…

LOVE is more important than KNOWLEDGE.

The love for sports, art, free time with friends, extra curricular activities, field trips, student council, and even being gone because of sickness is vital to a great education.   I think the most famous educators in the world would agree that the best knowledge is not learned in the academic classroom.  I think you would acknowledge this fact too.  Do you agree?

It was a crazy-busy week, but it was a great week.

Here comes MondayJCS Crest 2014

 

 

 

 

Aug 30, 2014    |      Comments Off on Having Done in Room 1501 (Week 4…is the “Honeymoon” over?)

Having Done in Room 1501 (Week 4…is the “Honeymoon” over?)

My first month of being a first time professional teacher is behind me.  As I look back with 20/20 hindsight I can’t think of a better place, to be a first time teacher, than Room 1501 at Joy Christian School.

JCS Crest 2014Room 1501 pic

 

It has been a blitzing kind of month.  I have never been so tired in my life, and at the same time, so content and blessed.

I consider it a privilege to be able to TEACH the Word of God at Joy Christian School everyday for High School Students.  I also get to PREACH the Word of God at different Churches around the country, and it is always a thrill to meet the people I get to speak to in these different churches…I’m getting ready to have a conversation with a church in PA where I hope to speak at in the near future.   So, not only do I get to teach and preach, I also get to LIVE out what I preach and teach about, through leading Return Hope International!  God is good.  All these ventures have just begun and sometimes that means slim pickings when it comes to income, but I have learned that God provides…and sometimes…He waits until the very last minute!  LOL…and that is perfectly fine with me.  He is God and I am not.  I will continue to do what He says and not tell Him how He should do it.

THIS WEEK IN ROOM 1501…I was reminded of something I already knew…but it was good to be reminded.

I encountered my first situation, that will probably end what can be called my Honeymoon phase as a new teacher. This past week, I encountered the reality that It’s not always gonna be fun in Room 1501.  Now, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.  That is just what life eventually does to all of us.  However, I still deeply grieve the fact that the honeymoon phase had to end.

The details of this ‘honeymoon’ ending incident are not important.  The moral of the story is what is most important.

The 30,000 foot view of this situation is simply this.  I found out, that I said something that offended a student in Rm 1501.  (Knowing me, this could happen on occasion.)  The student, as they should, told their parents.  The parents sent an email to several people….but…not to me.  There was no verification of facts…No seeking to first try to understand.  Just an email blast.  (I’m a big boy, I can handle these kind of situations.  I’ve been in ministry for 20+ years and have slowly developed a pretty thick skin.)

I confess.  My skin is not as thick as I thought it to be.   I was surprised at how hurt I felt by this.  I will not let the hurt grow into anger, and I am not going to allow my hurt to ripple out into sinful reactions from me.  I vow to handle this situation with grace and love and patience.  When these things happen, I always use them as teaching lessons in a blog or in my preaching and teaching.  I have already spoken with the students in Room 1501 about the passage below.  They all actually signed a card saying whether or not they would honor the teaching of Jesus below. This pic is just one card of many.  image

I hope this blog about the situation will also serve as a reminder to all of us…if the lesson needs to be learned.

I have set up a personal meeting with the people involved in this  and I look forward to sharing, what is clearly a misunderstanding by a student and parents, and I look forward to full reconciliation and forward movement.

I want to jump right to what Jesus taught about things like this.  Jesus said in Matthew 18:15-16, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.  But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 

If I could be so bold as to actually retranslate this passage to fit my situation, it would read like this…

“If Trent Renner sins against you, or offends you, go and point out his fault, just between the two of you…even if it’s only with an email.  If Trent listens and the two of you work out this sin situation or what could be a simple misunderstanding, then you have won each other back and things can move forward.  But, if Trent doesn’t listen and clear up the situation with you, then take one or two others along with you, or send an email to one or two others, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”   Matthew 18:15-16 (T.R.version):)

The command from Jesus above is very clear in how the situation could have best been handled.

I am confident that after my meeting things will be fine.

So…if I can conclude with this.  If you hear about something that is taught in Room 1501/or happens at your work place/or your home… that just doesn’t seem to make any sense…then it probably didn’t actually happen…so please use the wisdom/actions that Jesus commands of us in the passage above.  Any time someone offends you…please go to the person and try to make sense of it.

I look forward to fully reconciling this situation and bringing clarity to the misunderstanding.  Any gossip that might be generated because of this post…is a whole other blog.  Don’t be a gossip.  Simply pray that we all be people who behave like Jesus.  We all have conflict resolution we need to deal with.  I pray this situation and this blog post are a motivator for you to live more holy and reconcile your conflicts as Jesus taught us to.

In the mean time…always SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

Jesus was pretty clear on how to handle situations like these.  Man, He is smart!  Let’s all be smart too!

The Honeymoon phase may be over…and I absolutely love Joy Christian School.  Especially those who I encounter every day in Room 1501.

I am grateful for this 3 day weekend…and I can’t wait for Tuesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 16, 2014    |      Comments Off on Having Done in Rm 1501! (Week2…I am full!)

Having Done in Rm 1501! (Week2…I am full!)

Week two as a first year teacher is complete!  Except I have some papers to finish grading and a few emails to get out. photoI have some students and a few parents to notify about the impact they are having on their sons and daughters…and it is showing in the classroom.

By impact, I mean positive and negative.   Parents are so powerful.  Mothers and Fathers are so powerful.  The impact of, “I am so proud of who you are.”  The impact of, “You are a whore.”   I can see what phrase the students heard, just hours ago at home, by simply looking into their eyes as they enter Rm 1501.  My students know they aren’t always great kids, but that doesn’t excuse certain phrases that come out of mom’s and dad’s mouth.

Two school weeks in and I have had many moments where I just want to drop the curriculum plan for the day and just walk around and hug these sophomores, juniors, and seniors to let them know how loved they are.  How important they are.

I spent all morning reading through and grading papers that I asked my students in Rm 1501 to write.  I asked them to write anything they learned this week and how it applied to their life.  This pic is just one fun example of one paragraph I found on the back of a student’s paper. photo

I wish you could read them all…you would never be the same.

I laughed as I read some really funny comments.  I was inspired as I read about hopes and dreams and biblical understanding.  I cried when I read some things.  I cried hard.   The home is supposed to be the safest place on earth for a child.  I wish I could promise all of my students, in Rm 1501, that all their homes are a safe haven to be themselves and to be free. That is a promise I can’t keep and they know it. So, the only thing I can do, is make Rm 1501 the safest place on earth.  A foretaste of Heaven.

My students know I mean that.  Some are still a little nervous, but they are learning to trust that this is going to be a great year in Rm 1501…no matter what life brings their way…they know how real it is going to be and that they can safely contribute to that real-ness.

___________________

I have so taken my teachers and my kid’s teachers for granted.  I can’t believe how hard the work is. I know every job has a hard factor to it.  But teaching…wow…I had no idea.  I have never been so tired.

As a new teacher, I am firmly aware of what teachers get paid.  I also know that teachers don’t do what they do for a money reward.

I am so grateful for what happens on the campus at Joy Christian School, but even more so in Rm 1501.  I am full.  I am content.  I am accepted.  We laugh at each other in such a positive and safe way. We wrestle with questions that I have never dealt with in any other form of 23 years of ministry work.  My feet, back, vocal chords, mental, and emotional assets have never been so tired.

But I am full.

I wish you could be a teacher for just two weeks.

I am so excited for Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 3, 2014    |      Comments Off on having Done in room 1501

having Done in room 1501

Room 1501 pic It’s about to begin!

I am just 2 full days away from entering Room 1501 at Joy Christian High School in Glendale Arizona.

I am about to face 120ish Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors in the valley of the sun!   I will be teaching Bible to these amazing people.  I have no idea what God has in mind and I am faithfully preparing my heart and mind for whatever He brings.

Here is what I know.  I am grateful to have been entrusted with more than 160 days of impacting High School students this school year.  Each class is 40 minutes long!

As a full time preacher at Parkway, CCV, Metro, and/or PulsePoint… I would have 40 minutes every seven days with the people God allowed me to teach on the weekends and I believe God accomplished a lot in that short time.

As a full time preaching pastor… 40 minutes a weekend, 52 weekends a year, = 35 hours a YEAR of Bible Teaching.

At Joy Christian High School, I get 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week through a whole school year. That =’s 107 hours of Bible focus and relationship building in that school year! TJoy Coat of Armshat’s a big diff.

What is God having Done in room 1501?

It’s crazy to think…He already knows!

Only time will tell and I will tell through this blog!

Stay tuned for the web blogs that come under the title… “having Done in room 1501.” And…while 1501 is in full function…Return Hope International moves forward with full force and I’ll also be taking on as many preaching opportunities as churches will give me anywhere USA.

As I like to say, “It’s all good!”

I am deeply curious of what I’ll be blogging about soon!

Stay tuned.   🙂

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