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Posts from the ‘Reading’ Category

Aug 25

A Better Way to Teach

I recently read an article in the New York Times regarding the poor state of mathematics education in the United States. Ever since NCLB, districts, schools and teachers have had to teach mathematics as a way for students to score well on the SAT. Math and other subjects are being taught in a way that has no real world applications.

“Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a “reform” version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by the Common Core State Standards, recently adopted by more than 40 states. This highly abstract curriculum is simply not the best way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life.”

Teaching a concrete subject like mathematics in an abstract way that is separated from how we all use mathematics is a flawed way of teaching. It only confirms to students that they will never really use mathematics after highschool. After all, when was the last time you used pre-calculus?

We recently finished staff training for Artios Academies. During staff training I gave a workshop on “Project Centered Teaching”. While this workshop was focused on teaching the arts, I gave an example of when mathematics became real to me.

For my 14th birthday, my Grandmother gave me a mutual fund with $100.00 in it. I knew that the 5 year average of this mutual fund garnered a 10% annual return that compounded monthly. As we all do when we we see the prospect of making money, I took out my calculator and tried to see how long it would take me to make $10,000. I saw that if I put $110.00 per month into the mutual fund at a 10% ROI that compounded monthly, I would have $10,974.00 in my mutual fund by the time I was 20!

When I figured that out, Math became very real to me! It wasn’t some abstract formula, I had just used algebra to make money! Who wouldn’t study Algebra if they knew it made money! Taking math out of the realm of abstraction and into the realm of life application is how we should study math. Consider the quote from the NYT article below:

“Imagine replacing the sequence of algebra, geometry and calculus with a sequence of finance, data and basic engineering. In the finance course, students would learn the exponential function, use formulas in spreadsheets and study the budgets of people, companies and governments. In the data course, students would gather their own data sets and learn how, in fields as diverse as sports and medicine, larger samples give better estimates of averages. In the basic engineering course, students would learn the workings of engines, sound waves, TV signals and computers. Science and math were originally discovered together, and they are best learned together now.”

The problem with Education in this country isn’t what we are teaching, but rather, how we are teaching it. At Artios we teach subjects in an integrated, creative manner. Its a method that makes the subjects real to the students immediately. The article ends with the following quote, and it is a quote that can be applied to all forms of education, not just mathematics.

“It is through real-life applications that mathematics emerged in the past, has flourished for centuries and connects to our culture now.”

I strongly encourage you to read the entire article in the New York Times. Look at the underlying philosophy of the article. Think about applying this method of education and teaching to all subjects, not just mathematics.

 

Jun 9

What should I read Next

I love to read. I read as much as I can. This morning I just finished the book Think by John Piper. It was a great book, but now I’m looking for another book to read and would love any suggestions you may have! I would love to get a list of 10 books or so that I can start reading so start commenting below and let me know your thoughts!

Jun 2

Affirming The Apostles’ Creed

This great book by J.I Packer is available for only .99 if you have a Kindle! This is why I love my kindle. Since my wife bought it for me for Christmas, I have read a lot more books, primarily because I can afford them now! If you want to buy the book just click the image!

May 31

Created to Be Like God

The following thoughts and quotes are taken from Jerry Bridges book “The Fruitful Life”.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” -Ephesians 4:22-24

The Christian is required to be like God. We must seek to “be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This is surely an impossibly high calling. How are we to become like God? How are we to exemplify God? How are we to take on the character of God? The answer comes in one word. Love.

We are called to Love the LORD with all our hearts, soul, and mind. John Owen writes, “Love begets a likeness between the mind loving and the object beloved”.

Jerry Bridges says, “Christian character flows out of devotion to God, and it confirms the reality of that devotion in practical ways. We may express reverence for God, we may lift our hearts in worship to Him, but we demonstrate the genuineness of our devotion to God by our earnest desire and sincere effort to be like him. “

If we are wholly devoted to God in all that we do, and we love God as we’re called to in scripture, we will begin to put off our old self, and we will “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

May 17

Spiritual Leaders vs. Natural Leaders

#Leadership. When writing this blog post, I searched for #Leadership in twitter and got the following results:

“Leadership is not about income. Its about impact.”

“If you don’t sculpt who you want to be, you will be at the mercy of the carvings of others.”

“Be friendly with your former peers. Do not focus on creating new friends”

And of course, no leadership post would be compelte without a quote from Seth Godin:

“…if you stopped actively sabotaging your own work.
We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship we aim at ourselves.”

I’m not really sure what any of these quotes mean and I’m not sure what they are supposed to tell me. What I can gather from these quotes, is that these people seem to be what J. Oswald Sanders calls “Natural Leaders” as opposed to Spiritual Leaders. Sanders defines the difference between the natural leader and the spirutal leader as follows:

Natural Leader:

  • Self Confident
  • Knows Men
  • Makes own decisions
  • Ambitious
  • Created methods
  • Enjoys command
  • Seeks personal reward
  • independent.

Spiritual Leader:

  • Confident in God
  • Knows God
  • Seeks’s God’s Will
  • Humble
  • Follows God’s example
  • Delights in obedience to God
  • Loves God and others
  • Depends on God

The main difference between the natural leader and the spiritual leader is this: The spiritual leader finds everything in God and his word. As christian we should seek to be a Spiritual Leader and we should seek to follow spiritual leaders. As Christians, we are to be fully relient on Christ and his word. What the world needs (and the church even more so) is not more “Natural Leaders” who are self relient, but more Spiritual Leaders who are completely relient.

“A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position by the inward leading of the Holy Spirit and the press of circumstances…There was hardly a great leader from Paul to the present day but was drafted by the Holy Spirit for the tas, and commissioned by the Lord to fill a position he had little heart for…The man whois ambitious to lead is disqualified…the true leader will have no desire to lord it over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gente, self-sacrificing and altogether ready to follow when the Spirit chooses another to lead.” A.W. Tozer

May 6

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Servant: The Master Principle

The Artios Outpost blog series.

The chapter I read today was chapter 3, The Master’s Master Principle. In this chapter Sanders tells us that the word leader is rarely found in scripture. In fact, when God calls “leaders” he refers to them as servants. When God called Moses he said, “Moses my servant”. When we consider who our “teacher” is, Jesus, we see that he does not call himself a leader, but rather a servant.

“… I am among you as the one who serves.” -Luke 22:27

Before we can lead, we must acknowledge that as a leader, we are leading to serve. To illustrate this point, Sanders looks to Christ and his “attitudes and inner-motivations” in Isaiah 42:1-4.

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”

There are six attitudes that Sanders draws from this passage about Christ and how they relate to being a servant leader.

  • Dependence: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights”.
  • Approval: “whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights”
  • Modesty: “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street”
  • Empathy: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice”
  • Optimism: “He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”
  • Anointing: “I have put my Spirit upon him”

As I said in an earlier post, Sanders uses scripture to target the hearts, motivations, and attitudes of the leader. We must acknowledge that the call to be a leader is really a call to become a servant. Only through acknowledging that we are servants can we begin to model ourselves after Christ’s example.

What are your thoughts on this passage? Do you find it hard to lead to serve?

May 3

Jesu Juva: Why do you do what you do?

“Jesu Juva”- Jesus Help Me

This is another post about Bach. Bach is one of my favorite composers because he not only created some incredible music, but he did so with the mindset that all he created and wrote came from one source, God. Jesu Juva or the initials J.J was inscribed at the top left hand corner of the first page of every composition he wrote. Before he began writing, he acknowledged that what he was about to create is only through the help of Jesus Christ and the creativity Man has through being created in the image of God. (Imago Deo)

Reading about Bach has been very convicting to me the past few days. He humbly acknowledges that all gifts he has come from God, and that he is nothing apart from God. I am currently reading two books, Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders, and Johann Sebastian Bach by Rick Marschall. (See note below) While these two books are not related, they both seem to speak to me in the same way. They are both causing me to question my motivations for all that I do. After every chapter I read I find myself asking questions like:

  • Who am I doing this for?
  • Am I giving God the credit he’s due, or am I merely giving him 10% of the credit?
  • Am I being to prideful about what I am doing or what I have accomplished?
  • Am I doing this for God’s Glory?

Anytime one must ask these questions, one should immediately be humbled. We are fallen creatures and as a result, we can never answer these questions as they should be answered. I am certain that Bach was not perfect or always humble. He was fallen just like the rest of us. But reading these two books has been inspiring and convicting to me.

What books/people inspire you to ask these questions of yourself? How would you answer these questions?

 

NOTE:
Johann Sebastian Bach by Rick Marschall was provided to me courtesy of the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in exchange for being apart of their Booksneeze program. I am under no obligation to give a favorable review

 

May 2

Bach, Newton, and God’s Glory

“Isaac Newton’s ideas were well known in the superficially peasant lands of Saxony and Thuringia, and its significant that Newton was to science and physics, Bach was to music. Essentially they both sought to prove that their works, their discoveries, their observations-and all the implications they drew-illuminate the workings of a supreme Creator in the universe.”

This is an excerpt from a new book by Rick Marschall, Johann Sebastian Bach: Christian Encounters Series published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Its a great quote about how our religion, beliefs, and worldviews relate to all areas of life, including our profession. Newton said that all his discoveries and scientific laws “pointed to the operations of God.” Bach said “Music has been mandated by God’s Spirit.”

These two men viewed their professions through a biblical worldview.

The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”- Psalm 19

When one reads this verse, one can see that Newton and Bach’s belief that everything they discover or create “illuminates the workings of a supreme Creator in the universe” is true. Having a consistent, biblical worldview is what gives us the freedom to see God’s glory; not just in scripture, but in all areas of life including our work. Viewing the world through the lens of scripture gives us the freedom to fulfill our purpose regardless of our state, class, or profession because these things point to God and his Glory.

How do you view your vocation or chosen profession as Glorifying to God? Can you view your profession the way Newton and Bach viewed theirs?

See my post about Truth and Freedom.

 

May 1

4 Comments

What About Truth and Freedom?

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32

This verse begs several questions. “What is truth?” “Freedom from what?” “How can one know what Truth is?”, and probably the most important and amazing question, “What is freedom?”. These are age old questions that philosophers, theologians, kings, and lay people have asked since the beginning of time, and the answers to these questions have been distorted since the Garden of Eden. So, how does one go about answering these questions? Let me answer the first three questions really quickly, and then will focus on the last one for a while.

  • What is Truth?
    • Truth is reality, natural and supernatural, as God sees it. (Christ came to testify to the truth. The truth that He is God, Man is fallen, and man needs a redeemer.)
  • How can one know what truth is?
    • One can know truth only through Christ as told accurately through nature and scripture. (John 8:31, 2 John: 9, Psalm 19)
  • Freedom from what?
    • Freedom from sin. (John 8:34)

The last question, “What is freedom?” is, to me, probably the hardest of these four questions. Its a question we cannot yet answer and know completely, so et me try to answer it as best I can. I just watched a sermon by John Piper and this is how he defines Freedom.

“You are fully free when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will leave you no regrets forever.” – John Piper

I think this is a great definition of what freedom is, however, I think I would change one thing about it; which does not contradict what Piper says, but rather says it a different way.

I would say:”You are fully free when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to ultimately and completely fulfill your purpose.”

I just watched a video with Ravi Zacharias in which he tells the story of a man who asked him the question “What is evil?”. To this question Ravi Zacharias answers; “Evil is a violation of purpose.” Evil is when man, or creation for that matter, does not have the freedom to fulfill what he was created to do. Our purpose is to Glorify God and enjoy him forever. Now, we cannot yet enjoy and glorify God to our fullest extent until we are able to walk in the fullness of God. That is why I don’t think we can fully understand and grasp what freedom is until we are in heaven. That is when we will be completely free from sin, and when we will be able to ultimately and completely fulfill our purpose. I don’t pretend to have this all figured out, so please comment below and tell me your thoughts.

What do you think freedom is?

What do you think truth is?

 

Apr 29

3 Comments

Spiritual Leadership

Every summer, my wife and I direct summer camps called Artios Outpost and every summer we take with us 4 or 5 interns from Artios Academies to help with these camps. Part of our internship training is that we read through a book together. This year we’re going to read through Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. This book is different than other leadership books as its primary focus is not systems, mechanics, or methods; but rather, its based solely on scriptural principles. The reason we chose this book for our internship training is because it targets the intentions of a leader; not the methods.

As Windy, the interns, and I read through this book I am going to post blog articles regarding the chapter we just discussed as a group. My purpose for this is two fold. One, I hope that it will better help me to digest what I’m reading and take it to heart. Second, I hope that it will give people a better idea as to who our interns are, where they come from, and what the heart of an organization like Artios really is.

Before I start posting about the chapters, let me give you some background as to why the author wrote the book. Below is the last paragraph from the preface.

“The material has been presented in a form that is calculated to be of help even to younger Christians whose hearts the Holy Spirit is working to create a holy ambition to place all their power at the disposal of the Redeemer. If there is something, too, that will rekindle aspirations and crystalize a fresh purpose in the hearts of those further along the road of leadership, the aim of the book will be realized.”

If Windy and I pray for one thing, it is this. That they learn to place all their abilities, power, and ambitions “at the disposal of the Redeemer”.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on the book or Spiritual Leadership in general?

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