Montana Conference Pastors and Teachers Unite by Jim Jenkins
“It may seem that pastors and teachers have two very different jobs, but at the end of the day, they are both on the same team.”
“I Choose to Teach” by Emily Gibbs and Beverly Matiko
Many teachers are choosing to change careers due to factors including “pandemic-related workload demands, teacher burnout, compensation concerns, fear of incurring unmanageable debt in pursuit of higher education, on-the-job safety concerns, byproducts of diminishing constituent embrace and support for Adventist education, and increasingly contentious social, cultural and political battles that often target educators. Despite so many challenges, many Lake Union teachers keep showing up in their classrooms. And others are stepping up to fill vacancies—often leaving behind interesting and rewarding careers. The following profiles offer glimpses into what leads some professionals to choose—and remain in—Christian education.”
Adventist Education: The Added Value by Elias F. Zabala, Sr.
The author, a treasurer, describes why he believes there is added value in the Adventist educational system. He explains that “the Adventist educational system recognizes God as the ultimate source of existence, truth, and power,” its mission is “to develop the ‘whole person’ concept in each student,” and its philosophy is founded in the ‘need of a broader scope, a higher aim.’”
Training to Lead, Empowering to Serve, Inspiring to Be Ready by Marlene Alvarez, Lileth Coke, and Theresa Robidoux
“At the beginning of this quinquennium, the Atlantic Union Conference established the theme, ‘United, We Will Go.’ With this theme in mind, and following after the counsel given from the pen of inspiration, which says, ‘With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world’ (Education, p. 271), the goal of the Atlantic Union Conference Office of Education (AUCOE) is to train our administrators, teachers, and students to lead, empower them to serve, and inspire them to be ready for the soon coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.”
Christian Education: Intentional and Purposeful by Rosemary Tyrrell
“Christ is our example. He tutored the twelve, and we are to pattern His example. We must purposefully share with our young people His love and character daily. If not, we will have failed to do the will of the One who has sent us. Christian education must, in all its forms, reflect the love of God.”
The Restoration of the Image of God by Linden Hislop
“The role of the Seventh-day Adventist school in today’s society is unique and essential. In such a pluralistic society, it is even more critical that our educational system promotes its relevance and the impact it makes on the lives of our students day after day. We must ensure that our students are trained to lead, empowered to serve, and inspired to be ready.”
How to Protect Your Organization from a Non-Owned Liability Claim by James Winegardner
“There is a bright line which divides ministries into two classes: those operated and controlled within the church organization, and ‘supporting ministries’ which are not. When self-supporting ministries come into being, we may wish to encourage and support them. As we do, we must clarify that the ownership, control, and sponsorship is not that of the church and maintain an appropriate distance.”
Author
CIRCLE Editor
The Curriculum and Instruction Resource Center Linking Educators (CIRCLE) helps Seventh-day Adventist educators locate the ever-expanding array of resources for the ministry of teaching. Visit CIRCLE.adventistlearningcommunity.com to find and share Adventist educational resources anytime, anywhere.