Traveling with and without God—
years of confusion
Where was God during this journey?
I was educated at an Anglican (Episcopalian) school during the days of apartheid in South Africa and witnessed first-hand the evils of that heresy. The injustices deeply affected me, and the Christian teaching I received at school about “loving my neighbor” (Mark 12:31) had a profound effect on me.
I was confirmed in the school chapel when I was fourteen and took my confirmation seriously. John Stott’s book Basic Christianity, which we studied in our confirmation class, guided my understanding of the Christian faith to a deeper level.
In the years that followed, my faith walk was inconsistent. Negative peer pressure and the secular world impacted my life choices. My Christian roots, however, were firmly in place. On many occasions I humbled myself before God. He forgave me. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matt 18:21–22).
I was a slow learner.
Discovering a relationship with Jesus
Each time God welcomed me back with open arms, like the father in the parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11–32). The height, length, depth, and width of God’s unconditional love and grace remain beyond my comprehension.
One night early in my teaching career, I was struggling to discern my role as a teacher modeling Christian beliefs and values to impressionable adolescents. I fell to my knees and asked Jesus to forgive me, yet again, for the many times I had taken my eyes off him. I made a commitment to do my best to follow him for the rest of my life.
There were no bells, whistles, or wonderful signs.
I felt a peace around me, a feeling I had not experienced before.
I traveled a new road—and there were many bumps and challenging potholes along the way—which taught me the importance of establishing a right relationship with God. I prioritized my daily times of Bible reading, reflection, and prayer. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16–17).
I learned the importance of being accountable to God and others for the choices I made. I appreciated, through prayer, intercession, and Christian fellowship, Paul’s words to the Philippians: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).
Most important, though, was the evolving revelation that establishing a right relationship with God is, like teaching, a lifelong ministry. I must be kind, patient, and gentle with myself.
Understanding how to become a transformative teacher
In South Africa during the 1980s and early 1990s, with the prayerful support and encouragement of a number of wonderful Christian opponents of apartheid, I fulfilled what I have always believed was a divinely inspired vision to run non-racial symposia. Approximately 6,000 students and teachers attended these symposia. Participants listened to influential speakers, discussed ways to work together to prepare for a post-apartheid South Africa, debated, dramatized controversial topics, played sport, laughed, and cried together. Lives were enriched—my own included—and changed forever as barriers between races broke down.
These symposia painted a picture of what a future South Africa could look like. I worked with a team of like-minded people, most of whom were students. Symposia participants were encouraged to give practical meaning to the great command of Jesus, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), and become positive change-agents—reformers, transformers, innovators, and visionaries—in a country experiencing transition.
The missing link
As I reflected on these challenging times and on my teaching career, I concluded that a vital resource was missing: a user-friendly, short Christian book for teachers like me.
Let me explain.
I often had tough and challenging situations to deal with.
I felt exhausted from the demanding workload.
I had to deal with the guilt of neglecting my family because of my school commitments.
I felt ineffective and helpless as a Christian teacher working within a secular school environment.
The heresy of apartheid frustrated and angered me.
On occasions, I had neither the energy nor desire to deal with an aggressive and demanding parent, student or colleague.
The weight of responsibility on my shoulders, as a school principal, created times of loneliness and dragged me close to burn-out.
As a teacher, I felt the pain and suffering of a student or colleague, and often felt helpless and inadequate.
I was a fallible Christian trying my best to walk with Jesus as his loyal and obedient ambassador. A user-friendly book for Christian educators that contained simple strategies, practical ideas, and encouraging words to motivate and inspire me was needed. This book would give meaning to the final teaching command Jesus gave his disciples: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:19–20).
This book would feed my soul and allow me to open my heart to God’s reassuring voice. God would remind me of the height, depth, length, and breadth of his unconditional love for me (Rom 8:38–39). God would also remind me that the spiritual truth that leads to freedom is the truth that I belong not to the world but to him.
Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever lived, would stride ahead of me, be by my side, and walk behind me. If I fixed my eyes on him, I had nothing to fear as he would sustain me, even carry me, when I felt exhausted or overwhelmed.
Finding no such book, I decided to write one. My prayer is that this book will encourage and further equip educators as the transformers so desperately needed in our global community.
How to use this book
You can choose from a variety of approaches:
•Read the book from cover to cover in one relatively short sitting and then refer back to the pages that have grabbed your attention.
•Keep the book by your bed or work space and read a chapter a day or a week.
•Set some time aside and use the book as part of your personal retreat as you spend time with God and seek his direction for your life.
•Share some of the information during your staff devotion.
•Share with teacher trainees and new teachers to encourage them.
•Meet with colleagues and share your thoughts about each chapter.
Practical tips and strategies, reflections, and words of encouragement are shared in these pages. Notes written by students, parents, and colleagues are humbly shared as examples of how God uses broken and imperfect teachers to encourage and transform lives.
Each chapter opens with a prayerful reflection that can be undertaken whenever you choose: before, during, or after you complete the reading of the chapter.
Biblical quotes and references are included in each chapter to encourage your faith journey, which should always be grounded in regular reading of the Bible—God’s