Merry Christmas 2013

                 
Merry Christmas 2013 !  It will be a different Christmas  this year than in the past.  We will have my folks driving in from KS,  Rhonda's dad is flying in from MD, and Nate, Jacqui and Adam will be arriving on the 26th.  The difference will  be that we will be hosting Christmas for the first time in 6 years.  Our Christmases have been busting our way to FL to spend time with Nate - since it is hard for him to get away from his Pastoral duties. 
This year my family making a huge effort to get where we are!  Yes, they want to see our new life in Bakersfield and get somewhere warm and sunny, but what a blessing it is to be on the receiving end from people who love you. I have to admit is is not easy for me to receive.  My selfish nature tends to steer the outcome to my own desired results.  To receive means to accept whatever you get - with appreciation. My nature usually puts some level of expectation on me or on the event. One application might be for me to imagine what expectation anyone had that first Christmas?
Were Mary and Joseph expecting to find no room in the inn?
Were Mary and Joseph prepared for their baby to be born in a stable and laid in a manger?
Did the shepherds expect to see angels in the sky that night?
Did they expect to see the Savior of the world laying in the humble dwellings of a table?
It was not as they expected because they had no big preconceived expectations - they went on with the routine because that's what you do as people of faith. You just trust that God will provide what you need, when you need it.  When a surprise is needed, then a surprise will take place.  When you look back, you recognize God's provision was greater than your feeble expectations.  So it is when God is intimately involved with us.  That's the beauty of the incarnation - God in flesh - joining us where we are.  May He bless your Christmas beyond measure! - meaning beyond your feeble expectations!

Advent Conspiracy 2013

                                               
Last year I learned about the Advent Conspiracy www.adventconspiracy.org.  movement that was taking shape in the Christian church.  This past weekend, SJLC was blessed by Lincoln Brewster and his "Joy to the World Tour." It was just what I needed to refocus my attention on Christmas.  One thing that is missing at SJ is midweek Advent services.  I miss the weekly checkpoint to sing some carols and hear a message from the Old Testament prophets or making  the annual journey to Bethlehem with the characters in Matthew and Luke. 
I love the four tenants of Advent Conspiracy:
"Worship Fully"  /"Spend Less" / "Give More" / "Love All"
I am reminded of how frugal I have been as I consider all the Christmases of the past. We had to make a little go a long way as our kids were growing up.  I am probably best known for my "buying needs" and not "wants" by my kids and wife.  Practicality was the key. Only in the past few years as the kids and parents live far away do I consider more excessive spending on gifts.  It feels better because I'm "making up" for the time and energy spent away from them for most of the year. My commitment is to begin each day clicking a spot on the online AC Advent calendar and reflecting on these simple statements.  I long for Emmanuel!  So Come Lord Jesus! Quickly!  More to come :)

Moses and Me

I was reading today about the call of Moses in Exodus 3 into a very tenuous leadership position.  My thinking rests on the premise that leadership in any shape or form is hard work.  Whether it is in corporate America, coaching, teaching, pastoring or any profession it seems to be getting more challenging by the day.  This is not about the "why" it is, it is more about in "what" the reality of the call rests.
God called Moses to help people in a very difficult situation.  It was not glamorous or positioned him for success in playing to his strengths.  The challenges were totally unknown when God appeared in that burning bush.  Through it all,  echoes a simple truth that "God will be with you!"  The dialogue goes something like this:

Moses says                                                    God says
Who am I to do this?                              I will be with you!
What do I say when asked?                    I AM WHO I AM sent you!
What if they don't believe me?               I will do miraculous signs!
                                                               Snake to staff / changed hand / blood on ground
I am not eloquent - send someone else!  Aaron will speak for you!

 Pharoh's initial response to Moses' request to let God's people go is to remove straw from the bricks and make the Israelites work harder! Now even the Israelites are ticked at Moses - "why have you brought this trouble on us?"  
It takes a 40 year journey of God daily showing up and providing and proving His love for His people time and time again.
WDTM for us?  We can throw all kinds of excuses and justify our frustrations when we are faced with overwhelming circumstances.  When do we decide to stay and fight or decide to flee? God simply proves to us time and time again that He is faithful.  It is as if He says... "will you humble yourself. remove your pride and recognize the calling I have on your heart?"  Can we clear away all the debris of the way our plans "should" unfold and simply use what God has given us to get His work done?  We are an icon of what is happening to the church in the west.  We tend to place our material and capitalistic values and reason above the calling.  What questions  would Paul ask me if he walked into my office today? What would he need to remind me of?  So what would we give up for the sake of knowing Christ?  Once again, God showed up in His word to remind me that "He will be with me!" - that's enough.

T'was the night of Halloween!

Our Halloween was the festivus event in the new neighborhood of Village Green.  Even I have to admit that it was a little on the crazy side for the first of its kind on Checkerbloom.  We got together with two of our neighbors and set up tables of chili, hot dogs, brats, and nachos along with three huge bowls of candy for the kids.  Oh yea, the kids.  Our next door friends even had a video going on their  garage door!  The reaction of our neighbors was one of surprise... not what they expected when the rounded the corner! We spent the entire evening talking and sharing with people as they walked by our house. Our Castle and Cooke sales person even accepted our invitation!  The thing that tickled me most was how my neighbors were engaged in conversations with people that they had never met before.   I'm proud of our first attempt of connecting with our neighborhood and building some endearing relationships. We are already talking about a progressive Christmas event! :) Way to go team Checkerbloom!

Ways to be Misisonal this Halloween

                                     
 Thinking more intentionally about how we connect with our neighborhood this Halloween.  Here's a good post from the folks at Verge.  We are looking forward to sharing in the excitement in our new neighborhood.
This coming Halloween offers a great opportunity for many to engage in new relationships with those around us or to revisit some old relationships with new missional intentionality. Regardless of what you think of the holiday and it’s roots, the culture we have been sent by Jesus to reach is going to celebrate Halloween. We all have in front of us a wide open door for missionary engagement in our neighborhoods. I want to encourage you not to miss out on the opportunity.
If you are looking to be more intentionally engaged this year, I want to present you with a few ideas for how you can more effectively walk through the open door that Halloween presents to us as Jesus’ missionaries.
BE HOSPITABLE: Don’t just give out candy
 1. Give out the best Candy
Please, don’t give out tracks or toothbrushes or pennies…kids are looking for the master loot of candy. Put yourself in their shoes
2. Think of the Parents 
Consider having some Hot Apple Cider and pumpkin bread or muffins out for the parents who are bringing their little kiddos around the block. Make your entry-way inviting so they want to come closer and hang for a bit if possible.
3. Be Present
Don’t hide out all night. Come out to the door or hang out on the porch and if they stop to have some cider, get to know their names and where they live in the neighborhood.

4. Be Encouraging Tell the kids you love their costumes and to have a great night. Practice building others up with words.
 5. Party
If you’re really into it, you may want to throw a pre-Trick or Treating party. Provide dinner and drinks. Then, send the dads out trick or treating with the kids while the moms continue hanging with some hot apple cider, coffee or tea. Then reconvene with the parents and kids together to examine all of the loot (kids love to show their parents and other kids the loot).

6. Learn the Stories If you are out Trick or Treating with the kiddos or staying back with the other parents, ask questions…get to know their stories. Pay attention to their hearts and their felt needs. Look for opportunities to serve them later. This is how I first got to know Clay (while Jayne was hanging with Kristi and the other moms). I learned his story while we were with the kids and Jayne got to know hers. This led to both of them eventually coming to faith in Jesus.
GO TO THEIR PLACE: Join what is happening elsewhere
7. Attend the Party If others are throwing parties, you may want to join them. If so, bring drinks, food or whatever is needed. Then, serve by helping to clean up.
8. Join the Community If your community has key events, join them and invite some neighbors to go with you (then get to know their stories along the way). Our area has a trick or treating event on a main street where all the businesses give out candy, the firemen give tours of the fire engines, etc. We go with a group of friends to this each year and consistently meet more people to reach out to.

9. Head to the “Watering Holes”

If you do not have kids or are not going to engage in the Trick or Treating activities or events, consider going to the local pubs, restaurants or clubs near you for their events and get to know the people there. Make it your goal to learn the story of at least one person who needs Jesus and walk away with some next steps on how to serve them. You will want to do this with others so that you don’t go it alone.
BE PRAYERFUL: Ask for the Spirit to led, guide and work
10. Pay Attention Ask the Spirit to open your eyes and ears to the real needs around you.
11. Stay Dependent Ask the Spirit to help you listen, care and serve those around you.
12. Open Doors Ask the Spirit for open doors for new relationships and gospel conversations.

Learning in the 21st Century "SP"

I struggle to get a starting point to move people from "Here to There" in implementing effective classroom instructional strategies.  I am adopting a theme "Learning in the 21st Century."  It might be a clearer title than what we wrestle with in explaining the shift that needs to happen in classrooms.  Then understandingg it enough to implement and recognize it when you evaluate it. This list from the blog "All Things PC" is very helpful in gaining some clarity.  I will use this at our next staff meeting to help us break down and define how they would shift from "previous" to "current" at their grade level:

1. Previous emphasis on what and how the teacher is teaching, and current emphasis on what students are really learning
2. Previous emphasis on the student as a passive recipient, and current emphasis on the student as an active co-designer in learning
3. Previous emphasis on the teacher as disseminator of prescribed content, and current emphasis on teacher as a facilitator of “big ideas” and transferrable concepts
4. Previous emphasis on a one-size fits all “standardized” approach to learning, and current emphasis on differentiated and personalized learning to meet the needs of all students
5. Previous emphasis on learning as an individual experience, and current emphasis on self-directed and collaborative learning
6. Previous emphasis on a narrow definition of communication as usually limited to writing and sometimes speaking, and current emphasis on a full range of communication, artistic, and media approaches
7. Previous emphasis on textbooks, and current emphasis on multiple resources (including primary sources) of study that make fuller use of technology and digital tools
8. Previous emphasis on prescribed activities and worksheets, and current emphasis on students as critical and creative thinkers in their own learning
9. Previous emphasis on summative testing, and current emphasis on formative types of assessment to better ensure learning progress and also including student self-assessment within the learning process
10. Previous emphasis on right-wrong answers and singular approaches for obtaining answers, and current emphasis on problem-based learning that demonstrates greater complexity of thinking and learning
11. Previous emphasis on grades, and current emphasis on growth, learning, and goal-setting
12. Previous emphasis on decontextualized learning, and current emphasis on authentic learning within real world contexts
13. Previous emphasis on a nationalistic brand of education, and current emphasis on an engaged global and multicultural approach to education
14. Previous emphasis on a defined and set curriculum, and current emphasis on curriculum being collaboratively shaped by student interests, talents, curiosities, and passions
15. Previous emphasis of the school as the exclusive place for learning, and current emphasis of the 24/7 world as an “open space” for learning (with technology as a key facilitative learning tool)
16. Previous emphasis of time as the determiner for teaching, and current emphasis on flexibility of time to appropriately support the learning of the learner
17. Previous emphasis of teachers working in isolation, and current emphasis on teachers in Professional Learning Communities or teams to understand and improve student learning
18. Previous emphasis on students meeting adult expectations, and current emphasis on students discovering and developing their own unique identity and authentic voice.

I am excited to hear my staff come up with with deeper understanding and begin shaping their own thinking about shifting their instruction.   

Leading Where You Are!

                                       

Last week I spent two days with several of my administrative staff at a satellite feed of the Global Leadership Summit from Willow Creek.  I previously attended it several years at my former ministry, and was always impressed at the quality speakers and the ability to inspire me just prior to a new school year.  This year's speakers were outstanding and I will try and capture the key points from each speaker. Forgive my abbreviated thoughts:

Bill Hybels - "Courage to Lead"  Joshua 1:9.  "Be Strong and Courageous"
1. Leaders must cast vision - and every vision we have will test a leader's metal.  Many secret visions were never cast due to fear. Be strong and courageous.
2. Leaders must define their current reality! All leaders find themselves in a season when the ministry is on an upturn, status quo or downturn.  Everyone on the team knows and waits for leaders to lead.
3. Leaders build a fantastic, flourishing culture! -  Desire to be the "Best Christian Workplace!"
4. Leaders connect relationally and insure their organization makes it a priority!

Colin Powell - Axioms and stories... "It will look different in the morning" - optimistic view of problems / If you aren't being brought problems, your people don't think you can solve them / Tell me early, let me know before it blows up! /  Ego is a red flag when they think they turned the sun on in the morning! /

Patrick Lencioni - Bakersfield guy / 3 reasons people know they are in a miserable job -
1. Anomnymity /   We are called to love the people that work for us - take an interest!
2. Irrelevance /  Your job matters!
3. Immeasurement - Everyone needs to know if they are doing a good job.  Not evaluating people disrespects them.

Liz Wiseman /  Multipliers and Diminishers - the best leaders make everyone smarter!
 Use your intelligence, skills, abilities to amplify, magnify the capability of the people around you!
Diminishers:  Idea Guy / Always On / Rescuer/ Pace-setter / Rapid Responder / Optimist

Chris Brown - NorthCoast  Team ministry Works - Succession in Leadership
Contrast relationship between Saul / David and Pharoh/Joseph
Do you have room in your chariot for a David or Joseph? Do I expand the kingdom or my reputation?

Joseph Grenny -  Change behavior and you change the world! - Leadership is intentional influence!
Study Behavior with six influences:
                                                Motivation                                Ability
Personal                                                            Training
Social                                                                Comments
Structure                                                           Setting
Skills and ability has a profound influence to change behavior.   The setting to practice the change must approximate the real world.  Intense focus on most of the six areas make good choices easier to achieve.

VG - Innovation / Ongoing operations are at odds / conflict with innovation.  Innovation is a strategy about leadership in the future.  Most organizations involved in change organize themselves in 3 boxes
Box 1  Manage the present - current effecencies / current efficiency
Box 2  Selectively forgetting the past / shares resources between the two boxes
Box 3  Create the future - creative people being funded to fail and experiment
Great example in evolution of high jumping from the scissors jump to Fosbury Flop
I thought about the LCMS church and stuck in box 1.  Where is our Lutheran school model?

Brenee Brown - "Vulnerability Researcher"
 Irreducable needs of everyone:  Love and belonging!  Grows through connections with people
Everyone needs :  Belonging / Be seen and loved / Be BRAVE! - Courage! quote from Teddy Roosevelt -  life demands leaders to enter into the arena and engage - to risk being beaten, bloodied  -  her new philosophy :if you are not in the arena, I'm not interested in being open to or receiving your feedback!"- period!  The number sitting in cheap seats have grown!

Oscar Muriu - Nairobi Chapel - Finding leaders by increasing the harvesters! - Mentoring
1. The size of your harvest depends on how many leaders you have!
2. When you live for your own generation you will grow in your generation and die with your generation - invest in the next generation!
3. Identify your bidding leaders and take them to the Lord in prayer
4. Instill the five loves into your young leaders :  Character (heart), Soul (conviction), Mind (Comprehension), Strength (competence), Love for neighbor (compassion)

Henry Cloud -  moving out of spiral by interpreting negative things around you... 3 P's
Personal (I'm not good at that)  - Pervasive (moves from the to other situations) - Permanent

Andy Stanley -  Leaders in Mission - The Christian church all agree on Peter's answer to Jesus' question "Who do people say I am? = You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"  That hasn't changed!  We believe that something "HAPPENED" (Jesus Rose) not that it is true! "If someone predicts his death and rises from the dead, I'll believe anything he says, even if I don't understand it."  Can you believe we are still proclaiming this simple message?  That Christ has keep the promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against it!  Despite us!  Story of all the Pastors will be in a room in heaven, Paul will appear and say... "Really?"  You thought that way?
Spoke about Paul's significant impact  of passion on the world that we are beneficiaries of two millenium later.   Finished with the "Stand Firm" let nothing move you verse.

Wrestling 101 -21st

I am in the midst of planning, thinking and dreaming about what the new year will bring to SJLS!  How we can move toward what a 21st Century school looks like - philosophically, pedological, and what it means to be a leader of one.  The leader issue is definitely the challenge.  Moving from "here to there" hinges on my ability to guide, support, and direct a greater capacity to nurture growth.
I ran across this graphic through a social network of technology instructors - this one from MT @4444Charlie. It is a basic understanding that no matter what we can do with devices, it is driven by the big ideas in learning.  This is what keeps me up at night. :).
I have had several conversations lately about "how long are you going to do this?" referring to staying in educational ministry.  Several of my friends, family and associates are making the jump to retirement or making plans to do so. This concept alone has me energized to keep learning and trying to pass knowledge on to my staff and others.  My quest frustrates me because in am now in a place with the financial resources to make it happen, without the knowledge resource to guide decision-making.  Until the calvary rides in to the rescue with greater understanding, I will keep wrestling.

Back to Yosemite

 

Just a week ago I along with our 7th grade science teacher organized a 7th grade class trip to Yosemite National Park.  It was a long process of convincing parents and students that this adventure was well worth the effort of organizing it and making it happen.  Back in 1987 I put together my first 8th grade overnight class trip to Grand Canyon National Park.  This was back in our MLS Phoenix days when very few of the kids in the class had actually visited GC.  Since those early days, the trip has been experienced with students in San Diego, St. Louis and now Bakersfield.
We had our share of adventures.  Biking from the valley to Bridalveil Falls was more work than I needed on a beach "one speed" cruiser bike.  The hour downpour at Mirror Lake not only soaked us, but we were welcomed back to our campsites with flooded tents.   At this point, I would have been easy to pack it all up and head home.  The Housekeeping Camp laundry mat was an easy way to dry out sleeping bags and clothing.
Through this experience the kids learned about resiliency and perseverance. They pulled together and worked as a team to cook, tent, care for and encourage one another.  Throw in a couple awesome hikes and overflowing waterfalls and you have a good week.  I'm thankful to have the chance to sharing this love of nature with a bunch of kids from the inland valley.  God was gracious in providing us a wonderful classroom to experience his creation firsthand.  Though this experience takes alot of experience and work to do well, it creates memories that the kids never forget.

Preferred Future

 
This past week our staff at SJLS had a visit from the WASC/NLSA committee on our campus.  They were made up of two public school administrators and two Lutheran school administrators.  There is always tension when you add something "big" to your normal crazy life.   Their four day presence was a blessing in the story of our school.  Our action plan has four key initiatives:

1. Develop a philosophy and educational plan for effective implmentation of technology into the instructional process.  Included is this is an effective staff development plan to sustain successful integration by staff.
2. Implement a greater variety of assessments - both formative and summative that meet the needs of the variety of learning styles in each classroom.
3. Provide for administrative time to effectively manage school growth and the instructional program of the staff.
4. Make strategic decisions regarding enrollment policies, facilities expansion and management of resources to sustain the potential growth and development of a quality learning environment for students.
Each component of this plan has additional steps that specify the objectives that will help accomplish these bigger goals. Of course, these goals provide a blueprint for change and initiative that will push us beyond a few years well into the future.

What a great list!  I am so encouraged to walk through this process and provide leadership to our community in order to make this happen.   A big impressive point is that through the visit and the reading of our report, the visiting committee did not identify any impediments to the school improvement process.  That statement is a first in all my years of walking down the accreditation process.  I am thankful for the chance to help drive the bus during this chapter in the school's history.

What's Up? Not much really!

My life as a neophyte social networker may be about done.  :)
I recently spent the past 40 days without  daily multiple feedings of Facebook.  Yup - that means I gave it up for Lent.  I usually spend those forty days prior to Easter replacing a daily habit I enjoy with time to remember what my Savior has done for me on that Good Friday.   It is getting harder to think of daily activities or habits that can be replaced.  For me, Facebook seemed the appropriate item.  Whenever I made the journey into my social world, I would replace it with prayer or Bible reading through Luke - which we are currently studying at church.  A couple observations when I considered the change

• Most of my network was very connected to my previous school and ministry.  I would find myself engaged mentally with the lives of my "former life."   I am not sure that was all a good thing for me.  I have "moved on" in more ways than one.  
• I realized that I did not miss the editorial critique, self-serving announcements or witty comments that cry out, "look at me!".

So I'm considering hanging up my FB account and spend more time in  Google+ and igoole.   There is SO much out there that is substantive in nature and edifying.    You may have already figured that out,  but I am still trying to learn my way around the world of 2.0.  In reality, I was thankful for an opportunity to swap my own self-professed need for networking with folks I may never see again with a time set to connect with my loving Father.   Thanks for Lent. Thanks for the cross.  Thanks for Easter!

back and shakin!

 

It's been a couple weeks since I returned from the IPad conference in Watsonville, CA.  It was mind-opening to me!  I went with some preconceived ideas about the role IPads would play in education.  Some were ... yes "were"...
     Laptops were the ticket in education.  Windows OS, productivity software, media savy, controls on content, software management, keyboards, locked machines.  Plus all the steps you have to go through to email, download, dropbox information from student to teacher or lesson to pupil. Security and lack of "control" over student tablets, managing all the devices through the Apple world.
Following my visit, most of these data points for me are not longer valid. Here's why...

• My world of usable apps were greatly expanded - more practical and ease of use was a huge for me. The exposure to applications for education was very engaging.
• Educational publishers will make more textbooks available to schools in the next few years.  
• Battery life is 4-5 times the length of a laptop.
• Access to technology and internet is a finger poke away!
• Apple TV application through a hdmi cable and projector or tv

However, with all this being said, the ability to flip the classroom and engage students in the learning process is dynamic!  So what have I done since...
We had just purchased 25 Ipads to use in K-1 classrooms so that teachers could use them in with a "center" approach to daily instruction. We were already moving down the path for using it as a digital learning device for math and reading.  Those tablets are loaded and ready for deployment.  I even purchased a MacBook to help with specific configuration of the tablets. 
I bought an Apple TV sensor and tried it out on a tv on campus.  Pretty cool... Considering how to best deploy this with a teacher and Ipad.
I realized we did not have the expertise between myself and current technology teacher to implement and manage these new tools, so asked our contemporary worship leader to help out with this.  He is an Apple disciple and has invested time and talent in learning how to make this work.  A talented parent who is part of a technology class needed a  project to work on and she is loading all the apps on the pads for us.  
I sit back and simply marvel.  I can't wait for kids to engage in the learning curve with tools that most already know how to operate.
Not sure what the future holds... still mulling, talking, sharing, thinking and collaborating about tomorrow.  Being a student is invigorating! :)

Viewpoint 2013

Welcome to 2013!

I was reflecting how life has changed in just the past 13 years.  If my memory serves me well, I think I was still "instant messaging" (IM-ing) with my son who was in college and thinking that was a very cool communication process.  Quite an upgrade from the "collect phone call" system in the college dorm that I occasionally used with my family back in the 1970's.   This afternoon my K-2 staff will "Facetime" live on an Ipad with first grade teachers in Ellisville, MO about a leveled reading program we will soon use. The funny thing is, that through practice process connecting the Ipad and Smartboard, the other teachers learned some new applications that they didn't know was available!   Isn't this an awesome application to a professional learning network.  The give and take of conversation and discovery makes adult learners model what directly  apply to their primary classrooms.
We are preparing to use Ipads in our K-1 classrooms and learning about the Apple volume purchase process and naming  Ipads.   What a kick - we've already made some major mistakes that need some tech help from Apple.  This week we hosted a Kindergarten information night in which a couple teachers shared that they were excited about using Ipads with their students.  I had an email today from a parent asking if they could buy a couple more for us.  The learning excitement is infectious whether you are a student, teacher or a parent.
Tomorrow, I am heading out to a two-day Ipad conference in which I''ll have the chance to learn how another school uses Ipads as a 1-1 learning tool with all their students.  This is sop in some places, but before SJLS ventures too far, I am engaging myself in the learning curve. 
My take-away... I'm learning something new every day!  More than I've been accountable to in my new role without a true tech coordinator.  For the time being, I've got to pioneer these new initiatives and work around our system to make things work. I've got a great staff that is being open to these new ideas.  I continue to tell them how thankful I am that they tolerate me :).  I'm also so proud of the team of teachers I left behind at SJLS, Ellisville.  They are helping shape a school a thousand miles away!  Who would have thought that the key to effective instruction lies with teachers being willing to be students and learn!