We have all sat through hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of sermons and classes; many were of poor quality. Out of fairness, I am sure some of the sermons and classes I taught have been of poor quality. There were some fair classes and yet there were some that were great ones – life-changing. They taught things I still remember years later. What did I remember or take away? What did I retain? What impacted me? Better yet, what changed me?

Take a few moments and reflect on your own experience of being a classroom student and on your experience of hearing sermons. Consider all the teachers and preachers you have heard and classes you have taken, whether in a public school or college, church Sunday school or even a seminar you took and ask yourself the following questions. (Take a piece of paper and write down the things you think of.)

• What teacher(s) did I learn the most from?
• Why did I learn from this teacher(s)?
• What information sticks with me today from a class I have taken?
• What made it stick?
• What sermon(s) do I remember the most from?
• What sermon(s) changed my life?

Now, thinking about what caused you to retain certain information, or change your life, ask yourself these questions:

• Can I do that? Can I teach/preach like that?
• As a teacher can I recreate the elements that helped me learn, grow and change?
• What can I do to make sure that the students that God has given me to work with learn grow and change?

A little self-reflection in this area will cause us to improve our own teaching and preaching.
Brainstorm your learning experiences with the other teachers and staff you work with. Tell your stories to each other. Listen to the other staff and see what you can learn and apply from their stories.

In the weeks ahead I will discuss some of the key elements for creating a classroom environment that will help students learn, grow and change.