ClaSS Is iN SeSsioN

I offer some thoughts to those of you, regardless of your spiritual or religious affiliation or if you hold no regard or association with any sort of organized religion. This could still be of some value to you and worthy of thought.

If I can ask you a question: Do you remember your first day of school?

I'm really asking about the nervousness and the anxiety and the wonder if you'll make a new friend or if anyone in your class will like you. I don't mean if you fear your teacher may be mean. Or if you could sit at your lunch table alone every day because you're not cool enough or pretty enough or rich enough or you just don't like yourself and figure why would anyone else. Those are real issues that affected all of us in some way, shape, or form. I'm just talking about preparation for your first day. How did you prepare? Why did you prepare? Why was this important?

A very likely scenario is that your parents took you to the store to buy school supplies in preparation for your first day. You probably also went school shopping for clothes, whether it was casual or a uniform mandated by the school. Either way, these were parts of your preparation for your education. Your parents likely had a truckload of paperwork to complete on your behalf that you never saw or noticed.

Preparation is a corner stone to any organization, hopefully successful plan, or movement. Benjamin Franklin said "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." This sentiment will be important a little later on in this article. But I really love a quote by Abraham Lincoln.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first hour sharpening the axe."

This takes us to the reason I wrote this post. I have a pet peeve that I have shared publicly and privately and lamented about in my personal private time in prayer and meditation. It's likely a small matter to most (who probably are guilty of this) but something that, to me, indicates a larger, more pressing issue. How is it possible to sit under the tutelage of a teacher completely unprepared to learn? Putting aside how the teacher may or should feel, what does it say about the student's willingness to learn?

That is very common and I learned that in one setting recently. I was in one of our corporate monthly meetings several months ago. These are normally anywhere from 1-2.5 hours once a month. In a hurry to get to the meeting, I left my notepad and found myself overwhelmed with the information that was being given and totally incapable us retaining most of it. That became a detriment to me later on the following week when I needed to utilize some of that information. I don't normally forget such things and I try hard to be prepared for most situations but I forgot that day and it cost me a little embarrassment and slowed some of the operation's progress because I was unprepared. It wasn't that I was disinterested or unwilling to learn. I simply neglected to prepare adequately. Small example I suppose.

There is a growing trend where students are purposely neglecting to learn. This is often encouraged by fellow students and, in some cases, by the teachers themselves. I have seen this behavior for more than two decades in religious circles. We are engaged in a culture where listening to the preacher or teacher is our only requirement. Almost as if we are doing the teacher a favor by just being present. I often wondered how long we would continue to view the elephant in the room and never address it. I wondered when personal responsibility and accountability would show up. Sadly, there is no mandate from leadership to bring their proper materials to the meetings or be prepared to take notes in order to retain the important information that may be provided. There is no preparation. I don't really know why that annoys me so much. I think I am afraid for those that think their growth is not important, especially those who have children that watch everything they do and follow their examples. On your first day in school (and likely every day after that going into your college and post graduate years), not having notes or the ability to document what you hear could cause you to fail your tests and be unable to progress to the next grade. You will essentially fail the course and be "left behind".

This shouldn't be difficult for any current student to understand. So let me ask those of you that participate in religious services: Are you a student?  If so, wouldn't the Sunday and/or a midweek service night be your classroom? Isn't that where you are getting refilled and encouraged to face the week ahead? Isn't that where you get some correction and where you may find some answers to your struggles? The teacher or preacher is sharing words with you presumably from a manual that you do not currently possess or are not able to say you have memorized in full. How then can you verify that the words are valid and not contrived by the teacher him or herself? How can you authenticate that the location of the scripture passages are the correct one and not an error? Having the words on the screen is not clear evidence, merely a presentation of information.

How do you think your first exam would go if you were advised to study from an assigned text but instead you just took notes from the teacher only and avoided studying the text as advised? There's no question about it. You would fail and perhaps in epic fashion. The teacher on a Sunday morning is not responsible for making sure you study from your "textbook". It is advised or, at least, should be. It should be encouraged, hopefully, so at the very least, the student's focus will be on the Word and not on the specific vessel teaching on that occasion. Any good school administrator worth their salt will tell you that every student is responsible for their own education. In other words, they have to study for themselves. The teacher can't make them do that, only hold the student accountable to do so.

I'm afraid that we are in a culture that encourages less and less use of the Bible. Even if you don't ascribe to the Bible as the infallible Word of God, you should still be able to see that no matter if you're preparing for a certification like I am, or if you are studying to complete a college course, or if you are preparing to make a verbal presentation at an annual function, you still need to be prepared using the manual or guide your organization views as critical to your successful growth. In addition, if it's your intention to properly represent said organization, school, or community group, you must be fully acquainted with the organization's belief system, values, statutes, or protocols. This is one time where reading truly is fundamental.

When I look around and see my peers in the classroom without their textbooks or any means to document what they are or may hear, I question what they will do during a test. I fear that they will face the unannounced wholly unprepared. That is not the time to ask the teacher. They will not be able to answer you. When the test begins, the teacher remains silent. All the student has at his or her disposal is what they heard, learned, and retained. That makes a culture where this kind of preparation is directly or indirectly discouraged very scary to witness. Where are we headed as a people? Where does your spiritual growth rank in your priority list? From my vantage point, the main textbook is fading farther and farther into the background and the years have shown that less and less are holding onto it as a guide for life. Now it appears to be becoming an appendage that people put in fancy embroidered cases to show their religion proudly. Almost like a t-shirt or a fish magnet on their back of their cars. If the Bible is truly basic and necessary instructions for life, what does one's life look like without that instruction and the capacity to navigate through life's tests?

It's not too late to change the culture around you. If you can't envision doing that, at least, change the culture within you. At the end of the day, the only one responsible for what you know and how you apply it is you. Class is in session. Are you listening? Are you prepared? Will you pass the test? Just something to think about before your next "Pop Quiz".