Transformed & Transformational

What does jello have to do with holiness and fear of God? What is holiness, why does it matter that God is holy, and how can we be holy as He is holy? Listen in to this episode with our monthly guest, Brian Delamont.

• “The Hebrew word for holy, Kadosh, in its fundamental meaning contains the note of that which is separate and apart.”
• Hosea 11:9
• Exodus 3:5
• “So why does it matter that God is holy? Because His holiness is integral to His very being and nature. If God were no longer holy, He’d also no longer be God.”
• “Holiness” Video from Bible Project
• Leviticus 19:2
• “Holiness is more than an attribute; it’s who God is. He is always, always holy.”
• Leviticus 9:23-24
• Psalm 99:9
• “We worship at His mountain, not because the mountain itself is special, but because God’s presence makes it a holy mountain. It’s about the presence of God.”
• “Because of Jesus, God invites us into his holiness and because we are in his presence, we ourselves become holy!”
• “Jesus, because He Himself is the holy God, has unlimited access to the Father.” 
• John 17:15-19
• “When we live in God’s Word and in God’s way we choose to live in something which will be actively used by the Holy Spirit to make us holy.”
• “Now, through Jesus, our holiness is not on the merit of water or sacrifice, but our holiness is on the merit of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So, holiness is imparted by God to us as His sons and daughters.”
• The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
• Romans 1:7
• “This is His invitation: to come to Him and live in His holiness, rather than trying to manufacture our own fruitless, achievement-based holiness.”
• “The difference between being afraid of God and the fear of the Lord is relationship. That’s why the fear of God is not anxiety about God.”
• Ezekiel 47
• Revelation 11:15
• 1 Peter 2:9-10
• The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer
• “We live in the reality of the way God sees us - as perfect in Christ Jesus. We have received mercy. We have received righteousness in Him.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

March Reflection: What area of your life could use more holiness? Where is God asking you to be “sanctified through and through” (1 Thess. 5:23)? What step is the Spirit prompting you to take?

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Making yogurt
• Heather: Discussing Scripture in worship songs
• Brian: The Full Story reading plan by Bible Project

Weekly Spotlight: Christian International School of Prague

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

We have a special guest on the podcast today from a Creative Access Country sharing her story of navigating difficult circumstances and persevering in God’s strength.

• “I believe that God allowed for me to be born here with a purpose. I love my country and my people, and I see a desperate need for the Good News of the Gospel.”
• “Hard decisions can be unpopular. They can require boldness, persistence, deep trust, and recognizing the consequences.”
• “When I have a chance to avoid difficulties, is it always right to do it?”
• “I think the Church, as always, needs the Gospel - that we are loved, we are family, we have hope, we have God. He is the King. Jesus has already overcome this world, and we have a victory.”
• “It is important and very inspiring for me to see how God works in the world in different places, to hear testimonies, to know people on the field, their dedication and faithfulness has really helped me to go on.”
• “TeachBeyond is a place for me to grow spiritually and personally, and it’s really a community of Godly people.”

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Challenging conversations with friends
• Heather: Working Genius 
• Our Guest: Joy and satisfaction in her ministry

Weekly Spotlight: LinGo English Camps

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/ 

Kristi Steele of KC360 shares practical tips for parents, students, and educators walking through the university application process with Third Culture Kids from the US and Canada. Listen in for a deep dive into this topic!

• KC360
• “Starting early is really important.”
• “One of the biggest value points that is highly underrated and rarely talked about is support. When you look at campuses, you need to look for their international office and what kind of TCK support they have.”
• “The support level really does make or break a student’s success [...] and we just assume it’s going to be there.”
• “Do they have the problems that you’re looking for? Do they have the TCK support?”
• MyCAP - College Aid Pro
• “A lot of students make better decisions by [...] putting everything on the table and having an informed decision.”
• “Everything about college in this day and age from a financial perspective is ‘many streams equal one river.’”
• “A university will want to see that you’ve used your gap year wisely.”
• KC360 Podcast
• TCK Training’s Launch Pad
• You can contact Kristi directly at [email protected]!

To learn more about Third Culture Kids, listen to Episode 22 with Michele Phoenix or Episode 61 with Lauren Wells.

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Trying out Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Heather: Watching a friend’s kids
• Kristi: Seedlings

Weekly Spotlight: Chiang Rai International Christian School

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/ 

Making a cross-cultural transition can be intimidating and overwhelming. John Trotter of Global Frontier Missions walks us through a number of tips for entering a new place and navigating cultural adaptation.

• Global Frontier Missions
• Reflecting Jesus in the City: Christlike Ministry in Urban Immigrant Context by John Trotter
• “It doesn’t matter how much you know or how good you are with community development or evangelism; if your heart’s not in a good place, you’re not ready to go to the field.”
• “Integrated mission is starting with Jesus as Lord and then it’s springing up from there.”
• “When you’re crossing a culture, you’re not really an expert on anything.”
• “We can tend to bond with the people who look and sound a lot like us rather than bond with the very people [we’re] living among.”
• Exegeting the city: Slow down to use your five senses to explore the city.
• “It’s really hard to go back and reintroduce yourself to a community.”

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Rediscovering board games
• Heather: Co-working with friends
• John: His role with Global Frontier Missions and Bop-It

Weekly Spotlight: Grace International School

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org

We’re celebrating one hundred episodes! Listen in for updates from past guests, and join us in commemorating this milestone.

• Becoming More Fruitful in Cross-Cultural Work: How to Be Free in Christ and Rooted in Your Reality as You Fulfill Your Call by Amy Young
• TCK Training Research
• “Shame is something that is so directly opposed to God’s love.” - Annie Stepanenko
• “Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection made us worthy of love; God has declared us His beloved.” - Annie Stepanenko
• Recommendation from Annie: Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• Advent with Elizabeth from Global Trellis: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
• “It’s okay to do different [spiritual disciplines] in different seasons, and to meet Him in different ways.” - Tessa Sydnor
• Cyndi’s book club book: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• “I have seen God work in such miraculous ways through our grief.” - Amy Massingale
• Recommendations from Tricia: Odder by Katherine Applegate, Yonder by Ali Standish
• “I have watched Him show up in TeachBeyond in all kinds of wonderful ways.” - Russ Kraines

What’s changing our lives:

• Sarah T: Prayer time at her church
• Amy Y: Working with the aging parents cohort of Global Trellis
• Lauren W: Feeling more connected to local community
• Elizabeth F: Ignatian spiritual exercises
• Steve J: Perspective after attending a funeral
• Tessa S: Getting engaged
• Barb B: A new grandson
• Cyndi F: Book club
• Amy M: Kindle Paperwhite
• Tricia F: Oldest will be graduating university this May
• Russ K: Caring for elderly parent and spending time with grandchildren
• Amanda F: Days are getting longer
• Sandra P: AI in the classroom
• Alison N: Meeting with the Safeguarding team in person

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

As humans, we all experience different types of limitations. How can we glorify God in living with limits? Tune in to this episode as Brian Delamont returns to the podcast for a monthly episode on spiritual development.

• “Sin causes us to push against God’s wise and loving boundaries. Sin causes us to deny our susceptibilities and to assign more power to ourselves than we have. Sin tempts us to think that we know better and that we do not need what God knew we would need.” - Paul David Tripp
• “Our limitations aren’t just temporal but emotional, social, economic, and more. What if these limitations aren’t something to fight but to gratefully accept as a signpost to God’s call on our souls?” - John Mark Comer
• “Part of what’s happened is we’ve started to imagine that our limits are the result of sin and the fall. The surprise is God actually made us good, and part of the good is limits.” - Kelly Kapic
• Genesis 1:4
• “We weren’t ever meant to have unending days of work with no rest, neither were we meant to sleep all the time.”
• Genesis 1:7
• Genesis 3:16-17
• “In God’s perfect sinless, pre-fall creation, he placed limits on everything for its own good. God gave us freedom in the garden, but there was a good and godly boundary put in place so that we wouldn’t destroy it all.”
• “We have a distorted view of dependency or limits because they restrict our sense of independence.”
• Job 38:4-11
• 1 Corinthians 12:4, 12-13, 17
• “We need to work together, which means that there are limitations, differences in ability and capability, which, by God’s design, make our limitations work together under his divine direction.”
• “The incarnation is God choosing to live within the limits of his own creation: the Word became flesh.”
• “As Jesus models for us what being fully human is really meant to be, do we see Him railing and struggling and fighting against these limitations? No, He accepts them from His Father as part of God’s perfect plan to be with us.”
• Hebrews 4:15
• “Our limits and weaknesses are not in the way of what God can do through us, but our denial of limits and our delusions of independent strength are.” - Paul David Tripp
• Matthew 26:38-39
• “[God], by His Spirit, wants us to become all that He intends. He knows what you and I are capable of, and He empowers that. Yet, living within our limits is our acknowledgement of God’s design, authority, wisdom, and goodness.”
• “Sabbath is a pattern breaker [...] When we lay aside control and striving and trust God to be our Caregiver, trust God to be our Provider, and direct our hearts to worship Him, which is core to Sabbath practice, it does reframe our whole lives.”

February Reflection: Which limit is bothering you the most right now? What does this tell you about God and about yourself? Would God have the same conversation with you today that He had with Job?

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Parents visiting
• Heather: Asbury University revival
• Brian: Playing on a worship team again

Weekly Spotlight: GDQ International Christian School

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Ruth Jansen shares the story of how she has followed God’s leading step by step - at first, waiting on God’s timing, and later saying yes without complete clarity, but knowing God would be with her. Ruth shares how her interests in math, music, and social media have come together to serve the students and whole community at Dakar Academy in Senegal. Where is God asking you to take one step of obedience today?

• “It was hard to think about leaving family behind [...] and just feeling like I was going to miss out on a lot of their lives.”
• Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
• “At the end of the day, sometimes you have to just make a decision [...] that’s what it felt like when I decided to go. I just had to make a decision.”
• “Trust that, whatever decision you make, God’s going to be with you through that.”
• “[It’s neat to get] to be a part of that in a student’s life, helping them see that God cares about all of the little things in our lives and listens to our prayers.”
• “God has slowly been working at my heart and calling me one step at a time.”
• “I trust that this is what’s next; I don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like, but I’m trusting that God’s going to show me each step of the way.&rdquo
• “It’s okay to not be perfect and to not have it all figured out right away. God is bigger than that, and I can trust Him with all of the big things and all of the little things.”
• “By studying math, we train our brains to notice patterns and solve problems, and that’s just a good stewarding of the brain that God has given us.”
• Join Dakar Academy in praying for staffing needs on the day this episode releases!

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Finding a church
• Heather: New music from The Worship Initiative and Davy Flowers
• Ruth: New coffee shop in town

Weekly Spotlight: Dakar Academy

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Dr. Helen Vaughan, author and long-time educator, shares a definition for transformational education and fleshes out what this can look like in different educational environments. This conversation is foundational to understanding how we can live out our faith in the classroom in an authentic, impactful way!

• The Handbook for Transformational Education
• “The Holy Spirit transforms; we’re there as co-laborers.”
• “Transformational education is an education that creates learning environments where a student is encouraged by every aspect of the environment to embrace wholeheartedly and in every dimension of life God’s amazing design for him or herself. It’s God’s empowerment for a full, rewarding, and impactful life now and in the life to come.”
• “We are transformed for now, and it’s not just a question of what happens when we die.”
• “A full, whole transformation is when a learner, a student, bows before Jesus as Lord and Savior in their life. That is the epitome of a transformed life.”
• “I feel so much more freedom to love and embrace people and know that God’s got this. My role is to follow God and not just immediately try to jump in and convert people.”
• “Transformation is an ongoing process.”
• “Transformational education is founded upon a distinctly Christian worldview; however, it is more encompassing than instruction in worldview assumptions or propositions or upon our gaining information about our duties and behavior. Transformation is formational - the student is changed - and that rarely happens by information alone. The teacher must live out the worldview.”
• “How can I create a condition that cultivates transformation?”
• “We’re not in charge of manipulating kids or adults or campers or players into faith.”
• “I love Jesus passionately, and [...] I want people to have what I have because of Jesus.”

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Gathering with coworkers in person
• Heather: New nephew
• Helen: Chair yoga

Weekly Spotlight: International School of the Caucasus

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/ 

We’re tackling a tough topic this week: bullying. TeachBeyond’s Safeguarding Lead, Bronwen Coe, shares strategies for preventing bullying in schools and responding to situations of bullying with care for the bully, the bullied, and the bystander.

• Read the article from TeachBeyond Safeguarding: “Dealing with Bullying in Your School”
• “It’s really hard to define bullying actually, and that’s why every organization should wrestle with their own definition to suit their context.”
• “The first thing you have to do is to start training and to have a conversation in your school to bring about awareness about why bullying [is] wrong.”
• “80% of bullying that happens online or face-to-face actually has a bystander, so the role of the bystander is crucial.”
• “The three common reactions for a bystander could be fear, empathy, or excitement.”
• “[Training] has to be understanding why it’s wrong, understanding your response, and then figuring out, problem solving together, a correct response that will help the whole triangle - the bully, the victim, and the bystander.”
• “Leaders cannot ignore it. Bullying happens.”
• ATE: Awareness, Trust, Empowerment
• “Restorative justice is a process to enable people to express their feelings in a safe and constructive way, and to be part of the responsibility to restore the situation.”
• Restorative justice questions: How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again? What can we do to make things right? How do you think this has impacted you or the person you bullied?
• “A child should be able to come quietly and speak to someone they trust in a school, and the person in the school should know whom to go to confidentially.”
• The Protectors program
• Lamentations 3:22
• “I pray for that every day - that I have compassion that is new every morning, that I can compassionately and professionally respond to things.”
• “Children are valuable. They deserve to be protected; they deserve to be listened to; they deserve to be trained.”

To learn more about Safeguarding, check out Episode 45 with Alison Neumann.

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: End of the year lists
• Heather: Let’s Read the Gospels podcast
• Bronwen: Seeing life through the eyes of her granddaughter

Weekly Spotlight: International Education Services

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

God invites us to confess our sins, receive His forgiveness, stand in the righteousness of Christ, and live unburdened lives in His grace. How often do we accept the invitation to confession? How has our view of God been skewed? Brian Delamont, TeachBeyond’s Vice President of Mission Engagement, guides us through this conversation.

• “God already knows what I’ve done, so He’s actually not waiting for me to fess up or come clean to verify the truth of the action because He always knows the truth.”
• “God’s not bound to forgive you just because you say certain words. He’s actually looking for the attitude of our hearts and the actions of our lives.”
• “How do I view God? Is God for me and wants me to become all that He intends, or do I have to earn His favor somehow? We know that He loves us no matter what.”
• Romans 6:1-2
• “When we choose to follow Jesus, we make the choice to be dead to sin. So how can we live in a sinful way any longer if we’re dead to the old way?”
• Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies that Sabotage Your Peace by John Mark Comer
• Proverbs 28:13
• “We sin because we believe a lie about what will make us happy.” -John Mark Comer
• “Anything less than God will eventually crumble under the weight of the expectations we put on it because nothing else can be God. And so, when we sin by trusting something less than God, confession becomes the way for us to see reality clearly. This is the mercy that we find: that God is so much better than our sin.”
• 1 John 1:8-9
• “Confession becomes the pathway to reality, the pathway to clearly seeing the better thing God is offering me in Himself.”
• Psalm 32
• “Confession removes our own self-deception.”
• James 5:15-16
• “It is when we are restored to righteousness - of which God is the source, not us - that’s when our prayers are powerful and effective.”
• “It’s not just about me, but it’s about how I am able to serve other people around me by living an unburdened, undeceived life because I am confessing my sin and standing in the mercy that God is so freely giving me.”
• Matthew 7:3-5

Join TeachBeyond’s 40 Days of Prayer!

January Reflection: When you hear the word “confession,” what is your understanding of that? Is your understanding of confession in alignment with what God says about it in His Word, or have you been deceived by other voices about confession?

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: A year overview calendar
• Heather: Serving with a global body of believers
• Brian: More daylight

Weekly Spotlight: LinGo Online

We’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast  Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/