Transformed & Transformational

Humor is one way to build rapport with your students, but there's more to it than just being the "fun teacher." Kevin McClintock – better known as Mr. McTiktok – shares from his experiences as a teacher and social media influencer, underscoring the importance of consistent boundaries and connecting with your students.

• Follow Kevin: Instagram | TikTok
• "When the kids come into class and they know what's expected of them inside the class, we can get stuff done. We still can be funny, but we have certain goals."
• "When you are kind of an entertainer, there's always going to be this ebb and flow. Sometimes you have to be more direct."
• "If they know that there are boundaries, they feel safe. That's when you get to be silly, that's when you get to be goofy and it's not a detriment to class."
• "My advice is to not just throw in humor but to get to know the kids. You have to observe them, you have to know their interests."
• "Consistency is the key. Consistently pouring into those kids, you will break down their barriers."
• "Consistency and showing interest in your students [are] way more important than just being goofy."
• "The one thing that I miss [about teaching] is the relationship with the kids."
• "You can't teach a subject to someone that's not willing. When you know them, that's when they're going to want to learn."
• "I'm not going to get them to try to love history, but they know that I love them."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Replacing older shirts
• Heather: Messaging with her cousin's daughter
• Kevin: Getting diagnosed with ADHD

Weekly Spotlight: Social Studies positions

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

Are you moving internationally or returning to your passport country? Have a friend who will be relocating soon? Worlds Here and There is a guide for navigating this significant life transition. Listen in to hear from one of the creators of this resource, Paul Snider of MK2MK, as he shares about how this book came to be and the importance of processing the impacts of moving abroad, whether upcoming, recent past, or many years ago.

• Worlds Here and There: An Activity Book for International Transition
• MK2MK
• "How can we name and grieve the things that they're losing [...] and look at what they're entering into?"
• "Here and there is really about the magnitude of both places and naming all of the different parts of both places."
• "It's never too late to grieve a past transition."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Trading kids with neighbors during spring break
• Heather: Having her voice back after a cold
• Paul: Goodreads and reading more

Weekly Spotlight: Puebla Christian School

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

What does it look like to bear with one another? What message are we proclaiming, and how does the message dwell within us? Brian Delamont returns to the podcast this week to unpack Colossians 3.

• "Learning is actually so rich and so all-encompassing. It's not just hearing a tidbit of information or being able to do a single skill; it's understanding and applying that skill in context, in community, in relationship to other things that are happening."
• "It's our churches, it's the community of Jesus followers that we find ourselves in, that can be greenhouses and accelerators for transformation. They're the places where we can really grow and mature together."
• Colossians 1:28
• "When they welcome Onesimus back, this group of Jesus followers proclaims something. They proclaim that there is forgiveness. They proclaim that there is repentance. They proclaim that there is acceptance, regardless of what your social status is or what you may have done. You are welcome in this community. That is a proclamation because it's verified by their actions."
• Colossians 3:12-17
• "Bearing with one another is a continuous process."
• "When we worship well, we let the message of Christ dwell among us."
• "Worship, by its very nature, means that we submit our thinking, our voices, our bodies to God and align together with His truth. There's a willing submission to participate with the larger group."
• "Just as God is omnipresent, in everything and everywhere, there's no space or action in our lives where He should not be, where His Name, His character isn't seen and proclaimed."

March Reflection: As a community, what do we proclaim to those around us?

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: More frequent visits from his brother with the Frontier Airlines annual pass
• Heather: Rewatching episodes of The Chosen during Lent
• Brian: Using Pinterest for a home renovation project

Weekly Spotlight: HopeSeed School

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

Emmanuel and Ruth Mbennah serve as TeachBeyond leaders in Tanzania with an amazing story and vision for their country. Hear how Emmanuel's childhood experience with school and Ruth's background as a teacher play into their ministry today.

• "Where I was born and where I grew up, there was no church, there was no school, there was no hospital, there was no road going to that place." -Emmanuel
• "No matter the circumstances in which one grows up, education can really define the destiny of the person. Education is key, education is possible. People regardless of where they are born and where they are raised; they have the potential to pursue education." -Emmanuel
• "I was fortunate to have a teacher who also had a heart to expose us to the Word of God, and then somehow God used that to propel me into a further search." -Emmanuel
• "You need education, but one that acknowledges and makes space for the learner to encounter the exposure to the Gospel so they can change." -Emmanuel
• "I celebrate telling this story because I see the hand of God in my life." - Emmanuel
• "We want teachers to know the Bible and to be able to transform students, and also students can transform communities." -Ruth
• "The Gospel story is actually our strong instrument when we talk about transformation." -Ruth
• "This is the kind of ministry that carries the mechanism that can lead to the realization of the promise of education." -Emmanuel
• "We want them to know this is a very unique opportunity for the transformation of communities through the Gospel, using education. So I would like to impact schools, owners, managers, teachers, to have the philosophy of transformational education become the philosophy of education for Tanzania." -Emmanuel
• "Everyone who has access to education must have access to education that can transform their lives." -Emmanuel
• "I'm not in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am a product of divine orchestration to be here now to do what I'm doing." -Emmanuel
• "I was not just lucky. God was up to something, and that something was for today, for such a time as this." -Emmanuel
• "I want the Gospel to transform every group that I meet when I train using Sparrow Project strategies." -Ruth
• "For us as believers, it's not so much accomplishments as much as the grace of God that has propelled us to this point." -Emmanuel

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Online book club
• Heather: Visiting a friend from university
• Ruth: Sparrow Project techniques
• Emmanuel: Speaking at a retreat and reflecting on his level of commitment

Weekly Spotlight: Sparrow Project

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

Dr. Benny Fong joins co-hosts Heather Brown and Keane Fine to share perspectives and tips for leveraging AI as a teacher. Dr. Fong provides practical applications, ethical considerations, and how AI, when used wisely, can help minimize the mundane and allow educators to focus on relationships for Kingdom impact. What are your experiences with AI in your classroom or school? Share with us at [email protected].

• Episode 147: Being Human in the Age of AI
• "The misconception is that the kids will just shift totally to using an artificial teacher or something. [...] We know that book learning is really only one part of learning. The bigger part of learning comes from a mentor, a teacher, a guide to light that fire of curiosity."
• "The whole idea of generative AI is to generate new content based on past context and experiences and information."
• "You have to treat it as a new technology, emerging technology. What are you comfortable with?"
• "As with any technology, we [have] to know the ethical boundary and the privacy first,"
• Suggestions for practical application:
• ChatGPT for lesson planning with differentiation
• Perplexity or Copilot search engines
• Real-time translation
• Multi-modal feature
• "We don't want to shortcut the process for beginning teachers to become good teachers. We don't want to shortcut the process for students to learn their content."
• "I think the danger obviously is always viewing tools as good or bad. It's always nuanced. I think that the more that we understand the tool [...] the better we can wield this tool [...] for God's work and for His Kingdom."
• "As educators, we are lifelong learners."
• "AI is really just the latest in terms of tools that forces us as educators to be flexible in how we engage our stakeholders."
• "Education leaders have to start [...] They need to recognize that things are changing. They need to work with the teachers and parents and students to formulate prudent policies first to get on the same page. Then, once things are on the same page, then that frees up the teacher to the next step, which is to innovate and learn."
• "We want to build [...] salt and light and ambassadors to the world that needs the Gospel. What does that look like with the help of AI?"
• "Minimize the mundane stuff so that I can maximize the relationship."
• "Real leaders are created through mentoring and through relationship. So, what I feel is that AI, if used properly, can actually maximize that relationship building and mentoring aspect with those around us."

Learn more about TeachBeyond's Transformational Teaching Conference here.

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Doodling on a Boogie Board LCD writing tablet
• Heather: HabitShare app
• Benny: Being reminded about grace at a recent marriage conference

Weekly Spotlight: Belize Christian Academy

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

Thinking of serving in missions someday? Hear from co-host Heather Brown, along with mobilization coaches Rachel Schmitt and Amanda Cameron, about practical steps you can take now as you consider missions for the future – and in the meantime, make an impact where you are and continue to grow in Christ!

1. Pray.
   • Operation World
   • Joshua Project
2. Serve where you are.
   • "How can I be plugged in? How can I use what God's given me and actually build and grow those skills that could be used in the future? Those things can be used now, too, and benefitting the communities that we're in. It can help with our discernment in the future, but also has an impact now." -Heather
3. Take a trip internationally.
   • "I love that God is the same God everywhere." -Heather
   • "It was a great opportunity for me to see life outside of my own small little bubble that I had grown up in, to expand my horizons, to learn more about what it looks like to live in another country, to see how things are done differently, and to see how the church functions in other countries." -Rachel
   • Learn more about TeachBeyond's short-term trips here.
4. Get involved in a missions-minded church.
   • "I remember feeling inspired, like, 'I want to go to Africa. I want to be at a school in Africa.' That stirred in me that desire, and it wasn't until years later that God opened the door for me to actually do that." -Amanda
5. Seek wisdom from others.
   • "With wisdom and discernment, bring people in who can help you with wisdom and discernment." -Heather
6. Befriend internationals.
   • "There's such a value to spending time with people and learning about their cultures." -Amanda
7. Give sacrificially to missions.
   • "We cultivate a heart for missions as we invest in missions." -Heather
8. Attend a missions conference or class.
   • Urbana Missions Conference
   • Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
9. Read, listen, and learn.
   • A Life Overseas
   • Mission Smart by David Frazier
   • Follow TeachBeyond on social media: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
   • Missionroadmap.org
10. Download our free Next Steps journal!

Closing Advice:

• "Be proactive [...] and move forward and God will reveal where He wants each of us to be." -Amanda
• "As long as you're continuing to move forward, He'll guide you and lead you in the direction that He wants you to go." -Rachel

Want to connect with a mobilization coach? Fill out this quick form to begin a conversation!

Read the article related to today's conversation here.

What's changing our lives:

• Heather: Gather25
• Amanda: Thrift stores
• Rachel: Pacas socks

Weekly Spotlight: Sign up to receive TeachBeyond News

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

Brian Delamont, TeachBeyond Vice President, returns to the podcast to share from 2 Corinthians 5 about what it looks like for our personal, internal transformation to impact culture – "getting out of our heads and into our neighborhoods."

• Romans 12:1-2
• "Every culture, every sub-culture, has patterns of thinking, patterns of behavior."
• Corporate Cultures by Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy
• "For everyone everywhere, there's a 'way that we do things around here.' So what people think moves then from internal to external because it's the values that drive the action. What you value in your thinking is going to exhibit itself in what you do."
• 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
• "Transformed thinking leads to transformed practices."
• "Trying to make people behave in the ways that Christians behave without the transformation of Christ is impossible. You can't make an old creation behave like a new creation."
• "Because you have been made new in Christ, the life that you live should look different."
• Christ and Culture by Richard Niebuhr
• Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch
• Galatians 2:20
• "A life shapes culture because it lives out the transforming values of what it believes."
• "Our lives matter more than we know because God, in His sovereignty, is working through the symphony of lives that is the single tone of each Jesus-follower combining with His global Church to reveal His glory to the world."

February Reflection: Where is the Holy Spirit prompting me to bring more of the culture of His Kingdom coming? What step will I take to be the influence that Jesus is giving me the opportunity to be?

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: YouTube video about loading the dishwasher
• Heather: Networking with new and old connections (and check out the Head of School search here!)
• Brian: Preparing legos from his sons' childhood to play with grandchildren

Weekly Spotlight: International Christian School of Togo

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

This episode covers a lot of ground as co-hosts Keane and Heather talk with Pastor Dave Totman. Dave shares about his experience growing up on the mission field, his own calling to missions, and invaluable suggestions for anyone considering serving in missions. He also unpacks what it means for a church to "hold the ropes" for its missionaries and the blessing of having his adult daughter now serving in missions.

• Listen to some of our previous Third Culture Kid episodes.
• "When [my dad] was told no, he trusted that what God was doing in his heart and in his life, that God was going to make it happen."
• "Where we are weak, where sometimes we feel like or have even been told that we don't have what it takes, God can overcome any of that stuff."
• "God can use me with my interests and my gifting in a very different way than my dad."
• Third Culture Kids by David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken
• "It was not a couple of days or couple of weeks thing; this was actually a couple of years. It took a while for me to realize what God was doing."
• "Any decisions have to be saturated in prayer."
• Operation World and Joshua Project
• "The process of praying through and considering those different things and the conversations that that led to around the dining room table - that was where God was working and shaping our hearts."
• "You open up your hands to God, and you say, 'Anywhere, anytime, anything. I just want to be obedient. I'm going to follow You. You made me in Your image, and You've designed me to bring You glory, so I want to bring You glory, and I'll do it anywhere, anytime, I'll do anything to bring You glory.'"
• "Looking for wise counsel around you [...] that's a really vital piece of discerning God's will."
• "We are called to reach our neighbors, we are called to reach our wider community, but we are also called to be the Gospel light around the world."
• "We've been the recipients of seeing a church be faithful to [holding the ropes]."
• "We need to know our missionaries, we need to care for our missionaries, and that's way beyond caring for just their financial needs."
• "One way to support is to read the prayer updates carefully, and then we're all humans, so let's engage at a human level with compassion."
• Dave's suggestions if you're considering missions:
• Pray!
• Ask others to pray with you
• Consider taking a short-term mission trip
• Read missionary biographies
• Serve where you are
• "For a boat that's tied to the dock, the rudder is worthless [...] Once you push off, the rudder can direct the boat anywhere. I don't want to be a boat tied to the dock asking God to lead me."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Lego sets
• Heather: Instagram feed of only those you're following (here's how!)
• Dave: Learning from Charles Spurgeon this year

Weekly Spotlight: Sahel Academy and International Christian School of Budapest

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

Is teaching just about the information, or is it more than that? Co-host Keane Fine sits down with Dr. James Enns for a conversation about how Christocentric education can impact on our desires and captivate our imaginations.

• Contact [email protected] if you'd like to access a copy of Facets of Transformational Education!
• "Is it just information? How does formation happen?"
• Desiring the Kingdom by James K. A. Smith
• "We can know the right thing to do, but that doesn't guarantee we're going to do it."
• "We are desiring beings before we are cognitive, reflective beings."
• "We see visions of the good life that appeal to our loves well before we articulate it in any kind of worldview or philosophy."
• "We need to understand that all good education comes out of a relationship."
• "What we do with our bodies matters, and we learn through embodied actions, even when our rational conscious faculty isn't tuned into them."
• "We have to get to know the script to know how to act as improvisational characters consistent with the plot line."
• "It takes a great deal of creativity and being less a slave to get through the curriculum and more let's enjoy the ride as far as we go."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Phone Minimalist app
• James: Being a grandparent and meditative prayer

Weekly Spotlight: Christian English School of Torino

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

Since 1974, the Lausanne Movement has hosted several Lausanne Congresses, momentous gatherings focused on the state of the Great Commission and collaboration for the future of global missions. In September 2024, over 5,000 believers from over 200 nations assembled in South Korea for the Fourth Lausanne Congress. Hear from two TeachBeyond members - Susie Njogu from Kenya and A. S. from a creative access location - about their experiences and where they hope this will lead in the future.

• Learn more about the Lausanne Movement
• "There's no one particular organization or person that can advance this Great Commission by themselves. Together we can do better to advance the Gospel." -Susie
• "Unless the Church comes together, we cannot fulfill the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ." -A
• "Education is a very powerful tool [to] reach unreached people groups." -A
• "[The Great Commission] is not a command or a mandate for people just in a certain region; it's for all of us." -Susie
• Article from CBN
• "Collaboration can help us to reach more diverse people and unreached people groups." -A
• "Persecution is there, yes, but God continues to protect His people and have His work advance." -Susie
• "We have to continue sharing the Word of God to people whom we meet, wherever they are." -A

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Reading The Chronicles of Narnia to his children
• Heather: Taking a break from leading a small group
• Susie: Reading The Body Keeps the Score with her book club
• A: Teaching theology, specifically salvation

Weekly Spotlight: Arbor Christian Academy

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