Some time ago we posted a link to a great site called “I used to believe.” It’s a fun look at the naturally quirky world of children’s epistemology. We all used to believe something as children that we no longer do as adults. And certainly, continuing to leave behind naïve beliefs, unsophisticated notions and misunderstandings is a sign of intellectual and emotional maturity.

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I’m finding many interesting instances of “misunderstanding” in this year’s fall tour of educational workshops and seminars. Mostly they arise from audiences of lay and volunteer teachers, sincere and passionate people who step up to engage in the noble and important work of teaching others. But I still find many tenacious misunderstandings about teaching and learning even among experienced and professional teachers. One misunderstanding I’ve addressed twice in recent workshops is the idea that learning is an outcome of teaching.

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One of the most important qualities in any organization is the ability to solve its own problems. Organizations that cannot solve their own problems are in trouble. It won’t take long before they become overwhelmed as one unsolved problem begins to affect another. At that point the issues become systemic, and the only solution is to fix everything at the same time together. That’s a task that is more complex and overwhelming than most organizations can pull off.

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As a former principal of a private school I suppose I can be accused of being biased on the issue of private “vs.” public schools, parental choice, vouchers, etc. The school I served was in Miami with a 93% minority student population and a 99.5% minority faculty (we had one anglo faculty and three anglo staff persons). The students consistently scored an average of 1.5 years ahead of national standardized scores across the board, with many grades consistently averaging two years ahead of the national norm. The families that made up our school were not affluent. They were low income, blue collar, to middle class whose only commonly shared value was a commitment to their children’s education and a will to do whatever they needed to ensure they got it.

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Many years ago, I developed a relationship with an older church member who resided in a local Baptist retirement community. This friend taught me how to make kitchen clocks using skillets. One of the first questions he asked was, “How do we find the center of the skillet?” Well, my mathematical aptitude on that issue was on the level of throwing darts at a target—hoping that I would come close. After I was told how it should be done, he taught me how to drill the skillet, how to protect it from rust, how to find the proper positions of the numbers, how to paint it, how to make many clocks in a production line, etc.

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Eric H.F. Law, Episcopal priest and internationally known consultant on multiculturalism, in his book, Inclusion: Making Room for Grace, invites congregational leaders to think of their church ministries in three components. The three ministry components and descriptions are:

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I recently had a conversation with a staff minister who shared his frustration that his staff team did not conduct staff meetings. The result, he said, was a lack of communication and collaboration. He continued with a comment that little sense of teamship existed within his staff team.

This conversation led me to think about the practices that are necessary for effective staff ministry. Take a look at these practices and share your thoughts about the significance of these six practices for effective staff ministry. What other practices would you add to the list?

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Developmental Christian education formation program planning is an approach that seeks to shape the educational programs in a congregation around the faith development needs of the members. While it appears to use an “age-graded” structure to programs, planning also incorporates the entire spectrum of psycho-social needs of the individual within the context of the faith community. Specifically, as much attention is given to inter- and intragenerational aspects of learning and faith because of the following three dynamics:

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