teaching, learning, proving...

In school you write to prove to your teacher what you know... In academics you write to teach...

This maxim on writing was given to me upon receiving back my first rough draft of one of my major final papers in seminary. There are times in our lives where we have to learn, times when we have to prove what we know, and times when we need to teach. In the midst of university classes and degree programs the lines between these groups are rather well delineated... but in life they are not. The person you need to teach one day will be the person you need to learn from the next day and the person you need to prove you know stuff to the next day. This is the rhythm of our relationships.

Learning to flow between these states of teaching, learning, and proving is a basic life skill... its also a core ethic of Christ's teaching.

A dispute arose among the apostles as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

                                                  -Luke 22:24-30

Here we are at the beginning of a new school year. We are entering into a state of learning, of teaching, of proving that is distinct. The move of God, from a state at the highest point of heaven to a point of incarnation, to a point of servant hood, is such a distinct movement. Christ here calls us to enter into this same set of movements... to move from teacher, to learner, to prover, and back again as we go about our lives... to not assume that we are here only to teach, or only to learn, or only to prove but to know that we are supposed to put ourselves in all such positions as we go about our lives. 

If we are going to create healthy communities each of us has to realize that at points we will need to enter various roles of teacher, learner, and prover. Sometimes we have to prove that we know what we are talking about, frustrating as that can be in any situation. Sometimes we have to buckle down and realize we have to learn, which sometimes is amazing and sometimes is frustrating. Sometimes we have to stand up and teach, empowering or frightening as that possibility might seem.

The problem comes when a community pigeonholes someone and makes them only a teacher, only a learner, or only a prover. When we do that we limit everyone in the community and bring about a collapse into stagnation. It might be great to be stuck into the teacher role... until no one ever gives you a chance to learn and you no longer are given chances to take a risk and prove yourself. It could be great to just learn, but then no one gets to learn from you. And none of us can survive if every day we have to prove everything about who we are to our community.

So we have to create communities where people are able to move from the place of teacher, to learner, to prover... and the way to do that is to start with ourselves and recognize times when we are called to teach, called to learn, and called to prove.