July 2003 Hallowell Highlights

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=120 BGCOLOR="#FFCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0443f781egdyul.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Proclaim His Praise in the Islands - the Hallowells</B></FONT> <B> </B><B>|    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Proclaim His Praise in the Islands the "><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=360 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> July 2003 Hallowell Highlights</div> <bR> <bR> <div>   </div> <div> July 23, 2003</div> <bR> <div> Dear Friend,</div> <bR> <div> Last Friday in chapel there was intentionally no speaker.  This was so that whoever wanted  could share testimonies.  One student testified with tears pouring down how poor her family was.  They were only able to eat once a day, because her father died while she was young and her mother was a pastor.  She hated the poverty and worked hard at a young age to get wealthy.  She succeeded!  But she soon learned how empty wealth alone can be!  But the Lord has not forgotten her.  She testified how God has now called her to be a pastor herself.  It hasn't been easy for her to be here.  But she is glad she is.  She is looking forward to being trained to return to minister effectively in the country where she is from, where pastors and missionaries are not always welcome, in faithfulness to God.</div> <bR> <div> Another student, a middle-aged man, testified about his salvation.  He was a successful businessman, a millionaire (in Filipino pesos), before age 30, a real accomplishment.  God has called him to be a pastor in spite of his immoral background before he met Jesus.  His wife and four children haven't always been overjoyed with his decision; it certainly means a significant reduction in their standard of living.  But, the earthly rewards of following Christ are very significant as well.  (See Mark 10:29-30, for example, <A HREF="#i_tell_you_the_truth_jesus_replied" TITLE="July 2003 Hallowell Highlights"><U>below</U></A>).</div> <bR> <div> This is now our second year teaching and mentoring students at the Biblical Seminary of the Philippines.  We still pinch ourselves from time to time to check that we are really here and not just dreaming!  We get to work with students like these.  How exciting!  How humbling.  May they learn from our strengths and overlook our weak areas!  </div> <bR> <div> Working to train laborers for the harvest,</div> <div> Jay and Amor</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>An Apple for the Teacher?</B></div> <bR> <div> We have been really challenged and encouraged by Parker J. Palmer's, The Courage to Teach.  Amor discovered the book in one of her Christian Education classes.  She then introduced it to Jay.</div> <bR> <div> Palmer (a Quaker, by the way) observes that traditional classrooms have often been teacher-driven.  That is, the teacher is regarded as the authority who dominates the classroom and often just lectures expecting the students to take notes, learn, and apply the material.  This is a time-honored approach that has its strengths.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> Jay lecturing in a class - <A HREF="id50_jay_really_enjoys_teaching.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jay at BSOP"><U>photo </U></A></div> <bR> <div> In response to the weaknesses of the teacher-driven approach some have proposed a student-driven approach where the students dominate the classroom and the teacher responds.  This can also be a useful approach, but has its weaknesses.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> Palmer suggests a way better than these two.  That is a subject-driven approach where teachers and students both learn from the subject.  He suggests that this is the best and normal way of learning in real life.  "Our knowledge of the world comes from gathering around great things in a complex and interactive community of truth."  </div> <div>  </div> <div> This quarter, Jay has been trying to apply the subject-driven approach in his class on the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The four books themselves, the original sources in academic parlance, are the great subject.  Well, actually, the gospels lead us to the great subject, Jesus.  </div> <bR> <div> Jay cannot say that his students in NT1, as the class on the gospels is called, have caught on particularly well yet.  It could be that their teacher is not using the method well enough.  Perhaps the students are simply not used to it.  Anyway, Jay's goal is not that the students remember him, or even remember the supplemental textbooks, or that they remember each other, though none of those are bad things.  His goal is that the students remember the Biblical texts themselves and go away understanding how to understand the gospels, and especially to be in awe of the one about whom the gospels are speaking.  </div> <bR> <div> Jay has also been using the subject-driven approach in the Inductive Bible Study course he is teaching this quarter.  This course is for first-year (new) students.  This year's crop of new students seems more diverse than last year's.  Students are from three countries with an interesting range of abilities in English.  Some are quite young with extremely limited exposure to scripture.  One has already has already graduated from a Bible school and been a pastor for many years.  The subject-centered approach helps each one to interact with the material at his or her own level and to learn.  Otherwise it would be difficult to teach without either leaving the beginners behind or boring the advanced students hopelessly.  The subject-driven approach has worked quite well with this group.</div> <bR> <div> Jay is staying with a teacher-centered approach in his third class, offered at a church about an hour a way on Wednesday evenings.  Church people have, in our experience here, have been less open to non-traditional approaches than seminary students.  This class is also on the gospels.  It will be interesting to evaluate the results of this class in comparison to the subject-centered approach he is using on the same subject at the seminary.  </div> <bR> <div> You might remember that one reason Jay came here was to teach Missions.  You may have noted above that none of his three classes this quarter are missions courses.  Next quarter, he is slated to teach Hermeneutics (How to Interpret the Bible) and New Testament 2 (Acts and the early Pauline epistles) to two different classes.  He enjoys being able to do the extra reading and preparation to teach courses like interpreting the Bible and New Testament.  But, his heart continues to be in missions.  </div> <bR> <div> Anyway, he was quite encouraged last week when the Dean asked him to meet soon to discuss adding a Missions Major to the curriculum of the seminary.  More challenges and opportunities!  But, this, at least, is more in the area of his experience, vision, and academic expertise.  Please pray for him and the Dean as they develop this strategic curriculum.  May God use it to bring glory to Himself!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>An Apple for the Mentor?</B></div> <bR> <div> Amor continues to mentor seven young ladies.  These ladies are at different levels of spiritual maturity.  Some have difficult and complex problems.  But Amor is encouraged by God's work in their lives.   </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Amor at BSOP"><U>Marie </U></A>recently became a Christian in a Bible Study Amor led with her.  Amor continues to mentor her.  <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Amor at BSOP"><U>Marie's photo</U></A>. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <div>  <A NAME="i_tell_you_the_truth_jesus_replied"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life."  Mark 10: 29-30 NIV</div> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> by Jay and Amor Hallowell</div> <div> September 1, 2003</div> <div> --------------------------------- end of Hallowell content ---------------------------------------------</div> </td> </tr></table></body>