Looking Like Our Teacher

By Caleb Gordon

“He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher’” (Luke 6:39-40).

Years ago, I wrote an article for The RenewaNation Review called “Worldview Building.” I reflected on a gift that Christian education had given me—the gift to connect the world around me into a coherent, biblical framework that guided the way I lived and the work that I set myself to. I called this process of piecing things together “worldview building.” Grade-level to grade-level, high school diploma to bachelor’s degree, everything that I learned and experienced found its way into a worldview construction project, undergone and processed through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

I still continue this task to this day. As I previously wrote, “Ultimately, worldview building and connecting is a lifetime process; however, I would never have understood this process and its significance if Christian educators had not taken the time to invest in me through their calling to show me the importance of worldview.” My ability to “build” a biblical worldview over time was and is largely thanks to the teachers who spent countless hours showing me how to build the right worldview. If I had not studied under educators who possessed a biblical worldview and knew how to communicate it, then how could I have been expected to develop one and then pass it along to others?

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus spends time investing in the development of His own disciples. After choosing “the twelve” from among His followers, Jesus stood before “a great crowd of His disciples” and others looking “to hear Him and be healed of their diseases” (Lk. 6:12-19). While He ministered through healing, Jesus also took this time to teach His disciples about what it meant to follow Him. To be His disciples, they had to identify with their Teacher and the prophets that preceded Him, despite the cost, loving and extending mercy to others without an expectation of receiving anything in return (Lk. 6:20-36). Furthermore, His disciples would be held to the standard they used in their treatment of others (Lk. 6:37-38). What was the standard to which they had been called to aspire? It was to be like their Teacher (Lk. 6:39-49). It is in this context that Jesus reminds them and us that “a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Lk. 6:40). Lest we lead our students blindly and call them to a standard that we do not meet ourselves, we must invest in our own biblical worldview development. We must build our worldviews, lives, and work upon the firm foundation of our Teacher, Jesus (Lk. 6:46-48).

It is for this reason and sacred calling as Christ’s disciples that the RenewaNation Education Advancement Program (REAP) is excited to announce its Spiritual Equipping and Education Development Program, fittingly abbreviated the “SEED” Program. Led by REAP Director of Resource Development, Tonya Gordon, the curriculum writing team designed this professional development resource primarily for teachers, to help bridge their own “worldview building” discipleship to boots-on-the-ground, daily ministry in education. The curriculum incorporates aspects of biblical study, worldview building, and instruction for educational practice to walk participants step-by-step from the pages of the Scriptures to practical application in their educational environments. Based on my own professional background in biblical and theological studies, the REAP team kindly extended me the opportunity to assist in developing this offering. I have thoroughly enjoyed building this project from the ground up with them, and I am honored to announce the SEED Program officially to you in this article on the REAP team’s behalf.

We are excited about how this program will encourage Teacher-to-teacher, teacher-to-student discipleship within Christian education. As someone who studied under teachers worth aspiring to, I am fortunate to support this project and give back from the deposit entrusted to me. We are all disciples, and the truth is, we all have a Teacher worth aspiring to. Let us build our foundations on His solid ground and disciple our students from that place. I encourage you to consider this resource for your Christian school or homeschool, and I look forward to seeing what the Lord can do through trained disciples looking like our Teacher.

Learn more at: reap.renewanation.org

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Caleb is a contributing writer to the RenewaNation Review and Liberty Theological Review. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree, specializing in biblical interpretation, languages, and hermeneutics. Caleb is passionate about reorienting Christians to a biblical worldview based on biblical authority. He has taught over fifteen university guest lectures in biblical studies, while mentoring divinity students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Caleb serves as program coordinator and editor for the REAP division of RenewaNation. In his spare time, Caleb runs the digital ministry O’Theophilus, writes movie reviews, and explores local coffee shops equipped with an ever-expanding Spotify playlist library.