A Contest!

Okay all you IOT’s out there, here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Announcing the first ever Instructors’ Café Contest!

Instructions:
• Send by email to cheryl.oetting@cefonline.com one personal testimony of how a TCE course in which you participated as an instructor affected the life of a teacher. This could relate to how the teacher was personally touched or motivated by the teaching or how the course material was effectively used by the teacher in his or her Good News Club.

• The testimony MUST be accompanied by a picture of the teacher, the TCE class or the teacher’s club. Also, permission must be granted by the teacher and parents of any children in the picture to be used in our blog.

• The testimony and picture must be received in our office no later than April 30, 2007. One entry per person please.

• When sending entry please include: your full name, mailing address, daytime phone number and verification that permission is given to use the testimony and picture in our blog. Also, please put "Blog Contest" in the subject line of your email.

How will the winners be decided?
Your trusty,impartial blog administrators will evaluate each entry and choose the eight most inspirational testimonies with good clear pictures. Winners will be announced on this blog on May 11, 2007.

What do I get if I win?
Besides our undying gratitude, you and the teacher you tell about will each win a cool Ball of Many Colors! Think of all the ways you could use this durable, Wordless Book colored soccer ball as a teaching tool in your training, your clubs or for activities in camps or CYIA! In addition, the eight winning entries will each be featured in our soon-to-be world renown blog to inspire and encourage other IOTs!

Who can participate?
This contest is open to all credentialed IOTs or IOT candidates who have visited the Café at least once since we opened in January 2007. Participation by all full time department of education personnel, blog administrators (or Martha Wright’s dog!) is strictly prohibited.

So, get those cameras out, write down those testimonies and get those emails to Cheryl! We look forward to hearing from you!

Amazing Grace

Have any of you out there seen the new movie, Amazing Grace? If not make plans to see this amazing film! It is the true story of William Wilberforce, who led a twenty-year fight to abolish slavery in Britain.

Wilberforce had become a believer in the late 1700's and was elected to the House of Commons at age 21. His mentor and pastor was John Newton, the former slave ship captain turned preacher and writer of the famous hymn. The film depicts the bond between the two men and how Wilberforce was inspired to serve God by carrying out his relentless battle against slavery.

The film conveys a wonderful testimony about the power of the Gospel to change lives. You’ll want to cheer when John Newton tells William, “Although my memory is fading I remember two things clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” When was the last time you heard that in a movie theater??

The film also shows the power of one. One man with a vision and passion is able to stand against the current of his times and turn an entire country in a new direction. Another theme is the power of love and friendship. Wilberforce could not have persevered without the encouragement of his wife, friends and pastor. This was a group who truly edified and strengthened each other to complete their God-ordained task.

The actors did a wonderful job of depicting these larger-than-life people. Wilberforce is not a plastic hero. He is portrayed as a man troubled by doubts and fears and plagued by physical infirmities. Yet, he is a man of extraordinary humility, compassion and courage.

So, what does this have to do with being an instructor of teachers? First, it should edify you in your task. You may wonder at times if teaching all those TCE courses is really making a difference. Remember the power of one! You have the opportunity to influence so many lives through your training courses. Not only are you influencing the teachers, but think of all the children you are reaching through them! Who knows but that your courses may be used of God to bring dramatic change to your local community or state!

You can also use this film to challenge your TCE students. Remind them that they may very well have a future William Wilberforce in their Good News Club! That child who is driving them crazy could grow up to be used of God in amazing ways to influence a generation.

And one other thought. The edifying effect of Wilberforce’s close circle of companions is a wonderful reminder of the importance of our bond, not only as believers, but as IOTs. We need to be constantly looking for ways to encourage and strengthen each other for the task God has given us. This blog is a great way we can do that. Even though we can’t be together in person, we can meet here at the Café for that little “shot in the arm” that will keep us going through another course.

So, go see Amazing Grace! You will be supporting good, substantive filmmaking and you will be wonderfully inspired in the process. For more info on the movie visit www.amazinggracemovie.com.

Resurrection Truth!

If you've been watching the news, you've no doubt come across the provocative report concerning archaeological "evidence" that questions the resurrection of Christ. According to a report in USA Today,

"A TV documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, airs Sunday (Discovery Channel, 9 p.m.). The show's director, Simcha Jacobovici, held a news conference in New York Monday to unveil two stone boxes, or ossuaries, that they say once held the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The documentary contends that inscriptions on the ossuaries pinpoint a hillside tomb in Jerusalem as the burial place of Jesus, his possible wife, Mary Magdalene, their son, Judah, and his mother, Mary. Finding a burial site for Jesus, much less a son and evidence of a marriage, would contradict the New Testament, the authors note, and challenge the belief that Jesus rose from the dead."

Actually, this so-called evidence was found some twenty years ago. But filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic) has decided it is time to unveil this find to the world. Some historians are saying this will be a bigger blow to Christianity than The DaVinci Code.

While it will undoubtedly validate the views of unbelievers and shake the faith of the skeptical, true believers will not be moved--though we are certainly annoyed at these ongoing attempts to discredit the Word of God!

How will children react to this news? If they have seen the reports on TV or heard adults discussing it, they may have lots of questions. Teachers might even hear some of those questions come up in their Good News Clubs.

So what is the significance of this development to us as IOTs? We need to be even more vigilant in training our TCE students in how they present the resurrection of Christ. Help your students to see that it is vital that they include this truth. They need to do more than just mention that Jesus rose again. Encourage them to do some teaching about the resurrection. They can tell the children that after Jesus rose from the dead He was seen by hundreds of people. Tell the children Jesus arose in bodily form. People ate with Him, talked to Him and touched Him. His followers so believed the truth of the resurrection they were willing to die for that truth in later years.

We have ample proof of the resurrection of Christ. Scripture says, "He showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs..." (Acts 1:3). We can't share all of that proof with children each time we teach, but we need to be diligent to communicate to them in small bites that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead and lives today!