The fullness of the Teacher is radically important to the possession of their birthright.
I will probably intermix a whole lot of thoughts in the next series of posts on the teacher in order to express more fully what I understand about them.
In Teacher Cities, we have a few other expressions of their gift.
- First, in most Teacher Cities is found a division into two major parts. THE MOST COMMON–not necessarily the only–boundary is with a river. Nashville; Kansas City; Jacksonville; and Springfield, Massachusetts. The expression of this in Scripture is in the Old Testament, the Teacher priestly class, the Levites made a distinction between clean and unclean, defiled and undefiled, holy and unholy, molded and unmolded, serving G-d or serving idols, a single crop versus a multi crop. They were charged to make distinctions everywhere. Now, Springfield, MO is divided into two parts not with a river but with a road, named Division St., and the city is divided into two parts, each with its own distinctive feel.
- Teacher Cities are hubs of transportation with many roads, railroads, and other forms of transport entering and exiting them. Frequently transportation arteries come through Teacher Cities.
- Teacher Cities usually have some form of Military Presence, but not a primary (Infantry or Battle) presence. More like a secondary or support military presence (think Quartermasters, and search and rescue, and transport presence, or supply presence).
- Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings BOOKS (not the movies, the books. Get off of your duff and read a book, you who cannot be bothered to do anything except watch movies because the books take too long) exemplifies the best of the Teacher gift with this one statement “the hands of the king are healing hands.” Teacher are known, over and over and over again for pairing well with gifts of healing, reconciliation, and restoration. Because they are safe and their hands are safe, they are capable of bringing broken and wounded people within a hand’s breadth of the healing powre of G-d, and the principles tied up in medicine (all branches, including the best of allopathic medicine, a comment I say at the risk of being stoned).
Why am I so incessantly zealous for the Teacher tribe?
Because I know that when they have that moment of encounter with the Word of G-d Himself, or His representative, it ruins them for the normal.
The Scripture moves from being a rack on which to hang their perfectly-executed sermons, to a living and breathing book that comes ALIVE to them.
They then become more effectively equipped with a larger and broader set of tools with which to mine the gems of the Scriptures, or whatever their chosen trade is, and to hand those finely-hewn precious gifts to others in a place of safety.
As I said in another place:
A theophany,
A strong pneumasomatic encounter with the Word of G-d himself or his representative.
Some undeniable mark that demonstrates they do not see the text as just a point of reference to hang their 25-point sermon on anymore, but something that shakes them.
Samuel’s encounter was in 1 Samuel 3.
Luke’s writings from 4:14 demonstrate he had an encounter with G-d.
Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, and with her Son, repeatedly. (For those who still think she is a Giver, I don’t know what to tell you. Enjoy that viewpoint, I am still holding fast to Teacher for her).
Isaiah’s encounter with the glory of G-d in Chapter 6.
Those are the four major encounters of Teachers that are illustrated or demonstrated in Scripture.
You want to know why I am so passionate about Teachers. This is part of the reason.
When a Teacher gets wrecked by the moment of encounter with the living G-d, he or she becomes a formidable force. I know when a Teacher has had that. I can feel the mark on them.
Craig Keener is one example of someone who has that mark. It breathes throughout ALL of his writings.
Just some late afternoon thoughts as I go pick up my daughter.
Thoughts?