Wisdom and Magic

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to Norman Drummond give an inspiring lecture on leadership at Edinburgh University entitled," Wisdom and Magic" its well worth a listen. It turned out to be a great evening all round. I had the chance to catch up with a few friends followed by an excellent meal in one of Edinburgh's French restaurants in Cockburn Street. Over the past few weeks I've been talking to a number of people about Norman's lecture. Helping people see the "Magic" is an important aspect of mentoring and encouraging leaders and even friends. I know we don't always succeed but I'm sure we all agrree that it is so important to try to bring out the best in the people we work alongside. Its so easy to be negative but there is a real joy that comes from connecting people to the "Magic" that Norman Drummond talks about. Encouraging people to rise to their real potential. I also liked one of Norman's memoralble phrases when he spoke of our culture that is so often all about "valuing targets rather than targeting values." Norman's theme was of special interest to two young teachers with whom i met up with last week. We had arranged a meeting to talk about ways in which we can help contribute as a Church, to the Curriculum for Excellence in our local Secondary School. Both of the teachers were really passionate about what they were trying to deliver in their classrooms. They were also enthusiastic about the opportunities Curriculum For Ecellence will bring them giving them the freedom to create much of their own material. It was good to work along side Lilias our Youth Worker as together we were able to make a contribution to the way christianity will be taught in the school. We're hoping to use the Jesus Manifesto as reported by Luke at the end of Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4 as the starting point from which to introduce Christianity to all the first years. I think its going to work. It will also allow the RE Department to engage with all kinds of links across the curriculum and also the community. While we were talking about all this the 'Magic" appeared and it wasn't long before we could also see the wisdom we wanted to share appear. Using the words of Isaiah, Jesus tells his listeners, in the Gospel of Luke, that he has fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. He suggests to them he will "bind up the broken hearted, set prisoner free, heal the sick, and give sight to the blind." Using this quotation from the Gospel, we will be able to make links for the school to the local prison, and connect the children with our various Church Outreach programmes, which are all connected in some way with healing. In the school there are lots of connections with other subjects that can be formed. The history of Art, will allow the Art teachers if they so desire to see the importance of the parables of Jesus as retold by many of the classic painters. What I'm realising is that there are many opportunities available to share the gospel in schools through these creative educational opportunities.

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