Lutheran school teachers in Indy-final thoughts

INDIANAPOLIS--It's Saturday morning and the final day of the Lutheran Education Association (LEA) national teachers convention which is part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).  Here are some final thoughts and observations:

• Looking at the individual teachers, I wonder what stories they could tell about struggles they've faced in the classroom with students and in the church.   What about the victories that come from only one source, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Too bad each teacher doesn't have a personal blog.  I think we would really see the hand of God involved in each of their lives. 

• Most of the teachers attending this national get-to-together look like they will be aging out of the system either soon or in the not-to-distant future. They're baby-boomers.  This raises the question about the future of Lutheran schools.  Will they be forced to go to contract teachers, rather than called teachers. 

• The importance of prayer for each class, individual students and teachers.  My wife told him while we have been down here about a woman who belongs to our church who has committed to praying for her third grade class during the school year.  Is that important?  And, would it be important to get more prayer support for each classroom.

• There's power in seeing you're not alone.  At breakfast this morning, my wife said she felt strength from just being around Lutheran teachers from around the country.  They share the same mission. 

• I wonder if Lutheran schools, their teachers, principals and boards are in a rut doing things the same way they've always done it.  The culture has changed.  The teachers know it, but it's hard to break out of a pattern that goes back a long ways.

I'm glad I came.  I hope that any future grandchildren that my wife and I have the option available that she and I had of going to a Lutheran school.  They are institutions worth keeping healthy and strong.