Jon Roberts Page 85

By Jessyka Dooley

Earlier this week, someone said to me, “If I hear the term ‘the new normal’ one more time, I’m going to gag!” To be quite honest, I kind of agree. I also catch myself saying it on a quite regular basis. To use the term “new normal,” you must first define what was normal in the first place. To be quite honest, I’m not sure my generation has ever experienced any kind of long-term normal.

Growing up in the millennial generation, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a consistent normal, and the more I think about it, I’m not sure many people have.

My generation was born for COVID-19. Our upbringing prepared us for this moment in time. No job security? Been there. Staying at home for days on end? Done that.

We have watched the world change so many times we never even grasped any kind of normality.

The oldest millennials lived without internet in the palms of their hands and watched the space shuttle Challenger explode. We went from using encyclopedias to Googling things. We’ve sat in peaceful classrooms and classrooms practicing, or actively responding to, active shooter drills. We’ve shopped in stores and we’ve shopped online. We’ve studied textbooks and we’ve studied iPads and computer screens. We’ve walked right up to the airport gates to meet family and we’ve been patted down and picked apart by TSA. We’ve used the US Postal Service and we’ve had every email ending from @yahoo.com to our own account. We’ve had our photos developed and we’ve airdropped photos to our friends. It was normal before and it was normal after.

And now . . . well, now I consider it normal to stand six feet apart in line at the grocery store with a mask on. Need- less to say, change is in the DNA of millennials.

The new normal is happening all the time around us, but usually it is not quite as abrupt.

So, looking back, pre-coronavirus, what was normal to you? Did you enjoy everything that was deemed “normal?” The COVID-19 pandemic has caused humanity to recognize that we do not have a monopoly on normalcy, at least not in every circumstance. This virus has a silent symptom, a symptom that causes us to glorify the past, dreaming of the day when things will go back to normal. Unfortunately, the normal we seem to be craving is not something to be glorified, in fact, much of our normal was downright disgusting.

Our culture has normalized racism.
Our culture has normalized sexism.
 Our culture has normalized selfishness and greed.
Our culture has normalized lies and hate speech.
Our culture has normalized busyness.
Our culture has normalized so many things that do not reflect the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our world may not have a say in the new normal that the coronavirus is implementing all around us, but we all get the opportunity to uproot “normal” injustices and replace them with equality, kindness, and selflessness. At the end of the day, every day, we each play a part in what “normal” is and what it is shaping up to be.

I’ve caught myself saying things like, “I just want things to go back to normal.” I’m sure you have too. Graduating seniors have made the most of their ceremonies but are still mourning that special moment and feeling that may never come. Mothers are giving birth with no one by their side. Families are saying their final goodbye to loved ones over iPads. We have to wear masks and wait in lines. I can’t wait for these things to go away. Time can’t move fast enough! Unfortunately, I’m not educated in the specific science to formulate the proper vaccination for this virus.

So, while we wait for this tsunami wave of COVID-19 to pass and for the pieces of normalcy that we love so deeply to return, let’s create our new normal as followers of Jesus.

Let’s normalize patience in grocery store lines and let others go ahead.
Let’s normalize equality and stand up for those who are facing injustices.
Let’s normalize young leaders and give opportunities for the next generation to step up.
Let’s normalize tipping generously.
Let’s normalize gratitude and focus on our blessings more than our burdens.
Let’s normalize good news over doomsday news.

Let’s create a normal that is so good no virus can wipe it out! Do not let this crisis go to waste. It would be a shame for our world and lives to be shaken and then jump right back into how we did life before. This is (I hope) a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a world, a culture, and a normal that we are proud of. I, for one, can’t wait to see what we can create together!

—Jessyka Dooley is RMC associate youth director. Email her at: [email protected]

By Denis Fortin

It is with some dismay that after a few weeks within this COVID-19 health crisis, social media began to be filled with posts on a variety of conspiracy theories. Adventist Christians appeared to be caught up in this just as much as others. And I wondered why this was happening.

I think that to a large extent, our teachings on end-time events may have something to do with this. Regrettably. Most of our eschatological timetables include some moments when the enemies of God’s remnant people will begin a persecution of those who observe the Sabbath. They will be chased, imprisoned, lynched, condemned to death, and so on. But what is not exactly known is the exact trigger that will launch this nefarious social and religious agenda. So many Adventists live in perpetual anxiety, looking for signs of some precursor attempts at depriving them of their religious rights, harbingers of more drastic measures soon to come. Each crisis in American life has produced such similar psychological and sociological religious responses. The downside, however, is that the repeated failures of such unfulfilled prophecies has caused a spiritual exhaustion in many lifelong Adventists.

I’m afraid we will experience the same thing again within a year or two, just as we experienced it a few years after 9/11.

In Chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus’ long discourse on the signs of his Second Coming. These two chapters have been carefully studied for many generations to find any clues of the developments that would indicate the proximity of this glorious event.

Among the signs given, first there would be all kinds of people pretending to be the Messiah and false prophets attempting to deceive people. Deception and apostasy would be indicators of the end. These signs would be accompanied by all kinds of turbulence among the nations and rumors of war, famines, earthquakes, and plagues (Luke 21:11). There would be great chaos on earth and in the heavens. But all these events would not be the final signs to look for (Matthew 24:8).

Among all these negative and troubling signs, there would be a positive one—the preaching of the gospel to all nations (Matthew 24:14).

Speaking of his coming, Jesus said: “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).

This description of the Second Coming of Jesus has caught the imagination of so many artists through the centuries.

But the greatest question still to be answered is the one the disciples asked at the beginning of the chapter: “When will this Second Coming of Christ happen?”

In spite of all the signs of the times he listed, which can so easily be turned into checklists and timetables, Jesus also added: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

No one knows. That includes us, doesn’t it?

For generations now, we have had our timetables of last- day events. Many academy and college Bible teachers have had their students prepare these timelines from the writings of Ellen White. And none of them has been correct so far. It seems to me that Jesus expected people to be curious about these signs and would seek to create some schedule of expected predictions of the event. Perhaps that is why He took the conversation about His Second Coming in a different direction.

From the end of Chapter 24 to the end of Chapter 25, Jesus brings up five parables all intended as exhortations to vigilance and patience.

Jesus obviously knows that some delay will happen and that the timeline Matthew has described may not happen quite as soon or in the way people expect.

So, what is the lifestyle Jesus is expecting of His people as they await His return?

Five parables

In the first parable at the end of Chapter 24, Jesus alludes to the time of Noah and the Flood and speaks of the unexpected nature of end-time events in the time of Noah. Jesus warns that His disciples ought to be vigilant and not complacent. He concludes with this caution: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:44).

In the second parable about the faithful and wise servant, also at the end of Chapter 24, Jesus makes the point that His disciples ought to be faithful and responsible to their assigned tasks in the interim time until His Second Coming. His disciples should be loyal people, fulfilling their responsibilities with consistent dedication.

The third parable, at the beginning of Matthew 25 about the ten virgins, is intriguing and best understood within the cultural context of a wedding in the ancient Middle East. The scenario runs like this: the bride is still at her home with her wedding party of ten bridesmaids and they are waiting for the groom to come pick her up and go to his parents’ home where the wedding will be held. The delay is likely due to some last-minutes arrangement not completed. As they wait, everyone falls asleep, but some bridesmaids have thought about a possible delay and have brought along more oil for their lamps. But some didn’t. Jesus makes the point that the unknown time for His Second Coming requires ongoing spiritual preparation. Be ready because you don’t know exactly when all these events will unfurl.

The fourth parable, in the middle of Chapter 25, is the parable of the talents, another story about servants and how they fulfill their tasks and responsibilities. This parable teaches the need to be faithful in the use of the gifts God gives His disciples while they await Jesus’ return.

And the final parable at the end of Chapter 25 focuses on the judgment. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-33). What has arrested the attention of readers of this last narrative is the criterion used for this judgment at the end of time. The criterion is simple, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, giving hospitality to strangers, caring for the sick, and providing support to those in prison. And Jesus concludes, “Whenever this was done to the least of my brothers, you did it for me.”

What is this long discourse trying to say to us?

A lot of people wonder and ask why the Second Coming of Christ has not happened yet. Jesus did not say how long it would be or why there would be a delay. And I agree, it is a puzzling question.

The only answer I can find is from the Apostle Peter who says there has been a delay because God is patient and does not want any person to be lost (2 Peter 3:9). If God is patient, we ought to be too.

As Jesus answers the questions the disciples ask regarding His return, He clearly says that the exact time for this is unknown and people should not speculate. So, there is no need to continue making new timelines—they won’t be any better than the old ones. According to these parables, the best attitude to have in preparation for the Second Coming is to be a faithful servant of God and of the Gospel. And those who are thus faithful will be surprised in the end—they will be the ones who are ready.

This is really a call to action. Those who are vigilant in their expectation of the return of Jesus are to be the kind of faithful servants that will reflect in their lives and actions what Jesus was all about. The best preparation for this end- time event is to live and act like Jesus in caring for others, in caring for those who are different from us, even the strangers.

Jesus is not teaching some kind of salvation by good works at His return. What He is emphasizing is that those who expect Him to return ought to live their lives as He lived His life. And the key word of this vigilance is faithful- ness in service to others. Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that because Adventists believe that Jesus is coming soon, that we ought not to care about others, about the environment, about the future of our homeland or the future of someone else’s homeland. We ought to care and be faithful in our responsibilities to one another. What Jesus is describing in these parables is the kind of people He desires in His kingdom.

–Denis Fortin is professor of historical theology at Andrews University and co-editor of “The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia.” Email him at: fortind@ andrews.edu

By Dave Gemmell

“I can’t wait to get back to normal.” How many times have you heard that sentiment lately? Maybe you indulge in the fantasy of a pre-pandemic world as you close your eyes and envision being able to travel across the country, eat with friends at a restaurant, or hug the person next to you in a pew at church.

Returning to normal is a fantasy. Things will never be the same. As Bill Gates remarked in a recent blog post, “The pandemic will define this era in the same way that World War II did in its time. . . . No one who lives through this pandemic will ever forget it. . . . And it is impossible to overstate the pain that people are feeling now and will continue to feel for years to come.”1

Yet some of the greatest advances in American history— the liberation of slaves, Social Security, robust clean air and water mandates—were birthed by disaster. History tells us things will be different. Just knowing things will change helps us hold past things more lightly and allows us to leverage opportunities before us. As Winston Churchill put it, “Never waste a good crisis.”

Jesus gives a simple parable that is suddenly relevant to churches today:

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. (Luke 5:37, NIV)

The “new wine” is the post pandemic world, and it can- not be contained in a pre-pandemic church, and those who try, risk ruining the church. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins (Luke 5:38, NIV). There must be a new church for the post pandemic world.

Imagine with me what that post-pandemic church might look like. I envision a world where the risk of contracting COVID-19 has been all but eliminated; beyond the fear of getting infected, stay-at-home orders, church closings, economic devastation, job losses, struggles with illness, and goodbyes to loved ones. Imagine a world that is open for business, where churches are unrestricted by mitigation guidelines. In this future church, what things will be restored, and what things will be left behind? Which churches will thrive? Which ones will wither? While I have no crystal ball, nor have I figured out time travel, I do have some hunches. So, I posit eight predictions for churches of the future that may or may not come true.

Future churches are communities of believers rather than buildings

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced Adventist churches across the world to cease their physical worship services, the closures also revealed the ancient truth that the church building is not the church but rather the church is a community of believers.

In fact, the term “the church,” as used in the New Testament scriptures, does not describe a building but rather an assembly or gathering. The believers gathered wherever they could, whether it was a home (Acts 17:5, 20:20; 1 Corinthians 16:10) or a synagogue (Acts 2:46, 19:8). In spite of not having physical buildings to meet in, it wasn’t until the second half of the third century that purpose-built halls for Christian worship began to be constructed. The Christian community, in the first few years, grew exponentially, from 1,000 people to 25 million.

Future churches realize that while the pandemic closed church buildings, the church, as a community of believers, flourished. The takeaway for future churches is to spend less resources on brick and mortar and pews and pulpits, and more on core mission. These churches are not enslaved by the ever-increasing appetite that church buildings have for resources, that are only used a few hours every week. They have found more creative ways to meet, much like the early Christian church; meeting in homes, community centers, coffee shops, schools, or expense sharing with multiple churches.

Future churches are adaptive and agile

Future congregations that were agile in pivoting during the crisis, continue their agility as they adapt to unknown future changes. The history of the Adventist denomination is storied with agility and innovation. Adventists borrowed the best and adopted and adapted it to ever-changing situations. Part of Adventist DNA is the quick adoption of technology from the printing press, to door-to-door book sales, radio, TV, satellite, internet, social media, and now online community.

These agile congregations are not only able to discern challenges and opportunities but are able to quickly jettison practices and technologies that have lost their effectiveness and quickly move the freed resources to more powerful ways of doing church. They are experimental in nature, failing forward, continually refitting and refining practices, taking advantage of whatever conditions the future holds to continually make disciples of Jesus.

Future churches do more with less

Future churches learned hard financial lessons during the COVID crisis. In an economy where at one point one fifth of workers were unemployed, finances were tight. Yet members had strong stewardship ethics and once they figured out how to contribute online through Adventist Giving, the income, although threatened, did not substantially decrease. As of this writing, the tithe in the North American Division in 2020 at this point in the year has not changed much from what is was in 2019. Future churches double down on using online giving making it the standard tool for both physical and virtual attendees.

During the crisis, churches saw their expenses decrease as many of the bills coming from maintaining the physical plant and elaborate programming shrank. Yet the life of the church continued and prospered. Future churches reassess their budgets and promote items deemed essential to mission and demote things that are less essential.

Members in these future churches reduce their personal expenses by spending less on commuting to church. Board meetings, committee meetings, nominating committees, small groups, all have the option of meeting virtually. The reduction in commuting costs frees up funds for members to use for personal discipling strategies.

Geographical boundaries soften for future churches

Many of the attendees of future churches are located far away from the church building. This trend began when churches began broadcasting their services on radio, TV, and internet streaming and reached people outside of their geographical circle. This initial foray into virtual church was given an accelerant during the pandemic when churches around the world were forced to go virtual or go out of business. Folks were free to roam around the country, surfing the waves of virtual church. They discovered a great diversity of worship styles, ethnicities, languages, and ideologies within the Adventist tribe. Some found a greater affinity with a church across the country than with their own nearby church. Churches that found their subtribe and perfected the new virtual worship format exploded in attendance.

Future churches include those from far away who find deeper, richer discipleship opportunities gathering with likeminded people. And because of their affinity, they spend less time in working through cultural, language, and ideological differences and more time evangelizing their own kind.

Future churches have not been stymied by conference policies and geographical restrictions. These churches have figured out creative ways to interface with multiple conferences while still working within the policies of those conferences. Through satellite congregations, memos of understanding, and sharing of resources, these future churches have flooded multiple conferences with new members and tithe growth. Villages have been pioneers in inter conference satellite churches.

Future churches fuse physical and virtual worship

Future churches blend their physical and virtual worlds to get the best of both. With the instant radical pivot to virtual during the pandemic, churches experimented with different platforms and worship elements to find out what worked best for online worship.

Before the pivot, online worship was largely an observation peephole where online viewers looked in on worship- pers. During the pandemic, many churches quickly moved beyond peephole worship to a highly engaging virtual community, mostly through video conferencing platforms. Worship became engaging as worshippers could see each other chat it up. Preaching became interactive and conversational. Short, well-produced video clips from attendees near and far away gave the worship service intimacy and authenticity.

After the pandemic was over, future churches fused together virtual and physical by designing a worship experience that was interactive and engaging for all. Future churches do everything in their power to eradicate the wall that separates the two groups by integrating the virtual worshippers into the physical worship and visa versa. While nothing can replace the ecstasy of worshipping shoulder to shoulder with a crowd of believers, the virtual features such as chat and video inserts remain and are supplemented by still more engaging elements.

Children’s division leaders take full advantage of the massive learning that emerged during the pandemic from the education world. In future churches children can attend Sabbath School from home or on site and receive the same high-quality discipling experience.

Unprecedented evangelism takes place in these future churches as folks who are used to shopping online, working online, watching movies online, discover through friends and social media, that they can now worship online with those same friends.

Future churches may be led by volunteer lay pastors (VLPs)

Future churches are blessed with the ministry of VLPs. These are unpaid leaders, working under the supervision of a professional pastor to lead out in congregations. These VLPs have a passion for ministry and has been equipped by the conference in the basic skills of pastoring. With church viewed now as a community of believers rather than a church building, the job description of the pastor has been slimmed down to focus specifically on equipping people for discipleship. By focusing only on the essentials, these VLPs are able to maintain another full-time job as well as spend a limited amount of time each week leading these ‘no frills’ congregations. Many of these future congregations are satellite campuses of larger professionally staffed churches. The mother church provides a cafeteria of resources for these satellite campuses including worship programming, music, preaching, discipleship curriculum, children’s Sabbath School programming as well as administrative functions.

Future church planting explodes

No longer needing a physical structure, geographical location, or paid professional pastors, future churches can pop up anytime, anywhere. There is an explosion of future church plants, targeting the multitudes of sliver populations unreachable by traditional churches. Taking full advantage of low-cost public venues as well as virtual platforms, folks in these future church plants may never all gather together in one geographical location, yet they are indeed a real church.

Future churches leverage the Adventist brands of hope and wholeness

Adventist churches historically have prospered during times of world crisis because one of Adventism’s core brand values is hope. During the chaos of the pandemic, people found hope in knowing that God was in control and that a spectacular new normal is imminent at the return of Jesus Christ.

Future churches continue to offer hope and add the brand of wholeness to their values. The pandemic revealed startling inequalities in society, where different populations experienced much greater risk of severe infection and death. Future churches leverage their competencies in wholeness to enhance the health of the communities they serve. These future congregations also seek justice toward correcting the underlying social factors that put certain communities such as the African American and Hispanic communities at greater risk.

I don’t know if those eight predictions will come true. But I am hopeful about the future of Adventist churches. Adventists have a history of thriving in the midst of chaos. Innovation is in our DNA. We have highly engaged, passionate, creative, entrepreneurial pastors. And we have a message of hope and wholeness. If ever there was a time for Adventists to make a difference in this world, now is that time.

–Dave Gemmell, DMin, is an associate director of the North American Division Ministerial Department. Email him at: [email protected]

By Jodie Aakko, Sandy Hodgson, and Joel Reyes

Thinking aloud about the “new normal” for our kids Jodie Aakko, Brighton Adventist Academy (BAA)

Spring break 2020. That was when we heard the news: schools must close, a return date is unknown, you must use technology (read Zoom) like never before.

While in the planning stages, more than one of us BAA teachers said, “I think when I first see my students on Zoom, I will start to cry!”

Those were hard times—no track and field event, no field trips, no school banquet, no fine arts performance, no school project night. Several times, a hopeful student would calmly ask, in a sweet and honest tone that can only come from a child’s lips, “Mrs. A, can we come back to school yet?” Just a simple question, from an innocent child not asking for much, and I could not say, “Yes.” And my heart was aching for the same thing.

Now, graduation ceremonies are over, student awards were handed out, and Zoom sessions have ended. Looking back, eight weeks of distance learning offered many opportunities and life lessons; but more importantly, it revealed our strength. When the quarantine took us by storm, it showed that our school has a rock-solid foundation that cannot be shaken. Our school’s foundation is Jesus Christ, and that foundation cannot fall.

By God’s leading, learning continued. Discussions and interactions between students and the teachers took place through various forums and video chat rooms. Group projects, such as glogsters, were completed. Students interacted with the community in safe ways, using sidewalk messages and art projects. They encouraged each other and worked together as a team. An endless number of online resources was utilized. As teachers, we discovered that our prior class- room technology practices, mixed with assistance and sup- port from our conference administration, prepared us well to effectively teach through distance learning. We were stronger than we thought.

The fall season is uncertain. What will it look like? We are hopeful that we can return to campus, with added health precautions such as vigorous sanitizing, wider personal spaces, and limited crowds. Yet we do have some guarantees: God is faithful to sustain us. We will celebrate our tenacity to succeed in tough times. We will fine-tune both staff and student technology skills. Our family bond will be stronger. Yes, we realize that since we are all part of the family of God, we are never apart. Our common values, genuine care for each other, and identity in Christ, define our unity.

As a teacher, this has impacted me tremendously. First, I would hope that I did not need a reminder of how much I treasure time with my students; yet the time apart forced me to taste and feel the immeasurable love an educator has for her precious children. Second, I can return to the classroom with a greater passion for the integration of technology, knowing that my students’ expertise levels have increased as well. Third, with an increased sense of confidence, I can boldly accept the next great challenge facing our Adventist schools: standards-based teaching.

What am I worried about? As principal, I wonder how this pandemic will affect our enrollment and budget. As a faithful worker for Christ, I ask God to help me stand today without fear. In fact, I must stand and celebrate! We are certainly in the final stages of Earth’s history. We are close to the end of the sadness of this world; tomorrow we begin our life at home with our Father. All this time, we have been distance learning with God. He has missed us, and He just wants us to come Home. We may feel like we are far away from our Creator, but all we have to do is open the Bible, pray, and Zoom!—we are at Jesus’ feet.

–Jodie Aakko is principal and head teacher at Brighton Adventist Academy. Email her at: [email protected]

Distance learning is here to stay Sandy Hodgson, Vista Ridge Academy (VRA)

Leadership expert John Maxwell states, “A crisis bumps us out of our comfort zone into our creative zone.” How true I found that to be as a teaching principal at Vista Ridge Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic. While our staff and school board felt comfortable in our pursuit of the school’s mission and vision, we had to become creative as we navigated through this crisis. What would “creating a strong student and community engagement and a reputation for excellence in academic achievement and personal growth” look like through remote learning? What would our distance learning program include that would set us apart from the public sector?

Extending our Spring Break an extra week gave our leadership team time to create a plan that would outline our educational goals to support our students and families during remote learning. Every teacher was tasked with making contact with families to see how they were doing and how we could provide assistance. Did we hope that this period of distance learning would last just a couple weeks? Yes! Did we have to plan for it to continue long term? Absolutely!

It was inspiring as I reached out to families to find out how they were holding up as stay-at-home orders were put in place, how the school could assist them, and what supplies they would need for remote learning. Several families asked how they could help the school through this crisis. We prayed together and supported one another as never before.

Teaching my fifth and sixth grade students remotely from my home was a technological wonder. To be able to see them and talk with them as we learned together was bitter- sweet. How I missed being able to see them face to face, to give them a pat on the back or a high-five. But being able to share our morning jokes and cartoons, have worship and share prayer requests, and hear a student say—as soon as the Zoom session opened, “Hey, Mrs. Hodgson, guess what I did yesterday afternoon?” (as though we were in the classroom on campus), brought a sense of normalcy to our day. Being able to use the white board feature on my tablet to show the process for two-step inequalities in sixth grade math or how to answer a reading comprehension question in complete sentence format, was another blessing.

My students enjoyed being able to do assignments in breakout rooms in groups, create atom models with supplies around their home, have scavenger hunts, and present final reading projects via Zoom. Some of the technology and online programs we used during remote learning will definitely be incorporated when we return to campus.

Return to campus? Yes, please! Vista Ridge Academy has created a working group that will explore phases and best practices for the safest return of our staff and students in August. As one student said, “We sit in the classroom and wish we were home, and now we sit at home and wish we could be together again.” I can’t wait!

–Sandy Hodgson is teaching principal of Vista Ridge Academy, Erie, Colorado. Email her at: [email protected]

Flexibility and team work ahead Joel Reyes, Intermountain Adventist Academy (IAA)

Have you noticed how teachers frequently carry large bags? Sometimes more than one. And not just the ladies. I had a wonderful male teacher at a school once who used to pull a carry-on suitcase into his classroom every day. Teachers are creatures of habit. Well-planned, rehearsed and researched habits. We know what we are going to do the last day of school, even before the school year has begun. We study our students and select methods, means and resources available to afford each of them the best education possible. Some teachers have literally buckets systematically labeled and carefully stored, with instructional materials for the year. So, imagine the feeling when the announcement is made that “starting next week, all classes will be online.”

Most teachers had heard of Zoom before, but most had not used it more than a couple of times to join a meeting from afar. I am always amazed at the ingenuity and resolve of Adventist educators when called to arms. I am equally impressed with the resilience and adaptability of our students. As I ponder the events of the last quarter of the school year, a few things in particular stand out.

1. Don’t underestimate the commitment, resolve and ingenuity of our educators. Someone described what Adventist teachers were doing as “flying a plane while learning to fly it.” I would go further and say that teachers were building the plane in the air and learning to fly it with passengers in it.
2. Students don’t dislike school as much as they claim. When asked what they missed the most, my students said, “Being at school.” Learning and growing is as much about the social and emotional as it is about academics.
3. If you want to know anything about Zoom, just call a Rocky Mountain Conference teacher. We will show you absolutely everything Zoom can do, and more.
4. Classroom management was very easy for most of us, but we all missed the interaction, the wise-crack comments, the lame excuses, and all the laughs and silly jokes.
5. In order for online school to be successful, especially at the elementary level, strong parent support is vital. We are grateful for all the families who invested so much into making sure the students had a proper place to study and showed up to their online meetings on time.
6. This pandemic showed us that flexibility and teamwork are just as important as careful planning.

Most of us are now looking back at the school year that just ended and perhaps wishing it had been different. All the unfinished projects. All the hours spent on careful planning for lessons that could not be delivered. All the good-byes we did not say, and the high fives we did not give on the last day of school. Some are also looking ahead and wishing for some type of certainty. Will we be in our classrooms with our students in August? How should we start planning? But the answers are not there.

As I personally look ahead, I feel a deep conviction that when the time comes, we will be ready. And I don’t mean to be facetious here, but I know that the same team of minute- man who just successfully completed an entire quarter of online school with only a day or two of preparation will be ready to tackle whatever may come, now as experienced trench fighters. You can count me in.

–Joel Reyes is head teacher and principal of Intermountain Adventist Academy in Grand Junction, Colorado. Email him at: [email protected]