Humble Oneself and Work with Others

　　I recall that in year one, a few teachers and senior fellow students encouraged us to attend more elective courses taught by other teachers in addition to the required core courses, in order for us to learn from the different teachers who are specialists in Bible, theology, and practical subjects. It is hoped that apart from enriching our knowledge, we could also broaden our horizons in faith through the experiences of different teachers. In the past two years or so, apart from taking courses taught by a single teacher who specializes in one’s own research field, I also had a chance to attend team-taught courses, namely “Preaching,” “Pastoral Care and Counseling,” and “Pastoral Leadership and Ministry,” all of which are under the division of Practical Theology.

　　To me, the biggest difference between courses taught by a single teacher and those that adopted a team teaching approach is the flexibility in terms of classroom design and the extent of experience sharing. Since team teaching involves at least two teachers, classroom design can become less flexible. For instance, if it is taught by only one teacher, the time allocation could be more flexible; say when students are enthusiastic about a topic and there is lot of discussion, the teacher can then adjust the progress of the class, and make room for the discussion. On the flip side, the benefit of team teaching to me is one that single-teacher teaching could not fulfill, that is, teachers can each share their practical experience from their fields of expertise, exchange ideas and guide us to think theologically in class. Both teachers of “Pastoral Leadership and Ministry,” for example, have different points of focus and expertise in terms of pastoral care within the church. Team teaching allows us to learn about their individual expertise in the same classroom at the same time, and their exchange and sharing also helped us understand how to apply different sets of pastoral care theologies in a real-life church scenario. Their different views on pastoring also left us room to think, explore and construct our own pastoral views.

　　I really enjoy team-taught courses, since not only could I listen to the sharing of different teachers, but it also reminds me of the verse: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom 8:28a ESV) — and reminds me that I have to humble myself and work with others.