Finding Contentment in the past, present and future
How do you find contentment in the past, present and future? God has really been working on me when it comes to being content. I have the type of personality that is always looking a driving for a goal and something greater. That in itself is not all bad, however it can be bad if you are pursuing these characteristics and leaving God out of the equation. For me, the way God is working on me to find contentment with Him is through two means. The first is He is telling me not to look ahead. I don’t mean you can’t plan and consider what is coming in the future. But what God is saying to me is…”Don’t be so obsessed with where you want to be that you miss what I have for you right now.”
When you are driving, setting goals and always trying to get to the next level, you can be so obsessed with those goals that you miss the opportunity and the preparation that is necessary to get you to that next level. Step one for me is to be content and slow down, look around at my current circumstances and see what God is doing and teaching me right NOW. God may allow me to succeed when He has refined me to the point where I do not need to succeed to be happy. I can tell you that the refining process is the tough part. God also has shown me that even if He did move me to the next step that I would eventually grow discontent there as well. So, the “a-ha” moment is that my contentment is not in my situation or circumstances, but with Him and in me.
Online versus Traditional Learning
Challenges faced by traditional schools entering into the online education industry
This is a bit lengthy, however it is well worth the read if you are looking for the differences between selling online students versus traditional campus based students. This comes from years of experience in both areas and this article helps summarize the differences. Enjoy!
1. Make-to-order vs. mass production
In the context of education, online learning is a “make-to-order” business whereas instruction through a traditional ground campus falls under the category of mass production. Applying this to business terms, online learning uses a “pull” strategy while traditional (residential) undergraduate education uses a “push” strategy.
With the realization that each unique customer has varying needs and desires for the purchase of a product or service, most businesses today operate under the “pull” strategy such as Dell or McDonalds. However, traditional education still operates under the “push” method. Statistics show that ninety percent of all incoming undergraduate resident students have the same needs, requirements, and educational expectations, lending to an academic institution’s use of systems of mass production to satisfy these similar needs. The familiarity and success with this type of education system has made it difficult for most traditional colleges and universities to successfully enter into the market of online learning.
The Higher Learning Commission is saying no to “Accreditation Shopping”
Inside HigherEd came out with an interesting article this week referencing The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and their recent block of investors “accreditation shopping” struggling institutions with accreditation. The trend over the last few years is for cash rich investors to purchase a university that is financially struggling and about to close their doors. The investors buy the institution for the accreditation because to start a school from scratch and achieve that same accreditation would take years. However, it appears that The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools is now saying no.
Read the Inside Higher Ed article click here
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation and one of two commission members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which is one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. The Higher Learning Commission accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region.
I Guess God did not produce enough leaders after His own heart!
Every now and again I am just hit with something that drives me crazy. This time I am talking about an upcoming Leadership Conference that my church is one of the satellite campuses for this event. My problem is not that they are hosting the conference as a site, yet my issues are with some of the speakers the conference is willing to promote. Sometimes this conference will bring in secular speakers to teach leadership principles. Where I have an issue is it is hard to apply most of these secular leaders’ leadership principals if the church wants to build into people’s lives. These speakers don’t want to build into lives they want to build the organization…BIG DIFFERENCE. They promote getting rid of problems and training the superstars, but doesn’t the upside down kingdom of God stand for a discipleship model that has one-on-one, life on life opportunities?
Some of these secular leaders’ principles are in clear contrast to what bible believing churches promote every Sunday. Wouldn’t it be better to meet people where they’re at and then it wouldn’t be so critical to put people in one of two categories like these leaders promote of a problem or a Superstar? Jesus met many people where they were at… that by these secular leader’s standards” would not be of any value at all. In the book of John, would they put a value on the lady at the well or the lame man at the pool…I doubt it, but Jesus saw the value.
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