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Mr. Rod McNair presented to us with an informative forum on the importance of schedules and goals.  After our first week of classes has come and gone, we were able to take this information in and absorb it more appreciatively thanks to our currently full schedules.  

What are your goals?

To start the discussion, Mr. McNair made it a point to interact with us by asking, and honestly wanting, the feedback we had to offer to questions he posed.  He cultivated a closer connection with us by caring for and feeding the goals that we hold for ourselves to achieve throughout the program.  He shared some of his own goals and reminded us that they should not be the same as the world’s.  A key example of this is being a homemaker.  With the feminist movement in the world today, being a homemaker, rearing children, and caring for the home is frowned upon, yet Scripture encourages the opposite.  (Titus 2:4-5)  “They admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

Make goals a reality

Everyone has goals, yet what sets the successful apart from those that never achieve their goals is scheduling.  Mr. McNair shared with us a schedule that he planned out for his life when he was a student at Ambassador College.  Seeing this was enlightening for us because we could see the way it worked out after being written in ink.  We are all thankful for the reminder he gave us, “Even if things seem overwhelming, you must make time for God!”  God should be first and foremost in our goals and lives.

Focus on the short-term

While we are excited about what the future can hold for us, Mr. McNair made the point that we must put action into the short-term, day-to-day workings, to achieve our further-off desires.  He provided us with one basic key to staying on track in the short term.  He said that if we only take one thing away from what he shared it was, “Take the time to write out a schedule with goals for the upcoming week.”  It may take a little time to become accustomed to this practice, but having the dedication will result in a more organized and productive week in which we can grow.  

It’s about growth!

Mr. McNair said, “It is not about perfection, it’s about growth!”  He made the point that we can write out our goals and create a schedule to achieve them, yet some situations may arise that affect our outcome. This is okay. To assist in making this point, Mr. McNair finished by playing a video on the Ernest Shackleton expedition from 1914. The goal of this expedition was to be the first to cross the continent of Antarctica, yet due to unforeseen circumstances, they narrowly made it back to civilization after two years of being shipwrecked. He said that looking at this story through the lens of goals, it was a massive failure because they didn’t attain their goal, and nearly died;  However, this is an incredible story of leadership as Shackleton brought all his men back safely. While we work to achieve the end goal, unseen events can drift us off course to a different outcome.  With our working to achieve goals, and God at the helm, nothing can drift us away from God’s plan for us.

We are excited to make our own goals and schedules to share with future generations.  As Mr. McNair said, “It’s not rocket science…”  

Author: Nathan Kroon | Student Leader, Living Education – Charlotte, 2022-23

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 min.

In 1976, Ambassador College was trying to gain accreditation in order to act as a fully-fledged liberal arts college.

Many people who had taught there were required to gain a masters’ degree if they were to continue teaching, including Mr. Richard Ames. In this forum, he spoke to us on interpersonal communication, the subject of one of the college courses he had taken in getting this degree, and explained why it is important that we improve how we communicate with others.

Types of Communication

Before exploring the different ways to improve our communication with others, Mr. Ames first spoke briefly on the other types of communication we most often use: intrapersonal and group. While interpersonal communication is how we talk to other people, intrapersonal communication is how we communicate with ourselves. “Basic to all forms of communication is a consciousness of self,” said Mr. Ames. In other words, you have to know how you think before you go sharing your thoughts with others. He recommended we watch his sermon “Practice Godly Meditation” for help in finding ways to teach ourselves how to think better. It is our duty to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Christ was able to instantly reject the external thoughts of Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. What can you take away from your own intrapersonal communication?

Five Keys to Improve Interpersonal Communication

1. Practice Biblical Principles of Communication

The Bible holds many lessons in how we are to communicate with each other. Mr. Ames listed some of these:

• Always speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
• Put away lying and corrupt words (Ephesians 4:25).
• Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. You can be judged for your words—even idle ones (Matthew 12:34-35).

Mr. Ames stated that if you sin with your words, God will forgive you if you repent of them. It’s important that we pray for godly wisdom so that He can help to guide our words.

2. Analyze Your Transactions

Mr. Ames read from the book Games People Play, by Eric Berne, to explain the types of transactions people can have during conversation. The author explains that there are three ego states a person can take in a conversation: Parent, Adult, and Child. The Parent state is instructional and controlling, the Adult state is factual and informative, and the Child state is expressive of feelings. While Mr. Ames said that while it may not be the greatest way to explain how it works, the theory can help us to see what kind of transactions in conversation are harmonious with each other. The example he gave was if one person asks another, “What time is it?”, which would be asking from an Adult state, and the other person replies “What are you asking me for?!”, from the Child state. Such a transaction would not be considered harmonious. It may be beneficial to analyze what state of mind your transactions with other people are coming from.

3. Practice Positive Reinforcement

It is important to consider the power of positive reinforcement in conversation. Upon Christ’s baptism, God said that He was well pleased with His Son. Although Christ was already perfect, God still applied positive reinforcement to Him. We as human beings are imperfect, but it is our duty to positively reinforce our brothers and sisters in Christ. If people’s actions are met with criticism, they will tend to not repeat them. Positive reinforcement has the opposite effect, and psychologically benefits a person’s mind. Using courtesy (“thank you,” “you’re welcome,” etc.) can also help us to encourage each other.

4. Share Your Life

The practice of self-disclosure, sharing personal information with others, will also help us in interpersonal communication. Quoting from his old textbook for his class on interpersonal communication, Mr. Ames said, “For someone to be important to you, you must also know something about him or her that matters to you and makes a great difference to you. If you don’t know much about the person, it is not likely that your acquaintance will amount to much of a relationship.” Mr. Ames said that his first introduction to his future wife involved finding many things that they both had in common. The more they shared, the more comfortable they felt sharing personal things with each other. Be willing to share your life with others! There may be widows in your congregation who are looking for an opportunity to be able to share their lives with others, as well. Don’t deprive them of the opportunity to do so.

5. Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

The Bible tells us that it is important to look out for the interests of others. Philippians 2:3 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” It’s a good thing to serve your neighbor and their needs. Be perceptive to what these needs may be!

If you want to improve your own interpersonal communication skills, review these five keys and apply them to your life!

Nathan Kroon is a Student Leader at Living Education. He originally hails from Washington State and is a 4th generation Christian. Currently, he works at Headquarters as a Video Editor and is the Lead Landscaper at the LivingEd dorms. His hobbies include playing guitar, listening to music, drawing, and watching movies.