I am neither painter nor poet, musician nor actor. With Art and Music and Drama classes at school, I was present in body—but absent in spirit and skill. However, as a teacher, there has been the occasional flare of creativity in the crafting of assignments.

One of my favourites is one of my first ones. It was with diploma students, ‘learning to think biblically’ as the class was called. I introduced them to Calvin Klein’s uncanny ability to ‘read the times’ when he named his perfumes. Over the decades they have provided a most remarkable commentary on Western culture. But this was back in the 1990s… Calvin Klein had only just begun to smell. I asked students to look at the world around them and “to anticipate the name of Calvin Klein’s next perfume, providing reasons for your choice“.

WOW. That was fun. Some students got very close to being right. And these were diploma students, remember. It was an early lesson for me in not underestimating learners (or listeners to sermons, for that matter). Dumbing-down is dumb. Like those clothes for babies, people love to stretch-n-grow.

Another assignment, quickly becoming a favourite, is a more recent one.

Since returning to NZ in 2020, I have been teaching preaching back at Carey Baptist College. In the decade we were away, the Māori renaissance has been most remarkable. One feature of it is that there aren’t enough Te Reo (Māori language) classes to meet the demand. Where else in the world is that happening with indigenous peoples? The language is so prominent. For example, you see schools using Te Reo to describe their core values. So, I ask students—

“To visit a local school, either in-person or on-line, and identify the Māori values which guide that school. Explain how these same values can guide the life of a preacher in Aotearoa today.“

WOW. That has been fun.

I have kept track of all the words which students have discovered. With this post I have decided to have a go at the assignment myself. I’ve gone with seven words that are (a) reasonably distinct from each other in terms of meaning; and that (b) appear more than once across three years of student assignments. Then, I’ve used the Te Aka Māori Dictionary to identify the meaning of the word before reflecting on the students’ work to spark my own responses.

[NB—for people outside Aotearoa-NZ especially, if you enter each word into the online dictionary, it provides an audio of how the word is pronounced. Have a listen! As a spoken language, it is beautiful].

OK? Are you ready?

Let’s do this.

manaakitanga (15)

(noun) hospitality, kindness, generosity, support — the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others

There are (at least) a couple of nuances here. One is the lifting-up of the other. Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to the inherent dignity in each person that comes with being made in the image of God. But there is also a welcome here—a hosting of the other, as in hospitality, with a spirit of care and generosity. One student took me to Acts 28:2, where Paul states that “The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold”—and then the student adds that Paul could have said, “These islanders showed us exceptional manaakitanga.”

For the preacher? This value says something about how we treat our listeners. None of this talking at them, or talking down to them. It is about respecting them, together with the stories and experiences they bring with them. It is about working hard for them with our preparation. It is about letting them see our love for them in our eyes, our face—with a ‘yay, it’s you’ shining through our visage.

Similar words (used more than once)…

atawhai (5) — (noun) kindness, generosity, liberality, kindheartedness, benevolence.

whakaute (4) — (verb) to respect, show respect, tend, care for, prepare.

whanaungatanga (10)

(noun) relationship, kinship, sense of family connection – a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging … It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

This is another rich word, weaving together the best features in a family relationship. Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to the metaphors of the church because this same value is what characterises them. It is a family—and there are a few other collective ideas to process. I love Peter’s ones. Not only does he speak of the church being like actual families gathered into a new family, but also actual races into a new race and actual nations into a new nation. This what the gospel does. This is what the cross achieves.

For the preacher? This value slips in the back door as we focus on something else. It is Peter, again: “As you come to Him, you are being built into a spiritual house.” It is the principle of the triangle. Draw people to the Apex Christ, by feeding them the Word in which that Christ is revealed, and they’ll find they are drawing closer to others who are being fed in the same way. And a ‘spiritual house’ is being built, one brick, or person, at a time. Connection. Belonging. Solidarity. Collaboration. It is all there—as are all those “one another”s…

manawaroa (4)

(noun) stamina, doggedness, grit, staying power, endurance, resilience, fortitude.

In school, as in life, we learn that sometimes things go well and sometimes they do not go well! And it is during these latter times that we learn to be resilient. Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to Jesus: “who, for the hope set before him, endured the cross”. It is hope that enabled his endurance and built his resilience. Not so much by looking inside, summoning up some inner strength, but by looking ‘upside’—and entrusting his life to God.

For the preacher? Whether it be our own battles with criticism and exhaustion, or the burden-bearing we do for our people overwhelmed by life, there are some tough seasons. These provide opportunities to build resilience. Lots of things help us—or, better still, hold us. The call of God. The union with Christ. The strength of the Spirit. The hope that we have as we entrust ourselves to God—both the big hope at the end and all the ‘little hopes’ which it spawns along the way. Here lies the secret to sustainability—and resilience.

Similar words (used more than once)…

māia nui (4) — (noun) bravery, courage, brave warrior, confidence, endurance.

aumangea (2) — (adjective) be strong, brave, persistent, determined, plucky, resilient, resolute, tenacious. 

manawanui (2) — (noun) perseverance, determination, persistence, dedication.

kaitiakitanga (3)

(noun) guardianship, stewardship, trusteeship, trustee.

This one takes students to the natural environment with all its resources, and the need to protect and conserve it. Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to creation, with its Creator, and the mandate given to us to work it, to take care of it—and to be good stewards of it.

For the preacher? Stewardship is massive for us, starting with Genesis 1-2. So critical are these chapters in setting up the biblical story, we should consider returning to them, in some way, every year. And ‘creation care’ is just the beginning of the life of stewardship. There is ‘people care’ to be done as we honour and protect them. Then we pivot, bringing all these qualities to our ‘word care’—as preachers, as stewards of the Word of God.

ako (3)

(verb) to learn, study, instruct, teach, advise.

You’d expect this value in a school, wouldn’t you? Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to the qualifications for elders/leaders listed in the New Testament. It is all character stuff, with just the one skill: the ability to teach. This suggests that there are both things to learn and teach, but also a certain life to live. One student nailed it, with this reflection:

Perhaps this even teaches us something as preachers in the culture around us? The amount of knowledge we believe we possess (ako) and pass on is of value, much value. But at the end of the day, if we are not hospitable (manaakitanga), or we do not know who we are or whose we are (tūrangawaewae), or are poor in our ability to give or receive connection (whanaungatanga)—then coming to grips with Paul’s words is essential; “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Cor 8:1).

For the preacher? That ‘ability to teach’. Clearly, it is a big deal in the New Testament—but so also is the diversity of words used for this teaching ministry. Let’s not get stuck in the rut of our favourite. In the life of the early church, as described in the Book of Acts, there are close to thirty different words used for the ministry of the Word. Maybe we could dabble in a few more of them…

pono (2)

(adjective) be true, valid, honest, genuine, sincere.

This is an integrity word and, in the list below, there are a number of words in Te Reo to express it. Each one with its own nuance, and taken together this suggests a fullness to this value, as well as a centrality. A bit like the ‘teaching’ words in the Book of Acts! Within a biblical frame, my mind runs to Paul’s “follow me, as I follow Christ” and how much integrity will be in play when we do so. Authenticity. Transparency. Accountability. These are big words—and deep qualities, which every culture, as far as I’ve encountered, treasures. The front-stage performance needs to be aligned with the back-stage lifestyle.

For the Preacher? I’ll travel to where I always travel with this one now. As Pastor Sushant, one of our emerging trainers in India expressed it, five years ago: “If we score an A+ in preaching, but a C- in character, than we have failed as a preacher.” Enuf said.

A similar word (used more than once)…

tika (2) — to be correct, true, upright, right, just, fair, accurate, appropriate, lawful, proper, valid.

mahi tahi (2)

(noun) working together, collaboration, cooperation, teamwork.

Education has moved this way over the past generation, or so, hasn’t it? Well, in Aotearoa-New Zealand, anyway. My wife and our three sons are all teachers and this is something that features in how they work. It is the move away from rote learning. No longer copying down what the person up the front is saying, memorizing it, and then pouring it out in the exam. We are more learner-centered, even learner-dependent, in education now. Within a biblical frame, my mind runs back to the Book of Acts and all those words to describe teaching, some of which assume plenty of interactivity and dialogue.

For the preacher? Ah yes, preaching can be—and needs to be—far more collaborative. It is about drawing others, especially those unlike us, into the process. Before the sermon, having them assist us with things like illustration and application. After the sermon, hearing their feedback and ideas for better rapport with listeners. I often think of Igor, our leader across all of Latin America, for whom every one of his sermons in his local church passes through a small group huddled together on a weekly basis to collaborate on the development of the sermon.

All the words mentioned just once…

kotahitanga (noun) unity, togetherness, solidarity, collective action; kairangi (noun) anything held in high esteem, darling, exalted chief, finest variety of greenstone; mana motuhake (noun) separate identity, autonomy, self-government, self-determination, independence, sovereignty, authority; hiranga (noun) importance, significance, excellence; ārahi (verb) to lead, escort, conduct, drive; hāpai (verb) to take up, support, shoulder, take responsibility; wairuatanga (noun) spirituality; angitu (noun) luck, success, coup, opportunity; aroha (verb) to love, feel pity, feel concern for, feel compassion, empathise; atawhaitanga (noun) compassion, courtesy; toa (adjective) be brave, bold, victorious, experienced, accomplished, adept, competent, skilful, capable; mana (noun) prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma – mana is a supernatural force in a person, place or object; whakamana (verb) to give authority to, give effect to, give prestige to, confirm, enable, authorise, legitimise, empower, validate, enact, grant; tūrangawaewae (noun) domicile, standing, place where one has the right to stand – place where one has rights of residence and belonging through kinship and whakapapa/ancestry; āki (verb) to encourage, urge on, challenge, induce, incite, exhort; māhirahira (modifier) inquisitive, curious, inquiring, nosy; tūmanakotanga (noun) hope, desire, aspiration; tūtika (verb) to be upright, responsible; whakapono (noun) faith, creed, belief; ngākaupono (noun) honesty, allegiance, loyalty, good faith; tino rangatiratanga (noun) self-determination, sovereignty, autonomy, self-government, domination, rule, control, power; and hōnore (modifier) honourable, honoured.

Ahhh… Are you thinking what I am thinking?

Well, I can only speak for myself. Wouldn’t it be cool if someone reads this blog and is sparked to complete a thesis, and then a book, which covers this question addressed to students? That is what I have been praying as I write—and why I have laboured so long on it 😀. Someone else can do this better than I can…

Let’s give the final word to Arowhenua Māori School in tiny Temuka. Consider these affirmations:

1. Toitū te tūroa: Know your responsibilities as Māori, so that you can represent all that your tīpuna has passed down.

2. Whakaaro i te tuatahi mō ngā mahi ka mahia e koe: Have reasons for the things you say and do.

3. Awhi mai, awhi atu: If someone is not like you, seek to understand them.

4. Ma te whirikoka ka whai whakairo tika: It takes great strength to be well-grounded. Do the right thing because it is the best thing.

Hmmm. Fascinating. I feel another assignment coming on…

nice chatting

Paul