Superintendent's Focus

Building Bridges 

by Matt Pacer

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1 NIV

In my mind the best metaphor for unity is building bridges.  In education we often think of teachers and students building bridges together.  But teachers do so much more than build bridges with their students.  They are the bridge that link students and the content of the course, the link between parents and the school, between students and their parents, between students and technology, etc. 

In Adventist Education teachers are the link to bridge faith and learning.  Teachers and pastors in cooperation with the Holy Spirit build bridges between the school and the church. I love the way Bonita Shields put it in The Journal of Adventist Education Summer 2012.  “As we collaborate together to build these bridges, God’s people will have a much better chance of safely reaching their eternal destination, and bring with them the people they have discipled.”

Jesus is the master carpenter, the ultimate bridge builder who spanned the chasm of sin between us and Him through His sacrifice on the cross.  When I was teaching, I remember the Salvation unit for the second grade Adventist Encounter Bible curriculum.  It used a variety of methods to convey this concept to the students, including the beautiful Nathan Green Illustration entitled, Crossbridge.

Sister White puts it this way, “In all things Christ was made like unto his brethren, that in his human nature he might give to man a perfect example. He alone could bridge the gulf that sin had made.”  HM Oct. 1, 1897 par 1 

I invite you to listen to The Great Divide by Point of Grace. 

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3

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