Page 3 - Harvest Connect Volume 23 - Issue 10

From the Head of Middle School
Mr Tyson Hartley
Last term, I was fortunate to spend time with hundreds
of Christian leaders for a National Christian Education Leaders’ Summit. Through this summit, we heard from many guest speakers, and with
that, I would love to share some of the works of Laura Barringer, a teacher and co-writer of A Church Called Tov.
Tov is the Hebrew word for good or to be created in God’s goodness. To be Tov embodies a culture of goodness and character. It embodies the character emulated by Jesus.
The Circle of Tov nurtures habits of goodness through:
Empathy:
1 Peter 4:10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Grace:
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Putting People First:
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Nurturing Truth:
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Justice:
Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
Service:
Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Christlikeness:
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Tov in Action
In 2001 after the 9/11 tragedy, America closed its airspace to all aircraft. With nowhere to land and impossible to turn around, planes were left stranded. The closest international airport was a tiny town in Canada called Gander, home to less than ten thousand people. As seven thousand people landed in this tiny town, people opened their homes for their new guests to shower and call loved ones, opened their bibles to speak the word of God, stores, schools and halls for people to sleep, eat and shelter. They opened their hearts, prayed and shared the Tov culture that was deeply embedded in the small town of Gander.
Video link to news story:
Reflect and ask yourself, how do you outwardly and boldly display a Tov culture? Can we open our doors to a new friend? How can we offer service in a time of need?
3 SERVING the Yorke Peninsula for over 20 years