By Katie Ginn
MCL Editor Katie Ginn recently interviewed eight teachers and coaches from metro-area independent schools. These leaders discussed why they do what they do, how they’ve seen God move in their students’ lives, and what they want students (and parents!) to know. For the full interview, listen to MCL’s “A Closer Walk” podcast by searching for “Mississippi Christian Living” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Who they are
Mary Margaret Boudreaux: Upper-school math teacher and math department chair, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
Josh Glidewell: Lower-school Bible teacher, school chaplain, head junior high / assistant varsity basketball coach, Jackson Prep
Erick Lofton: Seventh-grade Mississippi Studies teacher, head freshman / assistant varsity baseball coach, assistant junior-high football coach, Madison-Ridgeland Academy
Marilyn Sawyer: First-grade teacher; The Redeemer’s School
Jesse Taylor: Head boys’ basketball coach, upper-school Bible teacher, Jackson Academy
Tyler Thiessen: Assistant athletic director, sixth-grade Bible teacher, junior-high girls’ basketball coach, Christ Covenant School
Pack Toler: Offensive coordinator, eighth-grade Bible teacher, Hartfield Academy
Kendal Waters: Third-grade teacher, First Presbyterian Day School
Erick-Lofton
Jesse-Taylor
Josh-Glidewell
Kendal-Waters
Marilyn Sawyer
Mary Margaret Boudreaux
Pack Toler
Tyler Thiessen
What they said
Katie Ginn: How did each of you decide to go into teaching or coaching?
Erick Lofton: I was coming out of high school and college at the time when Tony Dungy was becoming a big deal, and Hugh Freeze was taking over at Ole Miss – before all of his extracurriculars came out – just seeing (how) they could win at football while also putting their faith on display was really cool for me. (It was) what I wanted to be for my students.
Kendal Waters: I love children. And I feel like children have a bigger role than they even know … And I want them to know just how beautifully and wonderfully they are made. … I look at my classroom as a mission field.
Jesse Taylor: We’re from Chattanooga. About six years ago, we felt the Lord was stirring us up to make a move. … and we got a call from Jackson Academy. A coaching spot opened up.
What they were looking for was a youth pastor type. I had played basketball at Mississippi College. When I got that call, it was kind of a shock. Then immediately when I told my wife about it, she was like, this is it. It was just immediate peace.
Tyler Thiessen: Coming out of college, I knew I loved sports. I played basketball in college. I knew the impact my coaches had on me, both the high school and college level – as well as my teachers.
Before Christ Covenant, I was at Reformed University Fellowship at Belhaven as an intern. I was weighing the idea of pursuing seminary-trained ministry or counseling, or working in athletics. Christ Covenant came along … and I got to see the impact you could have on kids.
Mary Margaret Boudreaux: I went into teaching because I was extremely fortunate to have a fabulous math teacher from 10th through 12th grade who inspired in me for the first time a love of that content and made it come alive so much that I wanted to study it and share it with other people. She had this way of making students feel capable, like they didn’t have a ceiling.
Pack Toler: I had a desk job that I didn’t really enjoy, didn’t find fulfilling. … I (had) played for some great coaches who were really good men. David Horner and Ricky Black were hugely influential in my life.
I actually called David (now head of school at Hartfield), because he was my basketball coach, and I wasn’t calling for a job – I was just asking, do you think this is something I would enjoy, that would be a good fit? A week later, he called me back and said there was actually a teacher that just left, and they had an opening. … I got to be back around sports and be around kids.
Marilyn Sawyer: My pull started when I was a child. My grandmother couldn’t read, so my family hired a tutor. But of course they had to work, and I was the youngest, so I had to go to the tutor with my grandmother.
What I saw that lady do for my grandmother was outstanding. … I was able to see what she was doing and then go home and mimic it. ‘Come on, Grandma, trace the “A.”’
Also, when I was 12 or 13, my brother was murdered. But my teachers, they weren’t my teachers – they became my counselors, my friends, my mama at school. The way the Lord moved them to show me so much love, I wanted to be that too.
Josh Glidewell: I was a youth pastor for 10-plus years and just really felt like that door had closed. … I knew I loved teaching the Bible, and teaching in general, and coaching. I had been around sports my whole life.
I had a passion for the next generation, to help them be all that God has called them to be. Teaching and coaching have given me that opportunity … the impact that I can have (in a) short period of time really is what motivates me.
KG: How have y’all seen God move in the lives of your students and athletes?
EL: Fourth of July week, I got to go and be with a group of 40 to 50 kids from our school through Madison County Young Life. (We) got to be on the mountain, phones away. Seeing guys you’ve spent so many hours with start to just pull the veil back and be more vulnerable with each other, it’s just really cool – especially for that kid that’s so quiet, but on night four, there’s a little bit of redness in the eye, the tear, and he begins to share.
KW: Something that happened this year that stuck out to me, one of my students came here from another country, and this was the first time he’d heard about Jesus. … He went home and taught his mother how to pray, and she became a Christian. She asked the Lord into her heart.
JT: There was a group that came last year to the Brandon Amphitheater and shared (at the Go Tell crusade). That kind of changed how we were approaching our teams. Almost our entire team went with us. It was voluntary. Then I saw a couple of them being vulnerable with each other, with the coaching staff.
From a classroom standpoint … we talk about apologetics a lot in our class, because I feel like that college age kind of gets away from the church and you have questions that you don’t have answers for. A couple years ago, I got an email from a (former) student: ‘What was that guy we used to listen to, and what were his points?’ It was just refreshing to hear … Some of these things come up a couple years later when they’re a sophomore in college.
TT: Teaching sixth-graders from Genesis through Revelation, going through every book of the Bible (this year), I watched their questions change throughout the year. They’re different people by the end of sixth grade. I’ve watched their questions change from, ‘Why did God create Adam and Eve?’ or ‘Why did they sin?’ to teaching them the gospel and they’re seeing, ‘Oh, this impacts the way I live my life today.’
MMB: I think I see it the most in the informal moments with students, especially with students that you’ve had a long relationship with. Maybe class has started but you’re not actually starting the lesson right on time. You allow a little bit of space there for catching up. It can be really surprising and also encouraging the things they’ll talk about when there’s not structure – (and) they’ll ask big questions. And I see that as a sign that the Holy Spirit is softening their hearts.
PT: I get the pleasure of leading our senior mission trip every spring break to go to the Dominican Republic … Getting to see the difference in these kids I had (in class) as eighth-graders, and then take them on a senior mission trip, they’re not even the same kids. That has been amazing. Twelve of the students each of the last two years have gotten baptized.
MS: As a first-grade teacher, I wonder if they’re processing (scripture). One time we had them write a paragraph, which for a first-grader is like two sentences. The prompt said, ‘What is love to you?’ When the assignment came back, (one student’s paper) had nothing on it. I pulled him to the side and said, ‘Baby, what’s love?’ He was like, ‘I don’t know.’
So I took him to the scripture of 1st John where it teaches that God is love. And I showed him where it said love is a deed. And I would say something when he would do acts of love in the classroom – because he was doing it and didn’t realize it. Like if a student forgot to bring a snack, he’d be one of the first ones to say, ‘Ms. Sawyer, can I share mine?’
Then I came back to the question and said, ‘Now what is love?’ and he said, ‘Love is when you give somebody that don’t have food, food. Love is when my mama washes my clothes. Love is when God sent His Son to die for me.’
JG: We started our chapel for the first time for our middle-school and upper school. It’s not mandatory. I had little faith we would have anybody show up that first time in January. (But) I walked in there and it was packed. (One) thing I see in the younger generation is just a desire and passion for the Lord.
KG: What’s one thing you wish your students understood that seems to be a challenge for them?
JG: Balancing their life to where they’re not stressed. I think one of the biggest things I see today with kids is, they’re just exhausted from busyness. … They’ve got to figure out how they can not only do well in the classroom but how they can grow spiritually and excel on the athletic field.
MS: For first-graders, it would be their mindsets. Parents sometimes don’t understand how words have so much power. (The kids) come to me, and I have to shift their mindsets from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can.’ I have to ask the Lord to help me.
PT: With eighth grade, the biggest struggle is getting them to understand how important this time is. A lot of them are only concerned with – they want to be the best athlete, they want to be the best-looking, they want to make a bunch of friends and make sure that certain person is interested in them … (but) character doesn’t just show up when you’re an adult. It’s formed through years and years.
If you’re able to look forward (and think) I want to be a loving husband, a loving father, a generous person … what we need to be doing now is developing those character traits.
MMB: I think the number-one thing that I want my students to know is that their value is not based on their academic or athletic performance, but that they have inherent value because they are children of God made in His image. And that is so hard.
It’s the kids who do the best in school or in sports that struggle with this the most. So then when they experience failure, they’re having this identity crisis. So more than anything, I just want them to know they are loved deeply by our Father – and that it is good to pursue excellence, but all of that is to be for God’s glory and not for themselves, and that they can rest.
TT: There are two things: One, Coolness doesn’t exist. It’s just a construct of the mind. We rank ourselves (but) it means nothing. They need to relax and be willing to be vulnerable and be goofy. Whatever they have that they think makes them cool, that’s a misplaced identity. Also, the kids that think they’re at the bottom … they need to know they matter just as much, because their identity is in Christ.
Also, moving from (head knowledge) to a real deep trust in that God that they know created them.
JT: In Hebrews 12, where it talks about laying aside every hindrance or sin – something that can (help them) is, are you spending four hours on TikTok at night? It doesn’t have to be just sin that keeps you from following Christ. It can be things that you wouldn’t view as (inherently) sinful.
KW: One thing I want my students to know is not only that I love them, but just how deep the Father’s love is for them … That frees them up to be the person that God has called them to be.
EL: The biggest thing I see and try to restructure with their thinking is … that resumé, work hard mindset that our kids are getting. You’ve got to stand out, you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to make yourself better than everybody else. And that bleeds over into their walk with Christ, where it feels like they’re constantly failing.
(Our kids have) the anxiety of, I’m never going to reach where my momma wants me to be, or where my daddy wants me to be, or where my coach wants me to be. But at the end of the day, that’s not how God views us. He died while we were still sinners. It wasn’t that He waited for us to take a shower and change clothes and look good.
KG: What’s one thing you wish parents knew?
EL: It’s not that it’s not a good thing for (students) to be told, hey, you need to work hard … But this past week (at Young Life), listening to my guys, that was where the majority of them were just so fearful of failure. So just continuing to encourage them that our failures God can always turn to His glory.
KW: For parents, just that each child is different. They’re all going to grow and change at their own rate, and just to celebrate where they do things wonderfully and don’t fret too much on their failures. And speaking as a parent, just how big of a role parents play in pointing their children toward Jesus, being a disciple maker. Children learn by telling them, but they learn more by showing them.
JT: As a coach, I’d love for parents to understand that it is OK for your son or daughter to be uncomfortable. (There’s) not a coach that I’ve met around this Jackson metro area that does not care about the kids. But those coaches are tasked to win a game, right? So it is OK to allow those moments of adversity for their growth.
TT: That our kids really are some awesome kids. We really do love working with your kids. And as believers, we can trust that the Holy Spirit is working in these kids’ lives. … even through hard questions. We don’t have to run away from the questions. We know God’s Word is true.
MMB: Sometimes when I talk to parents (they’ll say things like) ‘They don’t have enough self-control.’ (Or) ‘It’s like they’re not motivated.’ And I’ll say, ‘Gosh – it sounds like they’re a teenager.’ I want to encourage parents that it’s OK that your teenager is acting like a teenager – because they’re not through yet.
PT: That we’re in this together. If we’re both following Christ, then our goal for the student is exactly the same. Being a parent is difficult. It’s difficult being a teacher. It’s difficult dealing with teenagers. So just them knowing we’re in this together.
MS: That ‘no’ is an answer. If a teacher is correcting a child, it’s not in hate. It’s because I know their potential. If I never tell little Johnny that 2 + 2 doesn’t equal 5, he’s going to say, ‘Well, Ms. Sawyer didn’t say anything, so it must be right.’
JG: This is a lesson that I’m also learning as a parent of two kids – that it’s OK to mess up and fail. That doesn’t define them as a person. On the basketball court, if they make a turnover, or on a test instead of getting a 95, my son will freak out if he gets an 89 – that doesn’t make him any less of a person.
If all we ever teach our kids is that you failed, you messed up, they’re going to begin to think, ‘I’m not allowed to do that.’ But in our jobs, we’re going to mess up … There’s all these times in coaching where (I think), ‘I wish I would’ve done this,’ but that doesn’t define me.
We want to see our kids succeed. (But) if the best that my student can do is to get a B, let’s celebrate that. We can’t be good at everything.
More metro teachers and coaches weigh in:
Encouragement for parents as the school year approaches
Gage Posey, head football coach, Canton Academy
Most educators probably start getting more questions from parents when summer starts winding down. Parents have so much to think about when it comes to their children’s routines, and I’ve realized they’re afraid their child won’t have what they need because of something their parents didn’t do.
My high-school football coach and now friend and coworker, Tripp McCarty, shared this quote with me: ‘Prepare the child for the road; don’t prepare the road for the child.’ It’s natural for us to try to make things easier for our kids, but it’s our job to equip them, not make their path smoother. Learning how to navigate obstacles makes our kids better students, athletes, and people.
Teachers and coaches aren’t always great at communicating how they feel about their students and/or athletes. If parents realized how much we love their children, they would rest easier. We don’t always make decisions that everybody likes, but anyone I know in education is making decisions daily that they think are best for their students – and most of them are probably praying for those kids every night.
Kids today struggle with insecurity because of social media. To them it seems everyone else is getting drafted, getting that scholarship, looking great, and enjoying a perfect family. Kids are comparing themselves more than ever, which is causing them to lose their identity. We adults know that God created us all uniquely, and we need to be teaching kids to embrace their distinct God-given traits. I hope my students and players leave the classroom or field knowing that the best thing we can do is to be who God intended us to be.
One of the most important things parents can do is encourage their children to have a grateful perspective. The way kids look at things usually determines how they act. If our perspective is focused on being grateful in EVERY situation, we start seeing God’s beauty on the smooth and hard roads. What grounds me when things aren’t going my way in coaching is remembering that I have the greatest job in the world and being grateful for that.
The winning teams aren’t always the most ‘coached up’ teams. The winning team is usually the team that believes the most in themselves, their school, the coaching staff, and their community. That starts with parents who love them and let them navigate hard roads. My experience is that almost every parent is doing the best they know how. Parents should give themselves and their kids some grace and not wear themselves out trying to make the road smooth.
Parents should also know that their children’s teachers and coaches hear the voices of those who parented and coached us. My Papaw Stark, the most kindhearted man I’ve ever known, would remind me, ‘Kindness is not debatable in any situation. It is always right to be kind.’ Sometimes that takes humbling myself, whether it’s a winning or tough season. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, ‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.’
Whether your children are on the smooth or hard road today, you are not the only one looking out for them. Their coaches and teachers are too, and so is God, who is way more in control than any of us.
David Parker, athletic director and head football coach, Clinton Christian Academy
As a new school year begins, I strongly advise parents to incorporate prayer into their routine with their children. Teaching them to pray for their teachers, friends, and themselves is crucial for their spiritual development. By encouraging children to bring all aspects of their lives to God in prayer, parents help instill a lifelong habit that nurtures their faith.
Additionally, parents should pray for their children’s teachers, coaches, administrators, and peers. This not only shows support for their child’s academic and social environment but also helps alleviate parental anxieties.
Praying together as a family, whether on the way to school or at bedtime, strengthens bonds and creates a safe space for children to share their concerns openly. This practice fosters trust and openness within the family, making it easier for children to discuss any challenges they may face.
Ultimately, integrating prayer into daily life teaches children the importance of seeking spiritual guidance and support in all circumstances. It’s a lesson that builds resilience and fosters a deeper connection to their faith, benefiting them throughout their lives.
Preston Gordon, high-school principal, Discovery Christian School
Parents, as you seek to guide your children this school year, I encourage you to include these as top priorities:
- Pray for your children.
- Praise character over performance.
- Protect your children from sin, but not from adversity.
‘Endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope’ (Romans 5:4).
Grace Asagunla, middle-school math teacher and volleyball / tennis coach, Hillcrest Christian School
We are heading into the new school year with excitement and hope for all that God has planned! We are lifting you, our HCS parents, up in prayer as we work together toward shining the light of Christ in every child’s life!
Jessica Gregory, fifth- and sixth-grade math and science teacher, Mt. Salus Christian School
As a parent and teacher, I begin to feel anxiety rise as summer’s end gets closer. Someone said anxiety is thinking of the future without seeing the grace and love of Christ in it. This helps me put my worries into perspective. Things will always happen that we are not expecting. The kids will still get sick. There will still be homework. Someone will be sad, and the year might still be challenging. However, we can know the love and grace of Jesus Christ is already abounding in everything that will come our way this school year.
Proverbs 12:15 says, ‘Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.’ So, here is your good word for this school year: God has it under control! He will give us what we need. Jesus is already there extending His help to us (Hebrews 4:16). So as anxiety rises, replace it with Truth, knowing that God’s promise is that He will be with us through it all!
John Clendinning, high-school English teacher and STAR Teacher 2024, Park Place Christian Academy
Raising children in this darkening world can be overwhelming in comparison to the problems we faced as students. Take heart, for God, who ordained the concept of family, is the same today, yesterday, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). It is now more important than ever to raise families that will make a difference in this world. Here are three steps that may help you equip your student for this world.
First, be sure that you are providing solid Christian leadership in your home. In Titus 2:7, Paul writes, “Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching.” As parents, are we the image of Christ that we want our children to see, to imitate?
Second, be involved in your children’s education. Our students spend almost 9,000 hours in school from kindergarten through eighth grade, and parents should not assume that student education should be left solely to the teachers (edweek.com). Additionally, parents should not leave spiritual education to pastors, Sunday school / life group teachers, or youth ministers. Deuteronomy 11:18 states, “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Be active in spiritual education and worship in your home.
Finally, one of the most important pieces of armor in the Christian battle is prayer. Pray for your children every day that they are making good, godly decisions. Let them ‘catch’ you praying for the concerns in your life. And then pray with your family, giving thanks always to God for His many blessings.
Matthew Sigler, theology teacher and assistant varsity baseball coach, St. Joseph Catholic School
As Christian parents, you have the opportunity to watch your children grow academically and spiritually.
We as Christian teachers have been given a massive gift, the responsibility of being catechists to students, and I can assure parents that this is not taken lightly. Our faith offers a foundation of values that guide our interactions and decision making, and we strive to be role models for our students every day.
As a coach, my faith has also played a large role outside the classroom. Through prayer and reflection, I find the resilience to overcome challenges and maintain a positive outlook.
As this school year begins, we recall why we chose a Christian education for our children. Lord, please watch over our students and educators as we begin this journey. Fill our hearts with Your love. Remind us that all we do is to glorify You. Thank You, Lord, for Christian education.