Bus Driving by the Bible

Bus Driving by the Bible I. The purpose of this study 1. We should do things "by the book". 2. In this Bible study I want to give a Biblical perspective on my new part-time (nearly full-time) school bus driving job. 3. I am to be an example to the flock in how I live which is why I have decided to share these things from my personal life (1Ti 4:12; 1Pe 5:3). II. Providing for myself and my wife 1. Normally speaking, pastors are supposed to be able to live off of the financial support of their church (1Co 9:14). 2. But sometimes pastors have to work a secular job to supplement their ministerial income (Act 18:3; Act 20:34; 1Co 4:12). 3. Paul did so voluntarily at one point in his ministry to be an example to a church that had lazy people in it that were not working when they could be (2Th 3:7-12). 4. I am thankful for the opportunity to work a secular job for a time so that I can be an example to others both within and without the church of how a man should provide for himself and his family (1Ti 5:8). 5. My working a secular job is not an indictment of this church. A. The members of this church support me generously, regularly, and consistently. B. It is just a matter of numbers. C. A church of our size and circumstances is not able to fully support a frugal pastor and his wife. D. If it is God's will, He will add members to the body which will enable me to once again dedicate myself full-time to the work of the ministry. E. Until then, I will continue to work a secular job to provide for my wife and me. III. Doing my job with all my might as unto the Lord and not unto men 1. I am also thankful to again have a secular job for a time so that I can show by example how to work a job as unto the Lord and not unto men (Col 3:23; Eph 6:5-8). 2. I try my best to do my job right and to not cut corners (Rom 12:11; Ecc 9:10). A. I show up early, inspect my bus, and leave the lot at precisely the right departure time every day. B. I try to do my job right, even when it irritates students and parents and makes my work more difficult. C. I follow the rules and make students get on and off the bus at their designated stops, even though some other drivers do not. 3. I am also thankful to have a less prestigious job, having had a more prestigious job in the past, so that I can show by example that there is no job that is beneath anyone (Pro 14:23). IV. How can I drive a school bus when I am philosophically opposed to government schools? 1. I use this world, but don't abuse it (1Co 7:31). 2. I make to myself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness as Jesus taught (Luk 16:9). 3. Daniel and Joseph worked in the belly of the beast and were blessed by God for it. 4. Hopefully by doing so I can make a difference in the lives of a few children. V. Managing and controlling students 1. I have preached about Biblical child training and discipline for years without having had children myself. A. Now I have 60 of them, ages 5 to 18. B. I found that when I applied the Biblical principles of authority, child training, and child discipline to managing and controlling 60 children on a school bus, it worked just as the Bible said it would. C. Wisdom is justified of her children (Luk 7:35). D. Some of the methods of child discipline in the Bible such as beating children with a rod have to be modified when driving a school bus because it is not allowed. E. Nevertheless, there are still (inferior) enforcement mechanisms that can be used which will, and do, work if they are used consistently. F. These non-Biblical methods take longer to apply and to produce results, but they will work when applied regularly and consistently. 2. With many parents, teachers, and school bus drivers, children are their oppressors (Isa 3:12). A. Children only act unruly, disobediently, and rebelliously if parents or other adults in authority allow them to. B. This ought not so to be. 3. Establish your authority from day one. A. The first day that I drove my route, I did so with the former driver riding along with me. B. Before we left the school, I introduced myself to the students and read them the bus rules. C. I took the oversight, not asked for it (1Pe 5:2). D. But, once you take the oversight, the students will try to take it back. E. Those in authority (parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, or bus drivers) must not allow them to do it. 4. The first day that I drove my route alone without another driver or monitor on board, the children immediately began to test me. A. The first battle ensued with would decide who was in control of the bus: me or the children. B. They were sitting with their legs and bodies in the aisle and they were all full of mirth, figuring that they would be able to walk all over their new bus driver. C. I quickly put an end to that. i. I pulled the bus over when I got a place that I could stop safely. ii. I secured the bus and shut it down, and then I proceeded to walk slowly down the aisle. iii. You could have heard a pin drop. iv. I then asked the students why there is a rule to keep the aisles free of body parts and items. v. They gave me some reasons, and then I gave them some more and told them that I wanted the aisle kept clear. vi. That set the stage for the rest of the year on my bus route. 5. Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest (Pro 29:17; Heb 12:11). A. I have a very quiet, calm bus. B. I rarely need to raise my voice, but only look at the students in the passenger mirror (Pro 20:8) and give them hand signals to sit down, get out of the aisle, or quiet down. C. I have very peaceful trips each day, and I enjoy driving the students. D. Some other drivers complain about how bad their students are on the bus and how they can't control them. E. Their students behave badly because they allow them to. F. As a bus driver (or a parent), you must resolve from the beginning that you will win a confrontation with a rebellious child. i. You must never give up and let the child do what he wants. ii. It takes determination, strength, courage, and stamina, but it can be done. G. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof (Ecc 7:8). H. You will eventually reap what you sow, whether good or bad (Gal 6:7-8). 6. Chasten them betimes (Pro 13:24). A. Betimes - 1. At an early time, period, or season; early in the year; early in life. B. Correct bad behavior immediately. C. If I would not have chastened my students early and often, they would have been my calamity (Pro 19:13) and would have brought me to shame (Pro 29:15). 7. Be utterly consistent. A. As a bus driver, if I yell at a student one day for doing something and then let it go the next day, I will not have his respect or his obedience. B. If I get lazy and let bad behavior go, the students will capitalize on it. C. If I fail to correct bad behavior because I am tired and don't feel like it, the students will get out of control. D. I must consistently correct bad behavior, and when I do, there will be very little bad behavior to correct. 8. Do not make threats that you will not follow through on. A. I never tell a student that I will write him up the next time he does something if I do not fully intend to do so. B. When I tell a student that he will be written up if he does something forbidden again, I always write him up when I get back to the bus garage, even if I don't feel like it or if I feel bad doing so. C. Those in authority (including parents) should never issue an order or a threat that they do not fully intend on following through with. D. If you don't follow through with threats, the children will soon realize that you are not to be taken seriously. E. There are two main areas where parents fail in training and disciplining their children. i. They do not follow through with commands and threats. a. I see parents all the time telling their children to do something or not do something, only to watch their children pay no attention to them. b. They tell their children that they will be spanked or otherwise punished if they don't obey, but then they don't follow through with the punishment the first time the child doesn't obey. c. That is pitiful! ii. They are not consistent with punishment. a. They will punish an offense one day and then leave it slide the next day because they are tired. b. This is why their children do not take them seriously they tell them to do or not do something. c. Children are always looking for the line in the sand. d. When the line continues to move, children continue to push, test, and challenge until they find it. 9. Smite the scorner and the simple will beware (Pro 19:25). A. Those in authority must make an example out of the first rebel that rises up against them (Pro 20:26). B. When they do that, the others will see and fear (1Ti 5:20). 10. If you contend with them, you will have no rest (Pro 29:9). A. I have tried arguing with a student and trying to verbally force him to do something, and it doesn't work. i. A strong willed student knows that today a bus driver cannot physically touch him, and therefore he will not back down and be humiliated in front of his friends. ii. 70 years ago the student would have either gotten a good beating or he would have known that one was coming from the principle and his parents, and therefore the verbal confrontation would likely not have happened. iii. Since we live in an ungodly society which doesn't allow such things, we must use other less effective methods. B. Instead of arguing, just warn him of the consequences of disobedience if he rebels. C. When he rebels, apply the punishment repeatedly and consistently until he complies. D. In my case, this means writing him up and getting parents and school administrators involved. E. This worked when I did it, and it will work for you too. 11. Don't be their friend. A. Those in authority (including parents, teachers, and bus drivers) make a grave mistake when try to be their child's/student's friend. B. I act courteously and respectfully toward my students, but I do not act like their friend. C. They need to view me as one in authority over them, not as their buddy. D. Parents need to remember this. E. Once a leader's authority has been thoroughly established, then he can become friendly with subordinates to the extent that they can handle it. 12. Resist the desire to be liked by them. A. Most people have a desire to be liked by others. B. As a bus driver, I have felt a desire to be liked by my students, and when I feel that some of them don't like me, it hurts a bit. i. I (and parents, grandparents, teachers, etc.) must resist this desire. ii. We must first be respected by them, and eventually they will like us. iii. If we try to make them like us before they respect us, we will be neither liked nor respected. C. Right now my students aren't too happy with me, but they nevertheless obey my rules. i. I gave them a survey to fill out. a. I have lumped the "strongly agree" and "agree" responses together. b. I have lumped the "neutral", disagree", and "strongly disagree" responses together. c. The results were as follows. ii. Question 1: My school bus driver drives safely. a. Agree - 11 b. Disagree/neutral - 14 iii. Question 2: My school bus driver is always on time. a. Agree - 10 b. Disagree/neutral - 14 iv. Question 3: My school bus driver is friendly and courteous. a. Agree - 8 b. Disagree/neutral - 17 v. Question 4: My school bus driver maintains order on the bus. a. Agree - 14 b. Disagree/neutral - 11 vi. Question 5: My school bus driver is fair and impartial when dealing with students. a. Agree - 9 b. Disagree/neutral - 16 vii. Question 6: My school bus driver acts professionally. a. Agree - 11 b. Disagree/neutral - 14 viii. Question 7: I feel safe and secure on the school bus. a. Agree - 11 b. Disagree/neutral - 14 ix. Question 8: My overall impression of my school bus driver is that he is: a. Excellent - 4 b. Good - 6 c. Just okay - 9 d. Terrible - 2 e. A total jerk - 4 x. Student comments: a. "I don't like you." b. "I want our old bus driver back." (two students wrote this) c. "You're the best bus driver." d. "He's very nice, but we have a stronger chance of getting written up." D. They may eventually come to like me, but in the mean time we will have a quiet, calm, peaceful, and safe bus ride to and from school. 13. I'm nice to them even when they are not nice to me. A. I greet each student every time they get on the bus and usually also when they get off the bus. B. The majority of the students do not greet me back. C. I must not render rudeness for rudeness though (1Th 5:15). D. I hope to eventually teach them to be courteous and polite by way of example.