A: In the Bible, Paul clearly describes the spiritual gifts that are given in the church. One of the gifts is the gift of leadership. Another is a gift of teaching. A great reference for this is the Network Course developed at Willow Creek that helps people discern and discover their spiritual gifts. It also has great descriptions of the gifts. Here is a link to this resource. Some people have the spiritual gift of teaching - which is the God-given ability to take God's truth and explain it clearly to other people. A gifted teacher will speak truth effectively in ways that the audience will understand it and apply it to their daily lives. Most theologians believe that the teaching gift described in the bible applies somewhat narrowly to the teaching of God's word. Just because a person is a teacher (and a good one) in a school, does not mean that they have the gift of leadership in the church. Other people have the spiritual gift of leadership. It is the god-given ability to move a group of people toward a desired accomplishment. It involves vision-casting, strategizing, clear communication. A leader will walk into a difficult situation and do several things: define reality, envision a better future and strategize ways to move toward the better future. In the case of Teach For America, Bill was noting that Wendy did not seem to select teacher candidates who had, for example, gotten a teaching degree or were a member of the teacher's union. She did not seem to select people who were necessarily even good as explaining concepts to a class. While a good teacher would be able to teach a subject with diligence, a leader would walk into that classroom and really become a catalyst for change. Given the educational challenges, TFA teachers need to be able to do more than simply teach math or English or science. They need to motivate change in the lives of their students: to get them to study harder than they ever have in their lives, to give them big expectations and big dreams.

- The WCA Team