A number of years ago, I had the privilege of serving on a curriculum-writing team led by CACE’s own Darryl DeBoer. We spent a week in Seattle building a K–12 curricular supplement for Christian schools. As the Friday deadline approached, many of us became increasingly anxious. The work wasn’t finished, flights were looming, and every glance at the clock seemed to reveal another hour slipping away.
In that stressful moment, Darryl challenged us. He encouraged us to step away from our devices and join him on a walk. Time-wise, it didn’t make a lot of sense, but there we were in the beautiful Pacific Northwest spending our day away under fluorescent lights. So, instead of marching through the work, we stepped outside and walked through a park.
My memories from that week of work are kind of a blur, but my memory of that walk is sharp—who I walked alongside, the jokes we told, the trees we paused to admire. These blessings in God’s creation opened my imagination and refreshed my spirit. When our walk was finished, we dove back into our project with new energy and purpose.
That memory has stayed with me because it feels like a microcosm of life in schools. The work is important, the deadlines are real, yet the moments that renew our imagination often come when we step away from the work for a time.
It’s essential to find ways to reconnect with our imagination and purpose, the space where new possibilities emerge. The slower pace of summer affords room for this kind of reflection, but as we all know, during the school year making space can feel impossible.
So, how can leaders and classroom teachers step away from the hustle and hurry to help our schools become a little less conventional? How can we build a plan to step outside, take a walk, and invite God’s kingdom to come in our hallways as it is in heaven?
An Invitation to Step Away
The Teaching for Transformation (TfT) Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 3–5, 2027, offers a unique opportunity to create that kind of purposeful pause in the middle of the school year.
Imagine stepping away from your desk and into a community of Deep Hope. Imagine pushing away from your inbox toward fresh ways of teaching, learning, and living together. This is your invitation to bring a team of teachers and leaders from your school to walk the streets of Memphis in the spring, reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and deepen our craft together.
The theme of this year’s conference is Celebrating in God’s Story. Our Deep Hope is to celebrate God’s Story and our place in it as we refine our craft, renew our commitment, and are formed together as a community of peculiar people. We would love for you to join us for the preconference options on March 3 and the strands and workshops on March 4 and 5.
Registration opens for TfT schools on September 30 and for non-TfT schools on October 16, 2026. Details for the conference can be found on the TfT website.
As the 2026–27 school year begins, we acknowledge the joy-filled yet daunting work ahead. Before long, we will find ourselves pulled in a hundred directions by a steady stream of urgencies. Yet, as Darryl knew back then and I know now, to do this work well and to remain rooted in what’s most important, sometimes you just need to go for a walk and let your imagination soar. The TfT Conference is your invitation to make that happen.
