"Rawthenticity"

Every teacher should read Chris Busch's comments about the necessity to be relevant and be authentic -- he fuses these into "rawthenticity." He says this is essential for the post-emergent culture, but I'd argue it's always been essential, and always should be -- it's the Jesus style of teaching!

Here's the core section:

Some observations about relevance –
Each of us is somewhat irrelevant to at least some segment of the population. You choose (by intention or default) those you target for relevance.
Many people haven’t had the teachers (or have ignored them) that I did to alert them to their own marginal relevance. Find some.
Listen to your target audience, be it business, church, education. . . It’s the only way to stay relevant.
No one is relevant to every one, but you can adjust your thinking to be relevant to the culture as
a whole and to your target audience specifically.
Relevance is all about the way you think. That can change if you want it to.

A few thoughts about authenticity –
In this context, being authentic
requires a willingness to be transparent in your dealings with others. You’re
the same “on stage” and off. Your words and behaviors are synomic.
A person who is bad but honest about it is preferred over the person who pretends to be good.
Being authentic is the cornerstone of being relevant.
Credibility is the currency of the culture.

But read the whole 2 pages to find out the amazing story of where he learned this. :-)