The first post will focus on the two-fold foundation for teaching Christ—knowing your doctrine and then teaching it and living it with grace and humility. The second will focus on practical methods. But first, there is no greater warning I can think of to give myself or other teachers other than this: you need to know your stuff even as you guard yourself from the inevitable pride issues that surface when you know your stuff.
1 Corinthians 8:1 NASB Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
Proverbs 6 NIV 16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
James 3 NASB 1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
The tongue is powerful. Before you ever say a word of a lesson, you need to understand its vast power for both good and evil. You can win the doctrinal debate from Scripture and still lose the heart of the person to which you are speaking (or those who are overhearing your words). There is a reason that Paul exhorts believers to “speak the truth in love” in Ephesians 4. It is because speaking truthfully from Scripture is not automatically loving. We must speak the truth in a way that is consistent with I Corinthians 13’s precise definition of Biblical love. We are kind, not rude; patient, not demanding; we bear long instead of stomping off when we don’t get the response we wanted.
Here are some other general big ideas to keep in mind when preparing content to teach.
ONLY the Word of God and the Holy Spirit can transform lives. Sharp presentations and memorable stunts don’t change lives. The Word changes lives. 2 Cor. 10:3-4; Jer. 23:29
I Cor. 1 NIV
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
People may remember your stunt but forget your message. A friend once told me about a message he heard in which the preacher gave out Band-Aids to all those in the audience with some instruction on how to use them. My friend recounted in detail the Band-Aid, its use, the participants response, his response, and so forth. But when I asked him what the message was about, he couldn’t remember. Memorable stunt. Unmemorable presentation of Scripture. Bells and whistles are much more likely to distract from your message than enhance it. Never underestimate the power of God Himself through His Word alone to get His message across exactly as He intends.
The Word of God is SUFFICIENT to thoroughly equip us for all God has called us to do. Extra-biblical steps and methods are at best minimally helpful. The force for transforming lives is “holding fast to the Head” (Col. 2:19 NASB) which is Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Col. 2:23 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
When I say extra-Biblical, I mean those things that seem good ideas to you but that the Bible doesn’t specifically prescribe. Guard yourself against offering the things that worked for you as the only choice that all wise believers make. If you have content that is outside of Scripture, consider either cutting it or carefully teaching it in context of the sufficiency of Scripture on any given topic. Point people to Christ as both the ONLY model to which they need to be conformed and the ONLY method that will transform them.
The greatest command is to love God with all our hearts. The second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. ALL OTHER LAWS HINGE UPON THESE FIRST TWO.
Matthew 22 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
If you are teaching on sin, repentance, holiness, or righteousness, make sure you clearly link whatever content you present on righteousness to the foundation of all righteousness—Biblical love. Moral improvement that is not founded on a love for God and I Corinthians 13 style love for others is NOT righteousness. Never forget that! This may be the greatest pothole into which Christian teachers fall.
The gospel of Christ is the offending element of our message.
Romans 9 33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 14 13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
I have heard my fair share of offensive, in your face teaching by various Christian speakers over the years. Many justify their ungracious, offensive methods because both Jesus and Paul at times spoke very pointedly in ways that offended their listeners. However, if you examine the times that Jesus’ listeners were offended by His message, it is always some aspect of the gospel that was the line in the sand that they could not hear or accept. We must clear out all other rocks of offence in our speaking that our audience may be confronted with the only rock of offence that matters—Jesus Himself. The most offensive element of the Christian message is that Jesus is the ONLY way to God. It is grievous when a speaker sets up their own agenda as more important than the gospel, allowing unnecessary offensive teaching to cause listeners to stumble and drop out well before they ever get to Jesus Himself.
BOTTOM LINE: We teach SCRIPTURE, not PERSONAL AGENDAS; we preach CHRIST, not HUMAN WISDOM; and we change lives through RELATIONSHIP, not METHOD.
The next post will cover practical helps for connecting with your audience.
3 comments:
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this! There are so many women who joyfully soak up the Word and love the Lord but are terrified at the idea of teaching. There are so many willing to facilitate a video Bible study but so few who feel they are qualified to teach.
I have often wondered the best way to prepare women to even consider the idea that God may be calling and equipping them to share the Word with others. This is a good start!
Bekah, we offered this class over 3 weeks. Week 1 and 2 were lessons from me on teaching. Week 3, I had each participant present a 5 minute talk on the Scripture of their choice. It was a great first step for identifying women to teach. I'm glad to give you more info privately if you're interested in offering similar training.
Thanks for asking that, Tamie. I definitely think there is a place for helpful application. I just think we have to make sure any extra-Biblical application is spoken clearly in context of both the gospel and the sufficiency of Scripture. "This is how this looks in my life" or "I have found it helpful to do this" is beneficial when it is not accompanied with "and all godly women with good sense will reach the same conclusion."
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