Whether you lead a small group in a home or in a Sunday monrning Bible study teaching God's Word is a great privilege and responsibility. Most Bible teachers I know want to do it well and they take that responsibility seriously. Over the years of my own Bible teaching, leading and training others I've developed ten commandments for effective Bible teachers.
1. Thou shall teach for transformation, not just information transfer. Should we know the Scriptures and want those we teach and lead to know them as well? Absolutely! But most of us will never be Bible scholars and that's OK. Just as important as information transfer must be understanding that we are to teach for personal transformation. Why must we do this? Because that is the biblical imperative. The only imperative in the Great Commission of Matthew 28 is the mission to 'make disciples' i.e. "followers of Jesus." We do this through application. Help your students apply the Scriptures as they go back to work on Monday. Equip them to face their problems, difficulties and people they know.
2. Thou shall teach to the best of your ability what the Bible says, not "this is what it means to me." Let me say that I believe two things: First, that there is one blical interpretation that is true. Second, there are 10,000 applications of that same passage. Our job is to do our very best to find the correct meaning of the text. I know that on many issues there may be denominational and theological differences. I understand that is sometimes the case. But our goal as a Bible teacher is to do the best we can to find the truth. This means we must study and invest in our own teaching ministry. Build your own Bible study library. Buy Rick Warren's book Bible Study Methods. It's a great place to start.
3. Thou shall be a team player about the class, the church, training and curriculum decisions. One disturbing trend I see too much is the 'Lone Ranger' approach. Maybe it's a sign of our times that some teachers believe they can do just about anything they want. Effective Bible study teachers should be team players supporting the activities in the church. Recently I heard about a teacher in a great historic church who teaches his class and then goes home. He doesn't worship in his own church. He obviously has an agenda beside the Lord's. Teachers need to support the ministry and training opportunities provided through their church. You may be a great Bible teacher. You still need training! Ted Williams went to spring training every year to get ready. So should you and I.
4. Thou shall be a mentor and equipper of others. I firmly believe that the goal of every Bible teacher should be to work our way out of a job. We should be mentoring and equipping others to teach and serve as well. Too many of us in ministry have it backwards. The measure of a great teaching ministry is not how many we gather but how many we send back into other classes, be they presechool, children, students or other adult classes.
5. Thou shall be prepared, rested and ready to go. Do your work before Saturday night. Go to bed on time. Be early on Sunday morning and ready to go. Major league pitchers have a routine they follow so they can pitch every fifth day. They are meticulous about their diet, exercise and preparation. Why? Because they want to be at their best on game day. We need the same kind of commitment to something that is much more important. Be prepared, rested and ready to go.
On Friday I'll post commandments 6-10. What do you think? What's your experience been with Bible study teaching? Let us know.
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