Ten Commandments for Adult Bible Study Leaders Part 2

Let's continue our discussion from last time on some basic standards for Adult Bible study leaders.

6. Thou shall start and end on time. Begin class time with prayer requests, announcements and class news. Let people fellowship for a few minutes, then begin. Yes you are likely to have stragglers coming in late, be thankful they came. Never say anything publicly about latecomers. If you start on time people will get the message. They'll learn to get there on time. You also need to end on time. If you teach adults with young children they need to get them from their classes and then get everyone into worship. You will kill your class if you abuse this privilege.

 

7. Thou shall not fall in love with a single teaching method. Too many of us (including myself) use the lecture method. It's easier for me if I can boil down every lesson to three points, a poem and a prayer. But I would not be fully engaging my class members in a quality learning experience. Be creative. Once, when I taught a lesson on the Tower of Babel, I recruited some class members and we presented the lesson in an morning TV talk show format. Use testimonies, drama, videos and other things as well. We live in a digital age. Lessons should never be boring! Why do we need variety in our teaching method. Because adult learn differently. Some are verbal learners, others are visual. Some of physical there are at least nine different ways adults learn. Master three or four different learning styles and then occasionally throw in some other ways to keep your people involved and your teaching methods fresh.

 

8. Thou shall teach people the Bible, not the Bible to people. The late Harry Piland first taught me this principle. God's Word speaks to all people in different ways. Wherever our people may be God has a word for them. Our teaching should never be a tool to just hammer people! We should open it reverently, and respectfully to allow God's Spirit to speak. The 19th century preacher Philip Brooks once said, "Remember there's a broken heart in every pew" (or classroom).

 

9. Thou shall understand the difference between 'chasing a rabbitt' and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we maintain our focus and discipline during our time to teach. We should never spend half our allotted time replaying the college football scores from yesterday. Besides ESPN can do it so much better. In thirty years of leading Bible study I can list on one hand the times God interrupted what I had prepared to teach for some special moments: a class member present grieving the death of her husband, another sharing that their spouse walked out, a couple of times with broken-hearted parents with kids going down the wrong path in life. There may have been another time or two but I think you get the point: When God shows up! Get out of the way. You'll know when He does.

 

10. Thou shall let God's people go! The longer I teach the Bible study the more I become convinced that faithfully preparing and teaching God's Word each week is only half my task. Teachers we are called to reproduce! We are called to call out the called! We must understand that one of the best measures of our effectiveness is not how many we gather to hear us, but how many we send out to serve. We must realize that the only place our leaders can go to find workers for our preschool, children, student and adult classes in from us! Let your people go!

My prayer is that this will encourage and challenge you. God Bless you. We'll be back next week!