Monday, January 26, 2009
Authority in Teaching
In "Step One" on pages 19-20 of the text Creative Bible Teaching, the author describes a scenario in which a student teacher, Matt, was critiqued by a fellow student, Kate, who cited Matt's failure to lead his students in an actual study of the Bible. The author relates his observations: "Matt did not teach the Bible passage. Matt instead led a class session on everyone else's experiences and opinions. He did quite well when it came to the dynamics of teaching, but he failed when it came to teaching with authority. Matt responded to Kate's critique, 'Well, I didn't really have a lot of time to study the passage. I had a paper due in another class, so I thought I would just get everyone involved.' Matt made a fundamental error in his teaching ministry. He confused involvement with authority. Getting students involved in a class is not the same as getting them involved in the Bible. Authority in teaching the Bible is not derived from the teacher's skill or the methods selected, but only from teaching what the Scriptures teach."
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When I first read this post and reached the end, there was one dominant thought in my mind: "Yep!"
ReplyDeleteWhether it is in Bible classes and Sunday school or the corporate worship setting, it is very easy to use the wrong things as the barometer of our effectiveness. It is so easy -- too easy -- to be distracted by white noise and plate spinning instead of truly studying the Bible and bringing our students to (or at least toward) an encounter with The Word.
In much the same way that we can wrongly focus on the gifts instead of the Giver, we also tend to get caught up in the bells and whistles of CREATIVE Bible teaching.
I do not mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with being creative in our Bible teaching. Certainly we serve an amazingly creative God, and when we are creative, we are proclaiming the glory of God. However, if being creative is our goal, we have missed the point entirely. That would be akin to placing the em-PHAS-is on the wrong syl-LA-ble. The proper goal is creative BIBLE teaching.
A few of the most effective Bible lessons I've ever experienced* did not use a single "creative" teaching method. It was a good teacher who KNEW his/her text and sought engagement with his/her students. You cannot lead where you have not walked. If we do not know, seek to know and continue knowing the Word of God, the greatest methods in the world will be white noise...plate spinning...a resounding gong.
The late Seth Wilson (the Ozark Christian founding dean) was known, well after his years teaching at Ozark, for his amazing understanding of the Bible, which included memorizing large portions of scripture. I heard of one occasion where a lady visiting the college, upon meeting Brother Wilson, said, "I would give half my life to know the Bible like you do."
He is said to have responded, "Well that's about right."
Learning and studying the Bible is a life-long commitment, not one that ends with the completion of a class or conferrence of a degree. As James 3:1 reads, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
The beginning of effective, authoritative Bible teaching is simple: study your Bible. "Simple," however, is not the same as "easy."
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*By effective, I mean an increase of my knowledge and understanding of God Himself through His Word that led to a life change (or at least a recognition that a change needed to take place).
Well-said, Dena. So often focus is lost when it comes to teaching the Bible. It's easy to get caught up in methods, ways to make it interesting, etc., and yet fail to teach the ONLY thing that can change lives: the Word itself.
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