'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part III)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
This is how these biblical truths should change your worldview and lifestyle.
When was the last time your pastor, or small group leader closed their message with this statement? Sadly, for many or you, the answer is, "Never!" If you were to survey your friends about what they expect their lifestyle will have on our culture, most would probably answer, "Little, if any." That certainly wouldn't have been the answer you would have received several hundred years ago if you asked the Puritans, Pilgrims, or the Protestant Reformers. Their answer would have been the same as those who landed at Plymouth Rock: "We expect to be a city on a hill, and a light to the nations."
A lot has changed since the Puritan leader John Winthrop delivered his inspiring message in 1630. Then pastors, and their congregations, had a teaching paradigm of "Listening, Learning and Doing." Today, most of us evaluate our church on how accurate the messages are, as we come to "Listen and Learn." Somewhere along the way the "Doing" part has all but disappeared. The Puritans' teaching paradigm "Christianized" Western civilization, while today's teaching paradigm is "Easternizing" the West.
"Best Practices" for Bible Teachers is a call to Bible teachers at all levels to return to the godly Puritan model of instruction. Indeed, the Puritan model of communicating is the one that every vocation uses to get its message across except Bible teachers! This, in and of itself, should be cause for concern.
There is a huge difference between listening to learn
something, and listening to do something.
Sadly, many of our Christian brothers and sisters in the 21st century don't attend worship service with the intention of incorporating the biblical truths they hear into their worldview and lifestyle for the week ahead. If there is any hope for America to survive, it is critically necessary that American Christians return to the mindset of our Puritan forefathers and begin living-out our faith.
This series of Bible teaching tips will include quotes from some of the most respected biblical scholars throughout history, plus quotes from sports coaches and business leaders.
This is not to suggest that the church use humanistic methods, but rather that they are using our methods! Its high time we stop allowing the "sons of this world to be more shrewd , than the sons of light." (Luke 16.8)
A Look Ahead
Some of the topics to be discussed in the "Best Practices" for Bible Teachers series include "Creating the 'Vision' for Your Congregation," where we will look at the importance of not only getting to know where your congregation is in their collective worldview and lifestyle, but also getting to know yourself, by examining whether you are really living according to the biblical ethics in which you profess to believe. With these two foundational building blocks in place you will be better equipped to begin planning how to get your congregation (or small group, or family) to where you want them to be, and most importantly, where God wants them to be.
The widespread pessimism and defeatist attitude of 21st American Christians will be demolished by examining why Satan cannot defend against applied biblical ethics. The myth that we have been called into God's family and Christ's Kingdom to merely sit around until we are supernaturally rescued is exploded by numerous promises from God that we are supposed to be cultural winners.
Since many of your learners imagine (!) that being a Christian is merely adding a few moralistic behaviors to the non-Christian worldview and lifestyle of our pre-conversion days, we will take a close look at five commonly held presuppositions that Satan is using to divert us from our commanded responsibilities.
We are special creations of God who can do nothing to dramatically improve the culture.
Share the gospel, disciple fellow Christians and hope to be supernaturally rescued from my commanded duties, so someone else can help to bring about God's will "on earth as it is in heaven."
God isn't going to come through on His promises to bless my obedience.
God is not really in sovereign control of His creation.
We prefer to put our will first, instead of Jesus' will.
Are you emphasizing the commanded duties for your learners to "put off" all our former non-Christian behaviors, and to "put on" new, holy and God-honoring behaviors? If not, why not? Also, what effect upon your teaching should the realization that God has replaced our "Bad" heart with a "Good" heart, not with a Broken heart.
Do your learners know why they have been called into God's family and Christ's Kingdom? If not, how are you preparing them to live-out their faith? For example, do you often ask: "How Do the Biblical Truths in this Message assist us in 'Repairing the Ruins' of our Culture?"
As you prepare your messages, what can you do to change the mindset of your learners from "How much can I learn?" to "How can I incorporate Biblical truths into my lifestyle?"
How do your particular messages emphasize the importance of "retaining God" in our thoughts as we make our daily decisions?[1]
Have you ever wondered why the typical sermon is not "despised" by 21st century civil rulers, as they were during the times of the Puritans?
Scanning through this list reveals just how challenging the duty of teaching someone God's Word is. Clearly, God hasn't called us to be announcers of His Word, but to be teachers. If all you were expected to do by God was to announce His Word accurately, why could you not be replaced by someone placing a recorder on the pulpit each Sunday and pressing "play?" Teaching God's Word is probably the most challenging and demanding thing you will do, but it is also the most rewarding as you carry out your job of assisting learners transform their lifestyle by "putting off" the ethics by which they lived as non-Christians, and "putting on" biblical ethics as they daily demonstrate a Christian antithesis to their non-Christian neighbors on how God wants them to live, raise their families and govern themselves!
Note:
[1] Romans 1.18-32
Buddy Hanson is President of the Christian Policy Network and Director of the Christian Worldview Resources Center and has written several books on the necessity of applying one's faith to everyday situations, circumstances and decision-making.