'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part VII)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
Look Before You Leap!
If you had just been named coach of an under performing football team, what would be the first thing you would do? "That's easy," you say, "I would evaluate the players to identify their strengths and begin my planning from there." But what if you had just been named CEO of an under performing corporation? Again, your response would likely be: "That's easy, I would call a meeting of the staff vice presidents and have them evaluate our people, then talk with the marketing people to see how we were positioning our products or service in advertisements, then check our distribution channels, etc., etc., etc. Pretty basic stuff isn't it? But since such basics are so well understood about sports teams and businesses, the unavoidable question is:
Why do we approach the teaching of our church differently than we would in teaching the basic fundamentals of a sport or a business?
I'm not talking about substituting secular principles for biblical ones, but rather using the secular teaching and training methods that are based upon biblical truths! This is exactly what is happening, as non-Christians are doing a much more consistent job of using biblical methods (probably without realizing that they are biblical) than we are.
If a coach or a CEO's first order of business is to find out about his players or employees before beginning to teach them, why shouldn't our first order of business be to get to know where our members are spiritually before we begin teaching them?
The only reasonable answer to this question that I can think of is that coaches and CEOs know what they have been called to do and what they will be held accountable for, and many Bible teachers don't! If you have a better answer, please let me know. Let's begin by clarifying what the calling of a pastor is, or should be.
Are you in the information business, whereby you are accountable to merely add knowledge about God to your listeners?
Both Ezekiel and Paul point out that biblical truth reforms, as well as informs.
Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ezekiel 34.2
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4.11-12
Researcher George Barna says that today's typical sermon has a "two hour impact" upon the listeners, after which they can't even remember its theme![1]
Are you in the transformation business, whereby your purpose is to transform your learners' lives by showing them how to apply the biblical truths in your sermons and/or small group lessons, or in the entertainment business whereby your purpose is to have your learners leave with a "good feeling?"
Since the skills of a team's athletes determine its offensive and defensive schemes (plans/tactics/strategy), and the skills of employees and the features and benefits of the products and services determine which marketing strategy is used:
What's your Spiritual Scheme for the upcoming year, based upon the Spiritual gifts and abilities of your members?
Based upon multiple visits with your members by yourself and fellow elders and/or deacons, have you identified the spiritual strengths (and weaknesses) of your congregation?
If you haven't, how do you know how to prioritize what to preach and teach to them?
How do you know which parts of their theology are true, so you can build upon them?
How do you know which parts of their theology are based upon wrong information, or faulty teaching, so you can correct them?
The only way you will be able to identify the presuppositions that are occupying the minds of the people occupying your pews, is to get to know them. For example, if they imagine that Christians are cultural losers, ask them to put their presuppositions on hold for a few minutes while you teach them God's promises, demonstrating how He blesses obedience, and then provide compelling reasons for them to change their presuppositions. Explain that we are not losing our culture because of what the non-Christians are doing, but by what we are not doing. By spiraling God's promises throughout your sermons you will provide reinforcement that your learners are on God's winning A-Team. Use these occasions to emphasize the high expectations that God has for His church.[2] This process will enable you to gradually change the collective mindset of your congregation from being pessimistic to optimistic.
Explain that a sound orthodoxy (doctrine) which does not lead to sound orthopraxy (practical application), is a hypocritical way to live. Also point out that disobedience to God's Word shows contempt for the wisdom of God. At the other end of the disobedience spectrum, are those who place feelings and emotions over instruction. They can't wait to sing the next praise song, as they close their eyes and sway back and forth thinking about various promised blessings from God. Yet, doing what they should to receive those gracious blessings is not even on their mental radar. They are much more serious about serving their interests than God's interests, and as a result they are content to have no content in either the sermons they hear, or the song they sing.
Rev. Craig Bulkeley cites the following telling passing from Terry Johnson's Reformed Worship: Worship That Is According to Scripture:
David Wells has analyzed the theological content of 406 of the two most popular contemporary songbooks, Worship Song of the Vineyard and Maranatha! Music Praise Chorus Book. He compared them with 662 hymns of The Covenant Hymnal. He summarized his findings, saying that "the large majority of these praise songs I analyzed, 58.9 percent, offer no doctrinal grounding or explanation for the praise; in the classical hymnody examined it was hard to find hymns that were not predicated upon and did not develop some aspect of doctrine" (my emphasis). In addition, important Biblical themes are largely ignored. For example, the theme of the church is found in 1.2% of the songs; sin, penitence and longing for holiness in 3.6%; the holiness of God in 4.3%. Losing Our Virtue, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), p.44[3]
Needless to say, it's pretty hard to motivate someone to live for God if the sermons that have been hearing contain neither specific reasons for living-out their faith, nor specific suggestions on how to do it.
Next week's topic is "Teacher, Teach Yourself."
Notes:
[1] George Barna, Barna Group http://www.barna.org
[2] Matthew 6.10
[3] Johnson, Terry Le., Reformed Worship: Worship That Is According to Scripture, (Greenville: Reformed Academic Press, 2000), 34, n.34, cited in Hope For The Children Of The Sun, Craig S. Bulkeley, (Worship Press, 2007), p.38
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.