'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part XVI)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
Making the Invisible Visible
One of the first things to consider in preparing your message is what you are going to give to your learners to visualize in the message. This compelling mental image should relate to the overall theme of your particular Bible study, and should be something on which each of your learners can hang their mental hat. An effective way to accomplish this is to weave one of Jesus' parables, or an example from the Old Testament of a situation that mirrors a current issue into each message. This will transform a bland regurgitation of a particular biblical command into a practical real life explanation about how your learners can evangelize, disciple and/or demonstrate a lifestyle that is distinctively different from the lifestyles of their non-Christian neighbors.
Think about how your learners can turn your intangible mental pictures into tangible physical actions they can demonstrate to their neighbors. Your goal is to help them to carry-out their faith, not carry-on about it as though yours is a biblical therapy session!
If you aren't interested in putting forth the required effort to do this, you might as well save yourself and your learners a lot of time by merely giving them a reading assignment from the Bible! Your accountability to God goes far deeper than presenting an accurate description of His commands for living. Your learners are depending on you to not only tell them the "what" of God's commands, but "why" they should live according to them, and "how" they can incorporate them into their worldview and lifestyle. Best-selling author and marketing consultant, Seth Godin, emphasizes this point from a non-Christian point of view:
People don't believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. What leaders do: They give people stories they can tell themselves. Stories about the future and about change.[1]
Since you are a Bible teacher, and your learners are either Christians, or visitors who are leaning toward believing the truths of the Bible, they should believe what you say, as long as your message conforms to Scripture. Still, Godin makes a good point about giving your learners "stories they can tell themselves."
Your study's theme should be a topic that relates to the issues the learners are facing, and are interested in knowing how God would have them act and react. The more practical you can make the biblical ethics that are addressed in your message, the more committed your learners should be at incorporating God's truths into their lifestyle, which, of course, is the main purpose of any Bible study. Management consultant Noel Tichy writes on the necessity of having a "teachable point of view" and being excited about explaining it.
The essence of leading is not commanding, but teaching. True learning takes place only when the leader/teacher invests the time and emotional energy to engage those around him or her in a dialogue that produces mutual understanding.[2]
England's former Prime Minister Winston Churchill provides these
timely words for all teachers and leaders:
Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, you own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.
Next week's topic is "Taking the Temperature of Your Teaching."
NOTES:
[1] Godin, Seth, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, (Portfolio, 2008)
[2] Tichy, Noel, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls, (Portfolio, 2007)
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.