'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part XXII)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
Personal Growth Checklist
"Champions don't become champions in the ring--they are merely recognized there."[1] So writes Rev. John Maxwell as he discusses four personal growth stages. Each of us is in one of these stages, and hopefully we have all progressed to Stages Three and Four. But as it is with most everything else, the important thing is recognizing where we are, so we can identify what we need to do to make any needed improvements.
Stage 1. -- I don't know what I don't know.
Stage 2. -- I know what I don't know.
Stage 3. -- I apply what I know in my daily decision-making.
Stage 4. -- I use what I know to help others grow.[2]
Since every one of your learners is in one of these Personal Growth Stages, it is most important to get to know them well enough to make an educated guess about which stage each one is in. Knowing this will allow you to present your instruction in such a manner that it will have a much higher percentage of being believed and acted upon. For example, the learner who doesn't know what he doesn't know, is not going to be motivated to make any improvements, because he won't perceive that he needs to. But if you recognize that he is in Stage One, you can ask some leading questions to help him discover that he may not be as biblically squared-away as he thinks.
The following Six Principles of Effective Teachers points out specific duties you can perform to help your learners maximize their potential.
Six Principles of Effective Teachers
Find out the life goals of your learners.
Fashion your Mission Statement to emphasize those goals.
Remain flexible to adjust and re-adjust your tactics and strategies to accomplish these goals.
Don't fear adversities and temporary setbacks.
Find ways of encouraging the learners on their course toward accomplishing their individual and family goals.
Follow-up with learners at frequent intervals to offer your assistance, and to perhaps make adjustments in their goals.
From this discussion it should be clear that your learners must not
only know what they know, and how to fit what they know into the Big
Picture of the Church's Mission Statement, but they should also be
carefully instructed in how to apply what they know toward
accomplishing their individual, family and church's goals. This
emphasizes the crucial importance of basing your Mission Statement
upon the gifts and abilities of your learners. For example, your
church may have a very impressive Mission Statement, but if your
members can't identify their cares and concerns with it, you might as
well discard it. Once again, we find a parallel in football. If a
coach determines that he doesn't have a quarterback who can
consistently complete passes, he doesn't complain about his
quarterback not being able to perform that skill, because he knows
that he is paid for winning games, not complaining. So, instead of
complaining and continuing to run a pass-oriented offense that is
unsuccessful, he begins to develop a running attack. Similarly, as
Church leaders ("Bible coaches"), we need to understand that we are
accountable to God for assisting our learners to develop their various
Spiritual skills, even if those skills do not conform to our Mission.
Our sole responsibility is to conform our Mission to the skills of our
members, not attempt to force their skills into our preconceived
Mission statement.
Mission Statements should be based upon the Spiritual skills
and the cares and concerns of your members.
By conforming your Mission Statement to the skills of your members, you are giving them excellent reasons to "buy-in" to the church's Mission.
Are you giving your learners reasons to buy-in to the Mission Statement?
As they step from their homes each day, have you taught your learners how to prepare themselves in their Daily Spiritual Practice to know:
What their role is in God's family and Christ's Kingdom?
Who they are likely to be communicating with and what their worldview is?
What they can say and/or do to demonstrate to those whose paths they cross to affect them in a positive way?
How they can put their Spiritual gifts to the best use in the situations and circumstances they are likely to encounter?
Next week's topic is "Becoming a Better Servant in Christ's Kingdom."
NOTES:
[1] Maxwell, John C., The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, (Thomas
Nelson, 1998), p.28
[2] Maxwell, ibid., 21 Irrefutable, pp.24-27
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.