Pioneer Christian Monthly - February, 1998

What Makes A Teacher of the Things of God
John P. Drost

The question I want to raise in this article is this: What qualifies us to be teachers of the things of God. What follows is a number of considerations that I have deemed important over the years.

The first characteristic is something that is easily guessed; it is our personal commitment to the God of the Scriptures: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To know God, we learn from the Scriptures, is to love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you teach that--and you do--you must be able to testify of it in your own life; you must be able to demonstrate that this is a way of life with you.

I remember a consistory retreat many years ago to which we had invited an older pastor to lead us in some spiritual reflections. One of the things he said to us, elders and deacons, was this: "In caring for your congregation, make sure that you have what it takes to do that, for," he continued, "you cannot give what you haven't got." What he meant was that those who care for the flock of God must be spiritually equipped. And that of course is true for us who teach in the Church School setting, whether that is as Sunday School teachers of as leaders of Christian girls and boys clubs. We must be spiritually equipped to teach the things of God!

When I say that, I realize full well that within any group of Christians there may be different levels of spiritual maturity. And that's all right. However, there are two things that are important as we consider our spiritual status. One is the reality with which Jesus confronted Nicodemus, the religious leader--one of the Pharisees as he is called--and that is the new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Nicodemus, in order for you to see the Kingdom of God--in order for you to understand and deal with the things of God--you must be born anew. That question is put to you: Are you born anew?

Is your life controlled by the Holy Spirit of God? Is Christ your Lord in the fullest sense of the Word? Do you have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Do you know in your heart that your sins are forgiven for His sake? To use Paul's words, "are you transformed (changed) by the renewal of your mind that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect?" Are you born anew?

The second thing that is important as you reflect upon your spiritual status is a commitment to a growing in grace. That phrase comes from a letter to the apostle Peter: "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (II Peter 3:18) There are a number of verses in the New Testament that make the same point: (II Thess. 1:3; I Thess. 4:10; Coloss. 1:10; II Cor. 10:15; I Thess. 4:1; I Peter 2:3).

What is that, to grow in grace? I quote from J. C. Ryle, a preacher who lived in the 19^th century. He says, "When I speak of a person growing in grace, I mean simply this--that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked."

Now we cannot stay on the subject of "growing in grace" too long, except to say that he or she who would grow in grace must use the means of growth. We know what they are: the study of the Scriptures and meditation and a personal communion with God through prayer, mindful of the words of the psalmist: be still and know that I am God. There is also, and significantly so, your relationship with the Church and the means of grace received there: the preaching and teaching of the Word and the Sacraments. All these equip the Christian to grow in grace. Dear friends, commit yourself to a growing in grace under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The next three characteristics of a teacher of the things of God are of a more practical nature. The first of these is that she or he who teaches is knowledgeable. Knowledgeable means having a mastery of the subject. That also applies to the Scriptures. Since the Bible is our basic textbook, we must aim at what I call a working knowledge of the Bible: an understanding of its composition, of the theme of each book, and the ability, with the necessary study help, to interpret the text. A good resource for the Bible student (and remember that Bible teachers are Bible students) is a study Bible. There are two that I heartily recommend: the NIV Study Bible and the new Geneva Study Bible, which have come highly recommended as bringing the light of the Reformation to the Scriptures.

Knowledgeable also applies to the mastery of your lesson. I know an expert on the subject of Christian Education who suggests that the time spent to prepare a lesson is eight to ten hours. (That includes everything.) Be that as it may, it is essential that you as a teacher digest what you are going to teach. In other words, you must have a firm grasp, a firm understanding, of the central concept, idea, or theme in your mind and heart before you communicate it to your students. The "last minute looking over the lesson because it is all in the book" method makes that impossible. At the same time, mastering the lesson does not mean covering all of the available materials. Your aim is not to cover but to uncover and to enable your students to discover.

Teachers are to be knowledgeable. But if they are to be knowledgeable, they need to be teachable. In the first church that I served in my career as a pastor, there was at first a strong resistance to our suggestion that we have monthly teachers meetings. There was a notion with our friends, I suppose, that they were sufficiently knowledgeable. I am afraid that the problem

was that they were not teachable. Eventually, because the Lord worked in the hearts of those teachers, we won them over to the idea. Teachers meetings in that church became very profitable times, benefitting teachers, students, and the church at large.

I believe that these times of training and reflection are indispensable and inevitable. Teachers not only grow vocationally (they improve their skills), but they also grow spiritually, and the Sunday School experience in a given church receives a unity of purpose. I can remember reading something on the subject of teacher training from the denomination that says, "The leaders and teachers in your church are a far more important resource than are any of the print materials or other resources you provide." Yet most of our churches spend little or no time, and rarely money, on the training, support, and ongoing nurture of the faith of these leaders. While we are all aware of the limitations of time wrought by the lifestyle of our age, the commitment to the ministry of teaching must be accompanied by a commitment to spend some time together with the others in the congregation, engaged in the same ministry. The building of community, the opportunity for mutual support and creative problem solving, and a chance to study and pray together are all important objectives that could be the focus of this time together.

Teachable teachers who are convinced that there is always a great deal to learn are not only willing but eager to participate in regular training opportunities.

The third and last word I have chosen as a teacher characteristic is the word available. Teachers are knowledgeabe, teachable, and available. Available expresses something about the relationship between teacher and student, and that is of the greatest importance. The success of our teaching stands or falls with the kind of relationship we establish with our students. To teach is not merely to present a lesson, it is to give of oneself. It is to build bridges.

The best illustration from the New Testament of this aspect of our teaching is Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus and the woman are total strangers, but they have one thing in common: they are both thirsty. So in putting across His lesson, Jesus begins the conversation at a point that is identifiable by both parties: Jesus and the woman. He asks: "Would you give me a drink?" The woman is taken aback. She asks: "How is it that you, a Jewish man, would ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Notice that Jesus takes all the initiatives and that He assumes nothing. As He proceeds He breaks down all the barriers--racial, religious, sexual, social, and moral--to establish a base for the communication of the deeper truth. In His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus succeeds in building a bridge.

A number of times, I have had the opportunity to conduct a service with members of what is called a Friendship Club. These are mentally challenged people who gather once a week for a Bible and activity class. Twice a year, the congregation who invited me plans a service of worship for these friends on a Sunday evening. In accepting the assignment, I realized that I had to make a special attempt to communicate at their level. To achieve this, I would use dramatization and role-play; I would use their participation in the presentation of the message. Also, in the intercessory prayer, I would name the name of every friend before the throne of grace. Because I made a special effort to identify with their gifts, their needs, and with them personally, a warm relationship developed.

The success of our teaching stands or falls with the kind of relationship we establish with our students: the willingness to be available to them in communicating with them and, ultimately, in communicating ourselves. Someone has said that all communication has three components: the intellect, the emotion, and the volition. In simpler terms, this is thought, feeling, and action. Whatever it is that I want to communicate, it involves something I know, something I feel, and something I am doing.

Communicating ourselves is more than presenting information; it is transmitting a conviction. Yet, it is also more than that: It is imparting to our students a way of life. The apostle Paul conveyed that spirit when he wrote to the Galatians: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live be faith in the Son of God, who lived me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20).

It is my hope and prayer that all teachers may teach in that spirit: from conviction and because it is a way of life with them. To sum up, teachers of the things of God have a deep love for the Lord, and they are knowledgeable, teachable, and available.

Rev. John P. Drost is a former editor of the Pioneer Christian Monthly.

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