Teachers

     Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.  (James 3:1)

God has placed two types of teachers in the church, those who are given the spiritual gift of teaching and those who are teaching on a voluntary basis.  I say “voluntary” because those with the gift of teaching are driven, no compelled, to teach.  For the most part in this post, I’ll be looking at those given the spiritual gift of teaching.  But, even if you aren’t a teacher at all, there is some helpful stuff included here.

Over the forty plus years I’ve taught in the church, I’ve learned a lot of things about teaching and teachers, some by my successes but mostly by my mistakes.

Teachers are held by God to a higher standard than other Christians.  We need to be as accurate as possible in representing God’s truth before a classroom or congregation.  Ours is a high responsibility after which many strive.  Being a teacher doesn’t just require knowledge of Scripture, it requires a constant focus on that responsibility and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Years ago when I started teaching, a friend described the traits of teachers, both good and bad.  Among the good traits was the desire to learn God’s Word and share it.  Study was at the center of teaching.  When this was described to me, it was like someone had been reading my mail, like someone had bugged my home.  I seemed to fit the description to a “T”. 

Then the bad traits of teachers were described: being an intolerant know-it-all, refusal to learn from criticism, thinking everyone can teach and have the gift, the inability to say “I don’t know.”  Again, this rang true.  I needed to work on my pride.

Being a teacher can be a heady thing.  People admire you, they look to you for guidance, some even idolize you.  So, teachers need to pray for humility constantly lest they might put themselves ahead of God’s message. 

Some poor teachers will thrive on the admiration and even seek it.  To feed this desire, they want  to present “something new,” even something unbiblical, conspiracies, certainty where there is only implication.  As Abraham Lincoln said of Stephen A. Douglas, “It ain’t what he doesn’t know that bothers me.  It’s what he knows for sure that just ain’t so.”  Teachers can get trapped by the desire to be recognized.  To fight this, a good teacher will tell you if what he is saying is his opinion or controversial.

So, if you see someone who claims to be a teacher but is filled with pride at what he knows, pushes odd beliefs that go against twenty centuries of church teaching, or refuses to listen to critics, be careful.

Another thing I learned is teachers don’t need to be at the front of a classroom or congregation to be effective.  Some of the best teaching I’ve heard has been from men’s groups where there is no obvious leader.  Someone will speak up and share what God has told them, and the Scriptures just opens up to all of us there.  Sometimes the teaching comes from questions from students in the classrooms.  It’s just God’s hand at work.  You can be a teacher standing before a congregation or sitting on a park bench with a friend.

One of the blessings of being a teacher is when the Holy Spirit takes over.  For a short time, I gave the  Sunday evening messages at a previous church.  There were a couple of times when the Holy Spirit took me off my notes in a direction I didn’t expect.  He gave me the words to speak and the appropriate Scriptures.  I remember wanting to take notes myself it was going so well.  One time this happened, the “detour” was meant to touch one person in particular who came to Christ afterward.  Teaching is rewarding.

Why is this important?

Maybe you’re a teacher or believe God is calling you to be.  If you don’t feel God has given you an overpowering desire to teach, you can still be a teacher.  The same responsibility is yours, though.  You need to present God’s Word clearly and plainly, and as uncomplicated is possible. 

If God has given you the gift of teaching as described above, praise God and watch out.  As James 3:1 says, you will be held to a higher level of accountability.  You will be blessed as you learn and draw close to God while you prepare to share God’s Word with others. Do it well.

While teachers are certainly powered by the Holy Spirit, no teacher is perfect.  We all struggle just as every other Christian does.  So, don’t hold teachers to an unattainable level of expectations.  Teaching isn’t the only gift, either.  We each have at least one.

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)