Jesus’ teaching ministry provides many valuable lessons for Bible teachers today.  The three lessons I want to share in this post deal with

     His power source,

     His character,

     His methodology.

Power Source of the Master Teacher:  submission to God as seen in His prayer life

Jesus enveloped what He did with prayer.  He prayed before, during, and after.  “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk. 5:16).  He made prayer a priority.  He had purpose in praying.  His disciples learned the value of prayer from His example.  “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.  When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’” (Lk. 11:1). 

Question for Bible Teachers:  Are your students learning from your example of submission and dependence on the Father?

Help for Bible Teachers:  Praying Like You Truly Believe HE is the Source of All You Need

Character of the Master Teacher:  servanthood as seen in His selfless acts of love for others

Jesus laid aside His heavenly glory, “taking the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:7).  “For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45).  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).  Jesus invested into the lives of His students.  He did not merely teach lessons.

Question for Bible Teachers:  Are you truly there to serve students and not merely teach a lesson?

Help for Bible Teachers:  DISCIPLESHIP: Isn’t teaching a lesson enough?

Methodology of the Master Teacher:  storytelling as seen in His constant use of parables

While Jesus used a variety of methods, His primary means of reaching the masses was through parables (stories) as seen in Matthew 13:34-35 and Mark 4:33-34.  Jesus used familiar objects and situations from their culture in stories to make connections.  People were able to identify with the characters or situations which challenged them to want to understand more (Mk. 4:10) or make up their minds about what they would do with the Truth (Matt. 21:45-46).

Question for Bible Teachers: Are you effectively using stories to connect with your students?

Help for Bible Teachers:  Keys to Visualizing the Story Without Visual Aids

No other book has the same authoritative base because of its Author … an absolute standard to live by.  No other book has as much power to change lives because of its Author … a relevant standard to live by.

Bible Teachers:  Do you believe this, truly believe this?  If you truly believe this, then you will treat God’s Word as unique and more important than any other book.  You will take great care to “rightly divide” it and then you will confidently and enthusiastically present A Lesson Worth Teaching.

Train Bible Teachers Blog

Church Leaders:  Do you believe this, truly believe this? If you truly believe this, then you will make teacher training a priority.  You will develop a plan to make sure your Bible teachers are equipped to effectively teach the Word of God because you so value the Book they teach.  The Train Bible Teachers Blog could help you think through this process.

• How sad when they leave unchanged!
• How sad when it’s like they were never there!

Perhaps they came with burdens that seemed too heavy to bear.  Maybe they came with a bad habit or sin they just can’t overcome.

• How sad when they leave unchanged!
• How sad when it’s like they were never there!

People may have come empty spiritually.  Perhaps they came never having put trust in the Lord to save them.

• How sad when they leave unchanged!
• How sad when it’s like they were never there!

You have probably heard it said, “Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it every time.”  As ministry leaders and teachers, we must be prayerful and purposeful in all we do to see people leaving changed and obvious that they were there.

1. We must purposefully be the kind of leaders or teachers who make a difference.  – We must be prepared and be a model of the power of God at work in a person’s life.
2. We must purposefully work at connecting with the whole person who walked through the door.  — We must help them know the unconditional and all-encompassing love of the Lord that reaches into every aspect of their lives.
3. We must purposefully present God’s Word as the life changing, powerful Book it is.  – We must get them beyond head knowledge to heart knowledge that affects all they do.
4. We must purposefully seek people’s participation in the process.  – We must encourage them to engage with truth and one another rather than be passive bystanders.

Here are tools to help:

The Aiming for Empty-less Teaching Teacher Training Session can be used with a group of teachers or small group leaders to discuss what it will take to see people leaving changed and obvious that they were there.

The article, Teaching for Changed Lives, uses an acrostic to show how people need to be changed from the inside out.

The Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook is a self-study guide encouraging teachers to set changed lives as the goal of each lesson.

The Christian Education Leadership Team Training is a session to help you get all of your Christian Education leaders working toward the same goal — that of seeing changed lives — and to understand what it will take to progressively move forward toward that goal, or to keep that “wheel” rolling.

Some teachers wouldn’t leave home without it. 

These were teachers who were overly reliant on the curriculum.  They followed it to the letter, exercising little creative thought, making curriculum their all in all.  Some even taught with the teacher’s manual in hand, reading word for word.  If teaching didn’t go well, then they blamed the curriculum.

Other teachers would rather leave it at home. 

These were teachers who used the curriculum begrudgingly, viewing curriculum as a noose around their necks.  They would rather completely do their own thing but since the curriculum was required, they did just enough to make it appear like they were using the curriculum.  If teaching didn’t go well, then they blamed it on being confined by the curriculum.

What the Christian Education ministry skipped in the process, was training teachers on how to use the curriculum.

First, they needed to communicate why curriculum was necessary.  It was a means of keeping students on track to potentially receive a well-rounded Biblical education.  If teaching was not coordinated through the use of curriculum, it was possible content could be duplicated or overlapped within a short period of time and some important truths missed altogether.  Curriculum was not a substitute for the Bible but rather a tool to teach the Bible.

Second, they needed to present the curriculum as a a guide.  While it was important to use the curriculum, it was not expected that teachers had to teach it word for word.  At the same time, it did serve to keep everyone on track and so it was important to use it.

Third, they needed to emphasize that teachers held a critical part in making sure the lesson went well.  They couldn’t always blame the curriculum when teaching didn’t go well.  They needed to make any adjustments necessary to insure that the lesson plan fit their students.

Words and actions do not match:  Sometimes we will say one thing and do another … inconsistency.

Words and demeanor do not match:  Our tone of voice or body language give out a message different from what we are saying … mixed messages.

Words and intent do not match:  We say one thing but mean another … empty threats.

   : (   Is it then any wonder behavior doesn’t change?

Then there are those words that do match our actions, demeanor, and intent but we don’t think about their effect:  Frustration, anger, apathy, or disrespect are there and coming through.  Even then, we could think we are merely communicating our feelings about their behavior but they might be receiving a different message like:

It’s all about the teacher, not the student.  The teacher doesn’t really care about me.

It’s about putting the student in his/her place, not helping him do better.  The teacher thinks I’m stupid or hopeless.

   : (   Is it then any wonder behavior doesn’t change?

When you discipline, think before you speak.  Examine your heart.  Line up with God’s intent and focus in disciplining.  Choose your words carefully.  And then follow that proverbial wisdom to “say what you mean and mean what you say.” 

Article on MinTools.com that could help:
         Ten Things Not to Say When Disciplining

NOT the BLAs that come from a boring, dull class with a teacher stuck in a rut where students passively sit and listen or find other inappropriate ways of keeping awake or amusing themselves.

BUT, the BLAs that are experienced in an active, enthusiastic class learning from God’s Word in ways that get students involved  — Bible Learning Activities.

Why Use BLAs (Bible Learning Activities)

1. Because of the way God created people to learn through their senses
    
2. Because people learn best and retain more when actively involved in the learning process

While all ages would benefit from this kind of instruction, children particularly need lessons that allow them to do something, to explore and discover.

How to Use BLAs (Bible Learning Activities)
 
- Always having a purpose for the activities you use.

- Use a variety of activities.

- Give students choices when possible.

- Turn some of the planning of activities over to students if appropriate.

- Use guided conversation with students as they do the activities.

- Don’t limit Bible Learning Activities to acquiring knowledge but also use them in practicing life application.

What Kind of BLAs to Use

You will now find a resource in the MinTools.com store called Bible Learning Activities for Children.  This resources provides a one page handout on each of the following types of of activities:

Books
Crafts
Dramatic Play
Games
Manipulatives (blocks, puzzles, other)
Media
Music
Pictures

Depending on how they are used, these activities can enable students to research in order to gain new knowledge or to have what has already been learned reinforced.

Each handout looks at why this activity is good to use, how to choose specific means within that method, what you need to remember when using it, and how to expand its use.

As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. (Prov. 27:19)

Applied to teachers, Proverbs 27:19 would say, “so a teacher’s heart reflects the teacher.” 

As teachers, we need to do the right things, but our hearts need to be right as well.  “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Prov. 21:2).

I already wrote an article on the MinTools.com site about Why the Condition of a Teacher’s Heart is So Important.  Now I want to consider some traits that ought to be in a teacher’s heart.

Teachable Heart  (attentive, listens, observes) 

Prov. 10:8; 22:17; 23:12; 24:32

Enlightened Heart  (wise, discerning)

Prov. 15:14; 16:21; 23:15

Aligned Heart   (walks in truth; trusts in God, not self)

Ps. 86:11; Prov. 3:5-6

Caring Heart  (loves, compassionate)

Prov. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:22

Humble Heart   (not proud)

Ps. 51:17; 131:1

Earnest Heart  (sincere) 

Col. 3:22;  Heb. 10:22

Righteous Heart   (pure, maintains integrity)

Ps. 15:1-2; 51:10; 119:80

Steadfast   (firmly established)

Ps. 57:7; 112:7

Remember, “a teacher’s heart reflects the teacher.”

To answer that questions, start by praying something similar to the following verses:

Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.  (Ps. 26:2)

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Ps. 139:23)

Then get specific in your prayers about each of the heart conditions in the above acrostic, particularly in how it relates to your teaching.  Ask:

• Do I have this kind of heart?
• Why do I need this kind of heart in teaching?

Then ask God to more fully develop this heart within you.