Why are some congregations growing while others are not? There are few other questions that occupy the minds of Christians as much as this one. Christians who care about the Lord’s church are concerned about congregations that are struggling to survive. What is the real problem that hinders growth? There are many answers to this question and all of them may he correct to some degree: lack of dedication to Jesus, no purpose or direction, disunity, little zeal to spread God’s Word, lack of devotion to prayer, the presence of sin and so on. But behind these obstacles to growth is a more fundamental issue: the state of congregational teaching.
If the teachers of a congregation are not providing the members with satisfactory spiritual nourishment, growth will be short-lived or impossible. Dedication to Jesus as Lord, purpose, harmony, enthusiasm to share the gospel, perseverance in prayer, and the power to overcome temptation all gain their life from energetic teaching. Sufficient teaching will not solve every problem, but without adequate teaching no problem can ever be solved.
Some teachers are evidently not worried about how well they present the gospel. They are quick to blame the audience for not understanding. They say, “I just preach the gospel. I’m not that bothered by organization or perfect speech. The gospel has the power to save. If the audience doesn’t get it, then their heart is not in the right place.” Such a simplistic view of teaching may cause someone to lose their soul. While the gospel is the power to save, a teacher’s presentation of the gospel can obscure its power. If we do not present the gospel in a clear and understandable way then we could be guilty of abusing the Word of God. The Apostle Paul did not claim to be eloquent, yet neither was he incoherent. Paul tailored his message to the understanding and spiritual needs of his audience. The words he communicated through the assistance of the Holy Spirit were clear, logical, and to the point.
Just as a businessman must regularly evaluate the effectiveness of his business methods, those who care for the Lord’s business need to ask whether their teaching is accomplishing its purpose. But limiting an examination just to pulpit teaching will not provide a complete view of the state of teaching in a congregation. The growth of a congregation also depends on family Bible study, home Bible studies with Christians, and personal teaching of unbelievers. If leaders seldom evaluate their pulpit teaching, they probably never critique other forms of teaching. If we want to know why we are not growing, one of the first questions to ask is, “How successful is our teaching?”
How helpful is the reaction of the audience? What role does the audience play in deciding how success a sermon is? While a teacher is driving home after presenting a lesson during worship services he may assess the work he just finished. How did the audience react? Did they seem to understand what he was saving? He will feel pretty good about himself if the audience seemed attentive, if they told him how much they appreciated the lesson, and if he thinks he was able to express what he wanted to teach. A teacher can feel very confident, too, about a Bible study he is conducting in someone’s home --- if the people continue to invite him back, he assures himself that he must he doing a good job.
But the conclusion we draw about the success of our teaching may he mistakenly based on the immediate reaction of the audience. The audience can respond enthusiastically to a sermon and yet the sermon may not he successful. People in whose homes we study can eagerly welcome us every week, but our studies with them may not be successful. Success cannot he determined by just one sermon or one series of Bible studies. Success can only he accurately measured over time, because the goals of teaching are not realized immediately, but through time. Success means to achieve the desired goals, sometimes long-term goals. To measure success a teacher must understand the goals of teaching.
One of the goals of teaching, of course, is to impart knowledge. If the members of a congregation are increasing in their knowledge of God’s Word, then the leadership is confident that the teaching program is working. Members who know what the Bible says and who can explain what the Bible teaches are evidence of hard-working teachers. But imparting knowledge is not the sole object of teaching the Bible.
When Jesus defined the meaning of discipleship, He made an important distinction between knowing and living. In the first century the common meaning of the word “disciple” was “learner.” A teacher’s disciples were his students. Students ought to know and understand the doctrine of their teacher. But Jesus carried the meaning of this word a step further. He said, “If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). Just knowing the teachings of Jesus is not enough. His students must he followers of His teachings. They must abide or live in His Word.
The life of a disciple should follow a progressive course of maturity. As a disciple learns more, he applies more of the teachings of Jesus to his daily life. The marks of an active disciple of Jesus are the signs of growth: to overcome temptations, maturity to take responsibilities, energy and ability to win souls. The transforming power of the Word of Christ manifests itself in the changes that continually take place in a disciple’s character. A Christian may possess an extensive knowledge of God’s Word, but if this knowledge does not change one’s life, then it has not achieved the goal of learning. Successful teaching is teaching that transforms its listeners.
A teacher then can evaluate his teaching by observing how his listeners respond in their daily life. What his audience says immediately after his sermon does not accurately reflect the success of his teaching as much as how they live during the week. A teacher who presents several studies on the subject of prayer over a period of time, may ask himself, “how much do the members of the congregation remember about my lessons?” I might also ask, “Do they know more about prayer now that I have taught on the subject several times?” But if he wants to truly know how successful his teaching is, he ought to ask, “Are the members of the congregation praying more often with more fervency?”
Nothing is more satisfying to a teacher than to see people respond immediately to the Word of God and make the necessary changes in their lives to follow Jesus. However, change is a complex process and for this reason teachers should not be disappointed if they fail to see instantaneous change in their listeners. Upon seeing some spiritual need in the congregation, a teacher may organize a sermon that has just the right amount of logic and persuasion. When he delivers the sermon, he is certain that his lesson will solve the problem. But then no one responds in an evident way. Instead of being discouraged he can follow up the sermon with some private studies to help people overcome their individual obstacles to change. Change in behavior requires knowledge; but it also depends on understanding, self-examination, motivation, repentance (a change of mind.), and determination. Sometimes these steps do not result from just one sermon. Some of Jesus’ listeners participated in His crucifixion and then later became Christians themselves after His death and resurrection, when they heard the gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36-41). People who are wedded to habits and customs do not change their lives very easily.
Someone could argue that change cannot be an indicator of successful teaching because there are people who, despite hearing excellent teaching, simply refuse to change. While the fact is true that some will not change, others will change if the teaching is successful. The parable of the sower teaches that some people, for various reasons, do not respond to the Word of God. The seed, the Word of God, has the power to produce fruit, but the results will also depend on the nature of the soil, that is, the condition of a person’s heart. But if the sower, the one who teaches God’s Word, corrupts the seed in some way that it will not produce any good fruit, despite the fact that some listeners may have good hearts, ready to receive the Word.
If the teacher does not see any change in the people he is teaching, he must ask himself if there is anything wrong with the way he is sowing the seed. A farmer must cultivate the ground and sow the seed correctly if he hopes to harvest a fruitful crop. If, despite every effort on the part of the farmer, his field still does not yield fruit, he will plant the seed in another field so that he can be successful. But the harvest is the measure of his success as a farmer. The point is that if a teacher judges his success only on the basis of how well he thinks he has presented his sermon, he will never seek fertile ground to plant the seed. If a farmer thinks his success depends solely on the condition of the ground, he will never try to improve his abilities as a farmer. If we focus on the harvest as the measure of success, then we will not only examine the ground hut also our techniques of planting.
He can begin by working on his heart. Successful teaching requires energy. A teacher of God’s Word must communicate love for the Word of God, excitement in the Christian life, and zeal for the lost.
Enthusiasm for teaching comes naturally when people respond to teaching and become devoted disciples for Christ. But when change among members of the congregation is not apparent and the work of the church is dragging how can teachers build and maintain spiritual energy in themselves until their teaching produces results? The answer is through prayer and meditation in God’s Word. Our strength comes from Christ. Teachers must give themselves to constant daily prayer to ask the Lord for the power to be an overflowing vessel of the gospel. How many Christians pray every day for the Lord to make them efficient instruments of the Good News? Meditation on God’s Word also produces zeal that can support a teacher during periods when there is little response. How can Christians possibly appreciate the true beauties of the Word of God without spending much time thinking about them? Teachers who want to better their capabilities to express the rich treasures in God’s Word must spend time every day meditating on the meaning of some passage from the Word.
To improve his abilities, the teacher will have to spend more time studying. Congregational teaching falls into ruts because the teachers find themselves in ruts. Their sermons seem to follow the same subjects and reflect the same passages because they are not studying sufficiently. One Purpose of Bible study is to broaden our knowledge. The New Testament is a relatively small book, but it contains many passages that remain untouched by most teachers. Often, a teacher will concentrate on verses with which he is well-acquainted with, or that are well-known to the audience. A good method for constantly reviewing passages is to read through the bible in a year A regular discipline of Bible reading and study will create new insights and understanding that is fertile ground for teaching. In addition, there are so many books available to provide assistance in Bible research that the teacher who finds himself in a rut is without excuse.
Besides knowing the Bible, teachers must also know the congregation. The farmer who knows what kind of soil in which he is planting will know how to prepare the soil for the seed To provide effective teaching, congregational leaders must spend time with their brothers and sisters in Christ. What are their spiritual needs? What do they need to learn? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Standing on the church steps two or three times a week, and talking about the economy or fishing will not help a. teacher to understand what topics to speak on. Leaders may think they can judge from afar by observing what kind of car the members drive, or what they do with their spare time, but understanding only comes from talking personally from the heart about the Christian life. Only then can we comprehend values, motives, and emotions. The farmer needs to know the ground. The teacher needs to know the heart.
Of course, to successfully produce positive change, teachers must be ready to improve their abilities to organize and present a sermon. Whether preparing a chapter study or a topical sermon, organizing ideas in a coherent and clear manner is absolutely necessary so that the listeners can follow the train of thought. Delivery is also tremendously important. The teacher has the power to excite his audience with the thrilling message of the gospel or bore them with meaningless trivialities. Perhaps congregational teachers sometimes think that since they are not preachers, they do not need to worry about presentation or perfect organization. But with this frame of mind, teaching will not improve.
Teachers must set high goals for themselves. A group of teachers who have more ability than some gospel preachers would he an incredible asset to the growth of a congregation.. Teachers just need to take teaching seriously enough to set high goals. Experienced speakers should take the time to assist other teachers who want to develop their talents. Books that teach sermon preparation and delivery are also a great resource for improvement. But one practical idea that can help every congregation that has two or more teachers is to initiate bimonthly or quarterly meetings to discuss how to improve the teaching. A teacher’s best critics should be other teachers who have the opportunity to listen to his lessons. Using a teaching training book as a guide, teachers can meet regularly to evaluate and offer positive criticism to each other. At that time they can also discuss the progress of the teaching in general in order to determine the needs of the congregation. Such meetings ought to be essential if successful teaching is really our goal!
If the object of teaching is to produce disciples of Jesus who are dedicated to every aspect of the Christian life, teaching must touch every part of life. The school systems produce curriculums that specify the subjects that students must learn to he able to function in life. It is only reasonable that congregations should also develop a curriculum of Bible topics that teachers should cover over a period of two or three years to guarantee that the congregation will he properly edified.
Successful teaching is teaching that gives life. But success depends in large part on the zeal of teachers for the wonderful work God has given them to do. Teachers must understand they are responsible. They cannot complain about the condition of the soil until they have done everything they can to plant the seed and cultivate it. Christians have offered many prayers, asking God to give “increase in number and spirit.” But how much effort has been expended to make teaching a success so that we can increase?
753 Saucito Ave.,
Salinas, CA 93906
No comments:
Post a Comment