On Teaching and Learning

Let me say at the outset that this probably won't be one of my most interesting or eloquent blogs, but in this season of my life, these are the thoughts foremost in my mind. I hope, to some degree, that if you read until the end, you will find some encouragement in your role as both a teacher and a learner.

I once read a book in college by Bruce Wilkinson called The Seven Laws of the Learner. Wilkinson made the case that teaching isn't just about dispensing content or information, but it is about causing people to learn. As I read, I found the obligation was on the teacher to present the information in such a way as to cause people to learn.

I have been thinking about this lately and reflecting on my own teaching style. In fact, I have been critiquing my style against what I have seen in how Jesus and the apostles taught in the Scriptures. Additionally, I have been considering what it means to be a learner.

I know there is no one right way to teach because there is no one kind of learner, yet when it comes to the Bible, I find a tendency within myself and others I know to assume that exegetical sermons are the best and most preferable means for conveying the Scripture's truths. I certainly understand the value of this method of teaching/preaching, for it helps people develop a way of looking at the Scriptures which notices the flow of the text, the way arguments/propositions are developed, the key points, and the historical and cultural clues that are important for understanding. While this method is valuable at getting to the point of a passage and demonstrating to people "how to" approach the Scriptures, I am not sure that it is necessarily or maybe even the preferable way to cause people to learn.

The Gospels present Jesus regularly teaching the masses through the use of parables (Mark 4:2, 11). In the Epistles, Paul seems to spend an almost equal amount of time between developing deep theological points (orthodoxy) and how those truths relate to our thoughts and behaviors (orthopraxis). In neither case do we find Jesus nor Paul presenting an exegetical treaties on their Scriptures (the OT).

When one looks at the sermons in Acts, we find a strong dose of reflecting on the historical redemptive activity of God, the quotation or allusions to events in Israel's redemptive history and how they relate to current events surrounding Jesus, and the use of personal experience. Additionally, we find the use of deductive reasoning as part of the early apostolic preaching especially as it related to the resurrection (see Acts 2 and the tomb of David/Jesus' resurrection).

What is my point? I feel like God has challenged me lately to reflect not only on my calling, but also how I go about responsibly fulfilling what God has laid before me. Early in my life, I attended Bible College out of a desire to know Jesus and the Bible better. I wanted to have a better grasp of my faith and grow in Christ. My parents were pastors, and after watching what they encountered in ministry, I had absolutely no desire to follow in their path. In the process of going to college, somehow I ended up feeling a sense of calling by the Lord.

I remember a prophetic word given to me during one of the college's retreats. The speaker was praying over me and said, "the Lord will use you to teach His people." Honestly, I had, and still have no idea what this entails, but it resonated with me. I know that from that time on, my studies were different. I studied to show myself approved, and my grades began to get consistently better (even as I went for a Master's). I also know that over the years God has used me for this purpose at varying times and to varying degrees of effectiveness.

Michelle and I are in another transitional period in our lives, and I honestly don't know what is next, but I feel as though God is not done with us. I sense that God is challenging me to remember that I am not here to build a church (that is God's job), nor to dispense information, but to do my best to help people learn how to hear and follow Jesus.

Ultimately, whether a person has ears to hear the word of the Lord is up to the person and God, but my job is to do all I can to cause people to be learners. Isn't that really what all of us are to be about? Aren't we to be salt and light? Shouldn't we live and speak in such a way that people are thirsty for more? I know for me, the Lord is pushing me to work on teaching in such a way that people are hungry for more.

Jesus used parables to this end. Those who wanted to know would seek and gain more but those who did not, the Kingdom would be hidden from them (Luke 8:18).

As a learner, take care how you hear.

Be a seeker. Be soil in which the seed of God's Word takes root and thrives.

As I finish this short reflection and meandering thought, I ask you to take a few moments and read Luke 8:4-18. How do you hear? What place does the word of the Lord have in your life, your thoughts, your affections? Hold fast to the Word with an honest and good heart and it will produce beautiful fruit in your life. I am convinced this is how we begin to develop the mind of Christ.