Some people accept the invitation to teach enthusiastically while others do so more reluctantly. Teaching is a great responsibility and paradoxically will enrich your own growth as you lead others in their growth. This resource might serve as a crash course in the basics of teaching or a helpful reminder of things forgotten, or an encouragement along your journey as a teacher.
We teach and lead because God has called us to do so. For thousands of years God has asked and equipped teachers to participate in the work of helping others come to know God and live as people of faith. These teachers and leaders have come in many shapes and forms, from many backgrounds, and with many levels of ability. But each has somehow heard a call to teach and has responded.
You may not even realize that you responded to a call. You may think you merely answered a plea for help, or just knew it was your turn to help the third graders! But God’s call can come in many ways:
- through the voice of a friend
- through prayerful discernment
- from the challenge of a sermon
- by identifying your spiritual gifts
- upon seeing a need and responding
- through the strong movement of the Holy Spirit
- even by a seeming accident as you “fall” into teaching.
Topics that we’ll cover in this resource includes:
- Why We Teach
- Students, Participants, and Partners in Teaching
- The Role of a Teacher
- The Primary Task of Every Congregation
- Many Ways to Teach
- Using Curriculum Resources
Why We Teach
You are called. Read the story of Moses’ call to leadership in Exodus 3:1–4:17. Notice some of Moses’ feelings and concerns that you might have experienced when first asked to teach or lead. God’s call to you may not be as flashy as Moses’ call through a burning bush, but God’s invitation to you and God’s promise of support are just as strong as they were in biblical times.
Like Moses, your first reaction to a call or invitation may have been reluctance or fear. That’s normal. When God gives us a task, it can seem overwhelming and we may feel ill-equipped. Moses even had the gall to argue with God and pointed out all of his own personal shortcomings. God assured Moses that his gifts were sufficient and that help would arrive when needed. Like Moses, we can be assured that God will use whatever skills we have and that we will find the help we need to be an impactful teacher or leader.
GOD’S PRESENCE
God does not call us and then leave us alone. As a teacher and spiritual leader, you have the promise that God will be with you. Story after story in the Bible tells us that God wants to be in relationship with us and to be present for us at all times. For example, “I will be with you,” God says to Moses in Exodus 3:12, and promises to help. When God sends Aaron to assist Moses, God adds, “I will . . . teach you what you shall do” (Exodus 4:15).
Jesus promised his followers that the Holy Spirit would be with them: “. . . I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (John 14:14-16). And when giving the Great Commission to his followers as he was ascending to heaven, Jesus promised that he would be with them always (Matthew 28:19-20). You can trust that God’s Spirit is present with you in the classroom, enabling you to accomplish things you could not do on your own. You can also trust that God’s Spirit is guiding the participants in what they hear and where and how they are called to respond.
A wise teacher once told a group of people who were learning how to teach that “God goes before me into every classroom I enter. God is present in that room before, during, and after I teach. I don’t have to do it all.” God is already present and working in the lives of the people you lead. God will continue to work within them long after you are no longer around. Thanks be to God!
God’s presence also assumes God’s grace. In church we often hear, sing, and read about the concept of grace. Very simply, grace means God’s loving concern and empowerment for every person. It is this grace that surrounds us, supports us, and helps us lead and teach. You are not responsible for changing the lives of your students by your teaching; it is the God of grace who does this. You just tell the story of God’s love, and trust God to do the rest.
As a teacher you may encounter the term means of grace. This refers to an action or practice that is a channel for God’s grace. Means of grace are things we do that bring us into contact with God and open the possibility for us to grow closer to God. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, felt that each Christian (especially leaders) should be involved in these practices. The means of grace include (but are not limited to)
- prayer
- bible study
- worship
- Holy Communion
- fasting
- acts of service and compassion
- Christian conferencing (talking together about our faith)
As teachers and leaders we should be regularly and habitually practices these means of grace for our own growth and so that we can help our students learn to practice them. The very act of teaching can be a means of grace. As we teach and as we open ourselves to learn, God’s mysterious work of grace happens; and all of us—teachers and learners alike—are transformed.
DIG DEEPER: PERSONAL EXERCISES
1. Reread and reflect on the Scriptures mentioned above (Exodus 3:1–4:17; John 14:14-16; Matthew 28:19-20). Use them in a devotional setting–let the words seep into your heart; look for the word of God to you. What do these stories and promises hold for you? Do you have experience of God in ways suggested by those passages? How is God calling you?
2. Look through The United Methodist Hymnal. List the hymns that include the word grace. How is the word used? How do these hymns help you better understand the meaning of God’s grace?
FOR FURTHER STUDY AND REFLECTION
1. Gather with other teachers and small group leaders to share your stories and questions about how God has called you. What do you think God wants of each of you? What gifts do you see in yourself? What hesitancies or doubts do you still carry? Call forth and name the gifts and strengths you see in each other. Are any of those gifts complementary? How might you work together in different ways to enhance the teaching ministry?
2. Commit with other teachers to form a covenant group (for several weeks, at least) to study and consider prayerfully Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, by Rueben P. Job (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007; available through Cokesbury). The third section specifically addresses the means of grace, but don’t skip the prior sections. For more information on covenant groups, see Disciples Making Disciples by Steven Manskar.
Students, Participants, and Partners in Teaching
No one comes to a class or small group completely “on empty.” We all come with experiences, biases, and perspectives that shape our beliefs and convictions. Both teachers and learners come with experiences that offer insights and wisdom. Teachers would do well to build on previous knowledge and wisdom of their participants.
A CLOUD OF WITNESSES
Some of our best teachers are not immediately present. Hebrews 12 begins with the words, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses . . .” This phrase follows a long listing of biblical people who were examples of faith. People like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Esther, David, Mary, Paul, and many others not called by name— these people have gone before us and sought to be faithful to God. You can add other names to this list: people who are important in the history of your local congregation, pastors who guided you, parents who taught you the faith, Sunday school teachers who helped you grow. You are “surrounded” by these people when you seek to lead a group or teach a lesson. You can almost imagine them sitting in a balcony of your classroom cheering you on!
Who are some of the people who have been witnesses to the Christian faith? Who modeled or taught you what it means to be a follower of hrist?Whether you teach three-year-old children or older adults, whether your group has two members or two hundred, you can trust that the Holy Spirit is present. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). A good teacher learns quickly that students and group members quite often “teach” the teacher. Group members come with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and backgrounds that one leader cannot provide. Often a student will share an insight that the leader has never thought about. Even the youngest learners can teach by the questions they ask and the different perspectives they bring to the subject at hand. Due to a youth’s curiosity, they might be willing to ask a “silly” question that an adult will not be vulnerable enough to offer. A young child’s spontaneous hug and “I love you” can teach the teacher something about God’s grace. Teaching is a mutual process where all share together in the experience of teaching and learning. The older the student or group member, the more they bring and the more they expect to be allowed to bring.
As we can see in the illustrations below. In a teacher-centered classroom environment, the teacher stands at the front of the room as the expert dispensing or downloading information. Whereas in the subject-centered or engagement-centered classroom environment, both students and teachers are together pointing to and exploring the subject (which might be our relationship with God and/or our relationship with one another). In the subject-centered classroom, the subject stands at the center of all conversation and discussion as the lead learner and participants are on equal footing.
Closing Prayer; Heavenly Father we pray that the people that are reading this take it to heart and learn to use the powers you gave them wisely and not otherwise. We pray this in the name of Our lord and savior.
Prayer for renewing faith
Heavenly Father, I’m asking You to give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive Your correction and guidance, as I seek a faith revolution in my life—a dramatic turnaround in my thinking, believing, speaking and acting. I ask You to give me the strength to hold strong in the days ahead.
Lord Jesus take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and I know you will answer my prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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