Have you been a Christian for five years or more? Are you teaching others the Christian faith?
Last week we looked at the centrality of teaching and learning to all of life, and especially to the Christian life. We looked at reasons why we feel reluctant to teach others and suggested some solutions to our anxieties.
All of us can remember our teachers. Some of them stand out. I clearly remember my year 3 and year 6 teachers. They were both men! But I also remember those who taught me the Bible. Interestingly, it wasn’t the Ministers who made an impact on my early Christian life. They preached every Sunday to me but I can remember counting the bricks in the arch at the front of the church many times over during their sermons.
Yet I clearly remember the influence of several men who taught me after I was converted. One of them was here for my 60th birthday celebration. He taught me the Bible. His teaching methods were primitive. In fact, he made us learn some of Paul’s letters by rote. Most of us didn’t really appreciate what he was trying to do. We found it hard and we rebelled. But he persevered. Now, more than 40 years later, I recall his influence and appreciate the value of what he tried to do.
Another bloke who taught me every week for a year was a builder. He was a weather-beaten, “unschooled” bloke. His teaching methods were primitive too! But more than 40 years later I remember him teaching us about Jesus and Paul.
Perhaps the man who shaped my early Christian life was a man a bit younger than those two. He’s still only a few years older than I am and is a member of a church quite close to Northmead.
The interesting thing about him was he suffered from epilepsy. So every few minutes he would literally “disappear” as he suffered a small fit (petit mal). That was pretty disturbing to teenagers! Every week for a year, continually distracted by his fits, we learned as he taught us the Bible.
The common thing about these three men was they all loved the Lord Jesus. They tried every day to live as disciples of Christ. They were, simply, ordinary Christians. But they all taught! They taught with all the limitations of sinful men struggling to live as followers of Christ. They taught with very few educational skills or resources. But they taught others what they knew – Jesus. And they taught me! They shaped my Christian life. I am their legacy.
We need more teachers of the Bible in many areas of our life at NAC. Although the world has changed remarkably since I was a teenager, and although there is much more pressure on our time, we still need to teach others the Bible. It’s important we don’t fall into the trap of thinking that we pay our church staff to do all the teaching. Of course they teach. They are Christians!
But our staff are meant to equip the church members to do ministry. So if you’ve been a Christian for more than 5 years and you aren’t teaching the Bible then talk to one of the staff. It’s their job to get you doing what the Lord Jesus wants you to do.
Of course, that might be supporting those who teach by exercising some other ministry. More about that later.
Neil
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