Too Dynamic To Be Safe!

Mark Batterson talks about Jesus as a rebel:

One of the things I love about Jesus is that He remained the rebel his
entire life. He didn't bow to the Pharisees. He didn't bow to Pilate. Truth is,
He didn't bow to anyone except His Heavenly Father. That is what it means to be
a spiritual rebel.

In the words of Dorothy Sayers: "To do them justice, the people who
crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was
too dynamic to be safe. It is has been left for later generations to muffle up
that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We
have declawed the Lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and
pious old ladies."

Makes me think of Aslan: "not a tame lion," and we find Him bigger as grow up.

In your teaching ministry, don't let Jesus become a domesticated housecat.

Don't Distance Yourself From Your Students

Peter Mead has some excellent comments about teaching from wholeness, with integrity, being open and engaging with our students:

Early on Palmer is describing what makes a good teacher or a bad
teacher. He quotes one student who could not describe her good teachers
because they were all so different, but she could describe her bad ones because
they were all the same. “Their words float somewhere in front of their
faces, like the balloon speech in cartoons.” Parker notes that bad teachers
distance themselves from the subject they are teaching, and therefore from their
students also. But good teachers join self and subject and students in the
fabric of life.

How true this is for preachers too. We preach poorly when we
distance ourselves from our message, but we preach well we make sure the message
is coming from inside us and going directly to our listeners. True
preaching, by definition, is the delivery of a text’s message
“which the Holy Spirit first applies to the life of the preacher, then through the preacher, to the listeners.” (Robinson’s classic definition).

Remember the simple, yet profound formula in Palmer’s book – effective
teaching is much more about identity and integrity than mere technique.

He's referring to Peter Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach.

Please remember that your teaching is a ministry, not just a task. This means your efforts are co-joined with the Life of Christ in you, so that you abide in Jesus and the Word (see John 15), and work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. That's the way to teach to change lives.

Team Preparation for Teaching

One of the most powerful and helpful ways to prepare lessons is to work with others.

I haven't done an official survey, but I observe that the large majority of Bible teachers do their preparation alone. (Same for pastors preparing sermons.) That approach, so long as you are prayerfully studying and preparing, is effective.

I do recommend you prepare your lesson by working together with others.

We have several adult classes at our church, and often are teaching the same topic or study series. We've periodically been able to get the teachers together, and simply worked through the Scripture together, sharing ideas and insights from the text. We could share our ideas and plans for hooks, illustrations, questions, and application. We sharpened one another, and enjoyed rich fellowship in the process.

You can engineer this kind of preparation, even if you are the only teacher. Get a few people together and study. Put your thoughts and ideas forward, try out your questions, and practice reading Scripture out loud.

(Yes, this means you have to be working days in advance, rather than procrastinating to the night before. Trust me, you'll find that having others involved makes it easier to work farther in advance, because you create some automatic accountability for preparation in good time.)

This is also a critical approach for mentoring other teachers. Share in the teaching process, and they'll learn faster and better!

And On Day 8, There Was Grass!

Eight days after planting the grass seed, I see little green shoots! There is much rejoicing!

(See this post for the back story.)

"For Glenn planted, and Glenn watered, and watered, and watered, and watered, but God made it grow." -- 1 Cor 3:6, the selfish Glenn version

Holding All Things Together

Here's a diagram of the structure of the laminin protein, which is a cell adhesion molecule -- literally holding things together.

Isn't that cool?



Louie Giglio has a fun story about how he learned about laminin, in this short video:

My Home Golf Course

If you want an update on my effort to replace 18 trees with grassy areas, check out this post on my blog for husbands and fathers, "Bold and Gentle.

Who Grows More, the Teacher or the Student?

Teachers often learn more than the students. This is because of the preparation time, and the effort required to master material well enough to present it to someone else. (I encourage the adults in my classes to use what they're learning in their small groups, with their families, neighbors, and coworkers -- that will cement the learning in their hearts and minds.)

The question becomes, will you as the teacher grow more than your students?

Spiritual growth is not only about intellect, but about the condition of our hearts before the Lord. Spiritual maturity, biblically, is relational rather than intellectual. Relational is seen as action (or specific lack of sinful actions), rather than a body of factual knowledge.

Isn't knowledge important? Absolutely. But knowledge alone does not lead to godliness and spiritual growth into maturity. Satan knows the Bible very well, better than you or I do.

Therefore let me remind you, dear teacher, to be concerned about the condition of your heart. Be humble before God, and give Him all the praise for your ministry opportunities and challenges. They're designed to create better soil for growth, both your students' and yours.

It Takes More Dirt Than You Think

We had 18 trees taken out of our yard a couple of days ago. Some were too originally planted too close to the house, some were dying. It was an amazing process over 6 hours -- 10 guys, chain saws, chipper, two trucks to haul away the chips, stump grinder -- and a lot of hustle.

So now I need to fill in 18 holes and plant grass.

First step is to pull out more of the roots. The stump grinder does a great job, but there are still loads of roots around the edges, and I needed to pull them out. I worked over two holes in the front yard with a mattock and yanked out a nice pile of roots.

Then I picked up ten 40lb bags of dirt at our local Ace hardware (because I like to support the local hardware store) and brought them home in the back of our 1987 Saab. I expected I'd get 3 or holes filled, then repeat the process a few times.

Wrong.

I emptied all ten on 1 hole in the front yard. One. 400 lbs of dirt for that hole!

I'm sure there is a Sunday School teaching illustration in here somewhere :-)

New tactic needed -- get a 3 ton load of dirt delivered to our house.

Did I mention my muscles are aching today?

Last Minute Lesson Prep

I coach Bible teachers to have a number of short lessons and devotions in their "back pocket" for those times we're called on to teach with short notice. And I also believe that the best devotions are the ones which come out of your personal devotional life -- the Lord is usually opening His Word to you in order that you can share it with others.

There's another "last minute" preparation situation.

This is when you've actually known about the teaching assignment for a while, but just didn't get the preparation done. Maybe you procrastinated until the last minute, firttering away the time. Maybe your planned time was used instead on good things that distracted you.

I really appreciate Peter Mead's counsel in this matter:

"If I genuinely have had to prepare at the last minute, then I ask God for help and know that He understands. But then there is a second part to it too – if I have procrastinated and end up preparing at the last minute, then I confess that, ask for forgiveness and still ask God for help."

This seems exactly right to me, depending upon the grace and help of our loving Lord in both situations -- rather than working to justify ourselves.

"Ministering Effectively" Transcript Available!

Ever since I released the audio lesson "Ministering Effectively to 'Tougher-to-Love" People" last year, I've had dozens of requests for a transcript.

People were excited about the content, but wanted it in print format, too. And frankly, some people simply prefer to read than to listen.

I'm delighted to annouce that I've got a 27 page word-for-word transcript ready for you, and will bundle that with the audio lesson.

Until May 15th, you can get the audio lesson, the worksheet guide, *and* the printed transcript for the same price: $12.

Go here right now and order:

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/NoMoreFrustration

Doug M. wrote me about this material and said, "This audio saved our house church! You helped me understand the motivations behind the know-it-all and the critic in our house church fellowship, and respond in a loving but effective way."

The fact is that every teacher will encounter know-it-alls, critics, non-responders, skeptics, lesson hijackers, and others whose behavior can make group dynamics miserable.

The issue becomes: can you respond to them without losing your mind and your ministry opportunity?

Remember, the best time to have this information is *before* you need it. Get it today.

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/NoMoreFrustration

We Say Goodbye to a GBT

Mr. TrueSaved died April 25th.

“Mr.TrueSaved” was his email handle, and he and I only had a relationship via email. His given name was Tony Hedge.

Tony was a Great Bible Teacher in my book. We’ve been corresponding since early 2006. Tony’s emails were full of passion for God’s Word and for sharing it with the people God had put around him. Some of his students have learning disabilities, so he periodically queried me on new ideas to help them learn.

As a sign of God’s timing in these matters, the last email Tony received from me was about moving ahead, taking the next step, and walking in faith. And Tony has done just that!

We honor you, Tony, and praise our Lord because of His ministry in you and through you. You’ve been a GBT here, and the world is a better place because you follow-through on what God gave you to do. And we recommit ourselves to follow in this same way.

Grace, Not Moralism

Peter Mead continues to hit home runs:

Tim Keller makes a critical point. Too often as preachers we preach a
gospel that moves people from rebel to legalist. We so easily preach so
that younger sons become older sons, but somehow miss the glory of the father’s
prodigious grace in humiliating himself for the sake of both sons.
Let us be careful to distinguish rebellious sin and moralistic self-righteousness (still
sin), from true grace. We cannot overstate the danger of preaching that
turns worldly rebels into pew-filling moralists, but fails to preach the unique
distinctive of grace that only the Christian gospel has to offer.

From "Preach Grace, Not Moralism"

"We're Handling Dynamite!"

Peter Mead has a wonderful blog for preachers, and much of what he offers there is valuable for teachers of the Word in any setting. Here's an excerpt from a recent post about the 'let-down' we sometimes experience even though we should have great expectations:

"It is easy to let the normal-ness of ministry diminish our sense of
expectation. It is as if we don’t really expect people to be transformed
or the Spirit of God to be at work. It is understandable, but it is
wrong. As Haddon Robinson has put it, “we’re handling dynamite, and we
didn’t expect it to explode!” The Spirit of God is at work, the Word of
God is powerful, and whether we see it or not, we should prepare and pray with
great expectation."

And we should be amazed! What a ministry! What a privilege! May the Lord bless your teaching ministry today, dear friends.

Repeating Yourself

If you teach the same people over a period of time, sooner or later you're going to wonder about how much to repeat -- lessons, stories, key points, passions.

Perry Noble gives some helpful advice (written for preaching, but applies for teachers in most every situation). Relieve this pressure on yourself, and don't believe that people remember everything you said the last time you taught. Also, it's important to be reminded of important truths.

Teach (the same things as often as God leads you to) to change lives!

Staying Humble

John Piper gives some excellent advice about staying humble. An excerpt (emphasis mine):

"I said to our staff yesterday morning, when we were talking about reputations of the church, etc., to pray that we as a staff would daily be stunned by grace in our lives. Because if we aren't amazed by grace towards us, we will be a finger-pointing church mainly. That was the issue. Bethlehem takes a lot of stands, and therefore we are unhappy with a lot of people's views and can be very negative. I said that the only solution there—since Paul had a lot of things he disagreed with and got upset with a lot of people—the only answer is to be more amazed that you're saved than that they're lost."

How much better could our families, our communities, and our nations be if every Christian was stunned by grace daily, and more amazed at our own salvation than running around pointing out the sins of others? Imagine the amount of legalistic, soul-squishing crud that would evaporate!

Keep All Your Notes

Teaching tip: keep ALL your notes.

After you're done teaching a class or a series of classes,it's very tempting to toss out everything except the"finished" work - the final handout, your polished teaching outline and notes - just the pristine material that looks good. All the scribbles and edits and handwritten notes tend to get tossed. "After all," you think, "who would ever be interested in those?"

Answer: YOU will.

Trust me on this.

The day will come when you'll pull out your file (because you're teaching that again, or a related lesson), and spend a lot of time wondering how you arrived at those questions, that specific handout, etc. It will help a lot if you keep the whole passel of notes you made. You'll be prompted to remember more about how you developed the end product.

Often, what you really need now is not in the end product for that lesson, but in the pile of stuff that you considered, meditated on, but didn't use then. It's perfect now!

One more thing: a day will come (God willing) that you can be coaching some other teachers. These files will become great example materials to work through together, so you can show the process by which you arrived at the perfect-for-this-class material.

The Big List of Bible Maps and Stuff

Tyndale Tech has compiled a large list of Bible mapping resources and map collections.

Maps will help your students understand the geography of a Bible story or background of a situation. They help ground a story in their mind. (This psychological fact is why even fiction writers put maps in a book, such as what is in the Lord of the Rings.)

Now you have one less excuse for providing a map when you teach!

Getting Unstuck

One of the realities of Bible teaching is that you sometimes get stuck. You can't think of what to do. Or maybe you just lose some of your passion. You feel over-whelmed.

I call it "being stuck."

I've discussed this phenomenon with a number of teachers.A frequent result of being "stuck" is that you have this weird drive to find new material. You wind up thinking like this:

"If I just get a newer study Bible, I could get some new ideas from the study notes. I wonder if Lifeway or The Navigators have a new study guide. Maybe I should check out that other commentary that so-and-so mentioned. I bet I'd do better if I switch to another Bible version. Actually, I wonder if God wants me to be teaching at all!"

And those kinds of thoughts just accelerate until you're ready to go off and do almost anything else except what you should be doing.

Learning how to get "unstuck" is a very important skill to develop.

Here are my two radical, counter-intuitive tips to get unstuck:

1. Slow down. Don't be like the drunk man, unsure of direction, who speeds up. Remind yourself that the Lord is going to help you, because He cares deeply about His sheep (including you!)

2. Go look at "old" stuff. At least 100 years old.

I'm serious, dear teacher. Our Lord has arranged for Great Bible Teachers in every generation, and the Word has not changed for thousands of years. There are plenty of powerful sermons, devotions, and books available.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to newer writing. It's how we speak to this generation. But much of the Church today has lost appreciation for "thegreat cloud of witnesses" who have gone before us. Andwe have much to learn from saints-now-glorified, dear teachers. "There is nothing new under the sun."

I recommend this material for getting you unstuckbecause it is high quality, time-tested, and yet will feel fresh. Reading this (and don't forget to read itout loud for even more powerful impact) will move your mind and spirit into a new groove. You'll be unstuck!

Where do you find the best "old" stuff? Here are some links to free material to get your started:

Charles Spurgeon sermons
http://www.spurgeon.org/index/aindex.htm
E.M. Bounds on prayer
http://www.raptureready.com/resource/bounds/em_bounds.html
William Law, "A Serious Call"
http://www.ccel.org/l/law/serious_call/htm/i.htm
A collection of great Puritan sermons
http://www.puritansermons.com/toc.htm

Historical Reliability of the Exodus Account

Many people are skeptical about the historical reliability of the Exodus account. The information below comes from the soon to be released ESV Study Bible:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/04/020335.php

Historical Reliability of the Exodus

Doubts have often been cast on the historical reliability of the exodus account. It is true that no remains of the Israelites have been found in the area of Goshen in the eastern Nile delta or in the wilderness of Sinai. But in neither area would such remains be expected to survive. The mud-built huts of the Israelites have long been destroyed by repeated flooding, and wandering through the wilderness they would not have left buildings or other permanent traces. It thus is unreasonable to expect such archaeological evidence. Furthermore, we should not expect to have extrabiblical texts regarding Israel’s stay and departure from Egypt because the story is negative about Egypt. Egyptian texts are quite propogandistic and such a defeat would not be mentioned by them.

Nevertheless there is plenty of data that seems to corroborate the biblical account: (1) It is most unlikely that a nation should invent a story of its origins as slaves in a neighboring country. (2) The second millennium b.c. was an era when there were many foreigners in Egypt, some of whom were employed making bricks for building projects. (3) The name of the city Ramses is unlikely to have originated or have been remembered later. (4) The organization of the covenant texts in the Pentateuch (e.g., Exodus 20) fits the pattern of second-millennium treaties, not later ones. (5) The tent-tabernacle has many parallels in Egypt and Canaan from the second millennium. Indeed traces of a tent shrine dating from about 1150 b.c. have been found in the wilderness at Timnah, not far from the route of the Israelite wanderings. (6) A stele (an inscribed tombstone-like stone slab) from the Egyptian pharaoh Merenptah, c. 1200 b.c., mentions that he had conquered the people of Israel in an invasion of Canaan. This would fit with an exodus from Egypt some time before this and demonstrates that Israel was already settled as a people in Canaan.

This archaeological evidence makes skepticism about the historicity of the biblical account of the exodus unwarranted. This is not to deny that the story is told to make theological points: much historical writing is motivated by the desire to teach lessons from the past. Nor does the archaeological evidence require us to believe that the book of Exodus gives us a complete and full account of what happened: there are obviously many gaps and events that are passed over. But the evidence does make it unreasonable to challenge the central affirmation of OT faith: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (20:2).

Free Software to Make Your Own Bible Maps

Check this out -- very cool software (free) to create your own, customized Bible maps!
http://www.biblemapper.com/

I like how you can add and subtract different categories of information, and the amazing level of detail (e.g., geographic features) that this supports.

Another cool tool for Great Bible Teachers like you to have in the toolbox. Check it out.

Reviewing the Lesson -- Afterwards

Completing the process: I do a self-review, and share the kind of feedback I received.

Exodus Lesson

Here's the recording of the lesson I gave.

Preparing a Lesson on Exodus 3-4: Part 5

Sunday morning early -- very excited! Here is my commentary about the last preparations and what I will do when I get to the church building:

Comment below...I'm very interested in your feedback!

Chart: Kings and Chronologies

Here's a great reference tool for you: charting the biblical kings and their chronologies

You can look up some of these types of things online when you need them, but it's nice to have a printed file to refer to when you're doing preparation study -- less distracting than hopping on the computer.

Your Prayer Support Team is Critical

I take it as a fact that no lives are changed
unless someone has prayed. (Isn't it a wonderful
encouragement to know that Jesus is praying for
you right now? Wow! See Romans 8:34)

Too many teachers are just assuming that someone
is praying for them, or asking for general prayer
support.

Great Bible teachers never hesitate to ask for
specific, sustained prayer support.

In fact, I believe you need to organize a prayer
team of people who will lift up your teaching
ministry before the throne of all grace.

Who should you include on your team?

Your spouse, if you're married.

A pastor, elder, or deacon -- someone who is in
spiritual authority over you. (I know many of you reading

this blog are pastors yourselves. Seek out a
like-minded pastor who can partner in prayer with you.)

Someone of your own gender who is a friend and is
walking with the Lord.

And I seriously recommend you invite at least one
person from your class to be on your prayer team.

How do you help your prayer support team? By giving
them specific information and specific prayer requests.

Here are some ideas to help you:

* Your teaching subject or passages you're working from
* The key application points that you want to make
* When the class will occur
* That discussion will be dynamic and fruitful
* That you would be able to discern the needs of the class
* Names of students you believe God will touch
* That the Lord would work individually and collectively
to open eyes, minds, and hearts
* For lasting change that honors Jesus Christ

Work with your prayer team before and after a class.
It's really important to follow-up a class with prayer.

And don't ever forget to THANK your team for their labor
for the sake of the Gospel. It's one of the biggest
mistakes that teachers make, actually, to fail to thank
those who have helped.

If you're serious about helping your prayer team,
check out this resource:

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/partners.htm

Preparing a Lesson on Exodus 3-4: Part 4

Ok, it's coming together! I have some confirmation now about the way to go, and still need to sharpen the hook and a transition to the follow-up lesson.

Comment away...

Preparing a Lesson on Exodus 3-4: Part 3

About 24 hours to go, and I'm forcing myself to stay patient. I have the pieces and parts (too many, in fact!) and need to stay with the preparation process. I put my confidence in God and submit myself to the process.

Please comment...

Preparing a Lesson on Exodus 3-4: Part 2

My thoughts after several days of study and prayer about preparing this lesson.

Comment away...

Preparing a Lesson on Exodus 3-4: Part 1

I made some audio recordings so you'd have an idea of my thought process as I create a lesson for a specific group of adults. This lesson is based on Exodus chapters 3 and 4 (the famous "burning bush" scene where the Lord commissions Moses to return to Egypt and confront Pharoah).

I hope you see how the process I share in "Teach the Bible to Change Lives" works in practice.

Here's the setup for this lesson:

I'll be curious for your feedback on sharing these thoughts. Please comment!

Get Excited!

I was sharing some insights from my preparation on Exodus 3-4 with my pastor today. We laughed and were in awe together. Good stuff! And then he said,

"If you're excited about it, they [meaning my class] will be, too."

Important words, key concept.

So invest yourself in your study and prep, and get excited. Get really excited -- and it will come through in your teaching.

It's a Loud Time, Not a Quiet Time!

I was delighted to see this guest post by David Powlison: "Should We Really Call It a 'Quiet Time'?"
Key idea: "prayer is verbal because it is relational," so pray out loud most of the time!

Try this, it can change your prayer life enormously. This also fits well with what psychological research has shown: we remember much more about what we say. Our brain is more engaged when we're talking.

Recommended.

Why You Should Consider Blogging

Teachers, you should consider setting up a blog. Abraham Piper lists 6 reasons why pastors should blog, and these apply to Bible teachers of all kinds:

1. To Write
2. To Teach
3. To Recommend
4. To Interact
5. To Develop an Eye for What is Meaningful
6. To Be Known

Don't underestimate #5 -- developing discernment requires practice. Also, the discipline of writing regularly (#1) will brodly benefit all your communication.

Want to get started? Here guides for Blogger and Wordpress.

Sensitivity to Different People's Situations

Peter Mead provides some excellent advice for teachers and preachers on appropriate senstivity (without losing power and effectiveness) to singles, the childless, women, the elderly, and the unemployed. Recommended.

Christian vs. Muslim Views on the Crucifixion

The Islamic view is that Jesus was a prophet, but that he himself did not die on the cross. The Islamic perspective is that each person bears the burden of his sins alone -- and that repentance and obedience to God's commands are the means of redemption.

Check out this short blog post by Gene Veith for more on this contrast with Christian understanding of redemption.

It's important to understand these fundamental differences.

This Specific Truth Will Make You Free

Melinda at STR makes the great point that many people mistakenly quote John 8:32 out of context by saying "The truth will make you free."

If you read this in context, you will see that the truth Jesus refers to is that Jesus himself is the Truth -- a specific, objective truth, not a relativist or subjective truth.

Note: This would make for a great short lesson or devotional.

It Felt Awful...and the Lord Used It!

Have you ever put a lot into a lesson, and then didn't feel like it worked well afterwards?

Most of the time I feel good after I teach, because I've seen again the power of God's Word to touch hearts and minds. But sometimes I go into a lesson confident that I've heard from the Lord how to set up the hook, the best questions, strong applications -- and it just doesn't feel like it clicked. For me, or for my students. Dud. Flat.

The week before Easter I experienced this when I was teaching a large class of adults, talking about Jesus as our substitutionary sacrifice as pictured in Isaiah 52-53.

In baseball terms, I swung and hit the ball maybe 8 feet up the 1st base line.

"Ok, we go on," I said to myself.

But on Easter Sunday I heard that two people were powerfully impacted by the lesson. (One was a visitor who is Muslim.) Another person told me that they shared the key ideas with his neighbor and they were persuaded to come to Easter service.

My feelings did a 180 turn and I rejoiced that God had used it well. I really was teaching to change lives!

I share this with you to encourage you. Your feelings are real, but they are not the final arbiter of value of a lesson. Follow through on what you receive from the Lord in preparing a lesson.

Keeping Christ at the Center of Our Teaching

It is always good to be reminded that we need to keep Christ at the center of our teaching, no matter what passage of Scripture we're teaching from, and irrespective to whom we are teaching. Consider this counsel from Charles Spurgeon:

"I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. People have often asked me, "What is the secret of your success?" I always answer that I have no other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the gospel,—the full, free, glorious gospel of the living Christ who is the incarnation of the good news. Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon. You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, "If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon." "No," answered the young man, "because I did not see that Christ was in the text." "Oh!" said the old minister, "but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, 'There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'" "Well," said the young man, "but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?" "Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him." So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them. There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul. Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to charwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon."

-CH Spurgeon, The Soul Winner.

He is Risen!

He Is Risen!

What Are You Missing in the Bible?

Check out this 30 second awareness test:



So what are you missing in the Bible, because you see only what you are looking for?

Let's face it, our minds are "fearfully and wonderfully made," and yet we have to work hard to overcome our natural tendencies. Build these into your study plans:

1. Read systematically, not just your favorite passages
2. For passages that you are teaching, read them over and over and over again -- two or three times a day for several days
3. Work through those passages in reverse order (it's amazing how many new things will occur to you)
4. Read passages aloud
5. Ask "What is this not saying?"
6. Check cross-references and related passages (tools like the Thompson's Chain Reference Bible are great for this work)

These study habits will help you uncover what casual reading misses! And you'll be better prepared to bring "fresh bread" from the Word to your hungry students.

John Ortberg on Teaching the Bible

I highly recommend this short essay by John Ortberg, "People of the Book." He wonderfully analyzes the paradox of the availability of the Bible and yet the incredible lack of knowledge people have from the Bible -- and then goes on with sound advice about proclaiming Scripture.

A few excerpts to whet your appetite:

"How do I proclaim the Scriptures in a way that honors their authority, and at the same time recognizes where my hearers are (as opposed to where I wish they were)?"

"In many ways our situation is increasingly like that of the early church. The gospel had to compete in a multi-religious, pluralistic environment where, as Edward Gibbon put it, "the masses considered all religions equally true, the philosophers considered them equally false, and the politicians considered them equally useful." Historians like Rodney Stark say that the reason the church exploded across the ancient world was, to a large extent it was because the church incarnated the word—cared for the poor, fed the hungry, embraced the orphan, risked sheltering the sick. The gospel had to win a hearing by being incarnated along with being proclaimed. Those of us who preach the Scriptures, along with being nourished by it ourselves, have to figure out along with our congregations how we can incarnate the gospel in our community, or we will preach to a religious ghetto."

"I assume that if preaching the Scriptures is going to get under the skin of people I speak to, things will have to get a little edgy. We get so used to the Bible, we miss its edginess."

"The Scriptures really are used by God in a unique way to change lives. But those of us who teach them must be gripped by this conviction. It cannot be faked or forced. It comes as a gift."

Read the whole essay.

Test Yourself

Kevin Nelstead points us to a great test: "God's Test For Everyone"

See how you measure up to the 10 Commandments. Like Kevin, I scored a 0/10, and put my hope in Christ:

“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2 ESV).

Make Sure Your Notes Are Readable!

Teaching tip: make sure your notes are readable.

I recently made the mistake of taking notes made in light pencil into the room where I was teaching. I didn't have any problem reading them in the light where I wrote them -- but the light was much stronger in the room where I was teaching, and my notes were practically invisible in the glare off the page! (Maybe my aging eyesight was a factor, too.)

Be sure to use pen or pencil that will have good contrast, so you can read even in challenging lighting conditions. Contrast is the key. It also helps to have a broader pen-stroke than a finer one.

Boredom Begone!

Howard Hendricks admonishes his seminary students: "Don't you dare bore them with the Gospel!"

Your students register your level of enthusiasm for a Bible passage or topic by the the tone of your words, your body language, and everything you "project" while you are teaching. You can't readily fake this passion (nor should you try).

Peter Mead has an excellent blog post, "Banish Boredom from the Sermon," which has a few paragraphs of helpful ideas for teachers. He correctly points out that the problems are far easier to repair in the lesson preparation time than during delivery!

"Enthusiasm and imagination are keys to unlocking boredom from a sermon, but try to overcome the problem ahead of time. Try to avoid discovering the sermon is boring by the facial feedback of a disconnecting congregation. It’s far easier to fix in the study than in the service!"

Amazing Audio Library

Check out this amazing collection of hundreds of free audio messages -- searchable by topic, Bible passage, or speaker! Recommended.

Discipleship Library

HT: Brad Roth

"I have had enough, Lord!"

Perhaps the best unanswered prayer in the Bible is in 1 Kings 19:

"[Elijah] came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."

Our gracious Lord, who answered Elijah's prayer about rain and fire from heaven to demonstrate his power, did not answer this prayer for death. Instead He gives Elijah what he really needs: a reset.

Many times in teaching roles and leadership roles we come to points where we feel like saying, "I have had enough, Lord!"

And God will deal graciously with us as He did with His servant Elijah:

1. He strengthens us with what we need (angels provided Elijah with food and drink twice -- see 1 Kings 19: 7-8)
2. He gives us time to listen (Elijah traveled 40 days and nights to Horeb. The Lord certainly could have spoken with him after a day or 5 days, but Elijah needed time to be prepared to hear clearly.)
3. He checks our mission and alignment ("What are you doing here Elijah?" v. 9b) and even if we get all whiny and complainy as Elijah did, He demonstrates his power and presence to us.
4. He provides new orders and guidance (Elijah didn't get any sympathy -- it would not have helped! -- but was told to go annoint Hazael and Jehu and Elisha v. 15-18)

Leaders are looking for help. I suspect Elijah heard the Lord say, "Yet I have reserved seven thousand..." and thought "Really? Where are they?" So do not be discouraged if you don't see the workers yet, but keep praying.

Elijah's God is our God. And He likewise deals with us, as we need it.

But...Easter is Coming

More snow in Iowa. I think we're up to 58" here this long winter. Yesterday I was reminded of the White Witch's curse in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: "Always winter, and never Christmas."

And then I said to myself, "But...Easter is coming!" And that makes all the difference.

Prosperity "gospel"

John Piper speaks firmly against the popular prosperity "gospel." Worth much more than the three minutes it will cost you.

Talking with Athiests and Doubters

I hope that you regularly talk about Jesus with athiests and doubters. It can be pretty intimidating at times, and one of the biggest hurdles is knowing where to start. That's why I'm suggesting you check out "A Wallet, A Dollar, and the Existence of God" as an example. These free example videos (and PDF transcription) from www.pleaseconvinceme.com will not only give you ideas about how to share the reasonableness of the existence of God, they will strengthen your own convictions.

Me First or Christ-Centered?

My friend Kevin Nelstead gives us two drawings depicting different approaches people take for the Christian walk. Outstanding. Check it out.

How to Handle "Lesson Hijackers"

Would you like to learn how to handle a "lesson hijacker" -- the person who take over your class when you're trying to teach?

You can listen to a free excerpt that explains how. Check out:

"Ministering Effectively with 'Tougher to Love' People"The Biblical Approach and Practical Strategies To Work Successfully with Talkers, Critics, Know-it-alls, Therapy-Seekers, Lesson-Hijackers, and Non-Responders -- Turn Your Frustration Into a Blessing!

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/NoMoreFrustration

(The audio link is towards the bottom of the page, near the testimonials from other teachers like yourself who have been helped by this audio lesson.)

If you haven't encountered a lesson hijacker before, learn how to handle the situation before it comes up, with biblically sound advice that's been field-tested and proven.

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/NoMoreFrustration

Don't Be a Distraction

How much of your Bible lesson did your students miss because they were distracted? And how much of that distraction is really your fault, dear teacher?

If you want to improve the quality and effectiveness of your teaching -- so that you are teaching to change lives! -- then stop being a distraction or creating them. You can't stop every possible distraction in the room, but you can make sure YOU are not the distraction.

Let me give you two ways that you can be a huge distraction to your students.

First, get rid of anything that "amplifys" your nervous tics.

True story: One Sunday morning, I was really zinging this lesson out, totally "on," and full of zeal. My lesson points were sharp and the life application was perfect for this class.
It was c-o-o-l to see how God had brought all this together!

After I dismissed the class, one nice lady came up and complimented me on my car keys. I was horrified to learn that she and others had hardly heard what I said, because I had been playing with my keys in my pocket and distracting EVERYONE.

Take everything that makes noise out of your pockets before you teach. Keys, coins, pens, trinkets. And don't click ballpoint pens or pop on and off whiteboard marker caps, either. Give your students every reason to focus on the Word of God and you.

Second, don't make your students juggle. What am I talking about?

Many times our teaching environment gives a student achair to sit on, and not much else. If they are trying tojuggle your handout sheets, a Bible, maybe something to drink and eat, a pen or pencil, well -- it's a recipe for distraction.

(Now if your teaching situation includes a table, keepreading, because it's as much about juggling *attention* asit is physical items.)

You want the people in your class to be paying attentionto the Word of God and the class discussion. So don'tintentionally give them eight items to juggle. Keep the handout simple, and preferably one page. (Or skip the handout if you believe the class can go without it and still get the key points. After all, Jesus never used handouts :-)

Also, if you can work it out so that there is a little bit of space between chairs, that helps a lot, too! People don't learn well (at any age) when they're jammed together.Many Americans, in particular, have a deep dislike to be touched by others, even accidental shoulder brushing. So space the chairs out a little bit, and it will help them to keep their attention on the lesson.
Great Bible teachers pay attention to the learning environment. What's causing distractions in your class? See if you can cut them out, and watch the learning improve.

Heavenly Rewards

Big News Story: The Academy Awards. Oscar turns 80! Red Carpet Fashion Show! Glamour! Glitz! Badda-bing, badda-boom! Over 800 million fans watching!

I can't help but wonder about God's rewards (awards?). What will His reward be for giving a cup of water (see Matthew 10:41-42) Though winning an Oscar can make you famous for a time, it cannot compare to the Crown we are looking forward to. Consider these verses, and be encouraged today:

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! Philippians 4:1-3

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 1 Thessalonians 2:18-20

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:4-6

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-9

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:11-13

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.1 Peter 5:3-5

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

I don't know how many or whom will be watching when you receive the crown of life from our Lord and Master, Savior, Teacher, and Friend -- but it only matters that He will be there.

A Census Look At Your Community

Check this very slick interface to census data:

http://www.zipskinny.com

You type in a zip code and get access to demographic information. Very interesting way to check out the communities that you are ministering to!

How Much Time and Detail Should Go Into an Illustration?

I'm sure you've occasionally heard a teacher or pastor use an illustration, and thought, "That was too long," or "I need more detail to understand that." And when an illustration works well for the learner, those thoughts don't come to mind. In other words, the teacher has matched the amount of detail and the length of the description well, so it "feels" right to us.

So how does a teacher figure this out?

Peter Mead provides an excellent framework for categorizing illustrations, which then helps you as a teacher understand how much time and detail to provide.

Level 1 illustrations come from the experience of both the speaker and listeners. (The least time and detail will be required.)

Level 2 illustrations come from the experience of the listeners, but the speaker has to learn about them since they have not personally experienced the same. (You as a teacher have to study more to accurate communicate, but it may not require a lot of detail for the listeners.)

Level 3 illustrations come from the experience of the speaker, but must be learned by the listeners. (You need to provide enough texture and detail to the listener, because they have to learn about something before the illustration is useful.)

Level 4 illustrations lie outside the experience of both speaker and listener. (Requires the most work for both teacher and listener -- in most cases I would recommend another level of illustration!)

Review the past few illustrations you've used that worked well, and maybe some that didn't work well, and see how they line up in the framework. This exercise will help you think about how much detail and time to provide in your next illustrations.

Also, this framework helps explain why an illustration from one of those "5 Thousand Illustrations for Speakers" collections may require editing (more or less details) before you can use it effectively with your listeners.

John Calvin Did What???!!

John Calvin receives an amazing amount of criticism, and usually (I find) from men and women who have not read very much of his actual writings. He's learned, but his reputation for being cold, heartless, and distant is unwarranted. Here is a nice article giving evidence of John Calvin's passion for planting churches and evangelism overseas.

John Calvin did what???!! Trained church planters and missionaries? Pastored them via many letters from Geneva? Yes.

The Role of Video in Teaching

A few people have recently lamented to me that everything is "going video."

One man wrote, "my class keeps asking for video lessons because they think they'll learn more."Maybe they will, there are many factors involved. But do not make the assumption that video is more powerful than audio. Here's some information about the power of sound.

You can prove to yourself how important sound is by doing a quick experiment with your TV.

Watch a few minutes of a news program with the sound turned off. Now compare how much you information get by turning the sound up and walking into the next room where you can hear but not see the TV. Which way gave you more information?

The brain wiring is quite interesting. The eyes may be the "window to the soul" as Shakespeare put it, but the ears have a shorter and more direct connection to the brain. When you sleep the sense that your hippocampus is monitoring most closely is hearing. That's why sounds wake you faster than smells or sight. When you're starting to nod off in a classroom (or a sermon :-), you can still hear the speaker for a while, right?

There is good evidence that as people die hearing is the last sense they retain. Vision, taste, smell, and touch fail before hearing. Psychological tests demonstrate that humans can track multiple conversations by hearing (many people can monitorup to 4 conversations readily, and some can monitor 7!), but only two video inputs. You have no problem driving, working on bills, or cookingwhile you listen to the radio or music, right? How much can you multitask while you're watching TV? (I mean watching, not just glancing at it while you listen.)

Is vision a powerful stimulation? Absolutely. Just look at the effectiveness of TV ads. Movies have a powerful effect on us -- but don't forget that the audio trackhas a big influence. Don't get discouraged about teaching without videos. It is hearing the Word of God that is the most powerful means of grace -- by God's design.

Now should you avoid video altogether? No! But use video to draw attention to the Word of God, and support it. My concern is when people substitute video for teaching, instead of making it a tool to help people learn and understand.

My friend Tom Clark wrote me with an insight about hearing vs. seeing:

"[C]onstrasting the importance of our physical sight and our physical hearing, sight is often (not always) connected with doubt or temptation. Faith seems more connected to hearing and also to not seeing. Add to this that God is spirit and invisible, and you have an interesting perspective on the value of hearing over seeing. Second was to contrast God's way at looking at things with man's. .... Advertisers use visuals to get us to listen, and hopefully trust, them and their products. Bible teachers are wise to do the same!"

And then adds Hebrews 5:14 (NASB): "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

So let's make sure we're helping our students train all their senses.

Theology, When Taught Well, Is Practical

Peter Mead points out that we need to preach [and I would say, "teach"] to demonstrate the consistent links between the biblical/theological and the pastoral/practical. "People need to understand that the most theological or doctrinal passages in their Bible have real-life relevance to them. People need to recognize that instruction purporting to be practical and relevant but lacking a solid biblical grounding is inherently weak."

Amen! God's crummy enemies would certainly encourage disconnects between theology and behavior, but they specialize in lies.

Peter continues to crank out many delightful and insightful blog posts, so I encourage you to monitor his Biblical Preaching blog.

Nave's Topical Bible online

Nave's Topical Bible is a great resource to find related Bible passages that don't have the same keywords. I still like the physical book version (it just feels good to have this massive tome in your hands!), but there is a free online version available here:

http://www.bible-history.com/naves/

Hint: you can copy/paste the information from the online version, which is handy for your personal note files, handouts, etc.

Email Subscription or RSS feed

Please note that over on the right side there is a form to make it easy to sign up for email notification whenever I post new information here, and a widget that makes it really easy to add this blog to your RSS feedreader.

Get the information when you want it, without having to visit here to see if there is no information available!

Justification and Sanctification

Check out this excellent summary of the commonalities and differences between justification and sanctification, by J.C. Ryle.

This would make a nice start for a Bible study. By giving your students a solid grounding, you'll be encouraging and building them up.

Prepare a Lesson with Specific Individuals in Mind

I routinely see teachers preparing for an "abstract"audience of fake people. May I be blunt here? This leads to babbling, not life change.

(And I'm a Brooke, so I know about babbling :-)

If you prepare a lesson to a generic audience, it's going to be much weaker than a lesson you've prepared with specific people in mind.

Each person in this group needs to feel that you are speaking with them alone. That this lesson is exactly whatthey needed this week.

How do you do this? Well (to be blunt) YOU don't -- but the LORD can!

Ask the Lord to give you a small number of people and help you understand how this Bible topic or passage will meettheir needs. Not everyone in the group, just pick a small number. Pick at least 2, even if your group is only 5. You want to have more than person.

Picture them vividly in your mind. Imagine them listeningto the lesson, answering questions, receiving the Word gladly, getting life-changing insights and ideas, and experiencing conviction from God about what they need to do differently this week.

This process helps you sharpen up your lesson content.

Now you're not just making a speech to a bland group, but giving life-changing gems to real people with real needs and real situations they need to face off.

As you practice this way, you will be able to recognize what doesn't belong in your lesson, what needs to be saidor asked a different way. It's powerful. Use this approach, and you'll be teaching the Bible to change lives.

A Picture That Communicates the Gospel

Gene Veith shows a picture of lightning striking the status of Jesus Christ in Rio -- and points out that it's a great picture of the Gospel.

What It Takes for Adults to Learn

Daryl Wilson points us to the characteristics of an effective learning environment for adults. These are really about a small group setting, but would apply to many teaching situations. I encourage you to check out this short article and think about your opportunities to foster better learning.

How Many Bibles Do You Have?

Christian Resource International reports that the average American Christian owns nine Bibles, is actively in the market for more, but rarely use the ones they have...

That's a powerful picture of the American church today.

See Prayer As Something Your Regenerated Heart Wants To Do

Lee Irons gives us some excellent suggestions about prayer:

"The great danger is to turn the duty of prayer into a law that leaves you feeling guilty for your lack of prayer. The paradox of law-based motivations to godliness is that the more guilty you feel, the less you will do what you know you ought to do. And the more you fail, the more guilty you feel. It is the never-ending spiral of law-sin-guilt from which one cannot be extricated apart from the gospel. So try something new. Follow Dabney’s encouragement and think of prayer as something that you already do without realizing it. Or, perhaps more accurately, as something that your regenerate heart wants to do, if only you would capitalize on those irrepressible promptings from the Spirit and turn them into conscious prayers. Instead of thinking of prayer as something arduous and requiring tremendous amounts of discipline and effort, see it as something easy. As soon as the thought, “I should pray about this,” pops into your heard, do it right then and there. Just talk to the Lord, even if for the briefest moment, even for a second or two (what I call “arrow prayers”).Even when you have sunk into a pit of spiritual emptiness, where even the thought of trying to crawl out makes you feel exhausted and hopeless, the irrepressible promptings of the Spirit are there, perhaps nothing more than the simple, abject cry, “Lord, help me!” It is not really the case that we are prayerless. It is just that we have such an exalted conception of prayer that we have overlooked the many prayers that we have despised as unworthy of the name of prayer. "

The Power of the Word of God

Gene Veith gives us a good reminder about the power of God's word. Recommended.

Bible Study Tool Lens You Should Check Out

I'm not sure whom has created this, but it's a very nice Squidoo lens on Bible Study Tools (and has many devotions as well). Check it out:

http://www.squidoo.com/essential-bible-study-tools

Your Biggest Challenge in Ministry

What's your biggest challenge in ministry?

I agree with Peter Mead, that Dr. Joseph Stowell has the right answer: "Me."

Me, myself, and I. Me squared.

Pride is ever the opponent. "He [Jesus] must increase, and I must decrease."

This Won't Be For Everyone

I've got a free audio presentation for those who might be interested, but it won' t be for everyone.

Before I tell you what it is, I also want to tell you that I'm raising some support money for friends who are missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's the start of Mardi Gras there, so it's a season of spiritual darkness and little-to-no restraint on public sin. What you see on TV is just what censors would allow to be shown. There is everything from animal sacrifice, worshiping idols, to public sex orgies in the streets.

And my friends are ministering to the lost and hurting right in the middle of this, shining lights for Jesus in a dismal and frightening place. They need some additional financial support because the US dollar has fallen about 20% to the Brazilian currency. In case you're wondering, I'm not giving the names of the missionaries for their protection.

So I'm offering a free audio -- and inviting people to donate to support these missionaries. (Yes, the audio is free if you want it without charge.)

OK, so what's the audio lesson? And why will it not be for everyone?

The audio is about the opportunities and realities of creating your own online Christian ministry. Each month I get questions from people who would like to do something like what I do. They have sermons, book ideas, devotion collections, and Bible lessons that they'd like to publish. Or they want to start blogging or posting videosof Bible teaching online.

And for many, the idea comes in that they could generate some income in the process.

Traditional book and magazine publishing is pretty tough to get into. So there is some appeal to publishing digitally via the Internet.

There is also amazing potential to reach people worldwide and build up workers in the Kingdom of our Lord! There is a strong need for quality Christian materials. It's possibleto reach thousands and tens of thousands of people this way. It's never been easier to publish and distributeinformation.

So how do you get started? What do you need to think about? And how do you sort out the hype from useful advice thatyou might find online? (I'm sure you've seen headlines like "Make Millions Working Two Hours a Week From YourBeach Home." -- uhm, ri-i-i-g-g-h-h-t-t-t)

Keep reading if I have your attention.

What you need is some credible advice about online marketing and sales, and some specific information aboutthe Christian marketplace. I've been publishing information online since 1993, and selling since early 2005. I've studied online publishing and marketing, and made plenty of mistakes.

So I sat down last Friday morning and recorded over an hour of strong advice and practical counsel:

* How to define your objectives
* Some realities about the Christian marketplace (it's different than the diet market!)
* Eight tarpits and traps to avoid
* The four skills you need to develop (or find)
* My recommended approach for getting started
* The tools and services I use (I really pull back the curtain here!) and recommend

I organized the information with this question in mind: "What do I wish someone had told me when I was thinking about starting my online ministry?"

Now I'm not pitching anything in this audio presentation. I'm not going to sell you on a product or service. It's pure content.

Go here: http://www.teachtochangelives.com/onlineministry/

Again, the audio is free, but 100% of your donations will go to support my missionary friends in Brazil.

Why am I doing this? Why am I giving it away? Frankly, I'd love to see some of you start an online ministry! But I don't want you to have to make all the same mistakes and mis-steps that I've made. So let me help you get started with solid advice you can trust.

It's one of the ways that I can teach to change lives!

Glenn

P.S. I'm going to take this audio lesson down on February 10th. Don't delay!http://www.teachtochangelives.com/onlineministry/

Teachers Have to Go There First

Perry Marshall points out that as Bible teachers we need to grow in our knowledge and faith first, before we can lead and teach others.

"One of the mistakes I believe church planters/pastors often make is that we want our churches to go on incredible journeys with God–yet we are not personally on going on an incredible journey with God. We want to see our people grow closer to Jesus–yet we aren’t growing closer to Jesus.

And that just won’t work!

If you want God to lead your church to new places then you’ve got to understand that He wants to take you there first. If you want your church to get a fresh word from God then you need to beg Him for a fresh word for yourself.

If we are not being faithful in our personal walk with Christ then how in the world are we ever going to hear His voice in regards to the direction of the church and messages. I personally believe if we would spend more time on our faces before God and less time on the internet searching for sermon illustrations that God would continue to rock our worlds–AND the people in our church!"

(From this post)

Take this exhortation to heart! What will you do (today!) to connect with the Lord and learn?

What is a Disciple?

Bill Hull, author of Choose the Life and other books on discipleship, spoke at our church this past weekend. Great content to chew on! He's got some tough things to say (like, "it's not the pastor's job to do your Bible study for you") that he slides home with humor and wit. I recommend you listen to his sermon from Luke 15, "What is a Disciple?"

Teachers, pay attention to how Bill uses story, questions, humor, and transitions -- if he were just to hit his main points as bullet points the presentation wouldn't be nearly as memorable or effective.

Learning to Write Well

I'm occasionally asked about starting a blog. The key stumbling block isn't technical, it's writing.
Writing well is an art, a craft, and work, even writing on a blog. But it's good work that sharpens you!

And I've convinced Bible teachers need to be good writers as well as speakers.

Fortunately there are some good places on the web to help improve your writing skills. Leo of ZenHabits has launched a delightful website called WriteToDone aimed at sharpening your technique.

He’s had a few great posts already:
Edit to Done: Revision and the Art of Being Concise
How to Write First Thing in The Morning
Short Stories: The Art of the Start
Writer’s Dilemma: Your Art vs. Paying the Bills
What Makes Great Blogwriting?

Check it out!

Combine Fun and Learning With This Teaching Strategy

I know you're always on the lookout for new ideas to engage people in learning. Today I want to tell you about a teaching strategy based on the Bingo game.

In the traditional game of Bingo, players are each given a card containing a 5 by 5 grid of numbers, and check off squares on their cards when the bingo caller calls out the corresponding number. Depending on which version of the rules you prefer, the objective is for a player either to get a line of five items checked off, or to check off every item on their card. The winner of the game is the first person who checks off their items and shouts out "Bingo!"

In learning settings, you play Bingo with important differences. The first and most important modification is that instead of using bingo cards containing numbers, you use bingo cards based on the subject of yourlesson. You would use items related to theme of the class, for example, books of the Old or New Testament, names of the people in biblical stories, etc. You can also play themed versions of bingo to celebrate particular times of year like Christmas or Easter.

If you want to "ramp up" the learning, you can require the person claiming "Bingo!" to describe each of the items that they have marked off on their bingo cards - in other words, they can't claim (for example) "Isaiah" as part of their winning line, unless they can say that Isaiah is one of the major prophets in the Old Testament. Alternatively, if you prefer not to make the game into a test, you could for example have a class discussion after item is called out, or ask for a volunteer to explain the particular bible story or character, etc. You know your class well enough to know how challenging to make the game.

Bingo is easy to learn, highly adaptable, and doesn't require expensive materials. The big headache, of course, is producing the cards. Everyone should have a different card, and that means you have to make them up by hand in advance. That's a LOT of time, even if you recruit helpers!

There is an alternative approach: let your computer help! Bingo Card Printer software is slick, easy-to-use, and even has a free trial version for your first project. Check out it here:

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/bingo

You'll find this software gets you over the "headache hurdle" that keeps you from trying out this fun teaching technique.

Try out the free download version, and keep on teaching to change lives!

Interview series in 2008

I want to share what I'm planning that I hope will be tremendous blessing to you in 2008.

As the Lord connects people to our ministry to Bible teachers, I find that you and your colleagues are facing many challenges and issues that I myself don't have the expertise to help with. I have opinions, and some experience, but believe you'll benefit more from others than you would me. My grandfather used to tell me, "If you have a belly-button, you're entitled to your opinion. That's about all your entitled to." :-)

Here's the truth: I can't provide you with all the information you need for your development and ministry -- but by God's grace I can be a reliable conduit and connector to those who can teach what you need.

So I'm starting a process of identifying sharp people who have expertise for challenges you may be facing. I'm going to make recordings of interviews with them, and make those available to you at no cost. Based on the email correspondence I've received since March 2005, this is the list of topic areas that I think will be helpful to you:

Biblical perspectives on money, and practical stewardship
Teaching elementary children
Homeschooling
Ministering to and with teeenagers
Adult small groupsS
piritual gifts
Developing and managing Sunday School programs
Ministering to hurting people
Leadership

I take seriously my responsibility to make sure you get doctrinally-sound, solid, actionable, and helpful information. Please pray that I can connect with the terrific people, and that God will be honored through this whole process. And watch for more blog posts about this in the future!

Two Voices in Psalm 29

I used Psalm 29 at our church business meeting as part of the devotion. I created this handout to guide people to speak out the 2 voices in this Psalm:

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/psalm29.pdf

Half the room took voice 1, and the other half voice 2. I love this Psalm because it reconnects us with God's power and might -- much needed in these days!

Try this with your class or group. You'll find it effective -- in part because if people speak out loud, they are much more likely to be engaged.

Saying "Thank You" Will Save You

I get a fair amount of email from Bible teachers who feel unappreciated. One earnest lady wrote me that she felt bitter. "And after all that work, do I even get a thank you? Not one."

Ingratitude kills. Bitterness kills. This is not the Jesus way, folks.

Certainly, it's nice when people say thank you. But if they don't, what should be your response? Not to whine about it!

Instead, I recommend you focus on your own gratitude.

Give thanks to God. He is our Lord, who has gifted you and enabled you to serve as a teacher. He's given you the calling to teach.

Give thanks to your leadership. They have approved your role as a teacher. They have provided you with opportunity and materials.

If you have teaching partners or people who have helped you, give thanks to them. These people mentor and sharpen our preparation and presentation.

Express your thanks to your students. After all, if you are working hard at your teaching preparation, then you've learned more than anyone else in the room! Their questions have sharpened you and helped you develop. They've given you their attention. They've shown up.

When you give thanks up, sideways, and down to everyone, you'll find your heart is clean and joyful. You'll have more strength to serve others. You'll accept criticism and suggestions in a healthy way. Plus, you'll be modeling gratitude to others -- some of whom may not have seen it, or think to give thanks.

Bottom line: if you receive a thank-you, that's a plus. But it's not essential. Don't track it or measure it, don't make it a measure of your success. Focus instead in increasing your own gratitude for this wonderful ministry of Bible teaching! That's teaching to change lives.

Explore the Bible with Don Stewart

Don Stewart has a nice set of audio and video resources for exploring the Bible.

Prayer-Saturated Teaching

Great Bible teaching comes at the "cost" (I should say, "privilege") of prayer. It's like steeping tea -- it gets stronger and stronger the longer you keep the tea leaves in contact with the water.

I think it was C.K. Chesterton who said that we're not crawling to the backdoor of the palace, begging for scraps. We've been invited into the marble throne room as guests, to an eager King of kings!

Infuse your preparation with prayer about the lesson content (hook, questions, illustrations, story, application, launch), for yourself, for your students.

Pray as you teach! And pray afterwards, that God's crummy enemy will not steal away the Word, but it would be fruitful.

Hebrew and Greek Word Studies

If you're interested in learning more about how to do basic word study in Hebrew and Greek, using free software, check out these videos. This approach is the easiest way to get started.

Find out why I don't believe everything my grandfather said about foreign languages :-)

Planning Goals

It's January, so there are scads of articles available now about setting goals and making resolutions.

Mark Batterson has a really useful recommendation: create categories first, then make goals for each category. He has categories of 1) family goals 2) travel goals 3) physical goals 4) experience goals 5) influence goals.

I encourage you to think about influence goals!

Encouragement!

Today my goal is just to encourage you, dear teacher! Teaching ministry is rewarding, but hard work. Keep on keeping on! You're on an amazing journey of learning and discovery. Remember that our Lord is faithful and keeps all His covenant promises to you.

Teach to change lives!

Impromptu Lessons

Steve sent me a great question:

"I'm constantly being call on to speak to a group of Sunday school classes, more on the line of impromptu. I wonder if you can suggest something for me."

Here's how I answered Steve:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Steve,

Thanks for your question. I'm in the habit of taking notes in my Bible in such a way that my personal study makes it easier to create mini-lessons from a verse or short passage. Using the kinds of questions I have in "52 Model Questions," I can usually teach without much preparation -- counting on good interaction and dialogue to help fill out the lesson. I will string mini-lessons together if I have more time to work with.

To get started with this, why not take what you're learning from your personal devotions, and spend 15 minutes thinking about how to make that into a lesson? Make a few notes. Bang, you're prepared. Do that a few times, and you have a small number of lessons ready.

Now if you're expected to speak beautifully, in detail, as a sermon -- this approach won't necessarily get you there. But if you want to teach from the heart, with what the Lord is sharing with you, with integrity, my approach should be helpful.

I've also seen good teachers ask a group about what they're interested in, or struggling with -- and pick something from that conversation to run with. Let's say that a group is interested in worship music styles. "Let's see what the Bible tells us about worship music." Then split the group into smaller groups and have them look in the Bible themselves for 5-8 minutes. Report back. "What do you think about that?" "Did you notice that there are no mentions of organs?" Build on the interactivity you can develop. This is a nice approach because it doesn't feed people's desire to be lazy and just be "told" something.

Hope these ideas help,

Glenn

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And how do you handle impromptu situations? Do you have a strategy to be ready to teach with 5 minutes notice? Or even one day's notice?

The Bible Is Meant To Be Meditated

From Mark Batterson:

"I don't think the Bible was meant to be read. I think it was meant to be meditated. Meditation is a thoughtful or prayer reading. I came up with this little mantra few years ago: reading without meditating is like eating without digesting. If you don't meditate you lose all of the nutrients."

Good insight!

Don't read for words, but for information. Don't just read for information, but meditate (the word literally comes from the term used for a cow chewing its cud) so your mind and heart are transformed.

I'm Back

Hey, I'm going to be posting here again soon. Google had suspended my publishing rights to this blog because it was profiled as a "spam blog" by their automated screening systems. It took a while over the holidays to get a human review.

More posts soon!

GodTube Virtual Bible

The folks at www.GodTube.com (a Christian YouTube alternative) have put out an interesting and useful Virtual Bible.

What's new about this is that for every Bible passage you look up, they display related videos. Sometimes it's a video of a Bible teacher, sometimes it's humorous. It's a pretty slick way to find video content that might complement your teaching.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend this to dialup users. If you need a fast online Bible for low bandwidth environments, try www.biblegateway.com

Christmas 2007 To Do List

Christmas 2007 To Do List

Adore Believe Celebrate Desire Enjoy
Forgive Grow Help Inspire JESUS
Kiss Love Minister Need Obey Pray
Quest Rejoice Sing Thank Understand
EndeaVor Worship X-alt Yearn Zzzzzz

Review Yourself

One of the hardest -- and most helpful -- things you can do is to record your lessons and listen to yourself.

There are some wonderful, inexpensive digital voice recorders available now. I use an Olympus unit with an external mic. Easy to use and completely unobtrusive; I just turn it on and slip it into my pocket, with the mic position on my shirt for good audio pick-up. I transfer the audio file to my PC via the built-in USB connection.

I recommend you wait at least a day, to improve your objectivity. Also, prepare to be surprised that it sounds different occasionally than what you thought you said!

(Note that you'll need to arrange a different means to assess how you came across visually.)

Realistically assess your hook, questions, interaction, application, and lauch phases. It's been said that "feedback is the breakfast of champions." Dig into your Wheaties!

How Much Time Should You Spend Preparing a Lesson?

I'm occasionally asked how much time should be spent preparing a lesson.

The answer: It depends.

I know, that's a cop-out. The reality is that some lessons do take longer to prepare than others. Short lessons often take as long or longer to prepare than lengthier lessons; it takes work to winnow out the non-essentials. Is the material something that you've mastered in the past, or is it new? Do you already know the audience well, and have a sense of their needs? Is this lesson a bridge to or from other materials, that helps to shape the content? Many questions!

My recommendation is not to procrastinate, because then it's much more difficult to hear from the Lord. (He's still speaking, but we're not in position to listen well.)

So I hesitate to give you a specific number of hours or minutes as a guideline, because the real issue is to seek the Lord's direction, and start working on it. God honors our part when we act faithfully, and put our best into it. Once we begin working on it, we trust that the Lord steers and directs us in the way He wants us to go.

Now, if you're thinking, "Great, I only need to spend 10 minutes on it!" then you missed the message here.

We Don't Get a Map

People want to know the future. We want to know all the next steps. We want clarity on all the optional routes to multiple possible destinations. We want to know all the risks. We want to plan.

What God provides is a compass, and a heading, but not a map.

In truth, this is wonderful Grace to us. In truth, we are not constitutionally able to handle what we want -- the map. It would tear us apart to have it.

The compass and heading instructions are what we need, and what we can handle. Our task is obedience to stay on that heading until given further orders.

Make Time to Read Scripture for You

Many of the Bible teachers I work with (well, all of them!) are BUSY!

Make time to be with the Lord in the Word, with no agenda other than to listen and learn and soak it up. This is not about developing a new lesson, finding the answer to that question someone asked, or preparing for class.

This calls for Quiet. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

This is like being still in meadow and letting a deer come and graze near you. The deer will come and graze, but you must be still.

Comparing Mormon and Christian Views

I've had several requests for explanations comparing Mormon and Christian theology. Here's a good starter.

There are certainly others available online. A key issue in my conversations with LDS members is that they use the same theological terms, but with a different meaning.

I applaud the sincerity and convictions of the Mormons I know. But I believe their sincerity is based on false teaching.

You ARE a Leader

Bible teachers are leaders. It's a responsibility. It's a fact.

We can certainly have a conversation about what kind of leader you are, or how effective you are.

Take this to heart, take it before the Lord, and let it energize you into great ministry. The days of recreational Bible teaching are over. The people God put into your sphere of influence need helpful, life-changing insights and understanding, direct from the Word of God.

Get 'Em to Lean With You!

Keep Their Attention!

Peter Mead has an excellent description of the responsibility of the preacher/teacher to keep his listeners' attention. Recommended:

http://biblicalpreaching.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/eyes-may-be-looking-but-are-ears-listening/#comments

This is crucial stuff, teachers! I'm not asking that you only entertain, because we're not about tickling ears. But you must keep people engaged (Yes, they have a responsibility, too, but you're wrong to throw all responsibility on them!) if you're going to truly teach to change lives for Christ.

The Word Lit Up

I may have posted about this before, but it's a fascinating image composite of the earth viewed at night -- you can very readily make out major cities, interstate road systems, and country borders in many cases.

http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/1438/land_ocean_ice_lights_2048.tif

This is a fun way to pray for the world. Not everthing that is lit up here is living in THE LIGHT!

Clear Thinking and Reasoning on Challenging Subjects

Stand to Reason posted a wonderful collection of short videos (44 at this writing) on YouTube. Most are less than 4 minutes. Greg Koukl is terrific at explaining things like the nature of faith, whether all religions are the same, how to think about the problem of evil -- the kinds of things you and I should be able to intelligently, charitably, reasonably discuss with our families, our friends, our neighbors.

Recommended. Check out the collection here:
http://youtube.com/user/STRvideos

Following HARD After Jesus

"Once you let anybody other than Jesus tell you what to do, you begin to die.”

Read this strong post from Perry Noble about staying on course, preaching the Gospel and obeying Jesus. Every ministry leader needs this message.

Gift of Teaching?

Occasionally I'm asking if you need the spiritual gift of teaching to be an effective teacher.

Certainly teaching is among the spiritual gifts Paul mentions in Romans 12:4-8.

Here's my personal view: I do not think it is required, but I observe that it is unusual to find an excellent teacher who enjoys teaching who does not have the gift of teaching.

Let me explain. Consider this statement about mastery of a craft (and teaching is a craft, a practice that requires discipline over time):

"What creates someone who is a master of their craft? It's the combination of gifting, learning, and practice. The gifted person who is well practiced in their art makes it look easy." -- Terry Dean

So mastery requires gifting, how-to knowledge (or awareness), and practice over time.

The simple fact is that no one loves doing something that they aren't good at. And it's very difficult to excel at teaching if you haven't put in time and disciplined practice. You can get the job done, but you are doing just that -- without a love for the process and experience.

Many teachers feel drawn to teaching, but have not invested themselves to acquire knowledge about how to teach well. Or they lack practice. Those can be learned, acquired.

But the gift of teaching? It's not something that humanly speaking we can seek out and acquire. (That's why it's called a gift!)

Quote to Ponder

"The Scriptures are God's voice; The Church is His echo." -- John Donne

Make sure you saturate your teaching with Scripture.

Looking for a Thanksgiving Devotion?

If you're looking for a Thanksgiving-related devotion, here's a good starting point.