One Day

Mark Batterson shares a wonderful, powerful thought about the biblical phrase "one day."

Consistently Generate Great Lessons and Devotions – Week after Week

Great Bible teachers consistently produce great lessons and devotions, week after week.  

Sometimes we all struggle to keep going, and hit dry patches.  I believe our Lord uses these dry spells to draw us back to Him, to help us focus on Christ, and to keep us from pride and error.  

Here are the 10 basic practices which help me consistently generate great lessons and devotions, to edify the people God has put in my sphere of influence, and honor our Lord. 

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1. Teach from what God is teaching you

It's critically important that you, as a teacher, remain well-grounded in Christ and well-connected to Him.  You need to have devotional time in God's Word which has nothing to do with the lessons you are preparing.  But out of those, you'll find many rich insights which you can use in your teaching ministry.

It's been said that we ask God to fill our cup, and then we minister, serve, and teach from the saucer (the overflow).  

You can separate Christians into two categories:  those growing, and those not.  If you have an active, ongoing spiritual life with the living God, then you're in growth mode.  Teach out of what you are learning from the Lord. 

2. Keep an idea list going

Capture ideas - however small or vague - when the thought hits you, "Uhm…that could be useful in teaching."  Or you get an idea for a topic or class.   These ideas are like slippery fish.   If you don't catch them now, they're gone, often irretrievably.  

The experience of every teacher I know who does this is the same: "I have more ideas about what to cover than I could teach in several years!" 

Then build the habit of reviewing notes like these periodically.  You'll be surprised at how God answered your prayer "What should I teach next?" or "How can make this a better lesson?" well before you asked for wisdom.  

3. Reflect on your life often

I cannot concur with Socrates' statement "The unexamined life is not worth living," but I think an examined life is a richer life, and one more likely to positively influence others in the Kingdom of God.  

Many great teachers journal.  They take notes or have conversations with others about how they see God working in their lives, and in the lives of people close to them.  They do the hard work of processing thoughts and emotions into words.  The fruit of this work is an increased sense of your real self - strengths and weaknesses, joys and fears, accomplishments and shortcomings.  

Great teaching is reinforced by personal authenticity as a pilgrim on the discipleship way, before God.  You can't fake this.  And your lesson content will be all the stronger and richer because you share from your authentic view.  God usually  causes teachers to learn lessons before He allows them to teach them to others!

4. Teach from the heart 

Many times we must fight the temptation to intellectualize the content of lessons and devotions.  I'm opposed to teaching only from emotional drivers, but emotions are God-given for a reason.  When you teach from the heart on a subject or passage that moves you, your students will be moved, too.  Emotions help sell facts.  

So ask yourself "What is God doing in my heart now?"  Use this in your teaching.  You can organize a short devotion based on this.  

5. Answer student questions

You can't go wrong addressing the questions that come up from the people you are teaching.  If you're teaching a series of lessons, take one as a "breather" and use it to answer questions that you've heard.  Or give fuller answers to questions that you partly answered earlier.  

It's also fun to organize a lesson along the structure of "Top 5 Things People Should Know About _____"  or "Three Misunderstandings About ____ You Should Avoid." 

6. Read a lot, across disciplines

Great teachers are great readers - first of the Word of God, and then everything else that is useful.  

Mark Batterson has a short blog post on the importance of reading, saying that in many ways, "We are what we read."

The average American adult reads 1 book a year.  If you read 1 book a month you are on the top 3% of American adults.  (That's a sad statistic, by the way!)

Don't limit your reading to books - there are wonderful bloggers, magazines, and websites (Wikipedia is a good jumping-off point for practically any topic you can imagine). 

I strongly encourage you to read widely, because you will find many illustrations and enrich your understanding of the world.  Intentionally tackle some reading outside your normal range, to stretch yourself.  This year, for example, I'm intentionally pushing myself to learn more about graphic arts and Chinese culture.  Reading in multiple disciplines effectively "cross-pollinates" your brain.  

One more thing: reading biographies is very powerful.  

7. Write, write, write

Writing is the discipline that forces us to clarify thinking.  Great teachers learn through writing.  

You can write in your journal.  You can run a blog.  You can write emails to your students or fellow teachers.  Write short devotions or helps for your church web site, newsletter, or bulletin.

This might sound like an odd thing to include in this list.  "Glenn, I'm dry and I don't know what to teach this week!"  Counter-intuitive advice: start writing.  Something.  Anything, actually.

Why?  Because when we start writing, new ideas come.  The process of writing seems to stimulate your mind to be open to new possibilities.  

8. Take "rhythm" breaks to stay charged

Everyone benefits with a change of pace occasionally.  If you're stuck on a lesson, try something completely different.  Change up the format, the translation you're using, or the room setting.  I'm increasingly under conviction that none of us hear the Word enough; so I'm going to be taking some class times in the future simply to read the Word and let people soak it in, listening quietly.  

Use old hymns.  Have the group share stories about how they saw God at work this week, or a meaningful passage from Scripture.  Let someone else be the teacher for a week.  (This is a great opportunity for you to mentor other teachers!)

9. Short lessons and devotions are fine!

One key idea in a 3 minute devotion can set hearts on fire for the Lord.   

The most common advice I give teachers is simply this: "Teach less, well."  We tend to cram too much into lessons.  One the written page the proper use of whitespace improves readability.  In a class, adept use of silence and shortness leaves room for great dialogue and life-transforming application of God's truth.  

Stop beating yourself up by continually adding more content to lessons.  Focus on delivering the BEST parts, and teaching that in an engaging way.  

10. Repurpose existing lessons

"It is as important to be reminded as it is to be informed."  -- Richard Halverson.  Not everything in your lessons or devotions needs to be 100% original every time.  It's fine to rework past lessons, pull out a section to create a short devotion, or adapt something created by another.  It's likely that not all the people you are teaching now heard that lesson from 4 years ago.  

Don't be afraid to go back to existing materials and rework them.  You can add new or different questions, a different illustration, or a different application from the same passage.

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So that's the list: 10 basic habits and practices which will help you generate great lesson and devotion content every week!  

If you have comments or additional suggestions, let us know!

Recommended Free Leadership Resource

If you're a leader in your church, check out this blog post about a great leadership resource that you should get. It's free, it's excellent.

How to Nudge the World

"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little..." — Tom Stoppard

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/293.Tom_Stoppard

Prayer: Not Legalism, but Duty

John Piper gives us helpful instruction about the importance of prayer. This is from a sermon, but you could build a great lesson around this:

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But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

The Duty of Prayer
And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? Do I go to pray with many of you on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., and Friday at 6:30 a.m., and Saturday at 4:45 p.m., and Sunday at 8:15 a.m. out of duty? Is it a discipline?
You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

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Dealing with Doubt

I know many of you are working with students and adults who are struggling with doubts and unbelief. This online ebook (complete, and free), "Dealing with Doubt" might be a good resource for you.

Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies

Colossians 2:8 gives us a strong command ("See to it") to guard ourselves against worldviews and thinking patterns not grounded in Jesus Christ:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

There is a lot of good advice and counsel available in this world. There are also many false teachers who are skilled at persuasive rhetoric.

Here is our guide, then: If the instruction does not have Christ at the center, then it as best hollow, and may well be deceptive.

Looking at financial advice for what to do with your 401K, or counsel for guiding your teenager through difficult years, or instruction about pursuing additional education? Prayerfully ask if Christ is at the center. If not, it may be still be useful, but it is hollow.

Fighting the Temptation to Be Lazy

I love Perry Noble's counsel here for leaders (applies to teachers, too!):

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, A WORKMAN…”
One of the biggest temptations for a leader is to become lazy and the begin to expect God to do what HE has clearly commanded the leader to do.
It is my responsibility as a leader to make sure I am prepared to preach God’s Word every Sunday.
It is my responsibility as a leader to make sure that I am growing in my faith and in my leadership abilities.
It is my responsibility as a leader to work hard, to put time, effort and energy into the things God has called me to lead.

One of the most dangerous things a leader can do is put their leadership on cruise control. God didn’t call us to cruise…He called us to create…and that ONLY comes through us being willing to roll up our sleeves and WORK HARD.

Reverse It -- A Bible Study Approach

Here's a suggestion for studying a passage that you've become familiar with:

Review it verse by verse, but in reverse order.

This is particularly helpful with narrative passages, but can be used with any text.

I know this sounds crazy, but your mind will pick up patterns and relationships and insights that you won't see in "forward" order.

This one is easy to teach your students, even elementary age. Try reading the story of David and Goliath this way, for example.

May I Answer Your Question?

May I answer your question(s) about Bible teaching?

I routinely answer 50-75 questions every month, from Bible teachers like you, almost all by email.

I'd like to create video responses as a change of format.

So here's where I'd like your help. Simply comment below with your question.

Or maybe you just want to raise a concern about the current situation you're in now, or highlight what challenge you need help with.

I'll select a bunch of them, start making short video responses and post them for everyone.

Chances are good that the answers to your question will help many of your fellow teachers.

I need your question or comment by Sunday, March 1st.

Go ahead - let me know what's on your mind.

God Is Not Procrastinating

Have you ever considered how long God waits between the big milestone points of history? Adam and Eve sin in the Garden of Eden. Four thousand years later God sends His son Jesus. The Church has now been waiting another two thousand years for the second coming of King Jesus, looking forward to the new heaven and new earth.

In the human perspective, long delays usually mean something is hard to accomplish. And we tend to procrastinate rather than tackle hard things, don’t we?

God is not procrastinating.

We learn from the Bible that God’s timing is perfect (though we may not understand it). For example, God the Father sends His son Jesus in the “fullness of time” (see Galatians 4:4) – when the time is right.

Fixing what is wrong with the world is not going to be difficult for God. To illustrate this, read what will happen to Satan:

“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him…” (Revelation 20:1-3)

Note the ordinariness of this account. It’s one angel who does this – not an army, not a super-special hero angel, not even a named angel. (Let’s call him “Bob.”) There is no spectacular fight, no massive resistance, and no doubt that one angel is adequate to do the job. There is no evidence that this unnamed angel gets a medal of commendation for service “above and beyond the call of duty.”

Take encouragement from this, and enlarge your confidence that our God is able and will set everything right – in the fullness of time. This hope helps us endure all things as ministers of reconciliation and grace to people in darkness.

The Two Biggest Drivers of Human Behavior

To ponder:

"The two biggest drivers of human behavior are the desire for
significance and contribution." -- Frank Kern

Listening to The Word

Eugene Peterson advocates lectio divina, a process of listening to God's Word as poetry, allowing it to seep into our souls.

He rightly points out that we can slip into Bible study as an autopsy on a dead thing, dissecting and probing to find out how the mechanics work.

I loved this section:

"In the last class I taught at Regent, a young woman came up to me and was very irritated.

"Dr. Peterson," she said, "three times during the lecture you did not say anything for twenty seconds. I know because I timed you. I'm from Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, teachers go: Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! I want my money's worth."

We're going to have people like that, people who want very polished and efficient teaching. But when I see people in my congregation taking notes during the sermon, I stop and say, "Put your pencils away. I want you to listen. Listen to the Word of God. It's not something for you to figure out; it's something for you to respond to."

The whole interview is good. What can you do today to listen to the living Word, and help others do so also? It might mean less polish, more depth, more effectiveness.

Maximize These Two Parts of Your Lesson

Peter Mead reminds us that we need to maximize the impact of the introduction and close. These are the two key times that count in a presentation.

I call them hooks and launches. You want to hook a nerve up front, and you want to launch people out of the class time or small group time to go and serve the Lord.
Check out the free report I created a while back on creating powerful hooks.

At Noon Today...

My pastor asked a great question -- this would be excellent for a small group or Sunday School class to work on:

"If all your prayers were answered at noon today, what would change in the world?"

Change! Change? Change!?

I loved this 5:32 video, a "mockumentary" of a scandal that ensues when a Sunday School class teacher trys to bring in some changes:

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ed28dc028593664e416e

The same kind of pressures to protect the status quo work on small groups, youth ministry, worship music and schedule changes, etc. Worth watching for the humor -- because it opens up the ribs enough that the truth will slip in!

HT: The Sunday School Revolutionary

Who Was St. Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Make it special for someone!

Here's a useful article about the [sometimes confusing] history of St. Valentine and how we arrived at this traditions of this holiday.

How Far Did Jonah Walk in Whale-Vomit Clothes?

A good friend dropped me a note encouraging me to try BibleMap.org. Here's his hilarious excerpt:

"Need to know where Jesus went when He was in Gadara or how far Jonah had to walk in whale-vomit clothes when he finally went to Ninevah? This tool is better than any Bible Atlas and sure beats the heck out of the maps in the back of your Bible! And no wonder; it actually harnesses the power of Google Maps! Try it out here: http://www.biblemap.org "

It is indeed a fun and useful tool for teachers!

About "The Shack"

I'm asked about once a week for my thoughts on the controversial book, "The Shack."

I haven't read it. It's not in my reading pile. I might read it someday, but right now I'm compelled to read lots of other books and articles.

You can find pro and con reviews all over the Internet. This may be the most helpful review I've seen, so I 'm going to steer you there. I have high regard for the folks at Stand to Reason.

There is No Substitute For This

I can coach you on your teaching skills and tactics. These things are learnable. You can improve with practice and feedback. You can develop stronger openings (hooks), better questions, more powerful illustrations, rhythm, handouts and breakout activities, life application, and between class follow-up. You can learn new approaches to studying the Word yourself, and leverage proven ways to help others study the Word better for themselves.

I believe you should be working on developing your skills and tactics. Great Bible teaching is a craft, and we are always working on our craft.

But there is no substitute for an authentic, passionate, deep relationship with Jesus Christ.

I firmly believe that we don't have enough great Bible teachers today. And so I am working with all His energy to help change this.

Our first and primary issue with the weakness of biblical teaching is because our teachers do not have the underlying connection with the Lord, a life of obedience to His Word, and a heart inflamed with the Spirit.