If you have been following this series on the command to Christian business leaders to be teachers, then you have probably been waiting to hear exactly HOW we are to do this. While I cannot adequately cover ALL of the HOW of teaching in one post, I believe I can get you started on the right path. You can figure out the rest with God’s leading!

[This is the fifth and final post in a series about how Christian leaders are commanded to be teachers. In the first post, we looked at the actual command to be teachers. In the next post, we discussed what it means to be a skilled worker, correctly handling God’s Word. After that, we looked at being a godly example. In the most recent post, we determined our GOAL for teaching. Today, we will learn from Paul’s instruction on HOW we are to teach.].

Before we get into today’s post, I encourage you to read the last post if you have not already. The reason this is so important is that much of the issues we address today are caused by having the wrong understanding of our ultimate goal as teachers. The last post addresses this issue and should put you in the right mindset to be able to avoid the temptations we will discuss today.

Scripture Foundation

Let’s start by going back to the Scripture we have been using in this series. We are looking at 2 Timothy 2:14-26, breaking it apart into various pieces. Today, we will focus on the following verses:

But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels. The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness.
2 Timothy 2:23-25

Let’s dive in to the three keys to teaching!

Key #1 – Be Humble

Not necessarily going in the order that it appears in the verses, I want to start with our first point by looking at the beginning of verse 24 when we are referred to as the Lord’s slave. This is a key reference that we need recognize.

Sometimes we read right past critical parts of Scripture and miss key ideas. We cannot miss this one! In this case, Paul refers to us as slaves. This is very important because it is addressing a potential root problem with teachers. If we miss this, we could easily fall into a trap and undermine our own teaching.

Paul is making sure we know that we are to be humble and resist the temptation to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. When we begin teaching, it is easy to begin thinking we are smarter, more aware, or have greater insight than those we are teaching. We have to fight this tendency, remembering that we are indeed slaves.

Key #2 – Be Gentle And Patient

Paul tells us to be patient. He tells us twice that we are to be gentle. Why would he do this? Is it in our nature to be otherwise? Is it possible that he felt the urge to be less than gentle in his teaching moments? Take a look at the following example from Paul himself as he is writing to the members of the church at Corinth:

Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and living like unbelievers?
1 Corinthians 3:1-3

I think it is clear Paul was experiencing a desire to be less than gentle and patient. Can you sense that? Have you ever felt that way? Why is this true? For the answer, take a look at this verse from another teacher in Ecclesiastes:

For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.
Ecclesiastes 1:18

As you start to become more skilled with God’s word, your wisdom will grow. As this happens, not only will you be tempted to be proud in your wisdom (see Point #1 above), but you will also become frustrated with those you are attempting to teach. Paul knew this and made sure to warn us of this tendency!

Key #3 – Focus On The Truth

The final point from this passage is for us to focus on the truth and not get caught up in false arguments – or “foolish and ignorant disputes” as Paul calls them. Why does he instruct us to do this?

It is too easy to get drawn into arguments about insignificant issues and then lose track of the original intent of the discussion. As I was told growing up, we get too busy fighting alligators and forget we came to drain the swamp!

When we allow ourselves to be drawn into these side arguments, we lose our focus on the truth we are to be teaching. Church members are probably the best at this, but business people can hold their own in this category! We may not argue about the color of the carpet or the kind of music that is best, but we can still find petty issues to draw our attention away.

Instead of allowing this to happen, we are to “reject” these arguments altogether. Do not even enter into them. Instead, we are to maintain a focus on the truth we are to be teaching. Don’t give yourself permission to even entertain these irrelevant disputes.

Summary

Hopefully, you have learned more about your responsibility as a teacher of the Word of God through reading this series. I also hope you are encouraged by the material we have covered. I urge you to seek God’s leading on where you can ramp up your teaching. He is faithful to answer this request!

Is teaching something you enjoy or will you have to work at it?

With which of these three keys do you struggle?

Are you more open to teaching now?

Photo by Amanda Hobbs/Shutterstock

Hard Work

A number of years ago, with our children entering middle school, she went back to school to get her Master’s degree in education. She had not studied education as a undergraduate, so she had to take extra courses in order to earn her teaching certificate along with the Master’s degree. This was incredibly hard work and she met the challenge head on (with excellent grades, I might add)!

Immediately after graduation, she started as a 2nd grade teacher at a local elementary school. She was not sure (at the time!) if 2nd grade would be the best age for her, but she was excited to get to work and teach! I knew she would be good at it, but I truly had no idea exactly how good.

An Incredible Teacher!

I honestly wish I could I could describe the pride in my heart and the emotion in my throat as I think about exactly HOW great she is at being a teacher. It is not possible for me to communicate the depth of her commitment to these kids and to their education. It is truly an emotional experience for me to watch.

I know I am biased, but there is simply no way I am overstating the impact she is having as a teacher. I promise that her students will look back as adults in a couple of decades and credit her for whatever changed in them while they were in her class. I am confident of this!

What Is The Application?

Now, you are probably asking what this could possibly have to do with business and Christian faith. That is a good question! Let me explain.

There is no doubt that my wife is gifted by God to be a teacher. It comes naturally to her. She LOVES what she does and cannot imagine doing anything else. The work she puts in after hours and on weekends does not seem like work to her.

Not A Teacher?

Many Christian business leaders might look at someone like my wife and point to her gifting. Doing so, they might claim that they have no such gifting. For them, being a teacher is not exciting. Depending on their perception of the job requirements or the size of the crowd, it may even scare them!

Some may not fear teaching, but simply think they do not have the time. Others may feel they are not enough of an expert to be a teacher. There are many excuses we come up with to explain why we don’t play the part of a teacher.

Commanded To Teach!

Because of these thought processes, many Christians ignore the fact that we are in fact commanded by Jesus himself to be teachers! Instead of accepting this command, we may tend to rely on others to be the teachers. We claim all sorts of other activities to show that we are making a difference. We think this earns us a bye when it comes to teaching.

The bottom line is that we are all to be teachers.

Gifting Not Required

Now, some of you will argue with me about this. You may say that Paul says not all of us are given the gift of teaching. In this case, we are on the same page. I agree that not all are given the gift of teaching. Yet, I think we are all commanded to do it anyway.

Stick with me and let me explain my position before you close out this post and move on. If you finish this series and still feel the same way, then we will simply agree to disagree. No harm, no foul!

Commanded?

Most likely we are all familiar with the Great Commission. Jesus was speaking to the disciples (and, I believe, to all of us as believers) when he said the following (emphasis added by me):

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to obey all I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:19-20

If you believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God and that this verse is directed to all believers, then you accept that you are to be a teacher. I do not see any way around this. It is right there in black and white.

Perception Of Being A Teacher

Now, the problem most people have is with their perception of the word teacher. When I say all of us are to be teachers, many assume that means they are to be in a typical classroom (at school, church, etc.) and are to teach a room full of students (youth, adults, etc.).

This is not so. When I sit down with a salesperson and give them advice on how they can improve their performance, I am a teacher. When I spend ten minutes giving a simple devotion to a small group of employees at work, I am a teacher. The size of the audience and the setting are both irrelevant. There are endless combinations of situations where I can show I am a teacher.

More To It!

Of course, to fulfill the Great Commission, there is more to it than the above examples. Hopefully, you are interested in digging further into this idea. If so, you will be glad to know that I will spend the next several posts doing just that.

My hope is that you are excited to see your role as a teacher once we have completed this series. If nothing else, I pray you have begun to seek God about this, asking Him to reveal to you how He wants you to be a teacher.

Stay tuned!

Gifted or not, do you see yourself as a teacher?

Who do you see as your student(s)?

Who has been a teacher to you?

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