I recently sat in a Bible class and was left...well, wondering. I was wondering what we just went through and the purpose. Now please hear me out, I am not one to pick on a class/teacher. I sit in lessons/sermons looking for the Lord. I want to hear something the Lord wants me to understand and draw faith and conviction from. I never compare my teaching or style with anyone because the Lord uses each of us in His way with our own personalities. I still want to hear and see God in any lesson.
I am pondering if there needs to be something taught to teachers/preachers to help them see their role? Maybe I need to do that but I don't know everything about it myself. Teaching is difficult! Preaching is difficult! Most probably won't ever understand that. It's not study time that is difficult. It's not trying to glean all you can. It's the application and clarity that is difficult. Too many times we are left in our studies with nothing, absolutely nothing. No application, no faith building, just a bunch of words and what some call "good discussion." It makes me wonder what it means to have "good discussion." Sometime "good discussion" becomes a substitute for nothing said or applied!! God forgive us for that.
As I sat in this particular class, 40 minutes was devoted to something that the Scriptures weren't even discussing. Verses were pulled in, statements were made and all for what? We missed God completely in the section of Scripture that was being taught. At the end, one kind, humble lady spoke softly..."I have no clue what all this means. I was lost from the beginning." The teacher was so ingrained in his own thinking he didn't even understand what this lady was saying. He went off into his further explanation which buried the class while he was clueless. My heart ached. God was never touched, faith was never built, hearts were never stirred, people left with no appetite to want to return yet there was a lot of "fruitless discussion." And many a teacher/preacher wonder why people don't show up. Please, help us Lord!!!
2 comments:
Please keep in mind that my comments below are a generalization and not specific to anyone, especially not you Brent, nor any congregation.
Two words sum up the totality of what I have to say about this topic:
spiritual immaturity
Yes, I am referring to the teachers and preachers that fall in to the mode you described. However, it is just not teachers and preachers. It is the students too.
As Christians (not teachers nor preachers nor students) we must become more spiritually mature in our walk with the Lord. I fear that we have spiritually immature teachers and preachers attempting to guide spiritually immature students.
Yes, help us Lord.......
I sometimes wonder the purpose of a class or lesson. It seems some just want to hear themselves talk! I'm sorry if this sounds negative but I do believe that all the problems that seem to crop up in the church are directly related to the lack of sound Scriptural teaching and application. That's just my humble observation.
Keep teaching and preaching. We need more men like yourself!
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