Mentor others
In a culture that has largely turned away from its Christian roots, and where people's ignorance of the Bible's message is growing rapidly, teaching the Bible may be the most important thing that the Church can do.
If God has given us the ability to teach the Bible effectively, and if we have any kind of regular opportunities to teach it, one of the most important things we can do is to multiply our ministry by training others.
This may be the thought behind Paul's instruction to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 2:
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
It was certainly a pattern in Paul's own life: he took younger men around with him, trained them, and then gave them major leadership responsibilities.
So how can we do this, in practice?
(1) Identify possible people
Be on the look-out for people who show signs that they could become effective Bible teachers. How do we identify such people? Here are some pointers:
- they are already doing some kind of Bible teaching, perhaps in Sunday School, with small groups, individuals, or in occasional lay preaching opportunities
- some signs of a natural aptitude for the task - a strong interest in learning what the Bible says, understanding it, and applying it to their own lives
- naturally effective communicators
- open to learning from criticism, and not too thin-skinned or defensive
(2) Coach them
Where possible, make them your apprentices. This should include:
- an explicit agreement to work together
- a definite (and limited time period)
- a commitment on your part to share your teaching opportunities with them, and on their part to use the opportunities you give them
- a commitment on your part to evaluate their efforts constructively, and on their part to take your evaluation positively and do all they can to learn from it
(3) Give them opportunities
These opportunities should be limited initially, but should be growing as their skills and abilities develop.
For some of us, being recognised as a Bible teacher can become something of an ego trip, and we then find it difficult to step out of the way and let someone else teach in our place - especially if we can see all kinds of ways in which we could have done it better. But if we are seriously committed to the growth of effective Bible teaching, mentoring others in this way simply is not optional.
(4) Prepare with them
Pray with them. Work together on the message preparation - both theirs and yours. This will help you to model study skills and preparation skills, and it will also help both of you to sharpen up your individual teaching.
(5) Evaluate
Evaluate their teaching. Such evaluation should not usually be negative. (If we want to be negative about our own efforts to teach the Bible, that is fine - but we should avoid being negative about theirs.) It should be framed in terms of what is good and what can be improved next time - and how it can be improved. Usually, even if we see half a dozen things that could be improved, it is better to focus on just one - whatever is most important. Most people simply cannot cope with large amounts of negative feedback, however hard we try. (If you doubt this, just put yourself in a position where you get half a dozen negative and critical comments in a row, and see how you feel.)
Many of us are far more defensive than we think we are. One way to defuse this kind of defensiveness in your apprentice is to invite them to evaluate your work too. This can be done on an ongoing basis, but more importantly, they should evaluate your work before you start to evaluate theirs. This will help to create an atmosphere of collegiality, where you are working together to improve your work. Before either of you starts evaluating, go over with them the principles: what is good, what can be improved next time.
(6) Work with a group
Finally, if you are in an appropriate setting - for example a larger church - consider the possibility of working not just with one apprentice, but with a group of people who are learning together how to be more effective. Such a group will include other experienced teachers, apprentices, and novices or would-be Bible teachers. There is a Biblical model for this in the 'company of the prophets' that emerged during the time of Elijah and Elisha - see 1 Kings chapter 20 verse 35, 2 Kings chapter 2 verses 1-15, 2 Kings chapter 4 verse 1, 2 Kings chapter 4 verse 38, 2 Kings chapter 5 verse 22, 2 Kings chapter 6 verse 1 and 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 1.