Teaching
After building a relationship, we then have a greater platform for discipleship: first teaching others about the nature and work of God, and then teaching them to obey everything that God commanded. As a ‘teacher’, we must consider a few things about our teaching. What exactly do we teach? How do we teach? When do we teach? Who do we teach? Where do we teach?
What to teach
If all disciples have a responsibility to make more disciples, then they are also required to teach because making disciples requires that we teach. The reality is, however, that most people find it extremely difficult to develop a lesson or to know where to begin when teaching. So, what exactly do we teach to those whom we are discipling? What did Jesus teach His disciples?
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:18-27 ESV
While I was working on this portion of this book, I sat with a few students who were helping me to make decorations for a camp that we were about to attend. One girl, who is an outstanding example of what it means to live for Christ, started talking about the “on-off” relationship she had with her boyfriend. Over the course of the conversation, she stated that she loved him. That is why she was with him for a third time despite former failures within the relationship.
“What do you think love is?” I asked as that part of the conversation came up. Her answer was simple, “It’s a feeling.” So, naturally, I asked another question, “So does that mean when I get mad at Kati (my wife), I suddenly don’t love her any longer?” She looked down at the table and silence resonated for a few seconds. “I hate it when you do this,” she said, “Okay, then, what is love?” I began to describe that love was a choice and a commitment rather than a feeling. I used the words of King Solomon as he came to a conclusion about the meaning of life at the end of Ecclesiastes: man’s duty is to fear God and keep His commands.8 It is not to be infatuated, but to be committed. If that is man’s duty when it comes to our relationship with God, how much should we then base all other relationships on commitment rather than infatuation? She listened and seemed as if she recorded the information I gave to her in a sort of mental notebook.
Without first having the relationship in place, this young woman would have probably disregarded what I had to say. Without first having the relationship that He had with His disciples, Christ’s teaching would have not had as much of an effect on those listening. We can tell that Jesus’ teachings did have a great impact because they are recorded for us to read.
After having the relationship, and after teaching the obvious basics of the faith to those following Him as we see in the Sermon on the Mount not long before the passage above, Jesus used the lives and the testimony of others to teach them. He used the scribe’s confession to teach that those who belonged to God would not be comfortable in the world. He used the want of the next disciple, to bury his father, in order to teach that, in order to belong to God, we must forsake everything we have that belongs to the world: even if that may be our own family. Jesus Christ used the storm, along with the fear of His disciples to teach that God had control over every aspect of creation, and because of that fact, God’s people should not fear anything but God Himself.
In talking with the young woman, I used her life circumstance to teach her about what love really was: not a feeling that causes an action but, instead, a choice that brings forth a feeling. This type of teaching, or discipleship, is not difficult. We share our experience and our knowledge concerning scripture with those whom we disciple based on their circumstances. This is why one-on-one discipleship is so important. This is why seeing discipleship as more than a program is so important. This is why it is so important for us to live life beside those whom we are discipling, not above or distant from.
What about in a classroom setting? My suggestion is that we all know those whom we are teaching so that we can be relevant. Curriculums are available in great abundance, and, for those who have the talent, it is possible to develop a curriculum and relate it to an audience. Teaching in a classroom or preaching to a congregation, however, will not accomplish that which is accomplished if we are all discipling one another within the community on an individual level. That type of preaching and teaching should be discussed between disciples in order to reach a greater understanding. Even Jesus would talk with His disciples in greater detail as they moved away from the crowds.9 However, teaching our own Sunday School classes or our own congregation might be like us speaking directly to our disciples because we do have relationships, hopefully, with those people.
How to teach
The best type of teaching I have experienced, by far, is either responsive or interactive teaching: teaching through conversation. This allows those whom we are discipling to interact and to grasp the concept that we are trying to share with them. Approaching the teaching part of discipleship as a conversation also allows the teacher more freedom and empowers someone who may not usually be able to teach because it is simply a conversation. Refer again to the passage above. Each of the teachings was responsive. Does this mean that there is no place for the preaching of a sermon or for a classroom lecture within Christian education?
No! Jesus also spoke to the multitudes and they were called His followers. There is a place for the preaching of sermons and for classroom lectures within discipleship, but the one on one interaction and conversation is necessary. All other teaching and preaching only supplements one-on-one discipleship within the larger community under Jesus Christ.
When to teach
Take a moment and briefly look at the picture on the cover of this book. There is a pill organizer, and inside the pill organizer are silhouettes representing people with whom we have contact on each day of the week. Other than our planned meeting time in which we teach a larger number of people, we are to constantly be teaching and learning in our every day interactions. Remember, baptism is a constant phenomenon. Christ should always be the center of our conversation no matter who our conversation is with or how our conversation begins.
Just imagine, as you pass by an acquaintance of yours on your way to class, as you are moving about the office or as you are checking your mail. They greet you, “Hey, man. How’s it goin’?” Instead of answering with the usual, “good,” or, “fine,” our choice of words relates more to our relationship with Christ, “Bro, God is just so awesome!”
This suddenly opens a new door for us to share the Gospel and to build a relationship. We then have a chance to share how God is awesome and what He has been doing through us for His purpose.
Who to teach
This also means that we teach and learn from everyone we encounter on a daily basis. We can talk to someone and tell them how great God is without teaching them about God or revealing to them a part of the character of God. The task, then, is to teach those we encounter. Different circumstances and events open doors to teach new concepts that may be difficult for others to learn outside the context of those circumstances and events.
I had a student who was very angry with himself simply because he could not get a girlfriend. I found him outside with bloody knuckles because he was so angry that he punched a brick wall uncontrollably. After he calmed down, I had a long conversation with him about women. During the course of that conversation I remember saying, “Women don’t control you. In fact, you don’t give control of yourself over to anything other than God. It goes for women, alcohol, drugs and even pride. God alone deserves control and He is the only one that should have that control in our lives.” I was able to use the circumstance to teach a Biblical truth that would have not otherwise been readily accepted by this young man.
This is a way in which we can teach all people we encounter and have conversations with. It is also a way in which we can learn from those with whom we have conversations every day.
Where to teach
Naturally then, we are also to teach and learn as we go and wherever we go throughout the weeks of our lives. I remember going to a friends Bible study during my first year at Oklahoma Baptist University. As we were sitting in his living room, he makes the comment, “You know, we don’t go to Wal-Mart to buy groceries. We go to represent Christ and we just get groceries while we are there.” Despite the contradictive nature of the statement when it is compared to our reasoning behind traveling to Wal-Mart, it remains true that everywhere we go, and everything we do, we are there to represent Christ: not just to carry out our daily responsibilities or to participate in leisure activities.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 ESV
Everyone who knows God is a new creation.10 Everyone who is a new creation is also an ambassador for Jesus Christ on this earth. God makes His appeal through us to those who do not know Him. He does this so that those who do not know Him may come to know Him and be reconciled to Him. Everywhere we go and to everyone we meet, we represent Jesus Christ directly. If this is truly the identity that we, God’s people, are to live by, then why is it that the Christian body, on a large scale, fails to live according to this position as an ambassador?
Perpetual nature of discipleship
Considering all of this, we can know that discipleship never ends, neither for us nor those we disciple. We constantly learn and constantly teach what we know about God and concerning what God commands to others. For, if God is infinite, no finite mind can fully understand Him in any respect. We must not become haughty in our knowledge or ever believe that we have completely arrived. It is also certain, then, that even when we enter eternity and are in the presence of Jesus Christ, we will still learn more about God and grow closer in relation to God. For in His eternal kingdom, God will be the full light of the world and Jesus Christ will be the lampshade revealing that light to humanity.11 So whether or not we will teach for eternity, we will always learn. Discipleship, as designed by God, is eternal.
Since discipleship is eternal, we commit ourselves to both disciple and be discipled on this earth, so that we attain a greater knowledge of Christ, and so that we help our brothers and sisters to attain a greater knowledge of Christ, as we approach eternity. We teach with every given opportunity, in every given circumstance, through every situation and to every listening ear. We are ambassadors for the Lord, Jesus Christ.