“And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged….” (2 Timothy 2:24).
I am a teacher.
When I was a senior in high school, a classmate gave me one of those unforgettable moments that lives in one’s mind forever. Principal Andy Davis had summoned me to his office to help classmate Jerry Crittenden with a math problem. Now, Jerry was a big football player, lovable and kind-hearted, and a joy to be around. But in math, the guy was lost.
Toward the end of our session, Jerry said, “Joe, you should be a teacher. I can understand it the way you explain it.”
Eighteen months later, following a frustrating freshman year of college that taught me one huge thing–I do not want to major in physics!–I realized I was called to be a teacher. The Father had gifted me with a love for history as well as a delight in learning, and had surrounded me with some excellent teachers as role models.
At the time, I thought the idea was to become a history teacher in high school and later, after getting the necessary education, in college. Then, as a senior in college, God called me to preach. Soon I was pastoring churches and preaching every Sunday. However, I think members of my churches over these years would say Joe never quit teaching.
And that’s good. I love to teach.
Able to teach. What an interesting thing the Apostle Paul did. In the middle of calling his preachers to hold down the noise, to quieten the arguments, and still the controversies, he wants them gentle and patient and kind–and able to teach.
Pastor search committees would do well to put this skill high on their list of requirements when checking out preachers.
It’s one thing to preach well and something entirely different to teach. We must not confuse the two. In Second Timothy 1:11, Paul tells us he was appointed by the Lord as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.
I recall a day in seminary when we spent the entire class period discussing the difference in preaching and teaching. Eventually, we gave up, and concluded there is no difference.
We were wrong, and Paul is making that point.
In the passage where he identifies himself as “preacher, apostle, teacher,” he clearly sees them as separate and distinct assignments. This is not original with me by any means, but it seems clear that the distinction goes like this:
–A preacher (or herald) is one who proclaims the message of Christ to the masses, to anyone and everyone, in church and in the streets.
–The apostle is an ambassador for Christ (in the sense of 2 Corinthians 5:20 and beyond). He may be a missionary or a pastor, but God gives him great influence with many pastors and large numbers of churches.
–The teacher instructs those who have become followers of Jesus. This is a more restricted ministry than preaching. It’s more discipleship than evangelism.
Paul says God called some to be “pastor/teachers” (see Ephesians 4:11). We who lead the Lord’s flocks are shepherds and instructors.
Now, the question remains: What does it mean to be “able to teach”?
–1) One who is able to teach knows and loves his subject thoroughly.
I do not want to sit in a class where the Bible is taught by someone who does not love the Lord.
–2) One able to teach understands the larger scope and the specific details, the big and the small picture.
Some sermons and/or lessons are microscopic in nature and some telescopic. One of the best-received lessons I ever taught to college students many years ago was an entire history of the Old Testament in one class period. Putting people and events in their proper order and showing the geographical movements of God’s people all at one time was eye-opening for many.
Pastors who love to spend a year on one chapter of the Bible, take note.
–3) One able to teach knows and cares for his students. He or she is not “teaching history,” but “teaching people.” Big difference.
George W. Truett used to say a pastor spends his week in the homes of his people diagnosing their situations so he can stand in the pulpit on Sunday and prescribe remedies. The pastor who neglects the personal ministry so he can spend all his time in his study will quickly find his messages becoming irrelevant.
–4) One able to teach speaks the language of his students. This almost goes without saying, but not quite. Even if everyone in the room speaks English, the teacher will be careful not to use unintelligible terms and unfathomable quotations, but to put everything on a reachable level.
–5) One able to teach is himself teachable.
No one knows it all, so teachers must be constantly learning also. The person who shuts down the learning mechanism, certain that they now know it all, is painful to endure.
A major aspect of the childlike trait of which Jesus makes so much (Mark 10:15) is teachability.
–6) One able to teach encourages further growth and development in the students.
We stand in awe of Barnabas, “Mister Encourager.” He took the newly-called Apostle Saul under his wing and nurtured him in the Lord’s work as they went on the initial missionary journey. As they departed, it was Barbabas and Saul (Acts 13:2,7). But soon the roles reversed and Luke calls them “Paul and Barnabas” (Acts 13:13,42,43).
–7) One able to teach benefits as much from the experience as the students themselves do.
I’m indebted to classmate Bill Lowe for teaching me this. We were in our first year of seminary and studying Hebrew under Professor George Harrison. Now, I was 24, just two years out of college, but Bill was 37 and college was a distant memory for him. After class one day, he said, “Joe, could you help me with this? Hebrew is killing me.”
Since we lived near each other on campus, getting together several times a week was no problem. And that’s when I made a discovery: In helping Bill to understand a concept, I helped myself see it more clearly.
Back in college, I had lived off-campus and studied in isolation. My four terms of the French language were a delight in some respects, but nothing like what they would have been had I studied with a classmate. No language can be learned in isolation. (For this and other reasons, over these years I have urged students–my own children and grandchildren among them–to find classmates with whom to study. In helping each other, they will illustrate the truth of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (the passage that begins “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor….”).
Preaching is good. Preach the Word, preach the gospel, yes. But once they have responded, then get them into a class where they can learn and grow. Teach the disciples.
During a revival in East Fork Baptist Church located between McComb and Liberty, Mississippi, my host, the wonderful Christian comedian Jerry Clower, said to me one day, “You teach me!” Three words. That’s all he said.
It was one of the greatest compliments I had ever received.
