On Teachin in the Church

Here's a rough outline of my part of Saturday's Men's Leadership Training. I'm teaching on teaching, of course. We're expecting a pretty good crowd of men.

Teaching in the Church

Step One: Dig a Deep Well.
Study, Study, Study. Go further than what you'll need. A big part of Bible teaching is understanding the "whole counsel of scripture" and a primary cause of false teaching is knowing the Bible only in part. Read the Bible widely with a good variety of tools and resources.

Step Two: Clean House.
Let it affect you! Spiritual shallowness cannot remain hidden forever. There's no bigger turnoff to the Gospel than the hypocrisy of a teacher.

Step Three: Know the Lay of the Land.
Know your audience: Preparing for a kindergarten class is different than preparing for a junior high class and a women's group is different than the youth group.
Know your venue: Is this an hour long class setting or is it expected to be a three-minute devotion?

Step Four: Stand Your Ground
Make one point and make it well. Always try to have just one dominant thought. Don't make apologies or provide excuses, just say what the text says.