The Message You Didn't Know You Were Teaching
Some people love those feel-good holiday movies. Other people love those crime dramas that somehow wrap up within an hour. While I enjoy a little of this and little of that, I have a particular fondness for commercials. Yes, those annoying little things that show up between that thing you actually want to watch.
I like watching for patterns, repeated messages, and subtle messaging that becomes part of the society’s thinking. It’s not as easy to catch when you’re watching a few here and a few there but it’s easier when they’re viewed as a collection.
The subtle messaging like “you deserve this” and “you’re worth it” emphasize the repeated message of your goodness without having to do anything to earn something. This is complete contradiction to Paul’s teaching in Romans 3: 12, “no one does good, not even one.”
The larger messaging focused on “me” or “my” pushes us to think of ourselves as individuals who only have to think our self-reliance, individual achievements, and our personal freedom rather than viewing ourselves as part of a collective whole. Our interdependence and need to think about others is lost in these messages. Just think about how often the Church is referred to as a Body and you’ll realize that we don’t stand as individuals but as a whole.
The Problem for Bible Teachers
These types of thinking show up in our teaching often without us ever having to generate or show a commercial. We are continuing to spread the not-quite-right messaging found in mass marketing in our Bible classrooms, regardless of their contradictory position to Scripture. For example, many who teach children use the phrase, “you are so good” rather than emphasizing their good choices. We tell people that they need to make good choices or they will face the consequences. This misses the fact that an individual’s choice impacts the whole.
Jesus speaks plainly in Luke 6: 45, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
What’s inside will come out. And the language of “treasure” means that it’s not a quick put in and harvest. Things take time to germinate, take root, and grow. The reason so much of this cultural language finds a home in our Bible classrooms is because it is a constant, steady stream of input. We’re continuing to feed the message so it will grow.
It’s More Than Our Words
Beyond our actual words as Bible teachers, our personal thinking invades our Bible classroom. What we believe, how we view ourselves, how we view those around us, and what we think about everything from pop culture to politics seeps into our teaching and stands as an example to our students, whether we want it to or not.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4: 23
If you are harboring animosity toward anyone who is created in God’s image, it will be noticed by your students. And you don’t even have to teach that message in class. Your students are watching your social media, your ordinary conversations, and even your facial expressions when a topic arises. If you deem someone “unworthy” just because you disagree with them, then your students are asking, “Who else is unworthy?”
Your thoughts and opinions of others is just one part of this conflict. If you believe that you are incapable of teaching the Bible or that God chose the wrong person, your students will learn a lesson and it’s probably not the one you were intending to teach.
No matter how many times you tell them that God can work through anyone, if you don’t believe that God can work through you, then you’re teaching conflicting messages. At best, your students will end up confused. At worst, your students will be convinced that there are exceptions to who God can work through. And they begin to think that if you don’t fit the ticket then they probably won’t either.
What’s A Teacher To Do?
Does this mean that you just “fake it till you make it”?
No. Not entirely.
Moses was completely convinced of his inability to lead Israel. But he did it anyway (however grudgingly).
You may be feeling completely convinced of your inability to teach. But you’re doing it anyway.
Eventually, we no longer see Moses as a scared murderer who ran away and hid out as a shepherd. As the story in Exodus progresses, we begin to see a new Moses. He’s confident in his role as leader. He’s sure that he has permission to stand before God. He transforms.
You can start and not feel ready. You can lack confidence and be honest with your students that you’re still learning. This early stage is when you “fake it till you make it” in a sense. You don’t feel confident but you learn to prepare and teach prepared even if you’re not confident. These often look very similar.
But eventually, you need to transform just like Moses.
How Do I Transform?
We don't have a record of what exactly Moses did to transform so you won’t find any “5 easy steps.” However, there are a few things that rooted his identity in God rather than in his own shortcomings.
He repeatedly encounter God.
Moses didn’t try harder. He didn’t force growth but he didn’t try to hide either. You have the same choice.
In 2 Corinthians 13: 5, Paul writes, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
This is not a place of condemnation or even a performance review. Rather it’s a self-discipline of re-aligning yourself and your thinking with the mind of Christ. You can’t rethink and realign your identity unless you have a True North of what God thinks about you.
Paul says it like this in Romans 12: 2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We renew our thinking but putting right thinking in. We need to be doing what Psalm 119: 11 tells and hide God’s Word in our hearts.
We have to be formed by Scripture and not just students of it.
He didn’t isolate.
Moses had Aaron at the beginning and Joshua for the rest. Aaron was a partner. But Joshua was a helper and a sort of apprentice. This doesn’t mean that Moses hid things from Joshua. Instead, he had to be able to explain his “lack” and demonstrate how God still worked.
Not all your students are going to be Joshua. Of the thousands of people, there was only one Joshua. But there are people in your life that you can journey with.
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27: 17
The individualist approach talked about at the beginning of this post pervades our teaching and shows up in our own growth journey. We often think that transformation is a private thing. Even though this is completely contrary to the Bible.
We are a Body and bodies don’t heal one cell at a time in isolation. Cells get support from other cells.
You don’t have to announce your insecurities to your entire class. You don’t have to make a spectacle of your imposter syndrome. You can admit that you’re still learning when something goes wrong. You can apologize when something goes sideways. But don’t let your “lack” become all that students see. Find a trusted person like a mentor, another teacher, a trusted leader that can speak truth into your life.
He cooperated rather than controlled.
Moses tried to control at one point and it cost him a trip into the promise land. His best moments were when he simply cooperated with what God was telling him to do. True transformation is a God-project. Not a struggle won by willpower.
You feelings of “lack” aren’t a sign that you’re not the right person for this role. Rather, it’s proof that God’s not done transforming you. There is a saying, “When you stop growing, you start dying.” The fact that you’re feeling the weight of the teaching responsibility is evidence that you are still growing. This isn’t just a suggestions for growth, it’s a mandate in Scripture.
Scripture says it like this in 2 Peter 3: 18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 3: 18 says “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
We have to be testing ourselves, examine ourselves through God’s lens, and cooperating with His purposes so we can be transformed from “one degree of glory to another.”
What Matters Most
Before any teaching technique, lesson plan guide, or science can applied in your Bible classroom, you need to understand the importance of your own identity in Christ. Before all else, you are a son or daughter of the Most High.
Keep teaching but also keep learning by examining yourself from God’s point, allow Him to renew your thinking through His Word, and keep connected to the Body of Christ.
You are a disciple in process and your students need to see that you don’t have to have reached the perfection before stepping out in obedience.
Recommended Resources
Connected Resource
You've been positioned to teach the Bible. Take some time to put words to the calling.
Download PDFRelated Article
Being unprepared and underqualified doesn't disqualify you from teaching.
Read MoreDiscover More
You are more than Just a teacher. Discover why you are so much more than you think.
Learn More