2 Things Not to Do as a Teacher of God's Word

Chuck-BomarTeaching people about Jesus through the Scriptures is one of my favorite things to do. But over the years, I’ve discovered bad habits that I had to overcome.

If you teach at all, I’d guess that you struggle with things like this too. So I thought it might be helpful to list a few things we tend to do that I believe to be outside of our “job description” as teachers.

As a teacher your job is not to …

1. Give a book report. Many times when we are preparing a message, we will read books and commentaries. We then begin working out a flow of thought by organizing all the information we obtained. And if we’re not careful, we end up giving little more than a book report to those we are teaching. We must remember that this is not our job.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Studying what God has revealed to other people about about a passage or topic can be good to do in many regards, but I would suggest that great caution should be taken to make sure that our study does not hinder us from prayerfully considering what God wants us to say, personally. For me, I had to stop beginning my preparation by reading other sources.

Instead, I now begin with prayer and personally walking through the Bible study methods I teach others—and then look at resources to support or confront the things I’ve learned from my personal study.

2. Conform behavior. If our messages are not applicable to the lives of those we teach, we are wasting our time. But if we’re not careful, our desire to be practical can easily cause us to simply teach proper behavior.  There is a fine line here to watch carefully. I’d suggest our job isn’t to get people to do things but rather to help them understand, love and enjoy Jesus.

Chuck Bomar planted and is lead pastor of Colossae Church in Portland, Ore. He is also founder of both CollegeLeader and iampeople. He is author of six books, with the most recent being the highly anticipated work Better Off Without Jesus.

For the original article, visit morethandodgeball.com.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.


Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

Do you feel stuck? Do you feel like you’re not growing? Do you need help from an expert in leadership? There is no other leadership training like the NICL. Gain the leadership skills and confidence you need to lead your church, business or ministry. Get ready to accomplish all of your God-given dreams. CLICK HERE for NICL training dates and details.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.

Charisma Leader — Serving and empowering church leaders