TEACHER
A lesson about the role of a Teacher.
Introduction
(5:15)
Teacher
(18:06)
Conclusion
(0:52)
As you read this lesson, be sure to hover over the the Bible verses to read them or look them up in your own copy of the Bible. When the Bible passage is longer, you need to click on “more” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.
Introduction
Welcome! The Bible has much to say about this interesting topic. You may find it helpful to invite a mature Christian from your church to study this topic with you. You may have a lot of questions that are not answered here. Maybe there are ideas here that seem hard to understand. Do not get overwhelmed! You can contact us with any questions that you may have. The elders of your local church can help you as well.
Remember that learning the content about this topic is helpful, but knowing the information will not truly change you. For you to benefit fully from this topic, you must…
Become born-again by securing a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith by grace. This information cannot change you until the Holy Spirit of God gives you a new heart that is able to apply it to your life. To begin a personal relationship with God, it is imperative to understand and believe the following:
God is separated from you, because He is good, pure, and holy. 1 John 1:5-6
You are sinful, impure, and unholy because you do not measure up to God’s holiness. Romans 3:10-12 You are a descendent of Adam and Eve who rebelled against God. Romans 5:19
Your sinfulness provokes God’s anger and separates you from Him because He is holy. Romans 5:12 As a result, you deserve to be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Revelation 20:14-15
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life. He was nailed to the cross, shed His blood, and died in your place for your sins. He was buried, rose again, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for all who believe. He will return one day for those who believe. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough for you to be accepted forever by God the Father the moment you believe. John 3:16 God does not accept you on the basis that you try to be a good person and do good works. Romans 4:5 He accepts you fully and forever the moment you abandon your sins and call on Jesus to save you. John 3:36
As you understand, meditate on, and believe the information presented here about this topic, you must also do what the Bible says. James 1:21-22 Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word regarding this topic will you experience the full benefits of this information. James 1:23-24 Trusting and obeying God’s Word will change you as you learn this. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 You will be happy as a result of your obedience. James 1:25
Seek and heed the advice of your church leaders regarding this topic. Hebrews 13:17
Depend upon the Holy Spirit to change you. Galatians 3:1-3 You cannot change without Him enabling you. John 15:5 He will change you in His time and way; but not apart from your faith and obedience to God’s Word. Trust Him to do His work in your heart. Philippians 2:12-13
Allow the joy that you experience from obeying God’s Word to transform how you interact with others. James 2:12-20
ARE YOU A Teacher?
The following questions may help you confirm if you are a teacher at heart.
Questions about your heart:
Questions about how you perceive others:
If you answered “yes” to the majority of the above questions, then you might likely have the heart of a teacher.
The following questions may help you confirm that you are not a teacher at heart.
Questions about your heart:
Questions about how you perceive a teacher:
If you answered “yes” to the majority of the above questions, then it is likely you are not gifted as a teacher.
The rest of this lesson is geared to understanding a teacher’s role and how he can best work together with the local church. The teacher needs the church for his own accountability, maturity, and ministry fulfillment. The body of Christ needs the teacher toward the same ends.
WHAT IS a teacher?
The calling and gifting of a teacher
The teacher is called by God to…
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The teacher is gifted by God to…
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what is the Role of A teacher?
The role of a teacher is to
A teacher’s Ministry within the church
A teacher’s Ministry OUTSIDE the church
Understanding a teacher
From the perspective of the lost:
They could view the teacher as…
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From the perspective of the teacher:
They could view themselves as…
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From the perspective of other believers:
They could view the teacher as…
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From the perspective of a teacher:
They could view the teacher as…
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From the perspective of the Scripture:
ABOUT THE teacher
Insights for teachers
Questions pertaining to the teacher’s role in the Local Church
How are you enabling the local church to take part in your ministry?
How are you allowing the local church to benefit from your ministry?
How are you inviting the elders of your church to shepherd your heart?
How are you humbly encouraging the church to be able to teach?
Insights for Churches Concerning the teacher
The church needs a proper perspective of herself, the teacher, individual believers, the lost, and God.
The evangelist thinks his desire to share the Gospel with the lost is normal. He might not fully understand that he has been gifted by God in a unique way.
The evangelist experiences no greater joy than being used by God to share the Gospel. He enjoys seeing an unbeliever profess faith and someone who is not an evangelist sharing the Gospel with the lost. He simply wants you to experience that same joy. For the evangelist, all other joys in life are incomparable to evangelism ministry. This is why he may seem so weird. He is extreme and might not even know it.
A very immature evangelist could doubt your salvation, thinking it strange that you are unwilling to share the Gospel. He might think it strange that as he sees it, you are apathetic to the Gospel. He could think his zeal is normal and your perceived apathy is not. He may doubt his own salvation or calling if he is surrounded by people who do not care.
Just as he is gifted as an evangelist, so you are gifted in other ways that he is not. The evangelist might need to learn to be more “human” by learning from your example as you use your spiritual gifts. How are you inviting his mentorship into your life, while helping him to grow through the display of your spiritual gift?
Take an interest in the evangelist’s passion, teaching, example, and work. Join him in his ministry whenever you get a chance.
He truly loves the Bible and theology. Enjoy them with him!
Model his heart and techniques in your everyday life.
Share with him how he has encouraged you. Listen to his stories of being out on the streets.
Tell him about the times you have shared the Gospel. Ask him to pray for your Gospel-sharing opportunities.
Invite others to learn from him as well.
Don’t look at him as if his job is to share the Gospel for you.
Help meet his needs so that he can be free to minister on the streets as much as God wants.
Encourage him not to neglect discipling and enjoying his family. Teach him how to have fun in his personal life.
Just because he is gifted as an evangelist doesn’t necessarily mean his spouse and/or children are also gifted as such.
Insights for Pastors Concerning the teacher
The evangelist admires your genuine humility. He also admires your sincere love for believers which enables you to be patient with them. Your perseverance with the flock encourages and challenges him.
The evangelist cares about you and wants to see your ministry succeed!
The evangelist needs you to shepherd his heart. He needs you to remind him of what he already knows. Encourage him with your unique insight.
The evangelist wants to assist you, helping believers to become more mature in the faith and to reach the lost. The evangelist can be tempted to care more about the mission than the people, while a pastor can be tempted to care more about the people than the mission.
The immature evangelist may think you should have the same zeal for the lost as he does. If you are not regularly sharing the account of Christ with people who come to the church, then he may question your integrity with the Gospel. He may not understand that God’s will might determine that you are on the streets less than him.
The immature evangelist may not realize that God wants to use you to help him to develop a shepherd’s heart for the flock. Because you have differing gifts, the evangelist may not have sufficient patience to disciple the spiritually immature, or he may think that you are giving milk to someone who needs meat. Discuss these things together. God wants you to work as a team to enhance and learn from each other’s ministry. This will mature the body more than if each of you did your own thing.
Just as it is not God’s will for you to neglect the flock for the lost, it is not God’s will for the evangelist to neglect the lost for the flock. While you are called to share the Gospel with the lost, you also are gifted to shepherd God’s people. The evangelist is called to equip God’s people by helping them reach the lost with the Gospel. While there is overlap, it is important for the pastor and the evangelist to prioritize their respective roles.
You and the evangelist are on the same team for the same purpose. You are not in competition with one another. Rather, you are to compliment each other.
Allow the evangelist to work in unity with you toward raising up local church leaders.
Building relationships through small talk can be difficult for the evangelist. He thrives on the opportunity to pour into others intentionally with the Scriptures.
The evangelist would prefer sharing the Gospel with someone who has not yet heard or understood it. As such, he usually finds it necessary to move around to “where the fish are”.
An evangelist can be a great help in developing leaders within the church.
The evangelist needs you to remind him to focus on “being”; not just “doing”.
Help the evangelist to enjoy having fun with his family.
An immature evangelist can tend to have strong doctrinal opinions. Depending on his temperament, he may voice his opinions too dogmatically or loudly, thus alienating himself from the flock. It’s good for you to be loving and patient as you teach him biblical communication and conflict resolution principles. On the other hand, he may wrongly assume that “no one really cares” what the Bible says, since “they don’t share the Gospel”, so he may likely keep his opinions to himself. Encourage him to add value to the conversation by humbly and lovingly contributing Scripture.
Honor the teacher by…
…allowing him to conduct routine evangelism training at the church.
…attending and participating in the training.
…joining him on the streets from time to time.
…encouraging him to help make sure that the various church ministries are sharing the Gospel in a biblical and effective way.
…brainstorming with him about ministry.
…challenging his strong opinions with Scripture.
…encouraging others to follow his example.
…encouraging him to continue in his work.
…enabling him to share the Gospel on the streets as much as possible.
…giving him opportunities to preach and teach.
ADDITONAL THOUGHTS
All teachers love the Gospel and want to share it with others, but not all teachers are the same.
Identifying and encouraging teachers:
Conclusion
Now that you have studied this topic, we encourage you to...
Ask us or any of your church leaders about any questions or concerns you still have about this topic.
Pray for yourself to grow in maturity regarding this topic.
Do your best to practice what you have learned.
Tell someone else about what you have studied.
Ask one of your church leaders to help you overcome your weaknesses regarding this topic.
Teach this subject to others.
Consider reviewing this topic once each year.
Commit to growing in this area together with other members of a local church.
Trust the Holy Spirit to change you as He uses His Word, others, and circumstances to make you more like Christ.