Well it’s the back to school season, which means that a lot of “church ministries” fire back to life after their long summer naps. Why so many Christians feel that it’s okay to take the entire summer off as a “time out” from ministry is still a mystery to me. Nevertheless, in more traditional churches these ministries are usually called “Sunday school,” while other churches have different names for them, or they meet at different times during the week. Whatever the name for these ministries maybe, generally speaking these educational opportunities are more interactive and relational in nature. Theoretically speaking, they offer a context where believers can break up into smaller groups that foster a more participatory and engaging learning experience, which should mean they are maturing in their relationship with the Lord and growing in their dedication to him and his word. Regrettably, however, it is amazing the types of teachers that find their way into these essential ministries. First there is the “Christian Comedian.” You may have run into a few of these, they seem to have a knack for making everyone laugh and feel happy, but a couple of hours after the “show” is over you can’t remember the first thing about what you heard with respect to the Bible. Then there is the “Therapist.” These “teachers” are basically co-dependent, which means that their entire sense of purpose is for people to need them, and they basically accomplish this by helping everyone feel that everything is alright, that they are okay, and they can make it through another week. The odd thing about those attending these groups is that they never seem to grow beyond their dependence upon the leader, and by the end of the week they need another dose of “it’s alright and you’re okay.” In short, they basically become a small group of enablers that are equally co-dependent on the teacher because they find their value in enabling the “teacher” to have a purpose. It’s a sick cycle to say the least. Consequently, these are some of the unhealthiest ministries that you will ever find in a church. They are the ones that never seem to grow or reproduce. They are always the smallest ministries, and they are small for a reason. Next we have the residential “Theological Guru.” This is the kind of leader that somehow can take any biblical passage and manipulate it so that it inevitably focuses on their pet theology. And if they happen to be good communicators, then everyone is mesmerized by their intellect and vocabulary. The problem with this type of leader is that when their “followers” are confronted with tough questions that challenge the pet theology of their “professor” the best they can come up with are superficial answers. And then there is the “Christian Principle.” For people attending these groups it’s never about learning from the word of God and growing in their personal faith and relationship with the Lord, but about being able to say “I have kept the rules this week and I also went to church so that means I’m a good Christian.” Their involvement is completely about appeasing their own consciences because their behavior conforms to the “best practices” of their “Personal Christian Hall Monitor.” For them it’s never about them personally hearing from God or understanding his word, instead it’s only about behavior modification. And lastly there is the “Program Promoter.” We have all meet these types of leaders. The entire meeting is about promoting their church’s activities and programs, as well as making sure everyone attends them—whether they learn and grow in the faith of not. Even the material taught during the meeting is part of the church’s program, and although we may be bored to death with it, we still have to endure it anyway. Why? Because it is part of the church’s program, and the church’s program is always about what is best for you, so just sit there and “eat your peas” like a good Christian.
Churches need fewer comedians, gurus, promoters, therapists, and principles and more teachers like Ezra. Ezra, who in the world was he? He was a man that we read about in the Old Testament, and his entire ministry can be summed up in one verse. In Ezra 7.10 we read “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Ezra was an effective teacher for God, and it’s easy to see why; and while these steps may be easy to observe, they do require effort, sacrifice, and dedication. The first step to being an effective teacher for God is bringing your heart to him. It’s never about filling your mind with data, but dedicating your heart to God so that he can fill it with his revelation, his glory, and his will—all of what are found in his word. Next, it is about knowing what to study. Ezra studied God’s word, not what others wrote about God’s word. More specifically, Ezra focused on what God actually commanded and inspired to be written about him and his expectations for those who claimed to believe in him. It is mind boggling to see the amount of churches that promote the studying of books written by Christians as a substitute for the one book that actually produces Christians. The next step is applying God’s word. Ezra wasn’t just an expert of God’s word—he was an example of it. He was the type of teacher who made sure that whatever he learned moved from the theoretical to functional, from principle to practice, and from belief to behavior. In other words, what Ezra read about God and his will as revealed in the scriptures dictated how Ezra lived. This necessarily means that Ezra’s life was not compartmentalized into different segments as many Americans do with their lives today. It probably never crossed his mind to think that in one particular social context I’m the Sunday school leader, while in another context I may be a gossiper, a porn addict, or rip off artist. Ezra’s lifestyle means that he knew that God was not in the business of making suggestions. He learned what so many Christians today fail to comprehend, which is God expects those who claim to know and trust him actually apply his word into their daily lives. As Howard Hendricks often said, “studying the Bible without application is an abortion of the process!” And lastly we have the final step, which is the natural compulsion of any who have actually met God and value his word, and what is this final step? It is the transmission of the transforming power of God’s word from your life into the life of another so that they internalize it for themselves, so much so that it becomes part of how they live wherever they find themselves. And this is the model and goal of effective Christian education wherever it takes place, whether it’s at home, at church, or with our coworkers and friends. It’s one thing to communicate information, it’s an entirely different thing to change the lives of others because you are teaching and authentically living out God’s word. The burning question is are we training of men and women to live and teach like Ezra in the hope of reaching a new generation for Christ, or are we simply enabling comedians, therapists, gurus, and Christian hall monitors to sterilize others from actually growing in the relationship with the Lord by learning all that he has revealed about himself in the Bible?
However you may assess the effectiveness your informal lay ministries realize this one essential reality: the primary purpose of why an infinitely holy God loves interacting with us is to save us and then transform us into all that he desires us to become, all while also using us to draw others to him in the process. This means that we are an integral part of his lesson plan. God loves using us to teach others about himself. And, if necessary, he is happy to do it one person at a time. His process and goal are clear, he loves using us to teach others, so that they might also learn all that God desires for them and thus become functional and reproducing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our goal is not to create our own personal cubby of groupies that never develop beyond a dependence upon us; instead the church is called to produce mature believers that inevitably walk with us while being similarly dependent upon the Lord. Consequently, to some degree those we teach should not only learn the content and application God’s word for themselves, but they should also internalize a model and the motivation for reaching others with the majesty of God, the power of his life-changing word, and his love for them through the Lord Jesus Christ.
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