It has been
said more than once poor teaching can empty a classroom faster than good
outreach can fill it. Having been an educator most of my adult life, experience
has taught me the truth of the statement. What people find when they walk into
a room will determine if they want to come back.
Sunday
School, small group Bible studies, have the critical responsibility of
introducing Jesus Christ to people who do not know him through a study of the
record of his revelation in the Bible. The underlying thought is small groups
can learn in ways large groups and individuals alone cannot learn. Multiple
individuals bring varied experiences into the conversation allowing the
biblical principles to speak to everyone. Yet the group is not too large to
make the study impersonal.
With the
Bible as the primary textbook, the object is to convey the lessons of the text
into the lives of the participants. Far more than seeking to convey knowledge,
the goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to transform lives. Whether the student is
a seeker wanting to know about who this Jesus is or the individual has been a
follower of Christ for 60 years, transformation remains a goal for everyone.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but
let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will
be able to know the will of God---what is good and is pleasing to him and is
perfect.
No matter
how old a Christian or how new, the process of growing more Christlike and
closer to the will of God never ends. In the small group context, every
individual has the opportunity to grow in their spiritual development at their
own pace and in a manner that will make that growth effective in their daily
life.
Teaching so
everyone has a chance to learn involves knowing how people learn. We do not all
learn most effectively in the same way. Recognizing our various senses gives us
a picture of how to plan our various methods of teaching. Seeing, hearing, and
touching are the three most common channels for learning.
Some
individuals learn best through visual activities. This would involve reading,
pictures, and charts. Those who learn most effectively through hearing respond
best to lectures, discussions, music, and recordings. Touch brings in
activities that involve hands-on learning, manipulating, writing, and
constructing in two and three dimensions.
The
classroom with its variety of activities can create that invaluable “teaching
moment”. At this point the situation allows the teacher to emphasize an insight
that is relevant to the student’s current situation. The application is
immediately apparent. The student experiences that special moment that
transforms their perspective on the subject and perhaps life itself.
The small group
of students may all be eager to learn, but the teacher may not have the ideal
teaching setting. The creative teacher will look at the setting, understand the
learning methods of the students, and then seek to find the best tools
available to create an effective learning context. This could be technical and
electronic tools, posters and signs, writing on a chalkboard, or writing in the
dust on the ground. Singing and verbal repetition have proven to be some of the
most effective memorization tools in the history of mankind.
The primary
point to remember is that in the small group context, the teacher is teaching
students, not the Bible. The Bible is the content being taught to the students.
We should never feel we have to force the Bible to say what we want it to say.
The opposite
is true. We start with the Bible and the belief that within its words we have
the pathway to a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible
records for us and reveals to us the history of God’s efforts to bring sinful
man back into a relationship with him that will last for eternity.
Pro 22:6 Teach children how they should live, and they will remember
it all their life.
