Friday, November 20, 2009

Weight of Teaching – Transformational Teaching

I love learning and I love teaching. One of my teaching maxims is “learning should be fun.” However, I was caught short today as I finished off my examination of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ summary was all about the long term results if his audience listened to and applied his teaching. In his characteristic style he used a vivid word picture to illustrate. While I had a fresh appreciation for his stunning word picture, what caught me short was the weight he attributed to his words and their application! Those applying his words would be wise and stand firm in the wildest of storms. Those ignoring his words would be foolish and in danger of great collapse.


Do I hear the impending raging winds and battering rain while I am teaching? Am I aware of the weight of responsibility that rests on me as a teacher of God’s Word as I deliver his life-saving instructions? And do I communicate so faithfully that the listeners know and understand that they have now received teaching that has the potential of bulwarking their lives and families against the storms that are surely coming?


As a teacher, its not just about preparing teaching that is fun or unique, but about preparing responsibly so that listeners hear the teaching, go away talking about it, are challenged to respond in some way to the teaching, and begin to make some changes in the way they are building their life-house for the future. Now that is transformational teaching!

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