“Teachers are those who use
themselves as bridges, over which they invite their students to cross; then
having facilitated their crossings, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to
create bridges of their own.” Nikos
Kazantzakis
Romans 12:7”…if you are a teacher, teach well.”(NLT) The Greek word for “teacher” is: didasko, which means, “to teach one, to impart instruction, to
explain or expound on a subject.” (Greek Lexicon)
The gift of teaching is the ability to communicate in a way
that the student can understand and make life applications. The gift of teaching isn’t to demonstrate the
ability to teach, but rather, to teach people about spiritual living or
academics. While some will have the
requirement to possess the gift of teaching, all of us have a responsibility to
teach the core values of God’s Word.
Jesus the Teacher:
Jesus the Rabbi: The
word “Rabbi” comes from the Hebrew
word meaning “great one, my honorable
sir.” In the Greek language, “Rabbi” (Rhabbi) was a title used by the
Jews to address their teachers. Jesus
was referred to as a “teacher” at
least 45 times (depending on translation) within the gospels.
Jesus used a variety of teaching methods to get his message
across: He told stories (Parables) that
had spiritual meaning, such as, the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18:12-14 or the story
about how to invest your money wisely in Matthew 25:14-30.
Jesus taught through discourse (Sermons) by sitting on a
mountainside in Matthew 5,6, &7 and instructing the people about the
importance of spiritual living.
Jesus taught through one-on-one discussions. In Luke 10:25, Jesus and a lawyer are
discussing how one obtains eternal life and who is my neighbor. Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish
ruling council called Jesus, Rabbi. They both proceeded to have a discussion
about being born again in John 3:1-21.
Jesus taught by example.
Not only did he call his Twelve to go out and preach, He lead by doing
it first in Mark 6:7-13
Pastors are Teachers
The gift of teaching is a vitally important part of the
spiritual health of the church. And, the
gift of teaching is the third most important work within the life of the church
according to Paul.
In Ephesians 4:11 the gift of teaching comes with the role
of pastor. Pastor comes from the Latin
word for Shepherd. A Shepherd is one who
takes care of the spiritual needs of the church by serving the flock and by
being an example of living out the spiritual teachings of Scripture as found in
1 Peter 5:1-4 and 1st Timothy 3
Teachers are a wonderful gift to our churches and
schools. May God bless each of you as
you instruct each student that God places in your classroom.
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
Accordingly, a man who will not or who cannot teach, whether it be publicly or privately, is not suitable to carry the title of Pastor or Shepherd, if I understand your writing, and I am sure I do. In reading the scripture, I also note that the shepherds' ability to teach is to be such as is convincing to those who oppose the truth, so he must, as a matter of course, be more knowledgeable than someone who teaches a simple Sunday School class. In other words, if I understand this correctly, he is so infused with the knowledge of the word of God that he can withstand and overcome the suppositions of those who seek to oppose or amend the holy writ. A man who is unable to do that should not consider himself to be a qualified individual to adequately lead the church. Could this be why so many churches find themselves in turmoil: because their elders, not being adequate, find it impossible to assert the truth when problems are? I think so.
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