05 III. AIMS IN TEACHING THE WORD OF THE LORD

III. AIMS IN TEACHING THE WORD OF THE LORD

Chapter III AIMS IN TEACHING THE WORD OF THE LORD The Obligation to Teach

Upon the church of the Lord rests the responsibility of making known to the world the word of truth. Since the church is constituted of individual Christians, then upon us rests that responsibility. Every Christian, who is capable of teaching the word of the Lord and who is not doing so, should feel that he or she is’ not doing what the Lord expects. Those who feel their inability to teach effectively should recognize the obligation to prepare to teach the word of God. Every Christian should feel a sense of satisfaction in the privilege of carrying the gospel of Christ to others. This responsibility and the accompanying satisfaction should make us prepare ourselves so as to be able to discharge our responsibility in an accredits ble manner in the sight of the Lord. This will require much time, thought, and prayer. But who is willing to accept this obligation of the Lord lightly? A Grave Responsibility

James says, “My brothers, do not swell the ranks of the teachers; remembering, we teachers will be judged with special strictness.” (Moffatt.) This strict judgment should not deter any earnest heart from an effort to teach, but it should keep all of us from being satisfied with ourselves as teachers. In other words, this strict judgment should cause every teacher to earnestly desire to be a better teacher of the Lord’s word. The strict judgment will not come because we make an effort to teach the truth, but many, either lacking in sincerity or in an understanding, teach falsehood instead of the truth; upon them shall this strict judgment come. The responsibility of teaching the gospel should not be accepted by the irresponsible, frivolous, or careless soul; for there is too great a possibility of teaching error, and thereby incurring the judgment of God. The Pupil Is the Teacher’s Opportunity

Sometimes we minimize the importance of those we teach. We are too much inclined to think of the lad who comes into our class as just another boy. We should think of him as another opportunity to win a soul to Christ. To be sure, the teacher is important, also the classroom equipment and the literature; but the pupil is the most important thing connected with the class. Whatever is done in this class must be done with the pupil’s welfare in mind. The teacher, for this reason, should be willing to sacrifice for the class. No teacher should ever put her interest before the interest of her class. If she loses sight of her pupils, she has no real reason for teaching. In matters of discipline, the question that should be asked is, how will it affect the pupils? In the matter of making a change of teachers, the important consideration is the welfare of the class. No interest connected with a class should be above the interest of the boys and girls in the class. Their interest must predominate first, last, and always. This opportunity represents an eternal destiny. Will you consider the eternal destiny of a soul lightly? Your opportunity is either to make or to mar the hope of heaven for every pupil which you have. How will you treat this opportunity?

Aims in Teaching the Word of God

Every effective workman in any field of endeavor must keep constantly before him a definite goal of ac-complishment. It is as important in the teaching profession as in any other vocation. Especially is it im-portant for a teacher of the Bible to have a goal of accomplishment. Many people who attempt to teach the Bible have no other aim than “just teach the Bible.” To them teaching the Bible is an end within itself. If this idea be rigidly adhered to, it will admit of, and probably encourage, the poorest type of teaching. However, if we consider that Bible teaching is a means to an end, and keep that end constantly in mind, we have a standard by which to measure the. effectiveness of our teaching. If teaching is supposed to accomplish something, we can ask each time we come before a class just what it is we expect to accomplish. Then, when the class is finished, we can judge as to how well we accomplished our purpose. Someone may suggest that all Bible teaching should accomplish the salvation of souls. That the ultimate aim in all Bible teaching is the redemption of men is admittedly true. But that this aim is so remote that we cannot use it to determine how effective our teaching is must also be granted, I desire, therefore, to search for some less distant aims, which contribute to this greater aim which can be used as a yardstick of our teaching progress. The Factual Aim The Bible cannot be taught without laying a great deal of emphasis upon the facts therein contained Some of these facts must be believed in order to salvation. These are the more difficult facts of the Bible to teach. Many facts such as names of persons, places, and things are easier to teach, though not so important. Many teachers see no higher aim in teaching Bible than filling their pupils’ minds full of the least significant facts from the Bible. They are inclined to overlook any higher motive and allow the teaching of facts to become an end within itself. No one should teach facts as an end, but as a means to a higher aim. The Bible was not given merely as a training book for the mind, but to enlighten the soul of man. It should then not be taught as we would teach history or geography, but with the aim of directing and controlling the life. In teaching the facts of history and geography we give little thought to the influence of these facts in the lives of our students. In teaching Bible facts, we must consider how we can use these facts toward the salvation of men and the glory of God. Many people have been very conversant with Bible facts who have had neither the right attitude nor conduct, which means that the facts learned have not been correlated with the life process- The fact that many boys and girls have learned Bible truths readily, but have not received either the spirit of Christ nor his life, indicates the teaching we have been doing has, for the most part, been factual and ineffectual. It would be far better to spend time building the right attitudes and habits, even at the neglect of some factual learning.

Vital Facts

Such facts as the birth, life, death, burial, resurrec-tion, ascension, coronation, and reign of Jesus Christ are vital and must never be neglected in a teaching program. Faith in Christ is built upon these facts. These are character-building truths, forming the foundation of all the promises of the gospel of Christ. Give emphasis to these truths constantly, for they must be believed by all who would be saved. The Altitudinal Aim

Every teacher of the Bible should know that the first aim in her class is to develop within her pupils the right attitude toward her class and the thing she is trying to do. If there is a single pupil in the class who does not have the right attitude toward the class, the teaching is failing to do what it is supposed to do for that individual. Developing this correct attitude toward the class should concern the teacher more than the teaching of facts. We teachers should be conscious of the fact that the attitudes we develop in our classes are apt to carry over and become the attitudes the pupils will have toward the church and all divine things. In teaching for attitudes we are dealing with the emotions of our pupils. Certainly there is nothing that the human family needs more than to have the proper respect for the Bible, the church, and the Lord. The reason our pupils turn away from the church, when they reach maturity, is that they have not developed a love for Christ and things divine. While we were teaching facts, we neglected to cultivate the love for Christ in their hearts. Many of us will profit much if we learn that Bible truths mean nothing to the individual who turns away in disgust, disrespect, or dislike from the church of our Lord Jesus Christ Teach for attitude even if you have to neglect many facts or Bible stories.

Creating an Undesirable Altitude

Many things may happen in a classroom which will create an ugly feeling and develop into an undesirable attitude toward the class. This attitude is then likely to become the attitude toward the church. Improper equipment, untidy appearance of the room, or irritability of the teacher may be contributing factors to dislike for the class and therefore to a general undesirable attitude. Again, an unprepared teacher may drag through the recitation in such an uninteresting way as to become a bore to the class, and thereby develop a dislike for the whole church program. I fear this has been done in a great many instances. Be careful how you handle your class, what you say, and how you say it. The souls of boys and girls are at stake. Consider their feelings, their psychological view, and their interests; make thorough preparation.  A Pleasant Class Situation

We should strive to make our class periods as pleas-ant and inviting in every way as it is possible to make them so the pupils will want to come back. The teacher’s attitude toward the pupils should be such as to make them love her. The general atmosphere of the class should be pleasant and the lesson presented in such a manner as to cause the pupils to desire to continue with the study. If your pupils develop the right attitude toward you and the truth, you will have little difficulty teaching the facts of the Bible. But if you try to force facts on a disinterested child, you are likely to develop an attitude that will make it impossible to teach anything. Select lesson topics.and stories in which the child is naturally interested and from these develop your character-building thoughts and interests.

Emotional Instruction The church of Christ during the last fifty years has underemphasized the cultivation of emotions in religion while emphasizing reason. Have we failed to recognize the important part the emotions play? Certainly it is a righteous thing we do when we attempt to develop a love for things divine. Time and thought should be given to the best means of cultivating love for the right things. So important an attitude should not be left wholly to accident; for accident may as often wreck the proper emotional attitude as develop it. Our emotional patterns largely determine the patterns of our lives. To govern a child’s life then we need to mold the desires, loves, hates, and decisions of the life. She is a good teacher who can lead her pupils to love God, respect their fellow men, and enjoy a simple devotion in the name of Christ.

  The Directional Aim The discussion we see about juvenile delinquency is evidence that the home, the church, the school, and every other social agency is failing in the matter of properly directing the youth of this land. A great many people have thought that all that was necessary to make good citizens of our boys and girls was to acquaint them with the facts of life. This theory is exploded by the fact that our boys and girls, who are the best educated in the world, are the most criminally inclined. This emphasizes the fact that our youth needs not only to be taught what they should do, but to be guided in doing it. Teach them what to do to be sure. But also guide them in doing what is taught as their duty. If we teach that children should love, then we should set them some tasks by which they can manifest their love. If we teach them they should pray, then we should lead and guide them in praying. Do we teach them that they should reverence God, then make our classes periods of confusion? Reverence is taught by what we do as well as by what we say. Do not be satisfied with teaching what should be done, but teach the children to do what should be done by leading them in doing it.

Importance of Direction

It is not what an individual knows, but what he does that counts in the estimation of heaven. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” A child may be very in-telligent but very rude. It lacks proper guidance. A man may be able to quote much of the Bible and be very irreligious, a drunkard, or a thief. What he knows does not count with God, for his life has been misdirected. We see all around us people who are not doing as well as they know. They need to be guided in what they know they should do. So often people say to me, “I know I ought to do it.” They have been taught to do that which they know they should do, but have not been guided in doing it. Bible teachers should spend a great deal of time building motives, ambitions, and desires for doing that which is right Show your pupils what is right, lead them to desire the right, then direct them in doing the right. If you once get the individual to love right, and lead him to practice it in his life, you have done the best you can to secure him for eternal life. Teaching without proper motivation and direction is very superficial. If you keep in mind that your teaching should motivate and direct the lives of your pupils, you can watch your pupils and see how well you are teaching. What do they think of the church? What is their general moral pattern? How many of them obey the gospel? All of these questions will help you to see the effectiveness of your work.