OUTSIDE THE LECTURE HALL

Upon further reflection on my seminary days, I realized there was one part of my education that really stuck with me - and it was way outside of any in-class lectures.

I spent one January term completing a practicum at a nearby mental hospital, shadowing the resident chaplain. 

It was heartbreaking and fascinating. 

I met people who were nearly catatonic and others who couldn't sit still. I met "Jesus" and I beat him at ping pong. I was suspected of being an alien but then exonerated when my accuser decided my eyes "weren't purple enough". And imaginary voices commanded one patient, "Listen to Steve!" - and I was glad for the support. 

I saw patients who found the right medication to bring a complete 180, allowing them to walk out the door, and other patients who had tried everything for a decade with no change, leaving them permanent residents.  

Those four weeks widened my life experience in dramatic ways - and brought some spiritual wrestling. 

I, like a lot of Christians, had lived a fairly sheltered life up to that point. Was my God big enough to coexist with realities on the fringe?

A lot of people spend their entire life on the fringe, after all. And if God can't live and work there, how real can He be?

Is Jesus capable of meeting people there on the fringe?

And tonight I am left wondering what I could be doing to lead the people of my church outside their comfort zones - into the places where real learning takes place. 

THINKING LIKE A TEACHER

In 2019, Scott Adams published a book called Loserthink. 

On page 1, he defines "loserthink" as "absurd and unproductive reasoning" that you hear "if you use social media, or you make the mistake of paying attention to other people's opinions in any form". 

He laments the fact that "we don't teach thinking in schools" and so people aren't very good at it.

All spot on, but what is interesting about his book is the solution he proposes: getting broadly familiar with the types of thinking that are encouraged and developed in various professions. 

Each chapter explores what the average person can learn from particular professional domains:

• "Thinking like a Psychologist"
• "Thinking like an Engineer"
• "Thinking like a Scientist" 
• "Thinking like an Entrepreneur"
• Et cetera

So, for example, in "Thinking like an Artist", Adams point out that "a defining characteristic of artists is that they tend to have strong powers of imagination". (53) Greater skills in imagination would help non-artists think more productively in daily life by helping them see that "the most likely explanation for many - if not most - situations in life is something you didn't imagine". 

In other words, we jump to conclusions too quickly. And that can be extremely unproductive. With a little more imagination, we'd see more options for why someone did what they did or said what they said. Having a more active imagination could produce a bit more humility in our opinions and conclusions. (And likely disarm a whole lot of drama in the process.)

Anyway, I bring all this up to point out that as useful as I find Adams' book, there is a glaring oversight on his part: There's no chapter entitled "Thinking like a Teacher". 

If I could bring this back to my overall discussion of pastors needing to be teachers just as much (if not more) as they are preachers, I think what is missing in seminary education is exactly training on "Thinking like a Teacher". 

And it leads to a lot of unproductive lecturing. 

THE SEMINARY PROFESSOR'S MODEL

In my twenties, I spent several years at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. The best and most lasting benefit of that time was the friendships I made. I know I was also processing theology and growing spiritually, but I would go on to experience much greater growth on those fronts in the succeeding years.

When I think about the classes themselves, I remember loving a class on missions in particular - although it was long before I considered entering missionary work personally. The professor's name was, somewhat ironically, Whiteman.  And he was one of the better teachers I had there, although it became clear that he didn't really want to be teaching in Wilmore, Kentucky. Or anywhere, really. He wanted to be on the mission field. 

I remember in-class discussions with my peers that would continue long after dismissal.

Beyond that, I remember bits and pieces of other classes - preaching class, inductive bible study, and Greek.

There was a lot of reading and some papers and tests, but 95% of my experience in class was that old tried and true standby: the longform lecture. 

I am guessing that most of the pastors across this country, if not the entire world, have a similar seminary experience. We were all taught by professors whose sole arrow in the educational quiver was lecturing. 

And now we all go out and give a lecture every Sunday morning. 

But teaching is not just lecturing.

TEACHING FROM THE PULPIT

In order to find out what has already been written about the pastor as teacher, I am going to need to do more than a search on Amazon. But that's where I started.

And it does leave me wondering what is out there specifically to help a preacher approach the pulpit as a teacher.

My initial search on Christian teaching turned up plenty of books about "Christian education", but these are focused on teaching faith in a formal school setting:

• On Christian Teaching: Practicing Faith in the Classroom
• Transformational Teaching: Instructional Design for Christian Educators
• Everyday Christian Teaching: A Guide to Practicing Faith in the Classroom
• Teaching for Spiritual Formation: A Patristic Approach to Christian Education in a Convulsed Age

Many others are aimed at an audience of Sunday school teachers. Sometimes pastors are included in the audience.

Teaching to Change Lives: Seven Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Come Alive bills itself as being for parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors and professors.

And there do seem to be a number of books aimed at "creativity" in teaching about the Bible, but that's not exactly what I am looking for. 

Effective Bible Teaching by James C. Wilhoit and Leland Ryken seems promising. I like the title, anyway.

But the Amazon summary says, "The book offers concrete guidance for mastering a biblical text, interpreting it, and applying its relevance to life. Its methods, which have been field-tested for twenty-five years, help pastors, teachers, and ministry students improve their classroom skills. Readers will learn how to develop the "big idea" of a passage and allow the text itself to suggest creative teaching methods. This new edition has been updated throughout and explores the changed landscape of Bible study over the past two decades. Readable and interdisciplinary in approach, this book will help a new generation of Bible students teach in a purposeful and unified way." (emphasis mine)

So, it's still ultimately about a classroom. I'm more interested in teaching from the pulpit. 

And I still think there's a need to develop pastors who THINK like teachers.

And there's more to that than just coming up with a creative hook.

HABIT FORMATION LITERATURE

One of the basic tasks for an effective teacher is equipping the students with the resources they need to study the subject matter further independently. 

This is why a prominent feature of my youth retreat plan is the sharing of practical information concerning habit formation. 

The literature on this topic is fascinating and has been growing in recent years. 

There's not much that is specifically Christian in this realm though. 

James K. A. Smith touches on habits broadly in several of his books, connecting habits to character development and spirituality. Richard Foster's classic, Celebration of Discipline, has some practical advice concerning spiritual disciplines, but nothing which addresses habit formation as such. A few Christian authors have regurgitated some of the habit formation wisdom from secular books - like Justin Earley does in The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction - but then they sometimes run counter to that wisdom in places.

The gold standard in the study of habit formation is squarely in the secular realm: James Clear's Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. It has currently sold an astounding 25 million copies worldwide. Obviously, people are finding it useful and passing recommendations to friends and family. Clear's work was built on a foundation laid by Charles Duhigg in the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Others have contributed bits and pieces to the habit conversation, such as B. J. Fogg in Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. 

I plan to teach the most useful insights regarding habit formation from these books during the retreat (alongside the material on the narrative framework of the Bible) in hopes that by the end of the retreat, the students will have skills which will improve the chances that they will establish a daily Bible reading habit. 

That's the goal anyway. 

TEACHERS NEED TO CONSIDER LOGICAL ENTAILMENTS

My brain is not functioning well tonight and I need to get up early in the morning - a Saturday! - to help serve at a Men's Breakfast at a church here in town, so it doesn't seem like an ideal time to force myself to think about Literature Reviews and all that sort of stuff.

I will say that I have continued to watch videos produced in the aftermath of Kirk Cameron's switch from the "hell is eternal conscious torment" camp to the "conditional immortality" camp and it's driving me crazy. (Those videos might well be the reason my brain isn't working tonight.) 

There are a lot of self-styled, self-proclaimed Bible "teachers" on YouTube. Most come across way more confident in their interpretations and reasoning skills than they have a right to be. 

One of the things that bugs me the most is that in the midst of all the abstract argumentation, nobody ever seems to consider how, in reality, the presumed eternal torment would absolutely destroy the human psyche. 

Assuming the there is truly fire burning the skin and maggots eating the flesh 24 hours a day, would there be a single occupant of hell whose mind wouldn't turn to jelly by the end of the first month? 

Seriously. 

Most people in the here and now would not be able to endure a month of solitary confinement in a prison cell - even without the flames and worms.

And yet, some of these teachers have the audacity to suggest that the torment will be eternal because those in hell will continue to sin and so will always warrant further wrath.

You might ask, "What sin will they be committing exactly?" And, recognizing it's not likely these folks are lusting or coveting or stealing anything, these teachers say, "They will be angry with God".

You think?

Seems pretty likely. 

But only for a short time. 

I'm guessing by the end of the first year of eternity at the latest, the vast majority of those in hell will experience a complete psychic break and go catatonic. The rest of eternity hell should be pretty quiet.

Am I wrong?

What a crazy discussion!

These teachers of ECT insist that hell will entail real torment but they have no realistic concept of what genuine torture does to people. 

You've got to think through the logical entailments of your beliefs - especially if you take it upon yourself to teach others. 

METANARRATIVES

One of the chapters in my dissertation will be a "Literature Review". Here's the guidance I have been given on this section: 

"The literature review should summarize the contributions of the key figures working on your topic. This chapter demonstrates your competence in the field by articulating the standard approaches to thinking in your area of research."

For now, my prospectus just needs a single paragraph summarizing what shape I anticipate this chapter will take.

My difficulty in getting started on it is that there are at least three aspects of my project that have their own literature. Maybe I should devote a third of my lit review to each one.

Here's the first:

1. Since one of the main objectives of my retreat is to communicate some key Bible themes to the youth, I've been reading up on the metanarrative(s) of the Bible. Carmen Imes' recently completed trilogy - Bearing God's Name, Being God's Image, and Becoming God's Family - is exceptional. She is the rare biblical scholar who is able to make deep scriptural insights accessible and engaging for a lay audience. Based on her recommendation, I also picked up The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative by Christopher Wright, but I haven't finished it yet. It has some major gravitas and is not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination. In this category, I would also include The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard and a couple of Matthew Bates' books, Why the Gospel? - Living the Good News of King Jesus with Purpose as well as Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King. Finally, I think there's a lot of insight in a book I used to frequently dip into while I taught high school English, How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster.

I am not sure if any of this sounds at all interesting to you, but I have found familiarity with some of the recurring themes of Scripture to be incredibly useful in my own Bible study. Knowing something of the biggies - like image, God's presence, the Knowledge of Good and Evil, covenant, the law, sacrifices, and exile - provides a roadmap for unfamiliar passages. Recurring themes often become the keys to unlocking deeper meaning. 

"Read the Bible like it's fiction" is extremely helpful advice. I believe I first heard it from Michael Heiser, but apparently C.S. Lewis advocated this approach long before Heiser was on the scene. 

THE PLAN

Before I go any further in developing the background research for my dissertation, I should explain as concisely as possible what my ministry plan actually entails.

My ministry model is a retreat for high school youth called "Framing Your Faith". The goal, in short, is to provide effective teaching -> leading to deep comprehension -> leading to self-directed study. 

To put it in classroom objectives form:

By the end of the retreat, students will be able (1) to summarize the biblical metanarrative in their own words and (2) identify biblical themes within specific practice passages of Scripture and (3) analyze their impact on meaning. 

The further hope is that three weeks after the retreat, the students will be engaged in self-directed study of Scripture on a daily basis. 

The approach will be to employ common sense, biblical teaching practices to effectively convey the bible's metanarrative in a fun and engaging way so as to give the students a firm spiritual foundation. In addition to that, I want to provide practical resources to equip the students to continue building upon that foundation for themselves after the retreat ends. 

NEXT STEPS DUE IN JANUARY

Here are the two components of my next assignment in preparation for my dissertation:

1. Research Strategy (Methodology)

This part of the prospectus presents how the different areas of research come together to form a coherent whole. Which biblical texts will you work with and why? Which historical figures or historical periods will you study and why? Are there particular areas of theology that you’ll need to address? You should justify each component of the project (e.g., biblical, historical) and articulate why it is necessary to successfully complete the work. What does each area contribute to the whole? 

2. Chapter Summaries 

This section will include a paragraph-length summary of each chapter that describes the content of the chapter at a basic level. The summaries should include some details about what will go in the chapter. Be specific and avoid vagueness. In the biblical research, are there specific texts and authors that will be considered and discussed. Which research questions will be addressed in each chapter? What are the most important authors and ideas to be addressed in the literature review? 

Both parts are due January 2nd, so I need to set aside my fascination - and disgust - with the Kirk Cameron controversy and get working on them. 

Here are the bare minimum chapters I am to summarize in anticipation of my final paper:

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. Biblical/Theological Chapter

4. Historical Chapter

5. Reports on Questionnaires, Surveys, Interviews

6. Contribution to Ministry

7. Conclusion

Like I've already said, the historical aspect of this project does not naturally excite me. BUT if I find information that is relevant to my project as a whole, then maybe I will get into it. 

(I sure hope this proves to be the case since research is a slog in and of itself - and nearly unbearable if you aren't particularly interested in the findings.)

I read a short article in The Christian Century by Ryan Bonfiglio that gave me some hope. In speaking about the advent of seminaries in the 16th century, Bonfiglio states, "Prior to 1563, it would have been more natural to see theological education as an aspect of discipleship, not an act of professional credentialing."*

In other words, the spread of seminaries came at a tremendous cost to the church as a whole since they took theological education out of the hands of the local congregations and concentrated it in a few locations. As a result, local education efforts dwindled over time while theological education came to be viewed as a pursuit belonging solely to professionals. 

Anyway, it reminds me that history is a worthwhile study and that maybe I will find some past ideas and practices which turn out to be relevant to the narrower focus of my project: grounding youth with a deeper understanding of the faith and then equipping them to take responsibility for the future of their own theological education. 

* It’s time to rethink our assumptions about where theological education happens | The Christian Century

REAL LEARNING THRIVES ON QUESTIONS

YouTubers continue to produce videos lamenting Kirk Cameron's rejection of hell as eternal conscious torment. I don't think it's hyperbole to call it a "freak out". 

And, honestly, I find both the videos and the hundreds of comments under them to be discouraging and embarrassing. The "arguments" for ECT and against annihilationism are constructed so badly.

To be clear, I would welcome any attempt to argue for ECT intelligently from Scriptures, but this would involve wrestling with all the passages that imply the human soul is not naturally eternally and that the wicked are ultimately destroyed.

Instead, over and over well-intentioned believers assert that "the Bible says nothing to support the idea of annihilationism". And that is ignorance or deception. And I don't know which is worse at this point.

And commenters are throwing out all sorts of wild rationales for why we need to preserve the traditional view of hell. 

Take, for example, this jewel: "Teaching that hell is not eternal is an especially dangerous message to be sending to those who are suicidal."

(Yes, by all means, let's keep suicidal individuals alive with some good old-fashioned fire and brimstone preaching.)

The consensus, however, is that Cameron is on a slippery slope. We must preserve the traditional view of hell because if it goes, what's next? 

(Heaven forbid if Penal Substitutionary Atonement should fall!)

But if certain things cannot be questioned, how does learning take place? (And how does error get corrected?)

I have been convinced for quite a while that the average American Christian is quite ignorant on many important fronts: What is the gospel? What is faith? How do we read the Bible for meaning? 

I had assumed this ignorance was largely the result of lazy, unskilled leadership. A lack of effective teachers.

But this Cameron controversy is raising the possibility in my mind that the ignorance is protected by a fear of questioning.   

If questioning is prohibited, how does anyone achieve genuine learning - the kind that requires wrestling with opposing viewpoints? 

There's only one kind of "learning" that benefits from a prohibition against questioning.

That's the kind where theological experts write out systematic theologies and catechisms and statements of faith and then expect everyone in the pews to give mental assent to them. 

And how's that working out for us?

******

Here are a few timely quotes I came across in a newsletter just today:

“Only when we forget what we were taught do we start to have real knowledge.” –Henry David Thoreau

“We should be ready to change our views at any time...and live with an open and receptive mind. A sailor who sets the same sails all the time, without making changes when the wind changes, will never reach his harbor.” –Henry George

“Every thought a person dwells upon, whether he expresses it or not, either damages or improves his life.” –Lucy Malory

“He who is looking for wisdom is already wise; and he who thinks that he has found wisdom is a stupid man.” –Eastern Wisdom

“Seek to learn constantly while you live; do not wait in the faith that old age by itself will bring wisdom.” –Solon

QUESTIONING IS OK. DISAGREEMENT IS OK.

John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

The Pharisees were the Bible experts - and don't you forget it!

And being the experts meant they weren't big on the idea of lay people thinking for themselves or questioning their authority.

2,000 years after the Pharisees put Jesus to death, they are still making the rounds. 

In a recent YouTube video, Kirk Cameron rejected the idea that hell is eternal conscious torment. He now openly calls himself an annihilationist. 

The response has been sadly predictable. Many Christians are wringing their hands and praying for him to repent. 

An embarrassing lack of critical thinking is on display for all the world to see. (Or would be, if the world cared what Kirk Cameron and a bunch of pharisaical Christians think.)  

He's sliding into heresy! He is in the same camp as the Jehovah's Witnesses! This is a slippery slope - once you deny hell, what's next?

Why did Jesus even die if not to save people from Hell??

Many confidently assert that the Bible CLEARLY teaches Eternal Conscious Torment and says NOTHING which could support annihilationism. 

Quite a few are asking, "Has Kirk Cameron lost his salvation? Was he ever saved in the first place?"

Why would anyone who actually understands the Bible think his salvation rests on having 100% correct doctrine?

Who among us has perfect doctrine?

I can guarantee you that the ones accusing Kirk Cameron of not taking the Bible seriously have never truly wrestled with the question of hell for themselves. 

If they can't tolerate Cameron questioning the doctrine, there's no way they have allowed themselves to ever question it. 

Anyway, this is a (much-needed) reminder that when it comes to interpreting the Bible, a healthy dose of humility is in order on all sides. 

GOD FORBID

In the late 1990s, when I first announced to my parents my intention to go to seminary so that I could further my theological studies in the interest of a career in ministry, my father's reaction was this:

"God forbid!"

But it wasn't what it sounded like.

My father had been on many church committees over the years and he knew how the sausage was made. His concern was that I was too idealistic and that when I got to my first church I would get chewed up and spit out. 

Dad was honestly fearful that if I entered the ministry, I would get so discouraged by church people's behavior that I would end up leaving the faith altogether!

That never happened, obviously, but a class or two at seminary on the topic of "people being people" wouldn't have hurt. 

I got a solid real-world education on that topic during my family's departure from Haiti 5 years ago. 

And it left me better equipped for ministry today. 

SUNDAY MORNING LECTURES

 I had breakfast with a pastor friend this morning. In the midst of our conversation, it came up that he - like me - considers himself more of a teacher than a preacher.

So I asked him what he thought was the difference between the two. 

And he gave the answer that I think most people would give: A preacher speaks about the application of Scripture to our lives and usually appeals to emotions while a teacher gives background on Scriptural texts and appeals to the intellect. 

What they have in common is this: both are monologues. 

In this sense, in every sermon, a pastor could strive to begin with teaching and finish with preaching.

But I'm not sure that is how the New Testament would differentiate the two roles. This is currently one of my research questions. 

What if the Scriptures don't have "lecture" in mind when it speaks of teaching?

To my way of thinking, teaching is much more hands on and interactive than preaching. 

And I'm not sure an American church would be ready to devote as much prime time to teaching as to preaching. 

In most churches, teaching is for Sunday school and Sunday school is optional. 

IS SEMINARY NECESSARY

If the first seminary didn't come into existence until 1563, it does make me wonder how pastors were being trained before that.

And if the church survived (and spread across the globe) for 1500 years without seminaries, are they really necessary now?

I loved my time at Asbury Theological Seminary back in the late 90s, but I'd have to think real hard to list things I learned there that turned out to be indispensable to any ministry I've been involved in since. 

Though I suppose my seminary classes may have been slightly more useful to my ministry work than my college education classes were for my teaching of high school English. (But that's a pretty low bar.)

Not only that, but I also don't feel like I was ever forced to wrestle through any of the big issues of theology personally. 

And I certainly didn't learn much about human nature there - or all the things that can go wrong within the walls of a church.

Two of my best friends from my Asbury days are no longer involved in full-time ministry. They both got burned by churches pretty badly. I have to wonder if they had been better informed about human psychology, if they might have been better equipped to weather the storms. 

HISTORICAL ANGLE

Apparently, my dissertation will require a chapter focused on my topic's historical angle. And each chapter should be 25 to 35 pages in length. 

To be frank, this prospect is not super exciting to me.

I am not even sure how much information will be available on the only historical aspect I really want to explore.

Since my project involves the teaching skills a pastor should have, I am somewhat interested in knowing how early in church history any sort of official training of church leadership began. When were the first seminaries established? What was done to train leaders before the advent of seminaries? 

I just did a little googling and - if the internet can be trusted - the first seminary didn't come about until the Reformation era, specifically in 1563. Before that, education of leaders took place in the local church, and especially in the larger cathedrals.

I'm not exactly sure where to start looking for information on what was happening in the early centuries of the church, before there were such things as cathedrals, but we shall see. 

SMALL DISSERTATION MILESTONE

I passed a small dissertation milestone last night. 

When the first draft of my prospectus was rejected, one major weakness - according to my advisor - was the "Theological Reflection". It was not "robust" enough. 

And even though I knew first drafts were almost never approved, I must admit that it stung a bit to "fail". 

I have spun my wheels for about two years, intimidated by the thought of revising my prospectus, especially the Theological Reflection.

Those years weren't wasted, though. They turned out to be useful in giving me time to ponder my project and deepen both my interests and my convictions. 

Last night, motivated by a deadline in my surprise class, I completed an entirely revamped Theological Reflection. 

It felt good to complete it - like I can move forward again. 

Now I wait to see how my advisor responds... while I work on the next assignment.

TEACHERS ARE HELD TO ACCOUNT BY GOD

Here are some tough words from the prophet Hosea (Chapter 4) to the "children of Israel" AND, in particular, Israel's priests: 

1 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and no knowledge of God in the land;
2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
 and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is my contention, O priest. 
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy your mother. [Meaning Israel]
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

The priests are meant to function as the intermediaries between God and humanity. When they lose interest in the knowledge of God, the results are catastrophic. 

With nobody offering to teach the people about the knowledge of God, the people's faithfulness and love begin to fail and they descend into debauchery of all sorts. 

Those in leadership among God's people, Old Testament and New, are held to account for their own attention to the Lord and their ability to pass along truth to God's people. 

A teacher does not need to be a FALSE teacher to be blameworthy in God's sight.

Gulp!

MORE THAN HEARING

How did I forget this one? 

Tonight I need to add to my list of practices which are basic to effective teaching:

In your lessons, whenever possible, find opportunities to involve senses beyond hearing.

The more senses which are engaged, the greater the students' engagement will be. And, thus, the stickier the lesson.

Include visuals at the very least. We all loved "show and tell" in kindergarten and, if you think about it, the fun part - the interesting part - was the "showing". 

(In fact, if you forgot to bring your object, you wisely asked for your turn to be postponed. You knew instinctively that just talking about it wasn't going to cut it.)

They may be rarer, but there are also opportunities from the pulpit to employ touch or smell or taste. 

This morning I was preaching on Luke 1:1-17, which relates the story of Zechariah performing his priestly duty of burning incense in the temple when he is visited by Gabriel and told to expect the birth of a boy to be named John. 

A little bit of research revealed that getting a turn at burning the incense - the smoke of which represented the prayers of the people rising to God - was a once-in-a-lifetime honor. 

So I picked up some strawberry scented incense at Walmart and lit four sticks at the top of my sermon as I was giving the background of Luke's story.

The smoke curled upwards as I read the passage and soon the smell permeated the sanctuary. 

It would be impossible to gauge how much that small gesture brought the story to life for everyone in the pews this morning. 

But whatever it added, I know it was worth the $1.22 and the extra few minutes it took to make it happen. 

CLARITY

Paul's final reference to teaching in Colossians is found in chapter 4 where he asks the congregation to pray for him as he "speaks".

His prayer request is twofold: First, that God would present opportunities, and second, that when those doors opened, Paul would be prepared to make "the mystery of Christ" "clear": 

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

So it seems the final lesson on effective teaching in this letter is that it does not just happen by opening one's mouth. 

The goal of effective teaching is clarity, and prayer is the facilitator.

MULTIPLYING TEACHERS

The "renewal in knowledge in the image of the Creator" Paul places at the center of Colossians is also at the center of a chiasm, bookended by a list of things to be PUT OFF (e.g. sexual immorality and covetousness) in verses 5-9 and a list of things to be PUT ON in verses 12-15:

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Up until now, the focus of the letter has been on what the Colossians already know and what Paul can add to their previous learning. Now he makes it clear that the next step is for the Colossians themselves to become teachers:

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

The ultimate test of whether a student has learned the material is not multiple choice, true or false, or short answer questions. 

The proof of learning is when the student can effectively transmit the material to others. 

Our modern churches give everyone weekly opportunities to "sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs", but how often are church members challenged to teach each other?

In my experience, most adult believers don't feel comfortable teaching spiritual truths to the children of the congregation, much less their peers. 

What are the chances the author of Hebrews give the same admonition to modern believers as he gave to his original audience:

11 About this (Jesus as high priest) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

THE HEART OF COLOSSIANS IS THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL

As Paul warns the Colossians about listening to the wrong teaching, it is clear that he believes the stakes are high: listening to the false teachers could lead to their "disqualification". 

Colossians 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Again, learning - whether truth or falsehood - leads to practice. Listen to the false teachers and, next thing you know, you're an ascetic who is making a habit of worshipping angels! 

And the influence of sin in your life goes unchallenged.

Paul points to the better path in his third chapter:

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Where your mind is anchored makes all the difference in the world!

When the mind is set on things above, the believer is enabled to take off the old and put on the new. 

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 

Verses 9 and 10 seem to lie at the very center of Paul's letter to the Colossians:

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

And, once again, we see the centrality of knowledge for the believer. Good teaching leads to good practice which leads to "being renewed" in "knowledge".

And so, again, Paul says that knowledge begets more knowledge. 

And this is the final knowledge and the most important of all because it is central to the restoration of what that individual believer was created to be in the first place: the image of God!

This is a reversal of the original sin. 

Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, taking upon themselves the prerogative of determining right from wrong, independently of God's directives.

Now Jesus the Christ has opened a path to reorient the human mind, renewing its dependence on - and sensitivity to - its Creator's will. 

This is salvation.

A GOOD GOAL, BUT BAD TEACHING

Colossians 1:20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The "elemental spirits" seeking to take the Colossians captive in 2:8 make a reappearance toward the end of chapter 2. Now Paul is acknowledging these "spirits" still have some pull with the congregation - shaping their behavior - even though the believers have "died" to them along with Christ. 

Once again, spirits are portrayed as being in league with "human precepts and teachings". Worldly wisdom and spiritual deception work together to mislead. 

Paul recognizes that it seems logical that there would be some usefulness in their guidance. On the surface, it looks like they are promoting a religious approach meant to bring the flesh into submission.

Nevertheless, Paul says "they are no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh". 

So it seems that whatever this false teaching is, its pretended goal is the taming of sinful impulses of the "flesh".

It's a worthy goal, but if the proposed path is ultimately false and ineffective, then it is a distraction from true freedom. 

So the good news for Paul as a teacher is that his students want the same end as he does: victory over sin.

He just has to convince them there is a better way than what they have been following so far. And that is what he turns to in chapter 3. 

ALLOW NO CAPTIVES

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 

There is ongoing debate over the exact nature of the locally prevalent "philosophy" which Paul viewed as a threat to proper Christian teaching there in Colossae. 

"Some suggest a pagan cult of one sort or another; others, some form of sectarian Judaism; others, an early form of Gnosticism; others, a blend of some or all of these." (Wright, 25)

Whatever this philosophy entailed, Paul recognized the threat: it could take the Colossians "captive" - sulagogeo, carried off like booty following a victory in battle. 

Carl Jung famously said "People don't have ideas. Ideas have people." And he was right. 

Try shaking a long-ingrained notion and you will find out who is really in charge.

The philosophy in question was built on "human tradition". This is a problem since humans have a hard time distinguishing between "true" and merely "familiar". 

The second foundation was the "elemental spirits of the world". There is debate on the best way to understand this phrase, but Michael Bird takes it to "denote hostile angelic entities equivalent to the 'rulers' and authorities' mentioned elsewhere in Colossians". (76)

If so, then Paul is fighting an alignment between long-standing and widely accepted, yet mistaken, human ideas and the influence of demonic powers. 

That's a potent combination! 

As an expert teacher, Paul does not carelessly dismiss the philosophy in the midst of the Colossian congregation. Instead, he recognizes its draw and reminds them to be on guard before redirecting their gaze to the person of Jesus Christ. 

To be effective ultimately, a teacher of the faith needs to know the competing philosophies well enough to depict them in contrast to the beauty of Christ.  

PAUL AS TEACHER IN COLOSSIANS 2

In Colossians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul continues the education motif he introduced in the first chapter.

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

Like any capable teacher, Paul is burdened with a great desire to see his students grab hold of knowledge.

Here, understanding brings the benefit of assurance, in fact "all the riches of full assurance". And the focus of knowledge is "God's mystery", namely Christ Himself.

And again, as in Chapter 1, knowledge begets knowledge. When one gets to know Christ, he or she soon discovers "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"! 

But this treasury is in competition with false knowledge - what Paul refers to as "plausible arguments" which lead one away from true knowledge. 

As an effective teacher, Paul is aware of competing ideas and viewpoints. And he knows the competition can capture and deceive. 

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

He continues by encouraging his listeners to follow through with what they have already been taught and then reminds them of their own responsibility. Yes, their teacher is aware of competing ideas, but they also must actively guard against worldly forms of knowledge that run contrary to Christ. 

You've probably heard this truism before, but it is fundamental (but easily forgotten in the pulpit): The effective teacher doesn't just tell students WHAT to think. The effective teacher shows them HOW to think. 

IN THE END, THE ANSWER'S THE SAME

If you always agree with the teaching of your pastor/church/denomination, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

In my opinion, it depends. 

I worked up a little flow chart. 

(It's ugly, yes, but let me know what else you think of it.)

REPETITION

I once served as youth pastor under a senior pastor who was a sweet-natured, earnest, and godly man - which put him head and shoulders above a few other pastors I worked under. 

But he wasn't the greatest preacher.

He once told me, "You know, I only really have three different sermons that I deliver. I just rotate between those three."

And honestly, that was two more than I had noticed!

It seemed to me that week after week he offered slight variations on one particular exhortation: "If we are going to be authentic disciples of Jesus, we must get out beyond the walls of the church and love our neighbors in tangible ways."

Obviously, this is true. I had no problem with the message - I just didn't want to hear it every Sunday.

(Especially when there was an entire book full of God's words to explore.)

Repetition is necessary and serves an important role in effective teaching, but it can't be the only arrow in your quiver.

If repetition isn't resulting in changed behavior after a few weeks - let alone a few years - then it's time to step back and see if there is a deeper issue causing a roadblock.

To be effective, a teacher needs to search out those gaps in knowledge and fill them.

THEN the congregation might be able to move forward. 

Without excessive repetition.

PRIVILEGING THE HYPOTHESIS

I've started reading Alchemy by Rory Sutherland. If you're not familiar with Rory and you are interested in human psychology and behavioral science, you can find him in a lot of YouTube videos. He is vice chairman of the prominent British marketing agency, Ogilvy. 

And he knows his stuff.

Anyway, the subtitle of the book is "The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life". 

This book is an example of the stuff I think seminary students should be required to study. Maybe the class would be called Human Psychology and Behavior - Deal with It.  

Here's a snippet I find relevant to church life: "The single worst thing that can happen in a criminal investigation is for everyone involved to become fixated on the same theory, because one false assumption shared by everyone can undermine the entire investigation. There's a name for this - it's called 'privileging the hypothesis'." (p.14)

While Sutherland is talking criminal investigations here, the same holds for theology: it is dangerous when everyone grabs hold of the same false assumption.

It has happened repeatedly throughout church history, beginning with the pharisees who did this bit of logical reasoning:

Premise 1: It is against God's law to work on the sabbath.

Premise 2: No Messiah would ever break God's law.

Premise 3: Healing a person is work.

Premise 4: Jesus healed a man on the sabbath.

Conclusion: Jesus worked on a sabbath and therefore cannot be the Messiah.

This airtight logic was impenetrable by even acknowledged miraculous works performed by Jesus: Because we know He cannot be the Messiah, He must be doing these works by the power of the Devil!

No further investigation was needed. They all agreed that their hypothesis was correct and so it must stand at all costs. 

The pharisees are long gone, but how many hypotheses do modern believers hold as privileged just because "everyone agrees"? 

Why are Bereans in such short supply?

Acts 17:11 - Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

What Paul was teaching went contrary to the Bereans' assumptions, but they did not reject his teaching outright. Instead, they studied the Scriptures FOR THEMSELVES.

SPIRITUAL STAGNATION IS EVIDENCE OF IGNORANCE

After the Apostle Paul holds Epaphras up as an effective teacher of the Colossians - evidenced by the fact that the gospel was bearing fruit in their lives and increasing - Paul goes on to connect spiritual education directly to life growth two more times in the first chapter of his letter. 

First in verses 9 and 10:

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God ...

And then later in verses 28 and 29:

28 [Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

The first instance highlights the believers' obligation to learn on their own, presumably with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Paul says he prays they will be filled with knowledge of God's will "in all spiritual wisdom and understanding".

The result will be believers walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, defined as "bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God". 

It's notable that Paul maintains that as the Colossians walk in the knowledge they have already received, they will receive more knowledge. 

The second instance highlights Paul's prerogative as a teacher to warn and teach "everyone", again with the goal of maturity in Christ. 

Whether learning occurs independently or under a teacher, the predictable result is spiritual growth, fruit, and maturity.  

If this can be reverse engineered, then we can say stagnation, lack of fruit, and immaturity - either on the individual or congregational level - is evidence of a lack of learning, both independently and under another's teaching. 

ATLANTA

Too tired to write anything worth thinking about tonight. I drove from Columbus to Atlanta today to represent Mission Resource at the International Conference on Missions over the next couple of days. 

There were some traffic slowdowns, but overall the drive was pretty easy. I was driving our new car and it almost drives itself - literally. 

I experienced my first Buc-ee's stop, but otherwise the day was pretty dull. 

Tomorrow morning I head to the convention center to set up my display. I will be sharing a booth with our friends from Basic Utility Vehicles of Indianapolis. 

TRAJECTORY

I suppose most Christians walk around with an innate sense that their tradition, their denomination, and their local church have managed to hit the theological nail squarely on the head.

I used to assume my tribe was 100% on target and all other denominations ranged from "really close" to "way off". Other brands of Methodists and Wesleyans were close to holding correct theology while Catholics were really missing the boat.

Then I started looking closely at Calvinism and, at first, I grew nervous that I had missed something essential to faith. There are some really smart Calvinists out there and they write a lot of books and preach a lot of sermons. These men seemed like they really knew their Bible, too.

But the entailments of Calvinism never sat well with me. In time, I began to see the holes and contradictions in their very neat and logical system. 

And once I saw them clearly, I couldn't unsee them. 

Eventually, I got to the point where I viewed their theology as obviously and deeply flawed. 

And although my final conclusion was that Calvinism is a ridiculous error, I never forgot the fact that for a long period of time, I had thought maybe they were completely right. 

I still watch plenty of debates on the subject and - unsurprisingly - nobody ever changes their minds. 

And that brought me to a place of self-reflection: Is it not possible that I could also hold some theological convictions that are just as much in error? How would I know?

As Scott Adams says, "Being absolutely right and being spectacularly wrong feel exactly the same". 

These days, I don't expect to ever reach 100% in my lifetime - there's always more to learn. There are mistaken assumptions to be confronted. 

(And if Scripture never challenges my assumptions, then am I even reading it closely?)

I have decided that the best I can hope for is a lifetime trajectory of moving in the direction of Truth. 

If I am wrong about something, I want to know today so that tomorrow I am on a more accurate course. 

EPAPHRAS: AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER

I have started to look into Paul's letter to the Colossians again since it is the portion of Scripture I plan to use as the theological foundation for my dissertation project.

I want to highlight a prominent motif in the letter that can be overlooked too easily: teaching and understanding. 

It gets underway early - by the 6th verse - where Epaphras is recognized as teacher to the Colossians:

"5b Of this - (the hope laid up for them in heaven) - you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant."

Apparently, Epaphras was a GOOD teacher - the proof being the gospel bearing fruit and increasing in their midst.

The hearing AND understanding are both crucial here - just as in Jesus' parable of the 4 soils in Matthew 13 where the ultimate difference between the first and last soil is "understanding".  

Hearing doesn't automatically lead to understanding.

And without the people grasping the truth, the gospel would not advance.

While it's true that even the best of teachers cannot reach EVERY student, NO students are reached by the worst of teachers.

Epaphras apparently proved to be a good teacher.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRETESTING

This past weekend I had the opportunity to put some of my dissertation thoughts into an hourlong workshop at a youth retreat at nearby Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp. 

In keeping with one of the basic principles of good teaching practices, I decided to ask the teens a simple question on Friday night before my workshop on Saturday. I was planning to talk about the gospel being bigger than the typical "you're a sinner so Jesus died for you and if you believe in Him you can go to heaven when you die" concept, and I wanted to know what the kids already knew.

So I asked the retreat organizers to hand out these cards and ask the teens to give their best responses:

When I came in the next morning, the cards had been filled out AND the other adult leaders - local pastors and youth pastors - had read over the replies.

They were aghast!

I had received responses like these: 

• "The gospel is what helps you get closer to God, like listening to Christian music, praying, reading your Bible, or talking to someone."
• "The gospel is the story of Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world."
• "The gospel is a place where you learn about God and what he did for you because he loves you."

The responses prompted talk among the camp leadership of revamping the summer camp teaching for next season! They realized they were entirely overestimating what the teens already knew.

Basic teaching: Before the lesson, find out what your students already know, what they don't know, and what they think they know.

ANOTHER MISSING CLASS

Here's another class that I think should be required for every seminary student: Basic Psychology and Behavioral Science. 

I think a lot of burn out, stress, and conflict in the life of a pastor could be stopped in its tracks by familiarity with the realities of:

• Confirmation Bias
• Cognitive Dissonance
• Framing
• Habit Formation
• Logical Fallacies
• Reciprocation
• Social Proof
• The Dunning-Krueger Effect
• Etc.

The class would be an easy sell because this stuff is flat-out fascinating.

Plus, it could all be incredibly useful for the "marketing" aspect of church life. 

There would be plenty of real-world case studies to look at and it would be fun to find examples of all the various human quirks of thought and emotion in the Scriptures. 

Once you are familiar with the concepts, you see them illustrated left and right throughout the Bible. 

A MISSING CLASS

You can bet that every seminary offers plenty of classes on preaching and Bible study, but I am not aware of any seminary which requires a class on best teaching practices.

I would be curious to find out if any even offer such a class as an elective.

So, if I could wave a magic wand and change the seminary experience for the next generation of pastors, a required class on pedagogy would be at the top of my list. 

I haven't done in-depth analysis, but from glancing over online Bible dictionaries, the use of Greek and Hebrew words associated with the concept of "teaching" easily outnumber those associated with "preaching" in Scripture - even without throwing in all the instances of "knowing". 

Here are the main qualifications for an "overseer" of the church, according to the Apostle Paul himself:

"An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money." 1 Timothy 3:2-3 

Is it not interesting that "able to teach" gets included while "able to preach" does not?

LIKE ALGEBRA, BUT WORSE

Imagine if your high school math teacher approached algebra like the typical church approaches faith education.

First of all, class would only meet once or twice a week and there would be no expectation of students doing any learning outside of class.

The teacher's sole approach would be lecture. 

Correct answers would be supplied for every problem - no need for students to wrestle through any sort of practice exercises.  

Worst of all, the teacher would skip around the math book, pulling out random, disconnected lessons from week to week. Today from chapter 7, next week a single equation from chapter 13, and then back to chapter 2 the following week. 

The only thread tying the lessons together would be the fact that they all concern numbers.  

It's fair to say that the students sitting under that math teacher would be thoroughly confused and constantly frustrated. 

And bored.

Week after week, they would be no closer to comprehending math than when they started.

Along the way they may pick up some math terminology, but they would not grasp workable definitions.

At the end of the semester, the teacher would still be the only one in the room who truly understood math. 

(If even he did.)

And when all was said and done, most of the students would drop out of further math classes at the first opportunity - unless maybe they enjoyed hanging out with their friends in the class.  

OUT OF THE MIST

I thought of at least one more basic premise of good teaching since yesterday - and it is super basic, but in the pulpit it doesn't always happen.

So here it is: An effective teacher knows the material inside and out. 

If the teacher is confused or unsure, the students will be doubly so.

It has been said that "a mist in the pulpit becomes a fog in the pew". 

The best-case scenario, of course, is when the teacher is utterly fascinated by the subject matter. 

A preacher should be utterly impressed with the beauty, wisdom, and power of Scripture.

A genuine fascination can be contagious.

And one other premise that I am reminded of just now: A good teacher consciously teaches students HOW to think, not just WHAT to think. 

This can only be accomplished if the teacher makes a practice of critical thinking in his or her own study and preparation. 

BASIC TEACHING

If at all possible, I plan to avoid using words like "pedagogy" in my dissertation and keep to a straightforward exploration of "teaching". 

Because teaching doesn't HAVE to be complicated and learning how to teach doesn't HAVE to involve a bunch of $5 words or drawn-out explanations of esoteric philosophies. 

(Is "esoteric" worth at least $5?)

Teaching is a skill, a science, and an art - but the basics of competent and effective teaching are not beyond the reach of any ordinary person. 

Off the top of my head, here are some basics of teaching:

• Start with what the students already know - or think they know.
• Set objectives: what do the students need to know?
• Plan the "test" in advance: How will the students show they have learned the material?
• Determine a logical order of presentation.
• Provide some sort of road map up front. 
• Make the material relevant. You should have a good answer to the question in the back of every student's mind: "Why are we learning this?"
• Review frequently – learning requires repetition.
• Give students time and opportunity to process and practice, not just listen.
• Check comprehension periodically along the way – If you are losing them, you want to know ASAP. 

If you're a teacher or if you've ever sat under an expert teacher, I could use some feedback here: Which other aspects of teaching do you consider essential?

GOOD TEACHING IS HARD TO FIND

(No time to revise tonight - this is very rough drafty.) 

Good teaching is hard to find. 

I know there are standout teachers at all levels, but have you ever noticed that, on average, as the grade level increases, the quality of teaching decreases?

Kindergarten and first grade teachers are masters at the art of teaching. They have to be, or their kids make no progress - which proves to be very apparent at that stage! Administrators and parents put lots of pressure on teachers at the front end of kids' education. 

But by high school? It's fairly common to hear students complaining about "not learning anything" over an entire semester. And often it isn't really hyperbole. 

By the time a student gets to the college level, "teaching" is pretty much synonymous with "lecturing". 

And this paragraph and the next will likely not make it into my dissertation in any form, but I was astonished by the poor teaching practices I encountered during my two years taking classes at the doctoral level. I had one professor out of 8 who really excelled at TEACHING. 

The others "knew their stuff", no doubt about it, and they were wonderful people. But if they ever took courses on best teaching practices, it didn't show.

(In fact, as I understand it, once I have my doctorate degree, I will be magically qualified to teach at the seminary level - not because I happen to have been trained as a teacher and have years of experience, but by virtue of having a depth of knowledge on some particular topic and a degree to prove it. And, obviously, attaining a depth of knowledge for oneself does not automatically translate into the ability to convey that knowledge to others.) 

So if even those in the teaching profession often fail in educating their students, what hope do we have that pastors will automatically be good teachers? Does attending seminary qualify someone to teach?

I am not aware of any seminary which requires general students to take classes on best practices in educating others.

But what's crazy is this: good teaching IS hard to find, but it's not overly complicated to do. 

PREACHING AND TEACHING

When I started serving as minister at Sardinia Baptist Church two and a half years ago, I quickly realized I was much more comfortable Teaching rather than Preaching.

At first, I wasn't even aware that there was a difference and I'm still not sure where the line between the two actually is drawn.

Maybe I'm being overly simplistic, but I understand Preaching as aimed at the heart and the spirit. It is meant to motivate and persuade.

And Teaching is aimed at the mind, seeking to foster knowledge and understanding. Its goal is to explain and equip. 

Both can and should spur transformation. Under Preaching, it is the transformation of thoughts, words, and actions. 

And under Teaching, it is the imagination.  

I don't suppose either is inherently more valuable, but I do think there is an order: Teaching first, and then Preaching. 

There should be an order and there should be balance.

But in the American church, Preaching has long been prioritized over Teaching.

TWO TROUBLES

Ronald Reagan famously said, "The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so."

And I would say that, unfortunately, American Christianity suffers from both troubles: ignorance and wrong belief. 

Both, in the end, amount to unbelief.

Off the top of my head, here are a few important things I would guess most American Christians are ignorant of:

• The scope of the gospel
• The historical context of various books of the Bible
• The cultural contexts of the original audiences
• The metanarrative of the Bible
• Church history
• The major themes of the Bible

And a few of the things, in my opinion, which many American Christians "know that isn't so":

• Hell as eternal conscious torment
• Calvinism and all its distinctives regarding predestination, election, sovereignty, and etc.
• Penal substitutionary atonement 
• Faith as mental assent to propositional truth

THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM

At the heart of my dissertation work is the importance of education.

To put it negatively, a lack of proper education is often found at the very heart of society's greatest problems. And if it's not at the heart, at the very least poor education exacerbates other societal weaknesses.

Take our nation's current political climate as an example. How much of today's polarization could be toned down if the populace was trained in critical thinking?

I believe this much: if the citizens magically became critical thinkers tomorrow, much of the politicians' rhetoric would fall flat. Their word games would be over and they might be forced to govern instead. 

Fix the education and you fix the culture.

I believe the same is true within the American Church - we have a major education problem. And it's the root cause of all sorts of issues which weaken the witness and the power of the Church. And jeopardizes its future. 

Believers, by and large, simply do not know the Scriptures. In fact, they do not even know how to read them or where to start. They are fully dependent on interpretation done by pastors who are almost as ignorant. As a result, too many believers don't know God's character, His mission, or His provision for humanity.

They certainly don't seem to know the gospel. 

So how does the Church's education problem get fixed? Where do we start?

I know there's no quick fix. 

But I believe the starting point is with the young. 

P.S. I recognize that it's entirely possible this is only confirmation bias on my part - since I am a teacher at heart. Maybe I want to believe that teachers have the power to solve the world's problems. (But maybe they do.)

COMING CHALLENGES

I have a recurring stress dream where I am a new teacher in an unfamiliar school and I'm running late on my first day of classes. As I run down the hallway (sometimes in my underwear), I realize I have forgotten where my classroom is. 

Yesterday, reading the email informing me that I was a month into a class I didn't even know I was enrolled in felt a lot like that.

But only at first. 

After the initial shock wore off, I discovered I wasn't feeling too panicked in general. 

The class's major project will be the completion of my prospectus, a 20 to 25-page paper outlining the parameters of my project and giving a theological justification for it. 

And I have already done that once.

And, yes, my first attempt was rejected - for good reasons.

I am (2 years) older and wiser now and my foundational convictions are firmer. It shouldn't be TOO time-consuming to revise my prospectus. It's always much easier to start from a rough draft than a blank page.

The real challenge at this point will be twofold:

• Narrowing the focus of this beast down to a manageable size.
• And facing what comes next once this step is completed. 

If I'm honest, fear of next steps has been a major factor in my delay in revising and resubmitting my prospectus. 

BACK TO IT

I'm back to writing daily.

Because ...

1. I missed it. I have felt somewhat mentally adrift ever since I fell out of the habit. Writing helps me process life and reinforces whatever the Lord is currently teaching me. It's too useful to neglect.
2. I have a renewed purpose. Today (Noevember 5, 2025) I got notice that - unbeknownst to me - I am a full month into a 6-month class required for my dissertation! 

Yes, I have missed at least one assignment and a Zoom meeting so far.

Wesley Biblical Seminary decided they needed to light a little fire under a handful of their doctorate students who are stalled out - including yours truly. And so they established a new class.

Sure, it would have been nice to learn about the October start date in September rather than November, but I applaud the school's proactiveness. I NEED some deadlines if I am ever going to finish.

In theory, by the end of this class I will have my prospectus completed and, God willing, approved. 

In order to get everything processed and written by the end of March, though, I will need to invest time daily.

So THAT is my renewed purpose for this blog for the time being.

Hopefully, the things I write here in the coming weeks can serve as rough draft material for my dissertation. 

(The last time I tried to reignite my writing habit was in July, just before Melissa and I went to Scotland to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I was too much in the moment to write daily during that trip, but of course I now wish I had followed through with that writing!) 

GRANITE CITY

(I will add some photos to this post when I can.)

Aberdeen.

It's a place name that meant something to me from my earliest childhood, long before I first stepped foot on the campus of Aberdeen University as a college junior the fall of 1988. 

My father's roots were in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It is where my family drove in the summertime for a visit to my grandparents. 

The warm feelings and familiarity with the name "Aberdeen" undoubtedly played a role in making Scotland first choice among the study abroad options available to me.

(My shyness and lack of foreign language study outside of high school Latin and a year of faltering French at Wabash had already limited my choices to English-speaking countries.) 

It was a strange sensation to be back in Aberdeen for the first time in 36 years. The campus of the University of Aberdeen, like the rest of the city, is constructed of stone - primarily granite - so there is much that has not changed. 

And that aids in my recollections of my year in Scotland.

I can remember the names and faces of a few friends I made through Bible studies on campus. I can vaguely picture one professor as well as the arrogant Englishman who was the campus liaison for all of the American students. I recall trips to the corner grocery store to buy cookies and weekly calls home from the pay phones in a dark hallway just off my dorm's lobby. I vaguely remember taking a bus into the heart of the city on Sunday mornings and then walking up long, wide steps to attend a church with two friends from the Shetland Islands. 

I was thinking of all these things last night as Melissa and I walked through the center of campus. 

Unfortunately, even surrounded by the granite, my memory failed to resurrect most details of my daily life in Aberdeen those 9 months. They have been lost.  

This might sound strange, but I have long hoped that one of the blessings of the afterlife will be the restoration of our memories to perfection. 

I think it would be fascinating to look back over each stage of my life to see what words, thoughts, and events shaped me into the person I am. 

For the next 24 hours, I know I will be chewing on this mystery: who was I before coming to Aberdeen, Scotland and how did the Granite City shape me? 

P.S. In one of those sad ironies of life, my brother Ryan called on Monday to say that our Uncle Spencer had passed away. He was a sweet, loving, and all-around good-natured man. I am saddened to not be able to travel to South Dakota for his funeral. My 3 brothers will all be pallbearers and Spencer will be buried Monday ... in a cemetery in Aberdeen, South Dakota.