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.
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