Archive for 31 Days to a Better Teacher – Page 3

Preparation for Teaching…A Personal Prayer Approach

By Kiely Young · Comments (2)
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

I stood before our Adult Sunday School Class leaders in a recent workers meeting I asked what they considered their greatest needs in Sunday School.  Without question, the greatest need was prayer.  Yes, we need to be adequately prepared to teach, but that must begin with prayer.  How true this is.

  1. We need to prayerfully in tune with God seeking daily wisdom.
  2. We must make sure our hearts are clean and pure as we prepare to teach.
  3. We must seek God’s daily direction in preparation.
  4. We must be prayerfully in tune with the needs of our class and pray daily for them.
  5. We must be aware of needs in our community and seek wisdom in ways to meet those needs.
  6. We must ask God He wants us to challenge our class to reach friends, neighbors, and relatives.
  7. We must pray for the leaders of our church, including pastor, staff, and other Sunday School leaders.
  8. We must realize that the enemy does not like us to pray in this fashion and seek daily strength from God to deal with the enemy.
  9. As we pray, God will reveal truths and insights into ways He wants to transform us and our class to be spiritual multipliers.  We must be willing to follow His leadership.
  10. We must ask God to continually help us to be effective spiritual multipliers of His truth as we seek grow leaders for the future.

Remember James 5:16 “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (NKJV)

____________________

Kiely Young-Director, Sunday School; Mississippi Baptist Convention Board

Comments (2)
Categories : 31 Days to a Better Teacher, Prayer, Sunday School, Teaching

Case Study

By Bob Wood · Comments (1)
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Many years ago, I read that I should write a case study for every lesson. What a great idea. Writing a case study helped me focus on at least one way the lesson would be relevant in the learners’ lives, even if I didn’t use it in my teaching plan.

What is a case study? It is a life situation that requires analysis or presents a problem for which learners are to propose solutions. It presents a specific life situation to which learners will apply biblical truth.

How do you write a good case study?

  • Effective case studies present situations and problems similar to those faced by the learners. However, to avoid embarrassment, do not use actual situations involving the learners.
  • Good case studies have relevant, interesting story lines. Stories with an obvious moral ending, a trite plot, or unbelievable characters will not stimulate interest.
  • Effective case studies are relevant to the Bible text being studied. Help learners see how the specific Bible passage being studied that day applies to a specific life situation.
  • Good case studies end with good questions. Ask what they think they should or would do in the situation based on Scripture or what advice they might give in the situation based Scripture. The discussion following the case study is when transformational learning occurs.

Where do I find ideas for good case studies?

  • Look for case studies in everyday life: the media and your own life experiences. Help learners apply biblical truth to current events.
  • Look for case studies in your reading. Sometimes a classic story will hit home.

How do you use case

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studies?

  • Use an opening case study to create interest in the lesson.
  • Use a case study to help members better understand the meaning a Bible text.
  • Use one or more case studies to help members apply biblical truth to their lives.

Allow adequate time for case studies. For full effect, the case study must be followed by discussion. You want to involve learners in the process of analyzing the situation and applying biblical truth. If the case study is relevant and deals with difficult issues,

it will take time for learners to process the answers. The time is worth it. God can use this to bring significant transformation in you and your learner’s lives.

­­­­­­­­__________

Bob Wood is the Church Growth Ministries Team Leader, Baptist State Convention of Michigan.

Comments (1)
Categories : 31 Days to a Better Teacher, Leadership, Ministry, Sunday School, Teaching

Creating a Safe Place for Life Changing Bible Study

By Belinda Jolley · Comments (1)
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

There are many great ways to involve learners in Bible study, but unless they feel they are in a “safe” place, your efforts are likely in vain. Add to the following suggestions for creating a safe place for learners.

  • Verbalize this is a safe place. Ask the class to commit to confidentiality when appropriate.
  • Ask for volunteers or pre-enlisted persons to read or pray aloud.  If you pre-enlist someone, introduce them as someone you asked in advance to read.
  • Ask good questions—open ended questions with no right or wrong answer are the best. Verbally remind people you are not looking for a right or wrong answer. Save these questions for application discussions as opposed to biblical content discussions.
  • If asking a question with one correct answer, point them to the answer. (Look in verse 12 to find what Paul said about….)
  • As you make Bible application, consider beginning questions with “What do you think adults today think about…”  This will allow people to share what they think within the framework of a bigger, less personal audience. They will still think about what they think as individuals, but they share it as a general thought.
  • Recognize the more personal the discussion, the fewer people need to be involved. (Share in a small cluster, with the person beside you, etc.)
  • Constantly point to the Bible as authority rather than personal opinion or popular practices. (Many people say this today.  Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this matter.)
  • Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit working in people’s lives during the session. Avoid pressuring or asking people to share what is happening.  Verbalize they do not need to share but offer to pray for the person. As God leads, you may have others surround this person to pray for him or her.
  • Consider the use of a debate to air popular opinions and practices that may not align with scripture. Getting those out on the table helps the group honestly wrestle with God’s Word.
  • Recognize people will not be transparent if you are not. Avoid sharing personal experiences every week, but you do need to share how you wrestle with living the Christian life.
  • Understand some discussions may need to take place at another time and place or with other people. (Many men wrestle with that same issue…one or two of our men will continue that discussion with you later…Let’s talk after class.)
  • Avoid “taking sides” in a discussion—always redirect to what scripture says. (It is obvious this is an important topic. Let’s see what the Bible says about this.)
  • Affirm and thank people for sharing something very personal, difficult, or painful.
  • Provide learning activities that allow for reflection, especially in private matters. (Suggest learning write in their learner guides, write on an index card, etc.
  • Allow for some discussions to take place within same sex groups, with persons other than one’s spouse or other family members, etc. as appropriate.
  • Experience the Bible truths for yourself as a teacher. You will be more open to the Holy Spirit’s showing you what to focus on, which key verses to dig into, which verses to overview, etc.
  • Recognize many struggles will not be resolved during the Bible study session—they will begin there. Affirm people who at least recognize something in their life that is not in line with God’s Word. Affirm that as a valid starting point. Remind the group all believers struggle with living the Christian life. Claim Phil 2:13 as a promise that God can change our desires to match His if we want Him to do so.
  • Be prepared to tactfully address comments that may appear judgmental or insensitive—even if spoken in jest. (I know what’s going to happen when your wife gets you home, etc.) Routinely remind the class this is a safe place. If “class clowns” continue to try to make something funny out of serious matters, talk with them privately.
  • Avoid using prayer requests as a time to share “spiritual gossip”. Lovingly confront those who do so in private.

____________________ 

Belinda Jolley serves as the Director of the Adult Ministry Office of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Belinda and her husband, Steve, enjoy starting new classes at First Baptist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Comments (1)
Categories : 31 Days to a Better Teacher, Leadership, Ministry, New Groups, Sunday School

Applying the Bible in Sunday School

By Richard Nations · Comments (1)
Friday, January 21st, 2011

I have learned, as a teacher, that I need to do three things as I present a Sunday school

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lesson.

  1. Explanation. I need to explain God’s Word and help the students discover the truths of the Scriptures.
  2. Illustration. I need to help the students understand the concepts by giving visual illustrations, telling stories, eliciting stories from the class or using examples to illustrate the truth being presented.
  3. Application. The teacher must help the student with the “so what?” question. What does this truth have to do with me? Why should I believe this and what should I do as a result of this teaching.

Bible application is sometimes left out of a Bible lesson and the lesson is incomplete unless the students have gained a feel for the “so what” of the passage.

Many, if not most, curriculum plans have a section of application that usually follows the explanation and illustration sections of the teaching plans. It may be a set of questions for reflection, an activity to draw out discussion or a small group discussion time to reflect and apply the truths.

A resource I love to use is the Life Application Bible, which is published by Tyndale House. Take a look at a couple of paragraphs of their introduction to the “Life Application Bible. ”

“What, then, is application? Application begins by knowing and understanding God’s Word and its timeless truths. But you cannot stop there. If you do, God’s Word may not change your life, and it may become dull, difficult, tedious, and tiring. A good application focuses the truth of God’s Word, shows the reader what to do about what is being read, and motivates the reader to respond to what God is teaching. All three are essential to application.”

“Application is putting into practice what we already know (see Mk 4:24 and Heb 5:14) and answering the question, “So what?” by confronting us with the right questions and motivating us to take action (see 1Jn 2:5,6 and Jas 2:17). Application is deeply personal—unique for each individual. It is making a relevant truth a personal truth, and involves developing

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a strategy and action plan to live your life in harmony with the Bible. It is the Biblical “how to” of life.”

So as you teach the Bible in Sunday school, be sure you don’t skip over the application section of the lesson.

  • Ask good questions.
  • Ask for stories and examples of the Bible truths being applied in the lives of your students.
  • Give action-oriented tips and suggestions for application.
  • Follow up with your students and help them discover actions to apply the Bible to their lives.
  • Don’t let the end of the class session come around until you have tried to do a little Bible application each Sunday.

______________________

By Richard Nations, Church Health Team Leader, Baptist Convention of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa.

Quoted from “Why the Life Application Study Bible is Unique.” Life Application® Notes and Bible Helps. Published by Laridian Bible Software. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Copyright 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Comments (1)
Categories : 31 Days to a Better Teacher, Leadership, Sunday School

Bible Teaching Is Relational

By Bob Wood · Comments (1)
Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Bible teaching is relational because Christianity is relational. Remember the Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:2, HCSB). Being a Christian is about loving God and loving others–that’s relational. The more we know and love our

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learners and the more our learners know and love us, the better we will teach.

1. The more we know and love our people, the more God can use us to bring change in their lives.

It’s trite but true: “We don’t teach lessons, we teach people.” We do more than tell our learners everything we know about the Bible. Our goal is more than imparting Bible knowledge; it is to be used of God to transform lives. When we know our people, we know the needs in their lives, and we are better able to help them make application of biblical truth.

2. The more our people know and love us, the more they will pay attention to what we teach.

Another truism is, “Our people don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” Change Is hard. When the Spirit brings conviction through the Word, the first response is often resistance, “Why are you meddling in my life?” When learners know that we love them and have their best interests at heart, it opens doors for God to use us in bringing transformation in their lives.

3. The more our people know and love us, the more we can teach by being a positive model.

When it comes to spiritual transformation, “change is more caught than taught.” We often have more impact by what we model in our lives for others to see than by what we say. When we spend time with our people outside of church, they see us in real life situations. Again, God can use this in miraculous ways to transform lives.

Jesus spent time with his disciples building relationships. He knew them and loved them. Can we do anything less?

­­­­­­­­__________

Bob Wood is the Church Growth Ministries Team Leader, Baptist State Convention of Michigan.

Comments (1)
Categories : 31 Days to a Better Teacher, Bible Study, Leadership, Ministry
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