Teaching in the ekklesia?
In my previous post, Edifice Complex: An Unhealthy Obsession, someone raised the question of teaching as it relates to Hebrews 10:25 and 1 Timothy 4:13. Once I looked over my response to their comment, it was nearly as long as my original post, so I decided to publish it as a separate article.
The most effective teaching takes place in the context of sharing our lives together. Think about the way we teach our children. Do we put a row of chairs in the family room and give them a lecture? No, as we move through the day, we take advantage of those unique “teaching moments” when they are most receptive to learning: times of discovery, disappointment, suffering, celebration, conflicts, and even discipline. I learned a lot in this last category, if you know what I mean: “the board of correction” often met “the seat of my understanding.” So, why do we think it’s so important to gather as an audience en masse to hear one person’s carefully-prepared (if you’re one of the “lucky” ones) elocution of what they learned in twenty hours of private reading and sermon-crafting? It reminds me of how someone once described the game of American football, “Fifty thousand people desperately in need of exercise watching twenty-two men desperately in need of rest.”
Jesus was the Master Teacher, so why not follow His example rather than use what Spencer Burke describes as a “thinly disguised university lecture” ((Spencer Burke, Making Sense of Church, p. 52)) approach? The Son of God chose twelve ordinary men and taught them everything they needed to know, both in style and substance. Although he had access to the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament, he never modeled what we now refer to—in serious, almost reverent tones—as “expository preaching.” As they walked along the way or sat on the hillsides, the Master talked to them about lost coins, fishing, farming, and the weather. He raised questions they weren’t asking and answered questions they were asking. Certainly, there were others (the women who traveled along with them, as well as the occasional crowds) who may have been privileged to eavesdrop on those intimate teaching moments, but He was focused on those twelve men as if no one else existed! And there were times when he taught the multitudes, although their interest in his teaching was superficial and short-lived.
Yes, teaching is to be a very important component of our life together. Are we not teaching one another at this very moment? Reading and responding to one another—thousands of miles separating us—through the wonderful technology of computers and the world wide web! What about phone calls? Or instant messaging? Or video/voice chat? Far removed from the dusty roads of Palestine, we have some wonderful advantages that make this sort of conversation possible, but I don’t think anyone could improve on Jesus’ method of teaching one-on-one and in the small group we know as the “twelve disciples.”
To my friend, Tom: the verse you mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:13 is literally translated, “Until I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.” Anything else has been supplied by the translators, including the words “public” and “of Scripture” (these are usually placed in italics). Take a look at the American Standard Version anytime you want an extremely literal rendering of the Hebrew or Greek text. I am becoming painfully aware that the verses I have often used to “prop up” my traditional views of church don’t really say what I thought they said, because I was putting my own “rose-colored glasses” on before reading them. Again, I find Burke helpful here:
For years we have elevated teaching to the exclusion of other gifts. Paul described the church in terms of a body. Whether we realize it or not, we’re walking around with a body that’s grossly out of proportion to our head. Our obsession with teaching has made us a caricature of what God intended. ((Ibid., p. 65))
Here’s how most pastor types read 1 Timothy 4:13–16 (and how I used to read it, too):
Until I come, make sure you read the Scriptures as part of your church worship service, in addition to preaching your monologue sermon. Don’t neglect the gift God has given you to prepare and deliver sermons: the gift that was recognized when you were ordained as a preacher. Spend time, lots of time, working on your sermon delivery, so everyone can be impressed with how much better you keep getting from week to week. Watch yourself closely and especially guard the time you devote to your craft. If you persist in these good study habits, you will save yourself and your Sunday morning audience.
Okay, I’m ready for the firing squad, but please take careful aim.
Question, is it okay if the teaching gifts are used as the church gathers together as it is encouraged to do in Heb 10:25? Even if we gather for a meal, is it okay if someone reads the scripture “publicly”? I can’t think of a better way to fellowship than around the reading, encouragement, and exhortation that come from scripture. That is not to say that this is all we do. I’m not even saying that we should read the scriptures while sitting in nice rows of chairs or pews. I’d be very happy if there were a mulititude of homes where people met and shared “real” fellowship, with ALL the gifts being employed… even teaching.
My little Reformed church’s sermons are ‘expository’ and I am ever so grateful. But I’m a researching bookworm noodle, so when my pastor starts pulling out the Greek lexicon and telling me what the Word REALLY says, I’m salivating. A proper understanding has most definitely ushered in proper worship. By proper worship I mean as I more deeply understand the character of God, I more deeply love and adore him. I am learning to ‘rightly divide the Word of truth’. To say my experience at this church has been life-changing would be an understatement.
And the people in this church live what they learn. They are truly Christ’s body in action reaching out and ministering to each other. The fellowship is rich and robust. I have stood amazed by this body of believers.
I think your modern paraphrase of 1Timothy 4 is an accurate portrayal of the bulk of today’s pastors. They have taken the gift of teaching and turned it into a pragmatic church growth tool. And by not accurately preaching and teaching the Word they are, in the spirit of Spurgeon, ushering people to hell. I personally would rather see pastors/teachers read more from the word of God and let Scripture comment on Scripture than have their commentaries. Jesus repeatedly referenced Scripture (although, being God incarnate, he didn’t need to qualify anything he said…) and so did the apostles. It was the framework for everything they taught whether in large groups or one on one. All too often today, pastors get a topic and then try to find scriptures that will support what they are trying to get across. Many times this leads to God’s Word being grossly mishandled. And the people (sitting in their neat rows), all too often, take what the pastor says and runs with it as gospel.
IMO more reading of the Word and less commentary is always best. It sounds dry, stuffy, and impersonal but that really hasn’t been the case for our family in our present church. The Sunday morning and evening services are where the expository preaching is done, and the small groups that meet in homes look very much like what Tom describes in his comment above.
This church sounds almost too good to be true, I know. God knew what we needed during our temporary stay in the Seattle area. His grace has abounded to us and we are constantly thanking him for it. It’s also important to note that since we are here only temporarily, we haven’t gotten the ‘privilege’ of seeing the warts and conflicts, which I’m sure exist, in this little gem of a church.
This thing called teaching is two-fold: First is the imparting of knowledge; Second is the application. Isn’t the application of what we are taught where the rubber really hits the road in ministry?
I think we have lots of freedom in our gatherings for full expression of the various gifts God gives the body of Christ. Paul even gives guidelines for those occasions when two or three prophets have something to say to the body: it should be done in an orderly fashion that respects the gifts and contributions of others. And I certainly wouldn’t mind, if I were hosting the meeting in my home, if someone shared a passage of Scripture that God had been using in their life. Unfortunately most church services today are so highly scripted that only a few elite people get to exercise their gifts: a great loss to the entire body of Christ and very stifling to the work of the Holy Spirit in the rest of the saints, IMO.
Amen.
I posted my thoughts on this topic and linked your post. I hope you’ll read it so you can understand where I’m coming from. I didn’t want to hijack your comment section.
I truly appreciate your perspective. It’s fresh air to me.