Teaching: Heading in the Same Direction

Introduction

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams.

Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918) was a prominent American historian, Harvard professor, and intellectual from the distinguished Adams political family, which included two U.S. presidents. He is best known for his autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams, which won the Pulitzer Prize and explored the tension between 18th-century tradition and 20th-century technology.

Unity - What is it and how is it developed?

John 17

What we teach as teachers plays a part in this.

Doctrinal unity - what we teach

Relational Unity - How we teach it

Formational Unity - Why we teach it.

I. Teaching Within the Efree Ethos - Doctrinal Unity

What we teach.

i. Uniformity

KFC picture

Fast food restaurants use uniforms for branding, hygiene, safety, and customer service, making staff easily identifiable, creating a professional look, preventing contamination with specialized materials, and fostering team unity while reinforcing the company's image.

My Experience at KFC

looked the same

But did not hold the same work ethic or values or beliefs

Uniformity, humanly speaking, is an impossibility - cloning maybe

Comment: I wonder if the value of dressing up for church, in previous generations, had the same desired outcome - unity? Uniformity?

So we have to acknowledge as we teach that there are differences, particulary for adults, maybe even in the teens

ii. Unity in the Face of Differences

Slide: Spot the difference picture

4 Tier step diagram - draw

Essentials, Secondary, Convictions, preferences

Lets list some we might think fit under these categories

iii. Unity in Essentials

In Essentials, Unity…

Read: Essential Truths: We are called to embody and proclaim the essential truths of

Christianity as articulated in the Word of God, expressed through the centuries in the

great creeds of the church and defined for us in our Statement of Faith. We continue in

the tradition of our EFCC forefathers who said; “Where stands it written?” These truths

have led us to Jesus Christ who said “he is truth” and that the “truth would set us free.”

A. Essential Truths

Let’s look at our statement of faith

Let’s talk a bit about what is missing?

Slide

Holy Spirit

Church - baptism

There are certain beliefs that we all hold and must hold to be true in order to remain orthodox.

Orthodox: conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved.

That’s why it talks about what is expressed through the great creeds. Church History plays apart in what this is.

What has been widely accepted throughout church history?

Where an issue falls within these categories should be determined by weighing the cumulative force of at least seven considerations:

biblical clarity;

relevance to the character of God;

relevance to the essence of the gospel;

biblical frequency and significance (how often in Scripture it is taught, and what weight Scripture places upon it);

effect on other doctrines;

consensus among Christians (past and present); and

effect on personal and church life.

Efree - Where stand it written?

B. Differences

Slide: How do we handle them?

In non-essentials charity

How would you define charity?

Slide:

a. Generosity of Spirit -read

Nassar -

b. Kingdom minded - read

same purpose

We are all connected to the same source:

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

C. Unity 2.0

“In all things Jesus Christ” - on slide

Slide:

a. The great commandment and great commission - read

b. Godly living - read

We are all aiming for the same things.

II. Handling Secondary & Difficult Topics - Relational Unity

How we teach it.

i. Humility

A Teachable Heart is Humble: Psalm 25:9 states that God "leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way". This implies that humility is a prerequisite for receiving divine instruction and wisdom.

Humility is Necessary for Wisdom: Proverbs 15:33 connects the two directly: "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor".

Teaching as Service (The Example of Jesus): In John 13:14-15, after washing his disciples' feet, Jesus (the ultimate Teacher) explains that because he, their Lord and Teacher, served them, they should also "wash one another's feet". This links the role of a teacher with the actions of a servant.

Gentle Teaching: In Ephesians 4:2, Christians are instructed to walk with "all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love".

The "Meekness of Wisdom": James 3:13 encourages showing works through the "meekness of wisdom" rather than selfish ambition.

ii. Open Handed

Hold it loosely

When we hold to the secondary + tightly is when it become emotional and can become a battle

Women in ministry

Pretrib endtimes - AGC churches

iii. Acknowledging other views

I believe that scripture best describes this view but.....

iv. What is the Main Point?

What is the main point of prophecy? Ezekiel - “They shall know that I am the Lord.” 70 times

What is the main point with end times theology? The Lord is coming again… be ready.

What about cultural commentary?

The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.

Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)

Counterfit money illustration

i. It may not be as big a deal to others as it is to you.

I have found this in my teaching/preaching

We were warned against allowing our Hobbie horses to take over our preaching/teaching.

ii. What is the underlying issue?

This is ultimately what we want to address

What belief, value or teaching does this contradict?

Let’s not make the cultural thing the main thing.

iii. Might this affect our doctrinal unity? Relational Unity? Formational Unity?

Is this suitable for me to address? Is this a topic for parents to address? Do I need to notify leaders, parents before I teach this?

Please have a conversation with the leader of your area of teaching before entering this arena.

iv. How does Scripture address this? Where is the hope?

Directly?

Indirectly?

Are we ultimately, building a foundation of truth and hope in Jesus?

III. What are we Looking to Accomplish through our Teaching? - Formational Unity

Why we teach it.

i. Knowledge - Prov 1:1-7

vs 5 - let the wise hear and increase in learning

wise people are learners

ii. Wisdom -

This is from God and God values wisdom

receive instruction in righteousnessm, justice and equity

Prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth.

iii. Transformation -

Romans 12:1-2

Renovation of mind

2 Timothy 3:10-16

2 works of the Scriptures:

Make wise for salvation through faith in Jesus

More particularly, the Bible instructs for salvation ‘through faith in Christ Jesus’. So, since the Bible is a book of salvation, and since salvation is through Christ, the Bible focuses its attention upon Christ.

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

We are not looking to fill our “students” with opinions, thoughts, philosophies etc.

2 outcomes:

the “man” of God will be complete(whole, full) - perfect

Equipped for good works. - maturity

Ephesians 4:11-16

iv. Discipleship

Matthew 28:18-20

Teach to obey

What does it mean to obey?

Our modern culture really pushes freedom, to the point of self-contradiction. As long as you accept anyone’s authority over you, we are subtly and not so subtly told, you are not really free. It is therefore very important to counteract this false idea of self-autonomy with the recognition that true freedom, freedom from sin, is only found in obedience to God, CS Lewis Institute

Obedience is connected to trust and respect. It actually comes from a Latin word meaning “to hear.” When we obey God, it is a sign that we really trust Him and are listening to what He is saying, and truly believe that He knows best. If we don’t obey God, we are essentially saying, “I know better than You do,” which is precisely what happened in the Garden of Eden.

Obeying God in the Bible means voluntarily submitting to His authority, trusting His wisdom, and acting on His commands out of love rather than mere legalism

So as we teach how do we think through these categories? Let’s brain storm

Conclusion