My People Perish for Lack of Knowledge
Now that we have established (what we already know) that teachers are essential to the work of the church (Eph 4:11-19), we have to begin to get into the meat of the principles of teaching.
How many have you have ever been concerned about the future of our youth?
How many of you have ever worried in the least about the future faithfulness of some young person you know? Some people have noticed that there is a general misuse of time in Bible Classes. Sometimes there is time spent actually teaching the Bible
Are we seeking a quick fix? We have decided to use a certain kind of Bible material (Discovering God’s Way, Shaping Hearts for God, etc.) for all our young children classes—it is not the answer. What if we invested more money in our teenage material to help students become more familiar with the Bible story and the plan of salvation—is that the secret?
What do you think are the most important goals in a children’s Bible class? The best planned Bible class with the most interesting crafts and activities will not produce the results we want. What do you think is important in a children’s Bible class? We need to return to Basic Bible teaching. Teaching that tells students about the power of God and how it affects us—what it should cause us to do. As teachers, we should use the entire Bible to build a genuine love for God and his word.
Some teaching styles emphasize the importance of knowing the answers to a list of questions. What are some positive aspects of this style of teaching? Negative? How should we cure the problem when it comes to a lack of Bible knowledge? The purpose of our Bible teaching is to increase Bible knowledge but it is also to fortify against error. This style of teaching does not emphasize understanding. If a student is not involved in the learning process, it is very unlikely he/she will learn. The main problem is that simply memorizing answers to questions only answers those questions. It is an inability to apply old principles to new situations. We cannot assimilate knowledge of basic principles into new concepts. It is not enough for a student to remember the scheme of redemption as presented in scripture, but also how it is to be carried out in his/her own life
Others have said we need to make our teaching more “relevant”. What do you think that means? Some have attempted to approach Bible teaching in the other extreme. “Make it relevant”—what do you think that means? Every child should be able to relate the Bible in his/her own life, but students must first have knowledge before any relating can be done. “We really need to work hard to make the Bible relevant”. What is your response to that statement? I think we are being affected by a lack of faith shown by the world. The Bible is not out of date--Who doesn’t love a story about struggle, service and sacrifice?