We conclude our series on practical suggestions for improving our adult Bible classes.
Suggestion #3: Come Prepared To Learn
Class time isn't a time to "stump the teacher" (that is easily done!!). It is a time for instructive discussions about the Bible and mutual learning. It is a time to be fed what our souls need the most (cp. Mt. 5:6).
For a collective effort to be successful, there must be the setting & achieving of certain expectations. Students have every right to expect the teacher to come prepared. It is my judgment that adult Bible classes work best when the teacher acts more like a facilitator instead of a lecturer. Adopting this approach assumes the audience has something worthwhile to contribute, and the teacher's role is to solicit comments from the group, guiding the discussion according to the lesson plan. He should not just tell people what he thinks they need to know. (That's what preaching is for during the worship assembly). Likewise, teachers have every right to expect his students to come prepared to engage in the "dialogue" with lessons done (see last week's Suggestion #2).
Suggestion #4: Leave Prepared To Serve
The Bible encourages us to "do" what we learn (Mt. 7:24; Jas. 1:22). The Lord Himself established the "learning and teaching chain" in the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20). The apostle Paul told the young preacher Timothy, "things you have heard from me...commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). The objective for Bible classes is not to make one a walking Bible encyclopedia. Nor should it be the aim of our classes to make one the neighborhood champ of Bible trivia. Learning's objective is to produce teachers...always has, always will (cp. Heb. 5:12). And we learn to teach others after we've applied what we learned in Bible study (Rom. 2:17-23).
A student is to become like his teacher (cp. Mt. 10:25). We are fortunate to be allowed free access to quiet periods of Bible study with beloved brethren. May we never disdain them. May we use them toward improving our own discipleship to Jesus Christ. And may we always seek to make them even better.
