A Call To Teach

A Personal Passion

I’m not sure when I first developed my passion for teaching; its seems to have just always been a part of who I am. Playing “school” was my favorite make-believe activity as a little girl. My chalkboard easel got much more use than my Little Tikes kitchen or dollhouse combined. Oddly though, a “teacher” was never even on my list of “what I want to be when I grow up.” Instead, spaces on that list were reserved for the more adventurous careers of a missionary, a church pianist, a baker, or a juggler.

In high school, I bounced between dreams of careers in the medical field or communications/media.  Then, being the academic overachiever that I was, I was invited to a summer camp entitled “Economic for Leaders.”  The teachers of the economic classes throughout the week made what is often a boring or difficult subject come alive!  I previously had no interest in economic concepts, but while under the teaching at this camp, I found myself more engaged in learning than any other point in my previous eleven years of education.

I think the idea was to inspire us to pursue careers in economics or business, and while I certainly considered this briefly in the months following my attendance at the camp, its lasting impact had quite a different effect. Instead, the giftedness of the teachers at this camp awakened my childhood interest in teaching with renewed fervor and  increased depth.  It’s still been quite the journey to bring me to where I am now, as obviously I did not pursue the typical route to a typical teaching profession, and I imagine that I’ve still got quite the journey ahead fulfilling my dream of teaching.  And perhaps elements of this journey are topics for a future post.  But for now, I say all of this to make one point: I recognize that I have what is probably an abnormal interest in and passion for teaching, and really for education in general.

God’s Design

Seeking to determine how to properly “do” school, how to best educate the next generation, and understanding God’s heart for teaching has been the driving force of my studies and ministry for the last five years.  Recently, this lead me to eagerly search the Scriptures to arrive at a Biblical model for education (elements of this too will perhaps be expanded upon in a future post!).  And I thought I had come near to exhausting all the clear verses which discuss teaching, but this morning in my time with the Lord, my devotional book said to read Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statues and rules in Israel.”

This is a wonderful example of how we should approach our teaching! It should always be in this order: STUDY, DO, TEACH.  Other Scriptures affirm this foundational method (such as Dt 6:4-7; Mt 7:3-5); we cannot appropriately teach another something that we ourselves do not know or are not following.

A Call For Us All?

The concept of “study, do, teach” is certainly not new to me, but then it struck me that the particular discipleship book I was reading from was not written only for those interested in teaching, but was actually indicating that all believers should follow Ezra’s example.  I was a bit confused.  Then the Lord brought some more passages to my mind, and I’m becoming increasingly convinced from the Scriptures that God calls each of us to particular teaching assignments.

As I said, I recognize that I have an unusual interest in teaching and I’ve come to the (somewhat sad) realization that things relating to education often don’t interest others as much as me. But, even if you don’t share my intense enthusiasm for teaching, I hope that you can see from the passages below that you share this responsibility in the Body of Christ.

Parental Teaching

If you’re a dad, mom, or grandparent, then your job as teacher is explicitly commanded throughout Scripture.  Deuteronomy 6:7 makes this clear: “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” Pretty clear and straightforward. (Dt 4:9 extends this command to teaching grandchildren as well.) This is to be done through modeling, deliberate times of instruction, and simply weaving God’s truth into everyday life circumstances.  YOU bear ultimate responsibility before the Lord for your child’s upbringing and YOU are called to take the lead in their education.

Great Commission Discipleship

Jesus’ parting words to His disciples was a command to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…”  (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Great Commission is God’s task to the Church, which every believer bears responsibility in fulfilling. We indeed all have a call to teach new believers the ways of the Lord.

Life in the Body

If any doubt remains that as a Christian you are in fact called to teach, here’s a final command from the Lord: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom…” Colossians 3:16

Do not misunderstand what I am saying: Scripture makes a very clear distinction between the form of teaching that we are all to engage in with one another and the office of pastor/teacher, which carries with it authority and is reserved for godly men (see, for example, 1 Timothy 2:12 & 3:1-7).  It is this office that James warns not many to enter into and which promises to bring greater judgement (James 3:1).

But, understanding the harmony of these Scriptures, we see that God desires us each to take an active role in the growth of our fellow believers.  This edification process is to be deliberate and occur as a vital part of our fellowship.  Titus 2 describes one example of an informal teaching relationship in the church: older women teaching younger ones to “love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands.”  This follows the command for older women to behave in a particular way, and thusly demonstrates the same “study, do, teach” model as employed elsewhere in Scripture.

A Shared Passion

Whether it’s with your children, or with new believers, or with fellow brothers and sisters, I see that Scripture desires us all to take seriously our responsibility to teach.  Sure, I may be wired with a unique passion for the subject, but I hope that you can join me in pondering how to be an active part of the life-long education of those whom Christ has placed in your life.