Preparation to Teach

[Guest]

For those that teach others from the Bible in any format, a question for you.

How do you prepare?
Describe your process of studying the scriptures to reach the meaning intended.

What is the balance between reliance on ."...studying to show yourself approved..." and reliance on the Holy Spirit to speak into the hearer's hearts?

I'm a "beginner" teacher with no formal training and am looking for some help from the more experienced.

[Guest]

I think it's important to read, re-read and think deeply about the passage at hand. I try to determine prayerfully and thoughtfully what God was saying in the passage before me. This gives me a general idea/outline.

Next, I read a few commentaries on the chapter at hand and google it to see what else I can find. Then I re-organize it so that the study flows well.

I think the Holy Spirit is in the whole process. I don't make a dichotomy between what the studying and reliance on the Spirit. God has given me both a brain to think and the spiritual ability to listen.

[Guest]

Hi Schoel,

I think a lot of it depends on your students. I've taught both kids and adults and the difference in preparation is worlds apart. I agree with Matt about knowing the passage and/or topic as well as you can and finding some favorite teachers and commentaries for ideas. If you're just beginning and leading a small group, there are some wonderful study books you can use that give some direction on how to phrase thought provoking questions for discussion. I've used the Navigator series in the past and found it very fitting for a home group type study. I also would recommend learning a study method that would help you to interpret scripture on your own. There's usually just a few simple rules to follow and it is very rewarding once you do it a few times and get the hang of it. You'll be surprised at what God can reveal to you even without commentaries and study aids. I'm kind of partial to inductive and didactic method because it's what I was taught.

God bless your endeavors.

[Guest]

I also would recommend learning a study method that would help you to interpret scripture on your own.

What are the list of methods? Where can I find info on them?

I'm kind of partial to inductive and didactic method because it's what I was taught.

Can you describe the inductive and didactic method?

[Guest]

Hi Schoel,

One of my favourite source of Bible background and spiritual insight is Steve Gregg's Audio MP3 Commentary Keep listening!

Although I used to do Bible Study with my small group using inductive Bible Study methods (from my exposure to Precept Ministries), these days I tend to do more verse-by-verse teaching much like what Steve does. I will confess that Steve has a big influence on my spiritual understanding.

I do get new and fresh insights in the midst of teaching others and I attribute this to the Holy Spirit. Many times, the teaching ends up having more of an impact on my own spiritual life than my listeners.

[Guest]

Hi Schoel,

What are the list of methods? Where can I find info on them?

Sorry, I am not the right person to ask about that. I'm sure that there are several "methods" of study (topical, biographical, devotional, etc.) that I assume use many of the same hermeneutical principles, but I don't know what they all are or what is the best. I was only taught two, and I learned them through my church. I never attended a bible college or seminary so I only know what I was taught at my church. Perhaps someone else on the forum could give you that list.

Can you describe the inductive and didactic method?

I'll give you a very brief description of these methods as I understand them and use them. As I was taught it, Inductive study is a verse by verse consideration through an entire book (one section at a time), and eventually the whole bible. Where I learned it, it is done without commentaries so as to draw out what the text is saying without bringing in anyone else's presuppositions. There is essentially 3 stages to the method, observation, interpretation, and application. In the observation stage, you break down the passage into who, what, where, when, how, etc. You then try to find relationships (repeated words, ideas, etc) and contrasts in the passage. The interpretation stage uses your findings in the observation stage to discover universal and timeless spiritual truths. The application stage uses the interpretation as a basis to apply it to your own life.

The didactic method (again, as I was taught it) is very similar except that there is more emphasis on grammatical structure. All the subjects, verbs, objects, etc. are identified and again you look for relationships and contrasts. Also, you look up word definitions on a number of words in the passage (even words you think you know). I found that this part helps greatly in the interpretation stage.

My church didn't allow the cross-referencing of other scripture because they wanted people to focus on just what was being said in that specific passage. However, I don't agree with that principle because I think it's too easy to take a passage out of context if you don't compare against similar and parallel passages to get a broader understanding of what is being said that may not be conveyed in the passage you're studying.

Anyway, I want to say again, I'm not a bible scholar so I can only tell you what I was taught. There are many wonderful books on hermenuetics out there. I've read RC Sproul's "Knowing Scripture" and it seemed pretty easy for the average person (like me) to understand. There are probably even better one's than that. Steve would probably be a better source of information on that.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you.

[Guest]

I am often asked what method I would recommend for studying the Bible, and I am not sure exactly how to answer. On the one hand, I know some methods that come highly recommended (most of all, the "inductive method" which Chris has very well explained), and on the other hand, I reflect on how I learned (and am learning) the Scriptures.

Technically, the original question of this thread was not "How should I study the Bible?" but "How should I prepare to teach the Bible?" The first question is central to answering the second, since a teacher ought not attempt to teach what he has not thought through or studied. There are factors additional to study skills that go into good teaching—including communication skills, empathy with the listener (so as to anticipate his/her questions that exist and that arise in the course of your teaching), and (ideally) the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This last is rather a subjective matter, and can largely be deduced by observing spiritual results in the hearers (these results are not usually as immediately visible for a teacher as they are, for example, for an evangelist, who may see instant results).

When I began studying and teaching the Bible, I knew nothing of methods. I knew only hunger. I HAD to know what God's Word said—whether I would ever have the opportunity to teach anyone else or not! What I didn't understand, I mused upon day and night, looked up cross-references with a concordance, and occasionally consulted commentaries (I got discouraged early-on with commentaries because they tended only to explain the things that were fairly easy to understand, and passed over, without comment, the kinds of things I was puzzling over).

I really believe that the Lord opened my eyes to many things in His Word early in the process, but He continued to bring things to light which challenged my assumptions for decades afterward as well.

When I began teaching on any subject, or through a book of the Bible, I mainly bore in mind the questions that had been raised in my own mind when reading the material for the first time. Many of these questions I now had satisfactory answers for, so my teachings were primarily comprised of a series of questions and answers about the topic or the text.

As my knowledge of a given subject would fill-in over the years, I would prepare outlines for my topical teachings, which included just about every question that could be asked about a subject, organized in a logical sequence.

It never occurred to me to ask whether this was the best way to teach, or whether other teachers did it this way. It was the way that came naturally to me, and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

I don't know what God may lead other teachers to do, but I expect it will correspond well with the particular mental processes that He has given them, which may very well differ from my own. I have been blessed listening to many styles of teaching. So long as the teacher knows his subject and is a clear communicator, I usually can get some benefit from him.

[Guest]

Hi Schoel,

I think what people have posted here is very good. Personally, I tend to go with the verse by verse method as well (as Steve Gregg has heavily influenced me and I never really learnt any other method). I also try to give titles to sections of the book under study. These titles eventually form themselves into a broad outline of the book and can help you see what the author (both human and Divine) is trying to express. [It also really helps when you go back to look at your notes and you have forgotten alot of the contect, etc.. of the book. It also helps when people use scriptues to prove a point.. its a quick way to ascertain the context, if you are having problems in the moment]

In essence I:

1) Read through the entire book from beginning to end without stopping a few times
2) If anything comes to mind I jot it down, but don't concentrate on it for the moment
3) I then try to develop the sections myself and make my own commentary
4) I then read a few other commentaries and listen to any of Steve's teachings that might be relevant and I am always surprised to find out that I'm not a heretic (I guess it depends what commentaries you read though, eh?) when I think I discover something new!
5) I then put my notes together
6) Once my notes are together, I then plan on how to best communicate the information and think about what to cover when, and how to get the message across

What I used to do was a bit simpler. When I first started really studying through the NT, I used to break a book down by chapters, then by sections with the chapter. I'd give each chapter a very brief (3 to 5 word) description and pick both what I believed to be a key verse and a 'nugget' which is something cool or inspirational to me while studying. This has evolved to more of a section by section outline of the book as chapter numbers don't always break up the books in the best places it seems.

I have found both, especially my 'new method', ways of studying excellent preparation to teach in a verse by verse manner; however, I have also found that I tend to have to much information to convey. So, due to time constraints, I need to drop alot of non-essential stuff.

Now, I haven't been teaching through the Bible for many years.. and I am usually very overwhelmed when beginning to study a new book.

Everything I've said applies to verse by verse teaching through a book of the Bible in a semi-formal school type setting.

To be honest, I haven't done as much teaching at the front of a church or in a small group setting. I haven't been called upon much for this. I also find this much more difficult, not for the preparation, but because you don't have as much time to lay framework and people are coming from different perspectives..

If I fail anywhere, it is probably that I don't spend enough time praying and asking God for understanding and/or exactly what He wants to say while I'm teaching.

And no matter how you prepare, don't be afraid to ask for feedback from those you taught and/or those who asked you to teach. Don't let it go to your head, but being open to criticism/feedback can really help us in our blind spots.

Hope that helps!

in Him,
Les

PS I'm just preparing to teach Exodus at the GCS in ThunderBay beginning this Monday!

[Guest]

I think everyone has given really good advice here. I just remembered a fear I had when I first began as a teacher. I was only 16, and had very little life experience, and had read very few books othern than the Bible itswelf.

Because of these things, I approached every teaching session (usually in home Bible studies in those days) with much fear and trepidation—fearing that I would have no illustrative material from real life to animate my points, and that I would therefore end up running through the points on my outline in seven minutes, and have to close for lack of additional material.

What I remember most distinctly about those years was my desperately praying for the half-hour before the meeting that God would cause appropriate illustrations to come to my mind. As a result, my lessons were seldom less than 90 minutes in length. I could hardly fit in all the illustrations that the Lord brought to my mind!

As it turned out, probably 70% of the illustrations came from the lives of Bible characters themselves, which pleased me even more than if they had been modern illustrations, since this upped the "Bible content" in the lesson, and helped to tie the stories in the Bible with the principles I intended to teach.

I was frankly amazed, in those days, by the wealth of illustrative material the Lord provided in the scriptures. I really could see that the Lord answered my prayers about this.

I think apt illustrations really help make technical points clear and pallatable to the listeners. I have never liked it when preachers "spiced-up" their sermons with gratuitous jokes, or amusing stories of little relevance, just to keep the audience awake. Stories from the lives of Bible characters, interesting anacdotes from Christian biographies, and also personal memoirs are good for illustrating, so long as they really do illustrate the point, and are not merely "filler."

[Guest]

Steve, I definitely experienced a similar fear when i began to teach God's Word. I was very afraid I'd be done in 10 minutes and very surprised when an hour flew by. It is amazing how God reminds us of other relevant passages and even stories from our own life that we don't think of until just before or even while we're teaching. Praise God.

I also very much relate to what you said about having your own questions as you read through a chapter and then using those questions and the answers you found as a sort of outline. I do this exact thing, but never really realized.