teach well

For many of us on the 'Young Cartsbridge' team, the task of teaching is built into the fabric of our service in the church. It takes place in different contexts, using different formats but it shares a common objective: to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the subsequent call to follow him on the path of discipleship.

As we look ahead to a new session, where do we turn for fresh insight and encouragement in this role? Paul's counsel in Romans 12:7 is a great place to start. In almost understated language, the New Living Translation of this verse underlines the approach we ought to take with the gift that God has given us - "If you are a teacher, teach well." Teach WELL. It is a simple and clear call. If we are to honour God in teaching his word, then we must do it well. We ought to approach this responsibility in a careful, prayerful, complete and meticulous manner.

How can this be achieved?

I believe we will get close if we grasp the following:

REMEMBER THE BASICS

What is teaching?

At its most basic level it is ‘the interaction of the minds between the communicator and those to whom they are communicating in such a way as to impart knowledge, stimulate thought, impact values or lead to action…or any combination of these’ (source unknown).

What do we need to be a teacher?

We need to know our subject, something of the people to whom we are communicating and we need to know ourselves.

Of course, the answers given to those questions could easily apply to teaching in any context. They are worth reflecting on as we think of our own unique calling at Cartsbridge. However, the calling of Christian ministry requires that we take this to a deeper level. Someone said that the godly approach to teaching recognises that it involves 'the Word of God through the Spirit of God by the servant of God to the people of God.'

Building on that foundation, we need, secondly, to:

RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

In this fast moving, ever changing world that we are part of, the need for effective teachers is of critical importance. Over the last few years I have reflected a great deal on what it means to teach God's Word in the 21st century. What I now outline would be some basic convictions that I have arrived at about how we can do this more effectively.

It is good to remember that both learner and teacher are whole persons

Teaching is not just the communication of mind to mind. It is, more importantly, person to person. Therefore, as a teacher our whole personality needs to be available to the Holy Spirit. A Christian understanding on the gift of teaching recognises that as well as informing the mind it is also about shaping a godly character.

Cultivate wide interests

For our teaching to be effective we need to be students of life and people. We need to learn to engage with people where they are, speaking in a language they understand.

Read books that make you think

It is helpful to have a book to hand that stretches our mind: literature that argues its point. This will enable us to develop the skill of weighing arguments and judging the truth.

Read books that help your imagination

There is a danger that television and the digital age is robbing people of an imaginative leap. As we read good literature it appeals to our imagination and that can be a great help as we seek creative ways of communicating God’s truth. Of course, the key book that helps us to this end is the Bible itself. The picture language of the Bible is rich and full and has the ability to stir our imagination, inform our minds and refine our character.

Be a constant student of your subject

We will only impact others if we are constantly finding new truth in the Bible. We cannot lead people any higher than our own experience of God and our understanding of his word and his ways.

Be a constant student of the art of teaching

We need to continually ask, 'Can my teaching be improved?' To that end, never be afraid to seek counsel from other, more experienced, teachers. Teachers need teachable hearts!

All of this leads me to the final point:

RELATE TO THE PEOPLE

A good number of years ago I heard a preacher develop the following points that I believe, will help us understand, empathise and communicate more effectively with our group:

·       Study the culture

·       Learn the language

·       Love the people

·       Emulate the Lord Jesus Christ

"If you are a teacher, TEACH WELL."

(Written as a reflection for the volunteers of the children’s and youth ministries at Cartsbridge, January 2017)

the end is the beginning pt.2

The evening of October 1st was much anticipated by the coordinators of the church: event. We spent significant time thinking and praying through the vision, building a team around gifting and passion, as well as promoting it among the church family at Cartsbridge.

Our central idea was clear from the start. We would use these evenings to create SPACE: space for community, creativity, worship and teaching. We believed we needed to provide an event that would allow busy people to encounter God, experience community, become equipped to live as Jesus' followers and as a result, leave to engage more effectively with their world. Furthermore we sensed strongly that people in our fellowship shared the vision and were eager for something like this to take place.

The two weeks leading up to the event involved serious planning of the programme. The whole of Sunday afternoon involved us setting up the church in a way that reflected our core values. The response from the church family that evening was nothing short of staggering. Around 200 people turned up for church:! We had those from their earliest days to their senior years in attendance and this made for a special atmosphere in the building.

To capture the essence of what took place I mention our four central principles.

Community

We wanted to make it clear that although the programme started around 6.30pm we would invite people to come for coffee and cookies at 6.15pm. There was a real buzz in the building people chatted to those they didn't know very well. Equally at the end of the evening people stayed behind and lots of conversations took place.

Creativity

The people who hosted church: spent considerable time planning the first section. There was clever use of video, good interaction with the church family and a fun activity that engaged people and drew them into what was taking place. This provided a good platform on which to build the rest of the evening.

Worship

A number of people commented that the presence of God was evident as we worshipped him through carefully chosen songs. Once again our desire was to give space and freedom to enable the lyrics of songs to cause an upward response to God in devotion, praise and renewed commitment.

Teaching

The overall theme for the teaching was 'Indescribable' and our desire was to explore the greatness of God and his presence in the lives of his people.

Our bible base is found in Exodus 15:11

Who among the gods is like you, Lord?

Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Our aim was to take a phrase each week and explore three key truths about God. He is set apart, high above and yet fully present.

When I look back on our first church: event my personal highlight was the space we provided for prayer at the end. A small team stood just off centre at the front of the church. As we rounded off the programme we encouraged people to come forward for prayer. A good number of people did. I mention this because this would be an unusual practice in our fellowship. Through church: we want to sensitively change culture if we believe it will enable people to encounter God. 

What I have recounted is only a tiny snapshot of the first evening. How it will develop in the coming months I cannot say. However, I am grateful for what took place this autumn in Cartsbridge Church and I am hopeful for the future.

the end is the beginning

The story of the Evening Service at Cartsbridge has been one of gradual decline in recent years. Added to that, the age profile of the congregation was definitely towards the more senior end lately. The question of its future was one that increasingly exercised the leadership of the church.

However, before we get to that discussion it would be important to say that this is only a tiny account of the bigger narrative of life at Cartsbridge. The church overall is not in decline. Indeed, far from it. Membership has increased and there are many fruitful and thriving ministries that take place on a weekly basis involving large numbers of people.

So what was happening on a Sunday night? Simply put the decline was the result of significant but, in many ways, hidden changes in church culture.

For many years Cartsbridge adopted a congregational-centred approach to church life. Members and attendees largely supported what was considered to be the key services of church life (i.e. Sunday worship and mid-week prayer).

What I have observed over recent years has been a kind of ‘grass roots’ adaptation to this approach.

Members began to make the choice of which of the three Sunday services they attended. Many became part of organic groups which have taken seed, germinated and grown in the last few years.

Church life, in other words, has become much more decentralised. People began to find support and nurture in smaller fellowship groups as well as whole church worship.

In all this diversity the major casuality seems to have been the Sunday Evening Service. In the spring of 2015 the Elders made the decision to bring this service to an end. The natural break over the summer would allow some space to reflect on what, if anything, should take its place.

What happened over that period was, in my mind, very important. The elders entrusted the potential for a new future to a small team of people who were gifted, passionate and able to see fresh possibilities.

When the core team began to imagine a way forward the big picture quickly took shape.

We would:

Launch a once-a-month-event

Form a team who would be entrusted with specific areas of responsibility

Endeavour to make it a central space for community, worship, teaching and creativity.

Work hard at envisioning the church.

The core team debated about what we should call the event. We believed it ought to have its own distinct ‘branding.’ In the end we chose ‘church:’ The fact that the letter ‘u’ and the colon were the same colour would capture the heart of what this event was all about. The colon would say (subtly!) that these evenings would expand on some of the central tenets of church life: community, worship, teaching and creativity. The letter ‘u’ would in effect say that people would be blessed and enriched for being there.

On October 1 2015 we launched ‘church:’ So how did it go? The answer deserves a blog piece all of its own!