Teachers

Teachers are given to the Church to teach and explain the Word of God and to model and transmit the relationship with God they are teaching. Teaching as a gift of the Holy Spirit may also be given to people who are not permanently given to the Church as teachers, and may be given to people on specific occasions. Ephesians 4:11 "teachers" are not the same thing as "pastors."

The teacher teaches the Word of God.^1,2 The teacher studies and systematizes the Word of God and explains it clearly so that his audience can better understand it. The Greek word also includes—as its primary emphasis—the idea of modeling and training to perform the truths taught. Thus, the knowledge of the Lord is taught.³ The first principles of God’s Word are taught.⁴ All things Jesus commanded us to do are taught.⁵

According to Jesus’ own example as a teacher, teaching has two different but interlocking–and simultaneous, phases and at least three different audiences.

The first phase is the teaching of facts about God and or relationship to him. The second phase is making “disciples” (mathetes, Matthew 28:19) of those who are being taught–giving those taught a living model of the relationship that is being taught and maintaining a presence in their lives to instruct and assist them in following the model. Jesus was not a classroom teacher; he lived and traveled with his disciples for three years, was both their friend (he called himself that⁴) and master, and gently guided them not only into an intellectual understanding of the words he was teaching but also into a growing experience of the relationship he was teaching. It is the same with the “teaching” that is to be done in the Church.

The first audience of Jesus’ teachings was the crowds that followed him to “hear^5,6” his teaching of facts, and also to be healed or see a miracle, and then decide for themselves what part of the word they heard to believe and to keep,^7,8,9. This part of Jesus’ audience had great trouble understanding what he was saying^10,11. They had particular problems understanding what Jesus said about his relationship with his Father¹² because this was the part of his teaching that could only be modeled to them, and they were unwilling to permit this^13,14,15.

Jesus second audience was his enemies–the representatives of those in power who followed him not to follow his model but to find some way to trap him,¹⁶. Obviously, neither of these groups could become his “disciples,” because they were unwilling to do his will^17,18,19. Though they listened to Jesus’ teachings, repentance was required before they could actually follow him. Jesus’ third audience was his disciples²⁰.

Because there is a broad range of both potential disciples’ personal characteristics. audiences, and situations in which teaching (in both senses) should take place, it follows that there would also be a range of teaching gifts. Teaching is one of the so-called “motivational” gifts of the Holy Spirit discussed in Romans 12:3-8, and, as such, may be given to people who are not specifically given to the Church as “teachers” and may be given on specific occasions when needed.

            But, as Ephesians 4:11 teaches, there are also specific individuals who are given to the Church as “teachers.” Christ gave these “teachers” to the church for the same purposes that he gave the other four types of people named in Ephesians 4:11, namely to equip the rest of us to do the work of the ministry and to edify the whole Church.

            However, the organized Church as a whole has traditionally limited the exercise of this office, constraining teachers to fit into one of three narrowly defined position descriptions. To be allowed to function at all, a teacher must be a pastor, a church college or seminary professor, or a church program teacher. The roles of pastor and college professor are fairly obvious. The role of a “church program teacher” is this—a person who is appointed by those in church leadership to fill a pre-existing church-defined job opening for a “teacher” in an established church program, usually limited to teaching a narrowly-defined program curriculum. The role of program teacher is the only teaching role generally permitted “laymen” in the church. A person who has a teaching motivational gift, or, even worse, one who is given to the church as a teacher, but who is not recognized as a “pastor” or “minister” and who is not a good fit for any of the available teaching job openings in the formal church “program,” is likely to be somewhat frustrated, since any attempt to exercise his gift will be done without the support of the church and will tend to be ignored, discouraged or punished. Mostly, except for program teachers given strictly limited curricula to teach, the role of “teacher” in the local church tends to be forced into the mold of the “pastor-teacher”.            

NEXT: The Scarecrow Fallacy.