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MentorNet
# 24 Copyright 2004 by George Patterson. May be freely copied. In A wise teacher lays a foundation of loving obedience to Jesus’
commands, just as he told us to do (Matthew 28:18-20). The first
church in Jerusalem, empowered by the Holy Spirit, set an example by obeying,
from the start, the commands of Christ in their most basic form (Acts
2:37-47). Their motive for obedience was not the Old Testament Law but love
for Jesus (John A. A good trainer of leaders has an assortment of studies
that apply to different needs. In Matthew
13:52, Jesus said to apply a variety of resources to current situations, “like
the head of a household who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
This differs from the prevailing, traditional practice of simply teaching a
systematic analysis of biblical truth. Jesus brought forth things old and new
when He taught "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and
a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but
whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew Jesus and His apostles did not present an outline prepared
ahead of time to the new leaders whom they trained. Rather, they taught in
response to questions, needs, criticisms and events. New churches in pioneer
fields benefit most from such a ‘menu’ approach to teaching. Like newborn
babies, they have different, urgent needs that require immediate attention.
The teacher or mentor, like Jesus and Paul, must listen to a new leader and
learn the need of his flock, then use a ‘menu’ to select studies that
fit the need. We taught this in A good teacher communicates Biblical truth with simple stories. “Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables” (Matthew B. A wise teacher trains only those who obey the Word of
God. Jesus required that His disciples
‘shake the dust’ from their feet and leave people who fail to respond to
God’s Word (Luke 9:5). He also told us not to throw our pearls before pigs
(Matthew 7:6). Paul and Barnabas turned from people who rejected the good
news to those who received it (Acts C. A good trainer of leaders enables them immediately to
equip believers in their flocks to instruct and serve one another. Ephesians 4:11-16 reveals the aim and means
of teaching believers. The aim is “equipping of the believers for the
work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” The means
is to enable them to instruct and serve one another in loving harmony,
according to the abilities of each one. “Speaking the truth in love, we are
to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom
the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love”. Such interaction is not allowed in most traditional
churches. George Patterson recalls how he learned that to ‘build up’ means to
strengthen something or add to it. An uneducated Honduran with whom he worked
closely told him that he was “dancing with the devil”. He explained, “The
devil causes a problem in a town, and we rush to deal with it. Then Satan
makes trouble in another church and we dash over there. Then he causes a
quarrel in another church and we hurry again to correct it, dancing with the
devil.” He suggested, “Let us agree to do two things. First, let us deal with
any problem briefly and leave it in God’s hands, never letting it take up
more than half of our time. Second, let us not leave a place until we have
added something positive. We will win people to Christ, organize a church,
enroll pastoral students, or help them begin a ministry that is lacking.” D. A wise teacher, like Ezra, includes children in
important instruction and church life. “Men,
women and children, gathered to him from Traditional teachers are too hasty in separating children
out. It is not enough simply to tell children Bible stories during the
worship time. Rather let children briefly act out Bible stories for the
adults Thus, the children will know that they are an important part of the
church body. The Paul-Timothy studies that we prepare on a topic come in pairs:
one study is for the new church leader, and another is for children with a
Bible story to act out during the worship time. E. A wise teacher integrates teaching with the other
gift-based ministries of the body, harmonized in love by the Holy Spirit. “The body is one and yet has many members”
(1 Corinthians F. A wise trainer of leaders teaches in a way that his
trainees can imitate at once and can pass to newer leaders. “The things which you have heard from me in the presence
of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach
others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Teaching given to new leaders must be
reproducible. Wherever the apostles went making disciples and training new
leaders the way Jesus said to do, churches multiplied. The same thing
happens today in most pioneer fields where missionaries and trainers follow
these guidelines and pass on “a light baton”. So doing avoids methods that
are difficult to imitate, and excludes equipment that is unavailable to their
trainees. A good trainer of leaders finds out what a church is lacking and mobilizes elders to deal with it. “Set in order what is lacking and name elders in each city” (Titus 1:5). A trainer must first listen and verify what are the current needs of each church, then supply through the local leaders what is lacking. Even novice leaders can train newer leaders effectively when trainers supply them with a checklist of the activities that are required of a church by Christ and His apostles. With such a menu of vital ministries, one can easily chart a new congregation’s progress. Paul-Timothy Leader Training provides such a menu of church activities that are required by the New Testament. Train and Multiply® uses a similar menu. Free studies can be downloaded from www.Paul-Timothy.net under these categories:
G. A good trainer of leaders investigates the outcomes of his
teaching. James H. A good trainer of leaders helps them to discover for
themselves what the Bible says about a particular truth. The Bereans searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul
said was true (Acts I. A wise trainer of leaders teaches and writes studies
that focus on people, avoiding abstract analysis of doctrine. Paul kept in mind the
persons to whom he wrote his letters, naming them and dealing with specific
situations in their churches, in response to questions and reported needs. Peter
had shepherding elders in mind when he wrote 1 Peter. John wrote, “I am
writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven… I am
writing to you, fathers, because you know Him... I am writing to you, young
men, because you have overcome the evil one...” (1 John 2:12-14). We,
too, should prepare our lessons with people and their needs in mind. Write
studies as though you were writing a letter to a specific person who is
typical of those who need your instruction. J.
A wise trainer of shepherds models pastoral skills while teaching,
maintaining a balance between classroom instruction and mentoring on the job.
“Be imitators of me as I am of Christ”
(1 Corinthians 11:1). Our best teaching is often done on the
job outside of any classroom. Jesus and His apostles apprenticed new leaders,
combining verbal instruction with field work. Jesus taught the crowds by
monologue, but he prepared novice leaders, by walking and chatting with them
(Matthew 5:1-2). When Paul taught the Ephesian congregation, as reported in
Acts 20:7, he did so discussing questions with them, not with a sermon. (The
verb in the original Greek is dialegomai, to discuss, discourse
with, converse with, or discuss a question with another. The context of
Acts 20:7 seems cordial and passionate, not a place and time for
philosophical monologue, harangue or pulpit oratory.) To find mentoring tools and sites, visit <http://www.MentorAndMultiply.com>. |