Twice St Paul says of overseers that they must be “able to teach.” Seems like a no-brainer if the task is to “make disciples (learners) by baptizing... and teaching.” Some have pointed out that this is the only non-relational qualification Paul lists. I find that a fascinating observation in itself, because all those whom I considered “apt” teachers were relational. They interacted with their students in patient, winsome ways. But I digress.

What interests me about this qualification is that it suggests how God's Word is delivered. It suggests one more way that God has bound himself to frail humanity. It is critical for a disciple-maker that he be an apt teacher. Let us not confuse this with witnessing. Inviting one to church, speaking about how Christ has quieted one's own guilty conscience, how He has given hope for one's own eternal future – these are laudable, worthy, and necessary abilities that give the witness an Andrew-like role to those who “would see Jesus.” But don't confuse witnessing with teaching. Witnessing does not require one to be an apt teacher.

Now if God's Word “works” the way some would have us believe, there is no benefit to being a capable teacher. If the Word works all by itself, then the most bumbling, ignorant person could mouth the doctrines of God to the profit of the hearer. But of course that isn't how the Word works. The Ethiopian eunuch gave the lie to that belief when he said to Philip, “How can I (understand) unless someone explain it?” If the Scriptures didn't depend upon human explanation and teaching, everyone who read them would understand them immediately. If they were understandable to all without the need for an apt teacher, Peter would not have written about Paul's letters that they “contain some things that are hard to understand...”

It is precisely because there are some things hard to understand that teachers need to be apt. It is why they aren't to be recent converts. Because good teaching is relational, teachers are to be patient and have a good reputation. A certain teacher I once had behaved as though every question raised about the text sprang from doubt. He would become defensive and accusatory. Needless to say, he was not a n able teacher.

A number of Bible courses have taken an approach that theoretically allows just about anyone to teach. (Some publishers think they are being more honest by calling them the “leader's guide.”) The guide goes so far as to lay out exactly what the leader should say. It may go something like this: “Have someone read the text. Then ask the participants how they feel about what has happened in the text.” (Accept all answers.) “Tell the class ..” and then various points are listed that are to be presented to the class. After that the leader/teach is to “Ask for their response.” (Accept all answers.) And so it goes. This is hardly apt teaching. But neither is apt teaching simply asking students to recount facts found in the text: “How many animals went into the ark with Noah?” “How long did it rain?” “Of what kind of wood was the ark made?” While both fact and feeling play important roles in teaching and learning, these methods of getting at them are not helpful. They create the false impression that just about anyone with a printed guide can get the job done. Perhaps, here too, the underlying assumption is that the Word possesses spiritual qualities that guarantee it will be learned regardless of the quality of teaching. Often, in a rush to begin small group Bible studies, an important Scriptural counsel is lost: “let not many of you become teachers.”

I raise the point because one current strategy in outreach is to form small group Bible studies consisting of a non-Christian, a weaker Christian, and a more mature Christian. Studying the Word of God can be beneficial to all three as the Spirit may work to create, strengthen, and confirm one's faith. But a critical component for this strategy is having an apt teacher. If the teacher is not both well-grounded in Scripture AND apt to teach, I fear the consequences. The last state could become worse than the first for each participant. In our rush to apply democratic principles (“anyone can teach this”), let's not sacrifice the Biblical principle that not everyone has the same gifts or even in the same measure.

Addendum: for a fascinating look at teaching today, see

http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=8112