One take on last week’s “transformational Bible teaching” discussion might be that what we really want is “transformational Bible learning,” right? We agreed that the end-goal is not so much what or how we teach as much as it is that people learn, remember, and are changed by all that Jesus said and did. This week too is about learning, specifically how God created the human brain to work. Christian educators should study learning all their lives.
But whatever we learn about learning has to be translated into becoming the most effective teachers we can be, and Ephesians 4:11-16 gives some important pointers. Verse 11 affirms the essential role of church leaders (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers) and describes their responsibility in verse 12 as “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Verses 13-16 then give a luminous picture of an equipped, healthy, growing body.
We can also learn from Paul’s use of the word equipping which means to bring to fitness or perfection. Equipping would certainly include what is traditionally considered teaching but speaks of developing a measure of competence beyond simply knowing about something. The English word “train” is a helpful synonym. In what contexts do we normally speak about training as opposed to teaching? Note also that verse 12 implies that all saints (not just some) should receive equipping or training. How does this passage help inform our task of making disciples in Matthew 28:19-20? What do you see?
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