Most Sunday mornings I am asked to address a combined Sunday School class or spend time with a particular Bible study group. This is always something I enjoy doing and is a little more informal than the preaching services. Recently I began a special meeting on a Sunday morning and the pastor asked if I would be willing to sit in a class with him. “You do not have to speak. I just want you to hear our teacher,” he said.

It was one of the most refreshing and encouraging hours I have had in a long time. The Bible teacher had taken an online class with me long ago, but we had never met in person. As I sat and just listened to the way he handled the Word of God my soul was so blessed!

Here was a young, professional man – a man who knew business and also knew God. He had obviously given himself to time with the Lord and the Word. The pastor later told me that he regularly gave himself to visit and minister to individuals as well. This was a man who was an encouragement to his pastor, to other families in the church, and now to me.

This was a Bible Teacher.

As I reflected on my impressions from that Sunday School class, I wrote down several things that should characterize all of us who want to teach the Bible effectively…

• A concern for people. This concern became obvious as I listened to my friend pray for needs presented by his students. He was deeply concerned about lost souls. No amount of knowledge can substitute for heart.
• A love for the Scriptures. He did not teach a lesson. He taught the Bible.
• A depth of spiritual understanding. This does not come from teaching – it comes from living. Work on being a true follower of Christ and God will allow you to lead others to Him.
• An application of truth. Sunday School’s are often filled with the recitation of Bible facts and the rehearsal of religious platitudes. Our teacher on that Sunday morning was passionate about connecting the world of the Bible with our world. He majored on what we were to do with what we were learning. This is true teaching.
• An interest in the church. Good teachers realize that their work is connected to something bigger than their group. This man promoted the emphasis of the pastor and the church ministry. His class was not an island to itself.
• A respect for the pastor. I sat next to the pastor and observed his joy in hearing the Word of God taught by one that he had taught. The relationship between the preacher and the teachers in a church is vital.
• A radiant joy. The heart felt enthusiasm and love for what he was doing made a tremendous impact on me. Here was a student who had become a teacher! Isn’t what what we all are to do?

And the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).

It is no wonder that a group of ten has now become a group of forty studying God’s Word. May God give us many more such men and women – people who are simply and sincerely…”A Bible Teacher.”