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Christ's Awareness Raised Everyday |
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"Teaching That Bears Fruit is an indispensable book for anyone who loves to teach the Bible. It focuses on the important issue of teaching with kingdom impact as its focus. It aims to help the teacher communicate God's word in such a manner that lives will be changed." Ken Hemphill, National Strategist for Empowering Kingdom Growth. |
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Quotes from inside TTBF · Jesus’ approach to learning: Knowing that learning builds upon learning, Jesus always began his teaching with His learners inclination in mind. · We do a grave injustice to God’s Word when we only teach the facts. · People learn best when they discover answers for themselves. · The value of a question—priceless! |
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Retail $14.95: SonC.A.R.E. price $12.00 |
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One of the great fallacies of our day is that if we study enough, gather as much information as we can and carry all that we can into the classroom or pulpit, we can teach an effective lesson. The main objection I have with this theory and common practice is that it goes against all human learning processes. I call this common practice the content-Dump-truck method...
A greater tragedy in this method is that rarely do we give our learners any means of carrying this content into their own lives.
From Chapter one The other thing I remember about that dump truck is that the guys with experience driving it could raise the bed and empty the load in a smooth manner. When I tried, the entire load (normally finely-ground limestone) seemed to come out in one huge pile– at least when I first started. The load was not applicable in the configuration of a huge pile as I dumped it. To fulfill its purpose someone else (an entire crew) had to come in rake, scoop, and shovel making a smooth and usable surface. Christian education has in many ways taken on the characteristics of the dump truck. Many classrooms and pulpits are filled with a teacher/preacher who has spent several hours the previous week gleaning from several commentaries and surfing the web for as much theological material as possible on the scriptures concerning this week’s lesson. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. In fact these leaders are to be commended for their commitment and effort. However, the downfall comes when they stand behind the pulpit or in front of the class. We have gained so much knowledge and insight to this set of scriptures that we do not want our students to miss out on any part of it. Therefore, we back our truck up in the classroom each week and raise the bed and dump it all on our students. Most of the time it is like my first few tries with the dump truck. It all comes out in one heaping pile. Like the limestone, it is not usable in one huge pile. Information, facts, and knowledge do not create learning. They may create an unpleasant and unsightly mound that is not applicable in the lives of our learners. Most of us do not have the luxury of having a crew coming in behind us to work the mound into a usable surface of transforming wisdom.
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For ordering information contact glyates@soncare.net |
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Teaching That Bears Fruit helps you understand how Jesus used the human learning process to perpetuate true learning among His listeners. Jesus never had a class room to call His own. He never had a whiteboard or chalk board, a flannelgraph, or even PowerPoint. Most of His recorded teaching took place in the streets, on the hillsides, and at the dinner table. He didn't meet at 9:30 on Sunday morning. Yet His three and one half years of teaching a small band of learners has turned the world upside down. Teaching That Bears Fruit unlocks the toolbox of Jesus' teaching. |
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Testimonials To see what others are saying about Teaching that Bears Fruit, click here. |
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For more information or to order Teaching That Bears Fruit contact SonC.A.R.E. Ministries at glyates@soncare.net |
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Inside the book: |
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From Chapter Three Jesus was "The Master Teacher". The gospels record many teaching experiences in the three ministry years of Jesus. Not only was His teaching environment widely varied. Jesus used a variety of techniques to assist His listeners in their learning as well. In this chapter we will look at some of Jesus' learning approaches. I refer to them as His approaches to 'learning' because He knew what methods to incorporate in His teaching to most effectively communicate life-style and behavioral change in His listeners. Jesus needed only to spend a few hours with Zachaeus to totally transform his life. It was only a few minutes with the Samaritan woman at the well that brought about life transformation. Jesus used different approaches and teaching methods depending on His audience and the lesson/truth being taught. Jesus taught to bring about life-change. Some of the approaches or techniques used by Jesus during his ministry years are: 1) Discovery learning - leading His learners in self-discovery of how truths apply to each person individually and corporately. 2) Object lessons - using objects common and familiar to his listeners. 3) Illustrations and parables - stories, examples, and comparisons relational to His listeners. 4) Teachable Moments - ready to take advantage of a situation or need as it arose. 5) Practice - Jesus gave His learners time and opportunities to practice what they had learned. 6) Questions – Jesus used questions to activate higher order thinking. As we have discussed in earlier chapters, as teachers we must realize that learning our subject matter isn't good enough. We must know how to enable our students to learn the subject matter and live it. What good is all of our knowledge if it does not affect the lives of the people whom God has placed around us? You can have the nicest newest car around, but if you do not have any fuel to drive it, it becomes nothing more than a conversation piece. The same is true with Christian education. You can have all the knowledge - information, facts and figures - available, yet without application it will get you nowhere. It is the application, integration of the principles and truths into our daily routine, that fuels knowledge into life-changing behavior. |
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From Chapter Four One of the superlative teaching techniques proven throughout history is the use of Questions. Inquiry through question is one of our greatest means of communication and learning known to man. With a question you can 1) gather information, 2) embark on a quest of a person's prior knowledge, 3) make a statement soliciting your listener’s approval, and 4) promote higher level thinking. More than twenty years ago as I entered the world of sales one of the first things we were taught in people skills was the use of questions… I deliberated and practiced different delivery techniques, voice inflection, and the emotion of a question. One great lesson I learned early on is, "It is not what you say so much as how you say it." From our early childhood days most of us have learned to use questions to gather information. "But why, Mom?" or "What if I ...Dad?" "How does this work?" … We go through life using the question this way. But, when God created the question He created so much more than information gathering. In education we can use the question to gain an understanding of our learners prior learning. Whether in religious or secular education the question can be used to evaluate a person's prior knowledge or progress. Jesus used this line of questioning. In Matthew 16: 13-16 we see one such instance: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"... "But what about you? He asked, "Who do you say I am?" |
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The disciples could have said, “We agree, you are someone special to God. You say you are the Son of God and we think there is certainly some possibility there." But they did not. In fact Simon Peter's is the only answer recorded. Jesus tells him in the very next verse (17), "Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." Peter's answer was the result of a revelation of true life-changing learning. Learn to use questions to assist you in understanding your learner’s prior knowledge. You can also use questions to make almost any statement you desire. I enjoy using this and teaching people about it. Salesmen and women use this all day long. In fact someone has probably used it with you today, haven't they? Parents use this form with their children, don't they? Sometimes, children use this line of questioning with their parents, wouldn't you say? It happens all day long, doesn't it? I've been using it the last five statements I have made, haven't I? Teaching can be fun and learning should be fun, interesting and relative. Did Jesus use a question like this in His teachings? He sure did. Let's look at Matthew 18:33. In His parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus uses this question of the master, "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" Is there a statement made in this sentence? It is clearly a statement placed in question form just like the ones parents use with children. |
