Ten Commandments of Teaching

As a teacher, you have one of the most powerful positions of influence in the church. Teaching changes lives! When we put the power of teaching alongside the Word of God, we have a real opportunity to see God transform lives. As we prepare and teach our lessons, we might consider these “ten commandments” as we persuade people to follow Christ. These commandments aren’t inspired, but they do have a biblical basis. I hope they encourage you in your teaching.

1. Thou shalt maintain a strong relationship with the Lord thy God. Our lessons should be an expression of the truth God is working in and through our lives. If we are teaching something that we are not living, it is a form of play acting or hypocrisy.
2. Thou shalt not put words in God’s mouth. We are Bible teachers before we are any other kind of teacher. We all have opinions on politics, other denominations and who is the greediest in the business world. Yet our concern in the classroom is what God says.
3. Thou shalt not teach the Word of God in a boring, non-compelling manor. If people are falling asleep during your teaching, it's not God's fault. The Bible is not boring! Seek to be creative in your methods and in your approach while conveying God’s truth.
4. Thou shalt always point people to Christ in thy lesson. Our lessons should always include some things that distinguish it as a Christian lesson. It should exalt and lift up Jesus. It isn’t enough to simply teach virtue—some false religions do that—we must teach Christ!
5. Thou shalt not open thy quarterly or commentary until thou hast read and studied the passage for thyself. Our lessons are not prepared just from the neck up. These truths must first go through our hearts and lives if we expect them to reach other hearts and minds. We need resources such as quarterlies to help us stay on the right track and gain insight, but ultimately the Holy Spirit is the one who enlightens us.
6. Thou shalt love the people thou art teaching. If loving your students is difficult, ask God to give you love for them. Love them by praying for them regularly, through practical expressions (meeting their needs) and communicate it to them often. They don’t know you love them if you do not somehow communicate it.
7. Thou shalt honor thy co-laborers in the work of thy God. The classroom is a place of ministry, sharing Christ and teaching the Bible. It is never a place for gossip, backstabbing or rehashing an arguing point you made in the last business meeting. Teach the Bible!
8. Thou shalt not teach an unprepared lesson. We all have those weeks that challenge our ability to have proper preparation time, but if it becomes a habit for you to read the teaching quarterly to your class without first studying the text of the lesson, you may need to consider making some adjustments to your schedule.
9. Thou shalt not teach thy lesson without saturating it with prayer. This one is pretty self-explanatory.
10. Thy lesson shalt be doctrinally accurate. Even subtle changes in major church doctrines are very dangerous. History teaches us many sad lessons about those who thought they had a “new revelation.”