On the daily, there is an instance where a social-justice-oriented famous “Christian” says something borderline heretical, completely asinine, or self-contradictory and then, after the backlash, tries to walk back what they said. During this walk back they try to shift blame to the receivers and accuse them of twisting words or of just not understanding what they said. Of course, miscommunication occurs. I teach a small group and a Sunday school class regularly and have written for blogs for years and I’ve had to clarify or correct myself on numerous occasions so I don’t think anyone expects someone to perfectly communicate everything they’re trying to say, especially on social media.
People who teach need to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently. Knowing the context in which you are teaching is essential to fulfilling your role as a teacher. If you’re someone who requires more time and it’s a real struggle for you to condense anything, then doing mini devotionals is not your ideal teaching opportunity. If you write books on one topic to flesh out every angle then Twitter is not your ideal medium.
1 Corinthians 14:8-10
8 For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.
Of course, here Paul is writing about speaking in a language that people understand and not just muttering gibberish but the principle—speak so people know what you’re saying—applies.
1 Timothy 1:6-7
6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
You must understand what you’re saying before you can hope to rightly teach others. If you have a simple message and you are given 5 minutes to teach but it takes you 45 minutes of teaching to go back and clarify all the wrong things you said in 5 minutes then it’s likely that you are not called by God to teach. The best teachers take difficult material and make it simple. Imagine a math teacher who needs 3 hours to teach teenagers how to calculate the square root of 9! Now imagine a teacher who needs 3 minutes to teach 9-year-olds the same math! Which one should be involved in the teaching of mathematics? That’s what we have in Christianity. We have “teachers” who are either unable or unwilling to teach simple truths.
As far as should-be-teaching is concerned it’s irrelevant as to why they can’t teach simple truths. Whether they’re unwilling or unable doesn’t change the fact that they should not be teaching. It has a bearing as to their eternal destiny but on this earth, they are not qualified to teach. If you speak and people, through no fault of their own, do not know what you’re actually saying then you, by definition, are not teaching.
If you are a teacher, then teach like Jesus. If you are not a teacher then sit under the teaching of someone who speaks with clarity and with authority:
Luke 4:31-32
31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
Tim Bates
Tim lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Melanie and two children, Calvin and Caroline. He serves as a deacon, teacher and small group leader at Maranatha Bible Church.