Teaching not preaching

Preaching, according to Harpers’s Bible Dictionary, is a term that carries within it both mode and content, and the word means ‘to herald’ or ‘to make an authoritative proclamation.’ According to the same dictionary, teaching is the process and content of instruction. Preaching is telling; teaching is instructing.

I still am not sure of the difference, but know it when I hear it. I’ve heard preachers who were teaching, and I’ve heard teachers who were preaching.

The reason this is important to me is that God wants me to teach. Besides that, some passages in the Bible are about preaching, and I want to know the difference so I am not preaching in my teaching!

Today’s devotional brings me to a passage that uses the word preaching, but I’m trying to relate to it and apply it to my life. It says:

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more. (1 Corinthians 9:16-19)

Paul was truly a herald of good news. He took the gospel to most of the known world, and was not only qualified to make that authoritative proclamation, but directly commanded to do so by Jesus Christ. He did it willingly, not for personal gain (woe to those who preach for money or fame), but that he might win souls to Christ so they could share in the blessings of being saved for eternity.

As a Christian teacher, my role seems to be to instruct Christians in living out the new life they have in Christ. I’m not announcing anything or making proclamations. Instead, I’ve a calling to “teach them everything that God has taught me” so my tone and method are not the same as a preacher.

Out of this passage, the principle for me seems to be about motivation rather than content or method. Why teach? Isn’t it so people will learn and grow? Isn’t it so they will be blessed by walking with Christ?

In Jesus’ day, the teachers were the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus was constantly on their case for doing what they did for power and other kinds of personal gain. They liked the respect and homage of the people. They liked lording it over those who were less educated, to the point that James later wrote “Be not many teachers. . . .” Too many of them were abusing their position and not realizing the depth of their responsibilities. Instead, they were supposed to gather information so they could share it as servants of the people.

Last summer the Lord clearly told me to take a break from teaching. At the time, I thought I was tired and needed it. Then the Ladies Ministry in our church decided to do a video series for the women on Sunday morning, apart from knowing my decision. That was a good thing, putting all the women in the same classroom. When the video series is over, I’m expected to teach again.

For the past few weeks, I’m hearing those words from James and feeling the weight of them. I’m seeing how good teaching can be powerful but also resisted. I’m also far more aware of the responsibility than ever before. I must collect and give them truth, and help them use it wisely.

Perhaps I’m also aware that I am now more prone to be compared to the teacher in the video, more apt to be challenged, and more apt to feel as Paul did about rewards. It feels good to be appreciated as a teacher, but God could take me into a time of testing where my motive has to be pure, not mixed with any sense of personal gain for doing what He asks me to do. Teaching is what I am supposed to do, but right now, my knees are shaking.