Why We Need to Get Beyond Only Lecture in Adult Classes

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Some teachers of adult Bible classes primarily lecture. While lectures have a place in teaching adults, we do need to think of the potential for real learning. That should inspire us to get beyond solely lecturing. Consider the following points.

Get Beyond Lecture in Adult Classes to Increase the Potential for Changed Lives

Perhaps some teachers primarily lecture in adult Bible classes because they have a lot of content for students to absorb. After all, we may reason, they have a longer attention span than children and youth. While that reasoning may hold some truth, more is not always more. Sometimes less is more. It all depends on our objective. Are we teaching for changed lives or mere head knowledge? Do we want people to get to know the Lord better, not just about Him, in ways that make a difference in their lives?

To take people to higher levels of learning, that lead to applying truth to life, we must get beyond lecture. People need opportunity to work through the implications and application of truth, to gain a better understanding of how truth relates to everyday living.

Change Described in Colossians 1:9-10 Requires Getting Beyond Lecture in Adult ClassesNotice the flow in Colossians 1:9-10 which begins with knowledge but goes to understanding and application which results in bearing fruit and getting to know God better.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God …

Get Beyond Lecture to Increase the Potential of Reaching More Students

While some adults learn through verbal instruction (auditory learners), many learn better visually. Some grasp lessons with a more hands-on approach while others learn best with interpersonal opportunities. Certainly that suggests we should use a variety of methods within a lesson if we want to reach more than our auditory learners. Using only lecture in adult classes mainly fits the auditory learning style. Adding visuals to the lecture will reach more students but still not all.

Remember the Apostle Paul’s approach described in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22. He said, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” While he wasn’t speaking specifically about teaching methods, certainly the principle could apply.

Note: This doesn’t mean we never use lecture. It certainly has a place in teaching adults. When we do, however, we should at least try to add some visualization and guard against dry, monotone-like communication. We can add illustrations, even sharing personal experiences. And, let’s be expressive, yet genuine.

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Training for Teachers New to Teaching the Bible

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All teachers, regardless of previous experience, benefit from strategic pre-service training. People new to teaching the Bible need specific training prior to placement into a teaching position.

What Teachers New to Teaching the Bible Should Know Before They Begin

Start with a basic understanding of the Bible and its message.

Teaching the Real Message of the BibleUnlike any other book, the Bible’s uniqueness suggests that even those who have taught in a traditional school setting gain at least a basic understanding of the Text they will teach. People don’t need an exhaustive knowledge of the Word before teaching but at least a solid big-picture understanding. Even veteran Bible teachers continue to learn and grow. These training resources can help those new to Bible teaching gain that big-picture perspective:

Move on to a basic understanding of the Bible teaching-learning process.

New teachers also need a grasp on the goals of the Bible teaching-learning process. It goes beyond the acquisition of knowledge to addressing the heart as well as behavior. Beginning with head knowledge, it culminates in “bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-11). Teachers need to know how to structure individual lessons to increase the potential of their students reaching that end goal. Here’s a resource to help:

New Teachers Will Also Benefit from Other Basics

Know age level characteristics.

God made people to learn certain ways at different stages of their development. Though curriculum usually accommodates the age level, teachers will face teaching moments off script before or after class, even during activities. New teachers therefore need a basic understanding of the age they’ll teach. Here are resources to help:

Know how to effectively use curriculum.

People new to Bible teaching need to understand the role of curriculum as a guide, with the Bible being the real Text. While lesson preparation will tie into the curriculum being used, we need to study God’s Word and not rely solely on the curriculum. We need to depend on God’s Spirit to make truth known. We mustn’t underestimate the role of prayer in both preparing and presenting the lesson. Training should therefore include specifics about the curriculum itself but also emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit and prayer. Check out these resources:

If teaching children or youth, new teachers would benefit from some discipline basics.

Even with all of the above understood and implemented by new teachers, disillusionment and discouragement can set in if students don’t cooperate or pay attention. So teaching doesn’t become more about “crowd control” than actual teaching, new teachers need at least a basic understanding of managing classroom discipline before beginning to teach. These training resources provide some of the basics. In time, training on classroom discipline can go deeper.

Other training topics like methodology, creativity, time management, and more, are important but but people new to teaching the Bible may get overwhelmed with too much too fast. Begin with the basics and then continue with in-service training to fill in the gaps.

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Tips for Using Puppets in the Bible Classroom

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Puppets can be an effective teaching method when their use meets certain conditions. Below you’ll find an acrostic of tips for using them in the Bible classroom.

Using Puppets in the Classroom
Also check out the Using Puppets in the Classroom handout by Ministry Tools Resource Center. This three-page teacher training resource helps teachers think through various aspects of using puppets as a teaching method in the Bible classroom.

An Acrostic with Tips for Using Puppets

Please note that the following acrostic is not included in the above-mentioned handout though some of the tips are similar.

P – Purpose

Make sure the use of puppets enhances the lesson. Have a higher purpose than merely because students enjoy them. We teach for learning and growth, not for entertainment.

U – Usage

Learn the proper way to use a puppet (i.e., mouth movement, how to enter, realistic movement, etc.).

P – Props

While a stage, background scenery, and other props can be used, they aren’t always necessary. Sometimes less is more.

P – Practice

Get comfortable manipulating the puppet and maintaining a consistent voice and personality for it. Know the script well enough that you don’t have to keep looking at notes.

E – Engagement

Provide opportunity for students to interact when possible, such as having the puppet ask questions for students to answer.

T – Timing

Determine when using puppets best fits the lesson. Also consider how often to use puppets so their use doesn’t become less effective.

S – Simplicity

Make sure the puppets themselves and their planned usage is simple enough to get the message across. Especially consider age level developmental factors and interests of students. A complicated plot, too many puppets, or excessive props, can become more of a distraction to learning.

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Evidence Teachers Have Fulfilled Their God-Given Purpose

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Bible teachers have a God-Given purpose of equipping “His people for works of service” (Eph. 4:11-12). It results in positive effects not only on individual believers but also on the whole Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13). So, how do we know if we’re fulfilling this purpose? How can we tell if people have been equipped through our teaching? To answer those questions, move on to verses 14-15 in Ephesians 4. There we see evidence of equipped people.

Evidence of Having Fulfilled Our God-Given Purpose to Equip Believers

Ephesians 4:14 begins with the word “then” which suggests what happens after people have been equipped as described in Ephesians 4:11-13.

Evidence of People Being Equipped
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Eph. 4:14-15)

Equipped people will no longer be …

1) “infants”

Equipped people will be spiritually mature because they’ve moved on from milk to the solid food of God’s Word and “by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:12-14).

2) “tossed back and forth by the waves”

Equipped people can stand firm when the storms of life hit because their faith has been built on a firm foundation (Lk. 6:48).

3) “blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”

Equipped people do not compromise truth. They know not only what they believe but why. They’re “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks” (1 Pet. 3:15).

Instead, equipped people will …

4) “speak the truth in love”

Equipped people become more and more like Christ. Just as He came and lived among us “full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14), so mature, Christ-like followers hold firm to truth, tempering the way they communicate it with love, with grace.

5) “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ”

Equipped people reflect Christ. They will “not conform to the pattern of this world” because they’ve submitted themselves to God and are transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom. 12:1-2). As a result, they’re “able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2), which is conformity to Christ (Rom. 8:29).

Are you fulfilling your God-given purpose to equip His people? Look at the lives of your students. Do they evidence spiritual maturity built on a firm foundation? Are they non-compromising when it comes to truth, yet able to react to those who oppose it with love? Does their light shine in such a way that it increasingly reflects Jesus in every aspect of their lives?

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