I have been thinking lately about the need for more adult biblical education. It would follow to reason that if people need to be taught, then competent teachers are also needed to teach them. It has been surprising to me after teaching adults in a Sunday School type class setting for several years now how much some people know and how much others do not. I have thought for some time that a great need for the church is sound Biblical and Theological training. It seem that this is even more a pressing need in modern Protestant Evangelical circles. It appears that the current trend is to ignore all historic creeds and catechisms as "high church" or "Roman". This thinking has led to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
On the other hand we have never had more opportunity for attaining biblical knowledge than in this age. You can enroll in distance educational classes from most Bible Colleges and Seminaries. You can get training materials in book form or periodicals shipped directly to your door. You can watch Christian TV, listen to Christian satellite radio 24/7, or purchase material on CD or DVD. You can stream it over the Internet or listen to podcasts on any MP3 player.
Education or the lack thereof is not a new concern but has probably always been a concern of the church and it's leaders. Because the need has always been so great it may or may not be important who teaches as long as the teaching gets done, right? That is what I thought until I came across this verse in James 3:1. "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
Wow, who needed teachers more than the early church? Yet the writer of James warned those aspiring to be teachers to be wary because those who teach will face a stricter judgment. Teachers must be considered and chosen carefully because of the importance placed on conveying biblical truths.
What a wake up call for us in this modern age. If the great need for the church is biblical education it should be done only by competent mature believers who have the gift and ability to teach. To teach or not to teach should be considered carefully by both the individual and those responsible for overseeing the local church. The responsibility of teaching should not just be handed over to anyone who is willing and special consideration should be given by all because of the warning of James 3:1.
