Teaching: Both Exhilarating And Frightening!

“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” (Ephesians 2:10).

Teaching is an interesting phenomenon. I really enjoyed it in the classroom when I was a young man, working with exceptional student education. Later, I taught adult ed. and led small groups in church. I also have fun speaking at retreats and workshops as a spin-off from the books I write.

But what’s happening now with the community men’s Bible study here in North Carolina is a serendipitous highlight in my life, something neither planned for nor expected, at the same time both exhilarating and a little bit frightening.

I always return home with a tight knot in my stomach because A) I care so deeply for these guys, B) I am conscious of how important this is and C) I second-guess nearly everything I do!

I believe that God is trusting me with something special, and I want to be as good as I can. And that means pointing people toward Jesus. Or, as John the Baptist put it, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Currently, we’re reading Ephesians, where Paul writes that we are all citizens together and covered by the same covenant promises. And along with our membership in God’s household comes responsibility. Not rule-keeping obligations but the opportunity to join in with God’s initiatives of mercy, grace, goodness, reconciliation, healing, justice and more.

Jesus is a catalyst who, in a sense, activates and releases the power and the purpose of our spiritual nature. We become, as Paul points out, “God’s masterpiece, recreated in Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Jesus accepted pretty much everyone without being judgy — but he also said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” Jesus invites us to live our salvation out loud and to join in with God’s good work.

Like all good lessons, this one ended too soon. But we will pick it up again next week … and if I didn’t completely blow it this time, I suspect that the guys will be back!

— Derek