Back to School

Standing outside a building at Moorhead State University

By this Tuesday, most learning institutions will be back in session. While in elementary school, I was considered one of the smartest students in my class. Later in my teens, my grades went down because I hated doing homework (although much time was spent reading encyclopedia articles). Still, I managed to graduate from high school. Then I took several college courses but never got a degree. Often the classes I liked best provided hands-on training as opposed to listening to lectures all hour long.

Before answering the call to full-time ministry, a few people suggested I go to Bible school. The Lord told me it wasn’t necessary. Many of the early apostles didn't attend the Rhemas and ORUs of their day. Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” As an alternative, I put myself through “cassette seminary.” I listened to many sermon tapes while working at temporary jobs and then applied what I learned during evangelism outings.

I also used to attend various Christian conferences but in recent years cut back on that. Sitting in meeting after meeting does not automatically produce spiritual growth. As James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” I know a pastor's wife who once had a vision of 500-pound canaries sitting in church pews. Their beaks were open like they were saying, “Feed me!” Many believers today get fat on the word but hardly do anything with it. Jesus said, “Go ye.” He didn’t say, “Sit ye.”

Additional education can be a distraction if God hasn’t called you to attend a particular school. You don’t want to waste time and money on courses that won’t help you fulfill your divine destiny. When I first enrolled in a state university, a relative encouraged me to take out a student loan. He told me it was getting money back from the government. Instead, it resulted in a heavy debt load. “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

Now I’m not criticizing all forms of higher education. Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase learning...” Often extra schooling is required to enter a particular profession. I have a friend who was inspired to become a lawyer in his late 60s. He went to law school at Liberty University and then became a staff attorney for the Alabama Supreme Court.

Just before dying in a plane crash in 1982, Christian singer Keith Green wrote a powerful article titled “Why YOU Should Go to the Mission Field.” In which, he stated... 

“Yes, God does call some people to go to college. Sometimes it's to get training for a ministry calling He's made clear to them. For instance, if you know what country you're called to, perhaps God would lead you to learn the language and culture somewhat before you go (although the very best place to learn is within the country itself - it's a definite ‘crash course’)!”

Ultimately, our teacher is the Holy Spirit. His textbook is the Holy Bible.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” - Romans 15:4

Teachers Wanted

As a young Christian, I listened to numerous sermon tapes. Among the ministers I gleaned from the most were Mac Hammond, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, Mike Murdock, and Joyce Meyer. God used them at different seasons in my life to build a solid foundation on His word. In recent years, I’ve probably listened to Perry Stone more than any other preacher. Perry estimates he's studied the Bible for more than 100,000 hours in his lifetime. His “Manna-Fest” programs often filmed in Israel help illustrate his points.

Besides their pastor, most believers have a favorite preacher they like listening to. However, one must avoid seeking out ministers who proclaim only what they want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3 warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers”

Wrong doctrines have been built based on one Bible verse alone. Look at 1 John 2:27…

“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”

Someone could casually glance at this verse and think they don’t need to receive instruction from other believers. That’s not what John is saying at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written any epistles. John pointed out to the people he wrote to that they had no need for anyone to teach them the church’s basic doctrines. They also didn’t need human logic or philosophy to help them understand God’s nature. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate teacher. 

Until Jesus returns, He will continue using ministers to help us grow in knowledge of His word. Ephesians 4:11-13 says the Lord gave us “…teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Many other Scriptures talk about the importance of receiving instruction from others. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Some translations use the word “teach” instead of “train.” When giving the Great Commission in Matthew 28:20, Jesus told us to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Numerous times in Psalm 119 it says, “Teach me Your statutes.” 

We should never stop learning God’s word. That’s one way we grow to become more like Jesus.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.” - Matthew 10:24

Bouncing Back from Blunders

Proverbs 11:30 says, “He that wins souls is wise.”  One of the benefits to sharing your faith is that it’s a continuing education.  No matter how long one has been doing evangelism, you can always learn new ways to approach people and overcome objections.  A soul-winner must also learn to rebound from mistakes made on the streets.

One afternoon in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, I handed out tracts while running errands.  As I was about to walk across a bridge back to the house I was staying at, I offered a tract to a man approaching me on his bicycle.  Sometimes bike riders will snatch tracts out of my hand like a baton from a relay runner.  Originally this man passed by me without taking the tract but then suddenly stopped.  A second later, a woman riding closely behind crashed into him, fell onto a grassy area next to the sidewalk and started crying.  At first I didn’t say anything as I was stunned by what just happened.  Meanwhile, the man helped this woman up and asked if she was okay.  When the woman commented that her arm was hurting, I mentioned that I was a minister and offered to pray for her.  After doing so but didn’t see a manifestation of healing, the man politely said “Thank you.”  I took that as a sign it was time for me to leave.

As I continued walking across the bridge, I brooded over the accident.  Suddenly I remembered the woman had been listening to an iPod.  Had she been more alert to her surroundings and not followed the other bike rider so close, this woman could have avoided crashing into him.  Nevertheless, I was determined not to let something like that happen again.

Exactly a week later, I was evangelizing in downtown Fargo and saw a huge amount of bicyclists coming up the street.  My first thought was to offer tracts to whoever would take one.  But recalling the accident in Coon Rapids the week before, I didn’t want to cause another one.  I considered offering a tract to the last biker who had no one behind him.  But instead, I approached a woman who was waiting for a friend withdrawing cash from a nearby ATM machine.  Edna said she was Catholic and thought she would first go to purgatory when her life ended.  Eventually she prayed with me to receive salvation.  Hallelujah!

So the next time something goes wrong while evangelizing, don’t give up on fulfilling the Great Commission.  Move on and keep sharing the gospel.

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.  But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” - Proverbs 24:16 (NLT)