Gospel Words and Gospel Deeds

The strategy for making disciples involves Gospel deeds and Gospel words. We must engage in Gospel deeds to show the community that we care.

Gospel deeds do not validate the message. Because we speak the message of God's Word, it comes in the Spirit and in power, and it validates itself in the hearts of those who hear.

Gospel deeds do not validate the message; they validate the messenger. They gain us a hearing, so the Word may do its work.

David Watson discusses this in the eight-minute video below.

David Watson from Roy Moran on Vimeo.

Getting Their Attention, 2

See Getting Their Attention

Marva Collins died last week, and after learning more about her, I can see that she had mastered the art of capturing her students' attention. Although she began her career before the advent of Whole Brain Teaching, I can see some intersections between her methods and WBT.

For one thing, her classroom did not have a teacher's desk. She stayed on her feet and perpetually engaged her students for the whole day.

In addition, she gave what may have amounted to the only positive feedback in the experience of her students. She made them look her in the eye as she praised them and told them not only that she loved them, but also how smart they were.

She even turned praise into a teaching opportunity by commending her students in Latin, Italian or German. This, no doubt, added the element of fun to learning.

Most of all, she captured the class's attention by believing in them and expecting great things from them.  

While Mrs. Collins taught classics and did not seem to approach subjects in terms of a Biblical world-and-life-view, the Christian teacher may profit from studying her methods and asking, "What did she do that conforms to the Bible's approach to making disciples?"

In 1995, CBS's 60 Minutes did a segment on Marva Collins, and examined the impressive results she achieved. You may watch it in two parts, below. To see a movie based on her early career, go here.

Teaching Others in Order to Learn, 3

You have a topic to prepare, you have a class scheduled, and you have a big question. "Do I know this material well enough to teach it?"

If you've asked yourself that, you've focused on the wrong question. You must ask yourself, "Do I know this material well enough that I don't have to teach it?"

What do I mean by this? Well, in many universities, the most experienced professors teach teach the introductory courses. In many cases, they choose to do this so that they themselves master the basics of their discipline. As they assimilate these basics, they achieve a new level of mastery. 

Now the prof does not have to teach the content in order to know it. At this point, a smart teacher will shift focus from knowing the material to the techniques that impart it to his student/disciples. 

In your teaching experience, only at that point do you move from teaching others so that you yourself may learn, to becoming a master ready to make teachers of others.

Hear the Word of the Lord

Whole Brain Teaching gives us an attention-getter, "Class!/Yes!" However, I wanted something to attract special attention when I quoted Scripture.

I came up with the idea of saying, "Hear the Word of the Lord," and having the class respond with, "Speak, Lord, your servant hears."

Here is the script I wrote for teaching this response:

Hey hey, Class!/Hey hey, Yes!

I have a story to tell you from the Bible.

Long ago, before Israel had a king, Samuel's mother took him to live in the Tabernacle with Eli, the priest.

When I say, "Teach," teach your partner the story, so far.

Teach, I say. (Okay, I say)

Class!/Yes!

One night, as Samuel lay sleeping, he heard a voice calling, "Samuel, Samuel."

Teach-aroo! (Okay-aroo!)

Class!/Yes!

Samuel thought Eli had called him so he went to Eli's room, but Eli said, "I did not call you. Go back to bed."

Tee-ee-each! (Oka-a-ay!)

Class!/Yes!

Samuel heard the voice two more times, and finally, Eli said that God was calling Samuel, and he should say, "Speak, Lord, your servant hears."

Teach! Okay!

In this class, God speaks to us through the Bible. When I am about to give you a quote from the Bible, I will say, "Hear the Word of the Lord." (Repeat)

So, teach! (So, okay!)

Class!/Yes!

When I say, "Hear the Word of the Lord," you answer by saying, "Speak, Lord, your servant hears." You are saying that to God, not to me.

Teach! (Okay!)

Class!/Yes!

What do you say, when I say, "Hear the Word of the Lord"? (Speak, Lord, your servant hears.)

Good. Let's practice.

John 3:16. Hear the Word of the Lord. (Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Testing the Techniques

This morning I spoke at a Christian, residential drug & alcohol rehab facility. I used this as my first opportunity to try out the Whole Person/Whole Brain Teaching techniques in a group. With thirteen men present, one had to pair up with my wife Laura.

I started by introducing them to the "Class!/Yes!" and "Teach!/Okay!" responses. They got this very well and needed only a little practice. I also taught them a response that I made up for whenever I quoted Scripture: "Hear the Word of the Lord/Speak, Lord, your servant hears." (More on this in another post)

Some of the men have come from Christian backgrounds, while others have not. In either case, I wanted to give them something that would help them when they left the home to rejoin society. Therefore, I spoke to them about the place of daily prayer and Bible reading in their walk with God.

Here's the simple outline, without all the Whole Person techniques:

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Discipleship: Prayer, Bible Reading & Obedience

1) To be a disciple you must not only believe, but follow and obey Jesus.

Matthew 9:9 - As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him.

Matthew 28:19-20 - Go and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.

2) The best way to follow and obey is to pray and read your Bible every day.

I Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without stopping.

John 5:39 - In this scripture, Jesus says, Search the Scriptures . . . these are they which testify of Me.

3) You also need to ask questions about what you read that will help you see how God wants you to change the way you think and the way you live.

i) What does this passage tell me about the character of God?

ii) Does this passage teach me a good thing to imitate? Does it teach me a bad thing to avoid?

iii) If I really believe this passage is God's truth, how should my life change?

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On the way home, Laura and I evaluated this new -- or at least, new to us -- method.

1. On the minus side, some of the men who had been there a only few days still had to cope with foggy brains and had a hard time with these "strange" procedures. On the plus side, they did not give up, even one man who got pretty frustrated.
2. No one fell asleep. I've had men fall asleep on me before, and I expect this because at first they spend sleepless nights coming off drugs/alcohol plus facing issues of conscience. Today I had full attention and full participation.
3. Even though some did not perform perfectly, by and large, they seemed to enjoy themselves. Teaching accompanied by an emotional response tends to stick in the memory better.
4. The one man who spent the whole time in frustration came up to me afterwards and said, "I've been here eight days, and I'm lost." Now, I'm pretty sure by "lost' he meant confused rather than unsaved, but I'm sure both meanings applied to him. 

I prayed with him, asking God's grace to open his mind and heart to the Word, to give him focus and understanding." If you're a believer reading this, take a moment to pray for Steve. I know he hears the Gospel daily at Home With a Heart. What he needs is the quickening power of the Holy Spirit.

The Discipleship Garden: Planted and Watered

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1Corinthians 3:6)

I was my veterinarian's senior English teacher. He came from a Christian home, and his parents had planted the seed of God's Word in his life. They had also nurtured him in the faith.

In school and after his graduation, the Lord granted me the honor of taking part in the watering process. I discipled the young man through his college and veterinary school years, and after he married, I became his pastor. 

Today, he and his wife have children, mostly grown, who carry on a walk with God.

My veterinarian's parents planted and I watered.

About five years after moving to Possum Kingdom, I received an evening phone call from a man who, as a teen, had attended a church I served as pastor. Since that time, he had become a Christian, married and had children. 

He thanked me for my efforts in striving for the souls God had placed in my care. Although I sowed the Word, I did not see any results in his life at the time.

Today he and his wife are my upholsterers. They have a young family whom they educate/disciple at home.

Clearly, I planted but others watered.

Even more clearly, God gave the increase. Whether you plant or water, therefore, give the glory to God whether you sow his seed or water his garden, for discipleship is true life, and  true life belongs to Him.

Teaching Others in Order to Learn, part 2

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Mathew 10:5-7)

I note that Jesus sent the twelve out to teach people about the Kingdom of God even though they were still disciples -- learners. I find this significant, since I've already demonstrated that the Bible recognizes the value of teaching in order to learn.

A story follows that lends credence to the teaching-to-learn model of discipleship & education.

Back in 1990 a university professor shared the secret of his academic success. He did it in a book entitled The Overnight Student: How I went from Straight F's to Straight A's.

Gary North tells the prof's story:

 The professor had been a mediocre student in high school. He had gotten into college, but he flunked out. He asked to get back in. He was told that he would have to take correspondence courses first. He did. This took him two years.

He was re-admitted. But he was working three part-time jobs to pay for school. He worked very hard. He just barely got by academically. Then he made a discovery. He began using a simple technique for improving his comprehension. He describes it in Chapter 7 of his little book. He never got anything lower than an A from that point on. ("The Number-One Study Technique for Mastering New Material and Reviewing Old Material", garynorth.com)

The book now sells on Amazon for about a thousand dollars, used. The excerpt that follows reveals the kernel of his method:

Isaiah 28:13 tells us that the Lord teaches by giving us precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. [King James Translation] So, start at the beginning of your notes, your book, or whatever your source document is; and pick a bite-size portion, perhaps a paragraph,

and read it. Now look away from your notes or cover them, and don’t touch them. You won’t be allowed to touch them while you’re taking the test, so let’s get rid of that security blanket right now.

Use Your Tongue

Now, teach what you just read, out loud, using your own words, to an imaginary class. Don’t talk in a monotone. Vary your voice inflection. Use your hands. Be a teacher. (Dr. Michael L. Jones, p.25, Louis Publishing, Bellingham, WA)

When I first learned of this, I tried it, and I want to tell you, it required a lot of focus. In fact, I found it so mentally taxing that I gave up. 

The difference between this Jones method and Whole Person Discipleship (via Whole Brain Teaching) lies simply in the fact that you don't have to imagine an audience. Your disciple teaches the bite-sized bit of learning to another disciple, right there. Personalizing the message in his/her own words will come automatically and improve over time.

Thus, while it encourages me to have corroboration of the teaching-to-learn model, it gives me even greater pleasure to know that I have access to an equal or better method, more easily applied.

Class Rules as Character Training

Whole Brain Teachinsg utilizes five classroom rules:

1. Follow Directions Quickly
2. Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak
3. Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat
4. Make Smart Decisions
5. Make Your Dear Teacher Happy

Because of the Bible's emphasis on wisdom, I would modify #4 to read, "Make wise decisions."

Please notice that a teacher may use each of these classroom rules as a springboard for discussing Christian character. Rule #1 deals with obedience, which applies to obeying God and, by extension, all legitimate authority. Rule #2 lays the groundwork for orderly and careful speech.

Rule #3 provides seminal training in orderly actions and thinking before acting. Rule #4 emphasizes the need for godly wisdom in one's life. Rule #5 lays a foundation for Jesus' teaching, And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. (Luke 6:31)

Here is a video on how Whole Brain teachers present the rules to their classes:

Here a Little, There a Little

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. Isaiah 28:9-11

In the passage above, the Lord refers to His people's inability to grasp and assimilate covenantal ethics and likens them to children whom teachers must give instructions in only small increments. Here, God's prophet not only warns us about slowness of heart, but also gives an insight into an educational principle that some call "chunking" (breaking information into smaller chunks).

Chris Biffle puts it this way:

Now here is a curious fact that I and other Whole Brain Teachers have discovered. Disciplining yourself to speak in units that are 30 seconds or less and then having your students repeat your message to each other allows you to cover more material, not less. When you have become adept at . . . [it], you will have eliminated all the non-educational chaff from your presentation, all the wandering, redundancy, stumbling, verbal fumbling about. You present a few points; your students repeat them to each other; you present a few more. In the little periods when students are talking, you take mini-breaks to organize your thoughts for your next few sentences. We call this approach micro-lecturing. Micro-lecturing is not an easy skill, especially because most teachers love to talk and talk and talk. But remember our Whole Brain Teaching rule:

The more we talk, the more students we lose.

(Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids, p. 47)

As you disciple your charges, think about what you'd rather do. You might lecture for 30 minutes and have them walk away with maybe one or two concepts, or you could build one small concept upon another, punctuated by their teaching those concepts to each other, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, so that they come away with the big picture as well as its parts.

Teaching Others in Order to Learn

And what things thou hast heard of me, by many witnesses, the same deliver to faithful men, which shall be able to teach other also. 2Timothy 2:2 (Geneva Bible)

Timothy's knowledge of the faith came not only from personal teaching by the Apostle himself, but the Apostle also utilized many witnesses to reinforce that instruction. This is how A.T. Robertson explains it:

 Plutarch has dia in this sense and Field (Ot. Norv.) suggests that it is a legal phrase “supported by many witnesses.” Not mere spectators, but testifiers. (Word Pictures of the New Testament)

In his Word Studies in the New Testament, M.R. Vincent concurs as he renders the the preposition to mean "through the medium of, and therefore in the presence of." You can see here the apostolic practice which made not only learning, but teaching others an important part of becoming a mature disciple.

Based on II Timothy 2:2, the Biblical model for the transmission belt of total discipleship looks something like this:

1. Things you heard from me personally/things you heard from me by many witnesses;
2. You teach same things to faithful disciples, personally/they teach same things to others.

Edgar Dale later rediscovered this principle, which he put into his famous "Cone of Experience". It boils down to the fact that while you remember no more than 5% of what you hear, you will remember 90% of what you teach.

Whole Brain Teaching has incorporated pupils teaching each other as an integral part of the learning process with the command/response, Teach/Okay. You can see an example of how one teacher uses it here:

The point here is that we should use Teach/Okay in our discipleship endeavors not just because it represents modern pedagogical practice, but also because it follows Biblical norms. I can see it useful in teaching Bible content and doctrine, Biblical worldview, Biblical ethics, and Biblical foundations for each discipline of the curriculum as well as curriculum content.

How well your charges teach each other the truth will inform you how well they have absorbed your teaching. This allows you immediate opportunity to correct false impressions and fill in incomplete knowledge.

It also gives you confidence that they will some day faithfully and effectually deliver the same truths to "faithful men which shall be able to teach others also."

Getting Their Attention

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 1Samuel 3:10

Years ago, at a Christian teachers' convention, I participated in a role-playing workshop. The leader taped a label to each participant's forehead and told us to act as a committee planning a task. One member had the label "Praise Me," another had "Agree With Me," and so forth. We did not get very far into the exercise before I realized that my label read, "Ignore Me."

Aside from the lesson that we should take care about how we label our students, I came away with a deep sense of how precious a commodity someone's attention can be. How often I have identified parishioners who have checked out during a sermon and students who have mentally departed from class.

What if, seeking to disciple either children or adults, we could command immediate -- even eager -- attention as the Lord received from Samuel? Whole Brain Teaching provides a tool to do just that: Class-Yes. The following video shows how to do that with those whom you disciple.

Now, can you think of a way to introduce this to your own disciples without actually misrepresenting yourself? Remember, you don't want to communicate doubt to your disciples, but you want to remain ethical. Please relate your solution in the comments below.

Whole Person Discipleship

Did you know that the word soul as used in the Hebrew Scriptures often refers to the whole person? Consider Genesis 2:7 where you can see that body + breath (spirit) of life = soul.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 

Keep that in mind as you read the following passage.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deuteronomy 6:4-8

Although I have seen this scripture applied to both Christian schools and home education, too often, I have failed to see the text fully implemented by teachers or parents in an educational context. The Reason?

We have inherited from the ancient Greeks a cognitive model of learning. In contrast, look at the total involvement of parent/teacher and student/disciple modeled in Deuteronomy 6: sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up.

Thus, when we engage our student-disciples on spiritual, emotional and physical levels in addition to the mental, we will find that two things happen. 1) Boredom evaporates as they fully involve themselves in the process, and 2) they LEARN as they assimilate your teaching into the totality of their experience.

In future posts, I want to explore how to use Whole Brain Teaching as one tool to achieve your goal of Whole Person Discipleship.