Teaching That Reaches: Discover, Uncover, Recover

As leaders, we have undoubtedly been in countless worship services, workshops, seminars and classrooms. However, the styles of communication that we encounter are often not as countless as our settings. We must be prayerful not only about our content, but also about our context and how each can best be reached.

Discover…

As leaders and communicators, we must Discover the Will of God for the method through which our audiences are to best be reached and impacted.

At times, we will have to adapt our methods, but not beyond what God has called us to do in our individual styles. It’s great when we can adapt our approaches and methods for a particular audience, as long as we make sure that we are not pretending or acting like someone that we are not. We must all discover how to adapt our methods while still maintaining the integrity of our individuality. Additionally, know that just because a particular teaching method has never been utilized before, doesn’t mean that you’re not supposed to execute it. You may be called to pioneer a particular style or method of utilizing music, art, drama, props or various audio/visual aids. Be open and remember that God has never fit into anybody’s box.

Do what you’ve been gifted to do, not what other’s expectations say you should do. They were not present in the conversation you and God had about your message!

Uncover…(when you would rather be Undercover)

As we seek to effectively lead, teach and reach others, we must Uncover the ills in our own hearts before God, so that we can be healed as we answer the call to help the hurting.

As leaders and teachers of the Word of God, we are often in giving mode a disproportionate amount of time compared to how much we are in receiving mode.  It is imperative that we not ‘sweep our own matters under the rug,’ consequently depending on our gifts to overshadow our guilt.

We have to be willing to pray Psalm 139:23 which says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

God has issued us a search warrant! Who are we to not give Him access to our hearts as he uses our voices for His work? If we are transparent enough to uncover the wrong and experience healing, then we will be able to testify to others about God’s miraculous restorative power.

Being Undercover in a sin cycle, while expecting to teach with maximum authority is unrealistic. Reflect back on the most memorable messages that you have heard that led to personal life change.  Often, the most impact is felt at times when a communicator has been transparent with a testimony from their own lives. Those that choose to be transparent with their testimonies, actually speak life from their own lives. With this transparency, impact has to take place. When we pray to be transparent before God, He’ll help us be transparent before others. When we pull away from God, while on stage for  Him, there’s a constant energy-draining tension as we expect to teach powerful lessons while living powerless lives.

As we all strive to be powerful communicators, we must expect God’s delivering power to take us to a place of permanent liberty and not temporary moments of freedom. Teaching and believing that when God brings us out, He can show us how to live in His freedom regardless of the trappings. As I Corinthians 10:13 states, “No temptation has overtaken you, but such is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

Recover…

God expects us to recover from our past hurts and pain, so that He can use our testimonies for His Glory. We all have wounds from our pasts. However, God is such a restorer that our histories are not evident or visible on our faces. Nonetheless although our challenges turned victories are not visible, this doesn’t exempt us from sharing these God-stories when prompted by the Holy Spirit.

God allows us to experience His restoration power, not for our own brand management, but so we can have the chance to volunteer our testimonies instead of us looking like everything that we have come through. The word ‘restoration’ literally means to bring something back to its original state. Stories of God’s delivering power are to be communicated effectively!  When we communicate without recovering from our pain, we find ourselves bleeding on the sheep; thus becoming hindrances in places we are called to help!

As we Discover the Will of God for our communication styles, and then ask God to Uncover the issues in our hearts, we expect God to Recover from the wounds of our pasts so that with clean hearts we might communicate with teaching that reaches!