Mike Livingstone

January 4, 2016

Teaching from the Overflow

Effective Bible teaching is artesian in nature. The word artesian describes a well through which water rises naturally to the surface as a result of internal pressure. Charles Spurgeon used this metaphor with reference to preaching: “True preaching is artesian; it wells up from the great depths of the soul. If Christ has not made a well within us, there will be no outflow from us.” What is true for preachers is true also for small group Bible study leaders—God’s Word is most effectively communicated from the overflow of what God is doing in our lives.

This being true, the key to transformational Bible teaching begins with recognizing the difference between preparing a lesson and preparing the leader of the lesson. Make no mistake; I’m a strong proponent of lesson preparation. Artesian teaching doesn’t negate the need for personal study, though a prepared heart is more critical. If we have only prepared a lesson but have not spiritually prepared ourselves, we are unprepared to teach the Bible.

How, then, can we prepare ourselves to teach from the overflow? Rather than offering a step-by-step process of preparation, let’s consider three general principles of spiritual preparation:

1. Prepare on your knees.

It’s not the physical posture of kneeling that matters, but the posture of the heart—dependency on and submission to God. “A prayerless ministry cannot know God’s truth and, not knowing it, cannot teach it,” said E. M. Bounds.

The apostles gave priority to two things in ministry, according to Acts 6:4: prayer and teaching the word. Certainly this means they considered their responsibility to pray to be no less important than their responsibility to communicate the word to others and knew the two priorities could not be separated.

2. Pursue God.

It’s one thing to go to the Bible in search of lesson material. It’s another thing altogether to go to te Scripture in pursuit of the Person of God. How important it is not to allow the former to take precedence over the latter!

Leonard Ravenhill said: “A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.” The effective Bible teacher prays not just that God will give him something to say; he prays because he desires God.

In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord condemned the priests because of a grave sin: “The priests quit asking, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me” (Jer. 2:8, HCSB). Those who dealt with the law of God did not seek God and thus had no first-hand knowledge of what they taught. The Bible is God’s personal Word to the leader before it is lesson material for the next meeting.

3. Practice what you teach.

“Never traffic in unpracticed truth,” Dr. Howard Hendricks used to say. Ezra, the Old Testament priest, scribe, and teacher of God’s law, provides a model. Ezra 7:10 says he “determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” The order is significant: study, obey, and teach. If we haven’t studied the Word, we are not ready to teach it. If we’re not obeying it, we are not qualified to teach, for we can’t understand the truth of the Word if we are not practicing it.

Let’s not emphasize lesson preparation to the point that we lose sight of the more important thing—heart preparation. Prepared hearts make prepared lessons. May Christ make a well in the depths our hearts out of which flows the truth of God’s Word in sincerity and power.

Mike Livingstone is a content editor on LifeWay’s adult ongoing Bible studies team, a position he has held for 23 years. Prior to coming to LifeWay, he served as a pastor and missionary in Kenya. He leads a weekly Bible study at his church and blogs at mikelivingstone.com. Find him on Twitter: @m_livingstone.

Group Leadership

June 9, 2015

Why You Need to Pay Attention to Introverted Group Members

By Mike Livingstone

The group member who dominates the discussion demands your attention. The introvert in your group who seldom speaks up does not. Nevertheless, as group leader, you need to pay extra attention to that introvert. Here’s why:

Small groups inadvertently favor extroverts.

An extrovert bias exists in American culture. In our culture, the ideal self is considered the gregarious, outgoing personality who thrives on social interaction and is comfortable in the spotlight.

The same bias toward extroverted qualities unfortunately exists in church. Church in general and small groups in particular tend to be extroverted places that inadvertently favor the gregarious and marginalize the introvert. It’s difficult for introverts to thrive in that kind of environment. They often feel out of place at church, especially in small groups.

An even more subtle danger of the unintentional extrovert bias in church is the tendency to equate spiritual maturity and commitment with extroverted qualities. We tend to lift up the highly social, talkative members who easily engage during the lesson and easily befriend guests as the ideal group members. We must be careful, though, that we do not erroneously confuse Christian devotion and spiritual vitality with personality type and temperament. This kind of thinking can lead to introverts being made to feel spiritually inept and inadequate.

Small groups need the gifts of introverts.

Far from being second-class Christians, introverts have much to offer the church and the small group. In Introverts in the Church, Adam McHugh identifies the following six qualities as gifts that introverts bring to the church. Couldn’t your small group use these gifts?

Compassion — Introverts are capable of powerful compassion.
Insight — Introverts are able to offer insight into difficult situations, perhaps because they tend to observe and process information before speaking.
Listening — Introverts are better listeners.
Creativity — Introverts are typically the most creative people in a group.
Loyalty — Introverts value close friendships and are loyal friends.
Service — Introverts are often eager to volunteer to serve behind the scenes.

Small group leaders need to pay attention to the introverts.

As a group leader, here are some things you can do to help introverts feel at home in your small group while tapping into their potential:

Get to know them. Seek to build one-on-one relationships with the introverts in your small group. The better you get to know them, the more you will discover their hidden giftedness.

Let them be themselves. You can do more harm than good by trying to get introverts (or anyone else for that matter) to speak up if they’re not willing. Respect their temperament; they are hard-wired that way by God.

Build in processes to take advantage of their insightfulness during group times. Introverts want time to think before speaking. If you call on them for an immediate response, you will not get their best answer. Rather than springing questions on introverts during group time, cue members beforehand so the introverts can formulate an answer. Remember also that introverts typically prefer written communication. Asking members to write responses before sharing allows the introvert time to process his answer before speaking.

Need more help in knowing how to tap into the introverts’ gifts? Start by asking an introvert. He or she will have some great insights if you make an effort to pay attention.

Mike Livingstone is a content editor on LifeWay’s adult ongoing Bible studies team, a position he has held for 23 years. Prior to coming to LifeWay, he served as a pastor and missionary in Kenya. He leads a weekly Bible study at his church and blogs at mikelivingstone.com. Find him on Twitter: @m_livingstone.

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