Teachers sometimes fail
1)
Johnson and Johnson is a fairly well known company.
2)
One man who had an extended association with this
company was Jim Burke.
a)
Mr. Burke was formerly the head of a new products
division at Johnson and Johnson.
b)
One of his first projects was developing a child’s
“chest rub.”
c)
This project was not only a complete failure, it was an
expensive failure.
3)
One day Burke was called in to see the chairman of the
board.
4)
The chairman asked if Burke was the one who had “cost
Johnson and Johnson all that money.”
5)
Burke did not lie – he said he was responsible and he
expected to be fire.
6)
The chairman (Robert Wood Johnson) did not fire
him. Instead, Johnson congratulated him.
7)
Mr. Johnson said, “If you are making mistakes, that
means you are taking risks.”
8)
“We won’t grow unless you take risks.” Later Burke became chairman of Johnson and
Johnson.
9)
In the life of every single person there are failures.
10) It may be a job failure, parenting failure,
friend failure, marriage failure, or something else.
11) No
one is successful all the time; this includes Christians.
12) Failure
is also associated with teaching.
13) If
we are a sub Bible class teacher or a regular teacher, there will be times when
we will likely fail.
14) It
is not a pleasant thought, but tonight we want to think about failing as a
Bible class teacher.
a)
We want to consider some of the things that can causes
teachers to fail.
b)
If we know what causes failure, we can be better
prepared to avoid it.
c)
We want to see what to do in the event of failures.
15) My
first example of failure is based on Lk. 14.
a)
This is where Jesus said if we are going to build a
tower, we need to count the cost.
b)
He said if someone started but could not be finished a
project, he would be mocked (verse 29).
c)
Then Jesus made His point by referring to a king and
his army – verses 30-31 – READ
16) We
can fail in something (including teaching) if we do not count the cost.
a)
If we do not consider the time involved in being a
teacher, we may fail.
b)
If we do not give consideration to the commitment that
is needed, we may fail.
c)
If we do not try to have a good amount of Bible
knowledge, we may fail.
d)
If we fail to consider that teaching takes some energy
and creativity, we may fail.
e)
Teaching is not an impossible task.
f)
We should not expect that just because someone is a
teacher, they are immune from failure.
g)
Teachers may fail a little, or they may fail a lot.
h)
There are degrees of failure, but failure does not mean
all is lot.
17) Failure
does mean some things need to be reevaluate so we can get things on track.
18) Our
next example of failure is somewhat out of the ordinary, but is an important
point.
a)
Our next text is taken from Ex. 1.
b)
While the children of
c) The Egyptians finally
realized that they were outnumbered – there were more Hebrews and Egyptians.
d)
Since the Egyptians regarded this population imbalance
as a threat, they came up with a plan.
1)
Ex. 1:11-12 says the people of
2)
The plan was to wear
3)
This would seem to be a pretty good plan, but it
failed.
a)
Instead of getting weaker, the massive nation of f
b)
This plan was then modified a bit – all the baby boys
were to be killed (Ex. 1:15-16).
c)
People in the nation of
d)
Let’s make a parallel point of application.
4)
Good Bible teachers also have plans, and often the
plans are very good.
5)
Even with a carefully constructed plan, that does not
mean the plan will succeed.
6)
This is also true on a congregation level.
7)
A congregation may have an overall plan for its
teaching program.
8)
Like Ex. 1, sometimes those plans fail.
9)
Having a plan does not necessarily mean we will
succeed.
10) Failures
can come, and they can come in all shapes and sizes.
11) We
may fail in just one part of a class. We
may have an entire class that is a failure.
12) There
may be some type of prolonged failure.
a)
As a Bible class teacher, we should recognize up front
that there will be times when we fail.
b)
We do not want these times to come and we certainly do
not look forward to them.
c)
The truth of the matter is that all teachers will fall
short at one time or another.
d)
Sometimes the failures that occur are not because of a
teacher.
e)
A failure may be the result of parents. For instance:
f)
We cannot have classes unless there are students.
g)
If parents do not bring their children, a class is
likely going to fail.
h)
Teachers have only so much control and influence in
these situations.
i)
If children are bent on being disruptive, there can be
a failure.
j)
If parents will not help their students do what the
teacher asks, there may be a failure.
k)
If and when times of failure come, we also want to dust
ourselves off and continue going forward.
l)
Failure does not mean we quit (give up); it means we
continue in a different direction.
13) Teachers
may look at other teachers and think other teachers never fail.
14) Some
teachers seem to have success in every class they teach.
15) It
may also be thought that if someone is an elder or a preacher, that type of
teacher never fails.
16) Neither of these points are true and any
preacher or elder should tell you it is not true.
17) Even
the Bible shows that this type of thinking is correct.
a)
In Mk. 9 we find that Jesus went to the Mount of
Transfiguration.
b)
Peter, James and John went with Him (Mk. 9:2).
c)
While these four were on the mountain, the other
disciples were at the base of the mountain.
d) While waiting for Jesus and
the other three apostles, those at the foot of a mountain dealt with a crowd.
e)
One person in this crowd was a father; this dad had a
demon possessed son.
f)
The 9 disciples tried to cast out the demon but failed.
g)
Here is what is said in Mk. 9:18 – READ
18) Imagine
how the disciples must have felt when they failed.
a)
These men were the personal disciples of Christ.
b)
They were going to be leading teachers and evangelists
in the church.
c)
They had previously performed other supernatural signs,
but this time they failed.
d)
Their failure was not in front of one or two people or
in a group of children.
e)
These men failed in front of adults.
f)
Notice also verse 14 in this chapter – READ
g)
The failure was apparently also noticed by these
Scribes – enemies.
19) These
men failed and they failed badly.
20) What
these men experienced had to be humiliating.
It had to be a time of shame.
21) I
suspect these men thought about this failure for years to come.
22) What
did failure cause these 9 men to do?
23) Did
they pack up their bags and go home?
24) Did
they say, “This didn’t work, so Jesus we quit”?
No.
25) These
men continued on.
26) Consider,
also, this point.
a)
Did Jesus tell these disciples that they had failed and
He was going to terminate them?
b)
Did He say, “I am going to find some replacement
apostles for your losers”?
c)
No is the
answer to both questions. These
disciples were not losers.
d)
They did fail, but this failure was something they
could learn from.
e)
Today when teachers fail an eldership does not want to
dump the Bible class teacher.
f) What is desired is precisely
what Jesus did: Help the teacher get
back on the horse and keep going.
27) When
it comes to Christianity, failure does not mean stop doing what we are doing.
28) This
is true for teaching and every aspect of the faith.
a)
Think of Peter in Lk. 5.
b)
Some fishermen were washing out their nets.
c)
Jesus went into Peter’s boat and said this apostle was
to put his nets down deep.
d)
Peter makes an amazing statement in Lk. 5:5.
e)
We sometimes fault Peter for some of the mistakes he
made.
f)
Peter, at times, did fail.
g)
Lk. 5:5 helps us understand why Jesus picked this man.
h)
Listen to what this apostle said – Lk. 5:5 – READ
i)
Peter had failed to catch any fish, but Jesus said go
back and he went back and tried again.
j)
We may fail not once, not twice, but several times.
k)
When those times come, Jesus’ instructions to us are:
try again.
l)
God is a merciful and loving God who tells us to keep
going. That is wonderful news.
29) Many
things can cause a teacher to fail.
a)
I have seen teachers get angry in a Bible class and
seen the consequences of that.
b)
This is a problem in children’s classes, and especially
in adult classes.
c)
These times should be avoided, but if they are not, the
teacher is not washed up.
d)
A student may fail to act like Christ in a class.
e)
Some later reflect on their bad actions, are
embarrassed, and never return.
f)
In these cases the devil wins; as a student or teacher
see the failure and correct things.
30) Not
long ago I learned of an adult Bible class teacher who had a serious problem in
a Bible class.
31) Things
in that congregation were really on edge.
32) Everyone knew that the
follow up class would probably be tense; this adult class was like a powder
keg.
33) I
asked the teacher to tell me what happened in the next class.
a)
He said he got a huge band aid and put it on his shirt.
b)
He came into the class and said, “Last time we met some
people were wounded.”
c)
“Some are surely still hurting.”
d)
“We want to find a way to heal instead of hurt. We need to come together.”
e)
Those who were ready for a fight immediately calmed
down and things were okay.”
f)
This man likely had some failures in that earlier
class, but he found a way to correct the issue.
34) Teachers
can fail because they have some doubts.
35) In
these cases, the doubts need to be identified and solutions need to be sought.
36) Failure
can come through ignorance (people may not know some things).
37) Ignorance
can be overcome by knowledge.
38) Failure
can come by stating things in a poor way; in these cases things can be
clarified.
39) There
are a thousand ways to fail and none of these ways is fun.
40) Failure
can embarrass a teacher. It can
frustrate a teacher. It can depress a
teacher.
41) God’s
people refuse to give up.
42) If
you speak with successful teachers, you will find that they have failed at
times.
43) Failure
is one of the things (if learned from) that makes a great teacher.
44) We
learn what does not work and can do what does work.
45) We
may fail in many things on this earth, but we do not need to fail in our
relationship with God.
46) Whether
a teacher or not, we can be a success in God’s eyes.
47) Success
starts by becoming a Christian.