Leadership Formation

The Charism of Teaching

by Sr Nancy Kellar, SC

The teacher is a shepherd of people and the most important thing for him or her is to know the Shepherd. “Whoever is called ‘to teach Christ' must first seek ‘the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus'” ( Catechism of the Catholic Church ,428). “From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him” ( CCC , 429).

I. The gift - Who should teach?

The gift of teaching is one of those listed among the spiritual gifts. “To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8). “It is he who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).Teaching is a gift for making Christian truth clear, life-giving and attractive. There are different gifts for different kinds of teaching. Some are gifted to give exhortative teaching that calls the community back over and over again to live the basic gospel message. Others have the gift of informative teaching that helps the community develop new understanding of the Christian life. The ideal is for a balance of both of these so that the variety of the different gifts may be used for the up building of the community. Those who have the charism for teaching should teach and in the church there is often a close link between teaching and ‘ pastoring' . The Pope and bishops are both pastors and teachers for the church. In prayer groups and communities there is often a similar connection. Those who have the overall responsibility for a group are often also given the gift of teaching. That is not to say that all leaders have teaching gifts or have them in the same degree. Nor is it to say that only leaders should teach, but there is often a link between the two that we need to notice. A person who teaches needs a sense of his or her own unworthiness. “I am a man of unclean lips…seraphim touched lips…uncleanness removed…whom shall I send? Send me Lord” (from Is. 6:5-8). A sense of sinfulness calls us to a reverential humility, to a fear of the Lord, realising that we are handling the sacred when we handle the word of God. It requires such reverence so that the teacher uses the time with responsibility, not using the time to ‘grind an ax', to give pet peeves or pet opinions. A sense of inadequacy leads us to rely on God's power and not our own. A teacher needs to be willing to be purified. If God wants us to minister in any way he is going to see to it that we are purified, that we are pruned. “Not many of you should become teachers, those who do will be called to sturdier account” (James 3:1). We will be called to account by our own words and also by the words of others. God sent an angel to Isaiah; but to us he sends our neighbor. Most of us recoil at the suggestion that our work for the Lord and his people ought to be regularly evaluated; but good order and effective service are impossible without regular evaluations. In fact evaluation can be liberating and up building when undertaken in love and commitment.

Encouragement is one of the primary purposes for evaluation. The branches that are producing fruit are pruned to produce more.

II. The Call - Why teaching?

Teachers are people who are willing to respond generously to God's call to serve. We need to be willing to respond, “Here I am Lord, send me” (Is. 6:5). We need to move from seeing service as something I have to do, to something I am privileged to do. We need to be convinced that we will grow as we serve. Service is not a reward for holiness, but a means to it. When I was prayed with for the baptism in the Spirit (36 years ago) I was asked, “What gifts do you want?” I knew nothing about charismatic gifts; but I remembered God was pleased with Solomon when he asked for wisdom and I was a teacher. I asked for the gifts of wisdom and teaching. When I returned to my classroom the next day and gave my sharing of the new life in the Spirit that I was experiencing, the youngsters said Sister, “Something happened to you, you never talked like that before!” I realised I was experiencing the charismatic gift of teaching. The gifts are not just for prayer meetings; they are for life and need to be brought into our daily life. At the same time we need to be convinced that short teachings in our prayer meetings and community gatherings are a part of the way God wants us to continue to bring people to know Jesus and to help them grow in the Spirit. Jesus wants his people to be taught . He sent out the apostles with the threefold command to preach, to teach and to heal. “He sent them forth to proclaim the reign of God and to heal” (Lk. 9:2).

Teachers need to be willing to persevere without seeing results or getting credit for the effort. “Preach the word, stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient, constantly teaching without losing patience” (2 Tim. 4:2).

III. The Work - How to teach?

While teaching is a gift it is also the fruit of prayer, study and discipline. We need to find the balance between not preparing, leaving it all up to God and over preparing so that the Spirit can't get in. When I give a teaching I prepare usually having three points (which you may have noticed); but as I step up to the podium I imagine the anointing that is around it and I try to be attentive to it, stepping into the anointing as the assembly prays for me and for themselves. Learning to give a teaching is like learning to cook. You need the right ingredients, the right seasoning, and the right timing.

The right ingredients: The ingredients are the basic contents of a teaching. They are the information, knowledge, truth, understanding, and insight that the person who is teaching aims to impart. They may come from personal reflection on the teachings of Jesus in scripture, the teaching of the church, from the writings of church fathers and the popes, the truths passed on to us in the traditions of the church and everyday experience in the world or from the suggested content of a seminar outline.

The right seasoning: These are the stories and personal experiences that explain or clarify, that is, add spice to the basic ingredients. The truth needs to be presented in a clear fashion that people can take in and use. It shouldn't be too theoretical. It should be practical. We should do it in such a way that people can say, “I know what you mean; that is just the kind of thing that happens to me.” When we reach people at that level they will be able to receive and apply the teaching we give them more thoroughly.

The right blend: A good teaching blends inspiration with information. It needs to touch the heart as well as open the mind. The teachers need to be touched in their own spirit by the anointing of the Holy Spirit if their words are to motivate and draw others toward the truth they are communicating. Inspiration does not equal emotion. It may involve emotion, but it goes deeper than emotions that are on the surface of our lives. If inspiration only appeals to the emotions it does not go deep enough.

The right timing: One of the most difficult things to achieve in a good teaching is the right timing. If it is too short the information will not have enough clarification. If it is too long it will not keep the attention of the people. It helps to start with a story to get peoples attention and to end with questions that lead them to make concrete applications of the information, and with prayer that gives them time to respond to the inspiration.

Conclusion: Good teachers are Christ's gift through the power of the Spirit. We should expect the Lord to provide them. If our prayer group or community does not have them we need to ask the Lord to give them. If they are not very good we should ask him to improve them.

Sister Nancy Kellar, SC has served in various leadership positions in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on the local, diocesan, national and international level. She has taught at conferences and workshops throughout the United States and in more than 50 countries.

Extracts from April/May/June 2006 PENTECOST Today