I’ve sat on this post for weeks. I was so convicted reading the third chapter of James, both as a teacher and as one who follows other teachers. James is clear: teaching is a dangerous, even potentially perilous profession. But there are clear ways, he says, to evaluate ourselves and others. But then I thought, who really cares? Is this just for me? Maybe so, and if that’s the case, feel free to move on to other things this week.
This post got to be so long, it’s going to be the only post this week, so we’ll make it available to paid and free subscribers alike. I’d love to see a conversation develop around this, so I’ll try to pay close attention to the comments as they come in.
James: How to Evaluate Teachers
Can you write a column with quivering fingers?
My fingers should be quivering right now, as I dare to highlight James chapter 3. There are so many teachers and would-be teachers out there. Pastors, authors, podcasters, bloggers, social media influencers… But the huge number of people clamoring for attention isn’t a historical anomaly. The apostle Paul often spoke of distinguishing between competing voices, and James devotes an entire chapter of his epistle to help us discern whom we should and shouldn’t listen to.
How do we sift through all the options when some seem to attack each other with abandon? What is the fruit we should look for? What is the demeanor the Bible calls us to as we disagree with one another? What is the tenor of their and our ministry?
All of this matters.
And more importantly for those of us who call ourselves “teachers,” how do we measure up to James 3?
James begins his chapter by saying,
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
This passage has all but haunted me throughout my life. I do believe my calling is as a teacher. Never a senior pastor, but always a teacher. So I know I’m going to face a stricter judgment and also, this is particularly painful, I know I’m going to stumble and get it wrong on occasion. I can’t tell you how excruciating this feels, but it’s a clear call to humility and a warning against being overly defensive. And the older I get, the more likely I am to say, “I may be getting this wrong” or “I may have gotten that wrong.”
By saying this, I never want to question the clarity of Scripture (which indirectly undercuts its authority), just my ability to rightly divide it. I don’t believe I’m getting something wrong when Scripture is clear and two thousand years of faithful exposition make it so. But here’s James’ warning: words are weapons; use them with discernment.
“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
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