Chapter 7

True Leaders are Educators

By Dr. Lester Hutson

Hosea 4:1-6 & Proverbs 15:7

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

"The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so."

Remember that a true church leader is not a one-dimensional person. The fact is, a leader can be strong in several areas, yet severe weakness in just one area can be his undoing. For example, he may really stand up for the church, have a great servant's heart, truly care, and tell the truth, but if he can't deal successfully with adversities and conflicts, and get along in harmony with the people, he will fail, like a cake a baker tries to make that leaves out baking soda. Without all of the ingredients, the cake doesn't work. True success in leadership requires strength in many areas. One is the area of communicating effectively with the people.

Ignorance

All good church leaders are educators. Ignorance is a curse to any church. Listen to Hosea spell it out in Hosea 4:1-6,

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven: yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

All the troubles of this land are undeniable linked by the prophet to ignorance or lack of knowledge. Especially note the first part of verse 6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." A person who doesn't know how to drive will get himself killed on a freeway. An untrained soldier is a "sitting duck" in a war. If the big buck just knew the hunter was nearby, he'd run away, and, if church people only knew sound doctrine, they wouldn't be so quickly caught up in error. (Ephesians 4: 13-15) If they only knew how to conduct the business of the church, there wouldn't be so many divisions in the church. (I Corinthians 3) If they knew what true, Godly character is, there wouldn't be so much selfishness, greed, and impatience among Christians.

It would be hard to estimate how much trouble has gone on in the Lord's churches because people were never taught any better by their leadership. People don't tithe, the church is really not into missions, there's little tolerance and forbearance, personal standards are loose, the church is in deep debt, services are cold and dry, there's no doctrinal depth, the whole thing is tied up in bureaucratic formalism, and almost no one knows how to win a soul to Christ. I'm talking about their products of ignorance, a people with no real functioning knowledge of how to conduct themselves as Christians or how to behave themselves as a part of one of the Lord's churches.

Listen to the apostle Paul address the subject of ignorance, and its resulting outgrowths in his letter to the church at Ephesus. The whole fourth chapter is stressing unity and productivity through the knowledge of God's word. He says in verses 17-19 to these church members,

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."

Note well the ignorance of the Gentiles is said to be the source of their wickedness. As I Corinthians 14:38 and II Peter 3:5 well establish, some people are willfully or deliberately ignorant. That cannot be called the fault of the church leadership, although when men are ignorant of needed information because those responsible for teaching them simply didn't do their jobs, that's a different story. That's what we're dealing with here, churches whose people are sloppy, unfaithful, without commitment or conviction, and who are simply unfruitful and not really doing the work of God because their leadership has never taught them. There are plenty of churches of that sort around. They're just like Judah of whom God said in Isaiah 5:13, "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst."

Time and again Paul wrote, "I would not have you ignorant, brethren." He didn't want them ignorant of his intentions for their well-being. (Romans 1:13) He didn't want them ignorant as to the purpose of the Old Testament examples in I Corinthians 10:1. He would not have them ignorant of his example in troubles in II Corinthians 1:8. He would not have them ignorant of the dead in Christ and their future in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. He would not have them ignorant of Satan's devices in II Corinthians 2:11. No church can long survive, and be in true spiritual health and prosperity apart from knowledge. Thus, Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment." Listen to him in Colossians 1:9-10,

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that we might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Peter wrote, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever," in II Peter 3:18. In fact, I Timothy 2:4 says God "will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Teaching

All good pastors and other leaders therefore make it their business to ever teach the people of the church the right ways of God. This is how the people in a given church gradually move from the same old fruitless, unmotivated, unspiritual status of failing churches to a more and more fruitful and dynamic people. It's leadership, by teaching in word and deed, that is able to lead a church to new spiritual heights to the glory of God.

This is not a quick, overnight process, but patient leaders can slowly but surely through true teaching attract more and more people in a church to become more and more committed and fruitful to God. Without that constant educational process by its leadership, a church will sit status-quo, often fester and fight, and usually dry up and finally "blow away." The guilt must be laid right at the feet of the pastor and his support leaders, if any. In Luke 11:52, Jesus said, "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves and them that were entering in ye hindered."

Many pastors and other leaders must share this same denunciation. They've taken away the key of knowledge. They don't really teach their people. Perhaps they don't have the courage. They're afraid to tackle the touchy issues like tithing, the pastor's salary, sloppiness and irresponsibility by some in leadership positions, or entrenched people or habits which are hurting the church. Maybe they don't see those things themselves. Maybe it's unconcern. For whatever reason, the devastation results to the church are the same. They've taken away the key of knowledge, and the church is dying as a result thereof.

No wonder Proverbs 15:7 says, "The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the fool doeth not so." People in a church, as in any other organization must be taught. They do not innately know how to serve God aright. As one is taught, another is saved or comes by letter onto the church scene. He needs to know what the one just taught already knows. For the pastor and those who lead with him, education is an ongoing responsibility and process.

In fact, by far the greatest share of the pastor's time must be spent in educating the people. This is what sermons do, but the need for education of a church goes far beyond formal sermons. Much educating will be done by the attitude and spirit of the leaders themselves. Invariably, a class, a ministry, a choir, or a church begins to take on the spirit, values, and personality of its leadership.

Lots of the very best educating goes on in private, informal discussions, out fishing, sitting at McDonald's, driving to and from homes on visitation, a few minutes on the phone, and leaders talk about how to respond to various pressures or incidents, how to do things better, ideas for improving the work of the church, and all sorts of things. Some of the very best educating goes on privately and informally.

Exhortation times in a service provide the pastor and some of his leaders an opportunity to teach the people what to think on during the week, how to count blessings, how to treat each other and guests, aspects of missions work, how to respond to the hurting, how to deal with fallen members, the importance of God's grandeur, and a host of other things.

Bulletins and other church publications are profound educational devices, if used wisely. People are not only kept informed, but they're given insight into the whys and wherefores. Here's a place for encouraging in right things and discouraging of wrong things. Attention can be called to all sorts of things, and the proper, Godly perspective can be shared.

Even bulletin boards and wall decorations can be great tools to help educate people. All of these and many others are merely vehicles by which good church leaders educate their people to greater dedication and service to God. It's not by accident that some congregations are more humble, more giving, more sensitive to the needs of others, more missions minded, more dedicated to truth, more patient, more soul-winning, more reverent in the services, or more zealous than others. They've been taught or educated to be that way. Thus, it can be said of them as of the Thessalonians of I Thessalonians 2:13, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Note well they were that way because somebody taught them.

That's the role of leadership. Many a church leader ignores most of his opportunities to truly educate his people. He thinks because he gets up and preaches a doctrinally sound sermon or teaches a well-outlined lesson, he's done his job. How nearsighted! Sure, formal sermons and lessons are the number one way to educate a church, but education goes much farther than the pulpit. Those who neglect the true education of their people not only hurt themselves, they also destroy their people for lack of knowledge.

Educate the Whole Man

True church leaders educate the "whole man" of their people. They teach their people how to live right spiritually. The spirit must be educated about how to properly serve the Lord. It needs doctrine. Good church leaders teach their people the great doctrinal truths of the Word of God.

They also teach their people how to live right socially. Church members also have a soul, and it must be educated about how to serve the Lord. Doctrinal truth is great, and vital. The spirit must be educated first, but that's not to say the soul is unimportant and can be neglected. Paul addressed all his books first doctrinally to the spirit, but he ended all of them talking about the practical application of these great doctrinal truths in the soul or daily life of the believer. He said in I Corinthians 8:1 that great knowledge without practical application in the daily life only puffs up the believer in repulsive pride.

So, true church leaders know they have to get truth out of the head and into the daily life system. They teach doctrine, but they educate their people as to how that doctrine affects daily life. They educate their people in character and Christian graces: love, forgiveness, patience, humility, flexibility, responsibility, and good character. They teach their people how to establish right priorities and a Godly value system. They teach their people compassion, understanding, and how to stand for God. They educate the church in good methods and sound procedures. Their people learn how to conduct church business without a "knock down, drag-out." They learn how to salvage a fallen brother. They learn to disagree agreeably. They learn how to show love. They learn to appreciate the things that count, and to respect. They learn to trust, and pray, and walk daily with the Lord. True church leaders even educate their people to treat the body right. They know the body is the temple of the Lord, and that it's not to be defiled (I Corinthians 3:16-17), not through immorality (Colossians 3:5), not through alcohol or other drugs (Ephesians 5:18), not through gluttony (Proverbs 23:21), and not through uncleanliness (Proverbs 30:12). In no way is the body to be abused, and true church leaders teach the people to take care of it.

The conclusion becomes obvious. Some in church leadership roles are true educators, and some are not. The result is that some churches stumble on in ignorance, not really sure about how to serve the Lord properly. The people really are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Other churches learn, and as they do, they slowly but surely prosper to the glory of God.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"