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Anyone, with study and practice, can teach. There are tools and techniques to help anyone do a competent job teaching, but some people have the gift. That gift is sometimes hard to define. Is it method? Probably not, since good teachers may use widely different styles. So what is it.
To begin, we may want to take a look at Jesus, because he was the model teacher.
Jesus taught from personal knowledge. Jesus knew scripture and study, but his relationship with God was direct. The most spiritually gifted teachers will have a personal spirituality that is real, deep, and unmistakable.
Jesus used a variety of methods. Not everyone learns things the same way. Jesus knew this and so we see him lecturing, teaching, preaching, telling parables and teaching by example. At one point he even sends his disciples on a field trip!. Likewise, a gifted teacher knows that his students all learn differently, and will bring a variety of methods to his or her teaching.
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Jesus was a genius at taking complex theological subjects and making them understandable. Likewise, a gifted teacher can do the same thing.
Jesus taught for the student. His was no canned curriculum. He knew his students, be they the disciples, the Pharisees, the rich young ruler, Nicodemus, or the woman at the well, all needed something different. He took the time to know his students and then gave them just what they needed.
Jesus loved his students. Don’t dismiss the power of love to motivate and teach. Jesus didn’t.
If you have the gift of teaching, you may or may not know it. But your students do. And so, if you are studying with a gifted teacher, make sure they know their gift.
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