Apprentices | Knowable Word

The Only Way to Learn

February 10, 2016 By Peter Krol

Last week, Tim Challies wrote a great article called “The Hidden Beauty of a Bad Sermon.” Challies describes all the poor sermons he sat through at his church, because they were training young preachers. And Challies simply knocks it out of the park when he describes the only way a young preacher can learn to preach:

A man can read a hundred books on preaching and watch a thousand sermons on YouTube, but the only way he will really learn to preach is to preach. Sooner or later he will simply need to stand behind a pulpit, open his Bible, and launch into his introduction (assuming he remembers to actually prepare one). There are not many preachers who get away without preaching a few stinkers along the way. There are not many preachers who can become skilled without first being novices, who can grow into excellence without first being mediocre or average.

In light of my recent reflections on why it’s hard to delegate responsibility and how we need to take more risks in training ministry apprentices, I found Challies’s article timely. Though Challies singles out preachers, his comments apply equally to any teacher or Bible study leader.

Young preachers, new preachers, preach bad sermons. They preach bad sermons as they learn to preach good sermons. And in some ways, those bad sermons serve as a mark of a church’s health and strength because they prove that the church is fulfilling its mandate to raise up the next generation of preachers and the one after that. They prove that the church refuses to be so driven by a desire to display excellence that they will not risk the occasional dud. They prove that the congregation is mature enough to endure and even appreciate these first, messy attempts. There is hidden beauty, hidden value, in these bad sermons.

I wish I could quote the whole article. Check it out!

4 Ways an Apprentice Can Help with Your Small Group

January 22, 2016 By Peter Krol

Leo Reynolds (2005), Creative Commons

The second stage of training a new Bible study leader is “I do, you help.” When your apprentice is ready to help, will you have something for that person to do? Here are some areas to consider.

1. Help with Logistics

As you give your apprentices some responsibility for the group, they can feel more ownership and demonstrate faithfulness. And as they show faithfulness in small things, you can entrust even greater things to them. Helping with logistics may involve recruiting, hosting, communicating, advertising, bringing a snack, or planning a group activity.

2. Help with Shepherding

Your goal in training a new Bible study leader should ultimately be to raise up a new shepherd of God’s people. So apprentices will learn much by learning to help you shepherd people. Apprentices can help shepherd people during the meeting: Asking good questions, encouraging quiet people to speak, or following up with prayer requests from previous meetings. They can also help shepherd people between meetings: Calling folks in the group, meeting with them for lunch, or connecting with outreach contacts. Ministry experience will help apprentices learn to lead better Bible studies.

3. Help with Preparation

Include your apprentice in your Bible study preparation. Though you could get it done faster by yourself, apprentices won’t learn unless you let them in. Meet with them before the meeting to go over the passage. Show them how to observe and investigate the text. Give them a voice to help shape your main point and craft specific applications for the small group.

4. Help with Evaluation

After the meeting, ask your apprentice how it went. How clear was the study? What was helpful or unhelpful? How were people responding? What was good? What could be better? What could we do to follow up on things that were said?

When leading a group, it’s great to have some help from an apprentice. This means we have to ask for help. But sometimes we fail to think of how apprentices can help because we’re too busy keeping all the responsibility for ourselves. So the main idea is to give apprentices real responsibility. In the next post I’ll expand on why it’s often difficult for us to do this.

5 Signs They’re Ready to Help

December 18, 2015 By Peter Krol

As you train a new Bible study leader, how do you know when the person is ready to begin helping? When should you move an apprentice from the “I do, you watch” to the “I do, you help” stage of training? If we advance people too quickly, they may burn out and give up. If we move them too slowly, the training could become stagnant and lifeless. What are the signs of a good balance?

Loving Earth (2008), Creative Commons

1. When they ask for more

Don’t miss this critical sign on account of your grand master planning. Though there are times for challenging people to step up to something new and scary, it’s generally not a good idea to heap burdens of responsibility on unwilling victims. High commitment + low motivation = small chance of long-term perseverance. “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Tim 3:1). A Bible study leader is not the same as a church elder, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to apply the same leadership principle.

2. When they develop proficiency in basic Bible study skills

They don’t have to be top scholars, but they do need to grasp the rudiments of OIA Bible study (Observe, interpret, apply). If not, I would begin by teaching those rudiments. You are, after all, training this person to lead a Bible study. Best to make sure this person knows how to study the Bible and doesn’t merely seek a platform for greater control over people’s lives or propagation of personal opinions.

3. When they’re aware of group dynamics

I’ve tried to train leaders who were clueless about how to read people, respond to social cues, or adjust their approach to the need of the moment. It hasn’t gone well. Before giving people more responsibility, make sure they know how to listen actively and carry on a conversation. Especially make sure they generally know when to talk and when to let others talk.

4. When they get your vision for the group

You don’t want to train apprentices up to multiply your group, only to have them take the new groups where you don’t think they should go. And you’ll all be frustrated if you can’t eventually trust your apprentices to lead their own groups. Some painful splits can be prevented by making sure the vision for Bible study, heart-oriented discipleship, and pastoral care are clear up front.

5. When they serve more than they seek to be served

Of course, a new apprentice often brings a fresh perspective and helps us to see things we wouldn’t otherwise see. If apprentices look more to the needs of others than to their own needs, this can be a great blessing. You can teach someone to study the Bible. You can teach someone to lead a Bible study. You can challenge apprentices to put the needs of others first. But you can’t actually make them put others first. Such disciples are gifts from the Lord. Don’t squander them. Set them loose, and let them help.

Choosing Your Apprentice

October 23, 2015 By Peter Krol

Though it’s an important choice, it doesn’t need to be a complicated one. It’s not like you’re looking for someone to help you overthrow the emperor and take over the galaxy. You just need someone who is willing to learn how to lead a Bible study.

This choice matters, though, because you see the need to train a new Bible study leader. You want the word of God to go forth. You want your ministry to multiply and not center on you. You want to train others to reach more people than you could reach on your own.

How do you get started? How do you find the right person to train?

Companies hire new professionals who have experience in a relevant field. Major League baseball teams call up players who develop through the system of minor leagues. And public schools recruit certified people who pass through a season of student teaching. In each case, the supervisory committee looks for evidence of commitment and success before they take further risk or assign greater responsibility to the potential apprentice.

Similarly, Paul instructs Timothy to look for evidence of both commitment and success in potential ministry apprentices.

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2)

1. Find someone who is faithful

What this doesn’t mean: The person you train should be without flaws or struggles. The apprentice must never let you down. The apprentice must be the oldest or most mature Christian you can find.

What this means: Apprentices should demonstrate a pattern of resisting sin and addressing areas of weakness. They should be regular attenders and cheerful members of the groups they are learning to lead. They should be growing as Christians and committed to knowing God through the Scripture.

2. Find someone who will be able to teach others

What this doesn’t mean: The apprentice must already have experience in a teaching role. The apprentice must have a charismatic, extroverted personality. The apprentice must have a degree or comparable education in the Bible or divinity.

What this means: Apprentices should envision reaching others. They should care about how they come across and how they can improve their communication. They should be eager to learn, able to think clearly, and quicker to listen than to speak.

Perhaps you’ve got someone in your Bible study who already meets these qualifications, and your decision is easy. Or maybe you’ll want to invite someone to join your group to step into an apprentice role. Either way, if you stay focused on the right set of qualities, I bet the Lord would be delighted to entrust you with someone to train.

Then you can work with that person to spread the knowledge of God until his glory covers the earth like the waters cover the sea. I guess it’s like finding someone to help you overthrow the emperor and take over the galaxy.

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