WISDOM FOR RISING TEACHERS
The Teachable Teacher
Adobe Stock Image. Used with permission.
BECOME A TEACHABLE TEACHER
Being teachable is a powerful virtue! AIM FOR IT! (Read pages 64-65, The Scribal Anointing: Scribes Instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven).
Teachable, as we use it within The School of the Scribe, simply means being open, able and WILLING to learn something new or to adjust to a different perspective when new, preferred, better or greater intel presents itself. It means to posture the heart to lay down OLD WAYS, SAME WAYS... or even YOUR WAYS... and elevate into something BETTER OR DIFFERENT as it relates to understanding.
Teachability is a one of the most outstanding characteristics we can have as Sons of God. There are always truths to learn in every situation, even if that situation turns out to be a difficult lesson.
I make it a point to LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN from those who lead me, from those I lead, and from strangers I encounter -- no matter who they are or how much I might perceive they have to offer. It doesn't matter whether they are believers or non-believers if we simply meet people as "human" -- giving them dignity, respect.
Real teachers.... especially Holy Spirit led teachers should long for this!
The School of the Scribe draws many people who are being forced out of or who are overcoming "Pharisaic" mindsets. Take a look at Matthew 23. Those mindsets can be seen as traditional thinking, legalistic living or religious ways of seeing the world and relating to people. Jesus despised these mindsets in people. We learn that they BLOCK US from seeing, hearing and experiencing God.
I always tell students to humble themselves and consider for a moment that they might be a "Pharisee" and that the Lord sent them to the scribe school to begin the process of healing. You might laugh at this, but I am so serious. Remember, you will encounter the pharisaical stronghold excessively if you plan to work in any area of scribal ministry - whether launching a publishing company, teaching people to flow in the Spirit or raising up a scribal group.
Over the years, I’ve learned some life-changing lessons from students who connected to The School of the Scribe. I've learned lessons in life, lessons from the Word, and lessons on how to receive and interact with people.... and I'm still learning. I have learned from making mistakes in my teaching, course presentation, and difficulties that turned into lessons that I hope have caused significant improvement in my life. Some of those lessons have been difficult as it took longer to learn. Perhaps the most challenging part of being teachable for me was understanding that “being teachable” isn’t solely about garnering the knowledge and information we believe we need, but humbling myself enough to apply what I was I learning.
Rather, it is being open to understanding that we may need to be taught something we don't actually want or think we need! The seal is this: If we are leading people IN LOVE for an hour in a classroom or in the palm of our hands as mentor, we must be prepared to not only TEACH & GUIDE but to sit and learn as well.
The lessons may be less about the information or revelation they hold (because as a teacher you've probably dug out areas far beyond their current capacity or even area of interest) and more about learning how to join into what pulls at their heart.... and add value and affirmation to it at times.
It is making a declaration that: “I am still willing to learn! I am forever a student!” One of the things that often vexed me as a young believer was that very few of the leaders around me were willing to sit and listen to what was in me. While I couldn't teach them about the Word from the perspective of a pastor or apostle at the time, I could definitely have offered deeper understanding concerning creativity, the arts and the scribe... an area that they understood only from a youth ministry/local church perspective.
One of the most powerful examples I have had in my life of being teachable was an encounter I had with my spiritual father, Pastor Eddie Mason. He called me one day and said, "I read your book! Can you come to the church tomorrow I want to talk with ya." I did not know what to expect. I agreed, and when I arrived he had questions, wanted to look at scriptures and learn as much as he could about who I was and what I felt called to do.
That day would stretch into a couple of weeks, and into a church-wide meeting where he allowed me to share my heart on Sunday morning. I was able to ignite so many creatives in that service. By the summer, we held our first poetry and arts concert (for TEENS) on a Friday night to demonstrate the power of God through the arts (see a few images below). It was so filled with the Spirit that the following Sunday morning my pastor said, "There's no need to create an atmosphere her this morning... Holy Spirit is still lingering in our midst from Friday night." He called me up after that and released me to prophesy over the congregation... and the healing fire hit us again.
Pastor Eddie taught me that good leaders learn from those they lead. It's not a competition or a posturing race.
I, Theresa, had to realize I didn't (and still don't) know everything – even about prophetic scribal ministry although it is my life's work. I, Theresa, had to realize that I still need help to navigate my calling and this life. I had to realize that just because I teach on a topic, it doesn't mean other people cannot!
I make it a point to ASK QUESTIONS even if I feel as if I already know the answer. This is the thing: As much as we believe we know about a subject, we only KNOW THE PART AND PERSPECTIVE that we have been given. No one has ALL THE INFO about anything.
NO ONE.... and that includes all the parts of the ministry of the scribe. The part that I have, however, is unique to my calling, purpose and destiny. And... it is fully my responsibility to master what I've been given as the Lord has ordained it.
That mastery of knowledge, natural and spiritual application, and continuous learning is what set's us apart - not just the acquisition of information and the sharing of it.
In the CTT PROGRAM, my part is simply this: To give prophetic scribes a line-by-line, detailed prophetic understanding of the "foundations of scribal ministry." That is my part. What you build from that place is something that I can partake in... as well as others.
Two key signs of not being teachable include: (1) constantly adding insight or confirmation but never asking questions or questioning what you already know; and (2) bringing tons of information you already know, but rarely engaging in new content with the hope of gaining new insight. So, I urge you to put on the "students" hat in this course. Be a learner here. Be the student that enters into the lesson, engages with the concepts, and build WITHIN THEM... and then beyond them.
Be open to CHANGE... and grow from what you learn.
Teachers are designed by God to be FOREVER STUDENTS, LEARNERS. To me... that is amazing. They should be the most revolutionary and transformational learners among us.
When I first wrote the book, “The Scribal Anointing,” I did not understand the ministry of the scribe as I do today. I can appreciate the revelation in it now in a way that I couldn't 15 years ago after I wrote it. As I continued to grow, I went back and built upon that understanding, pulling out the holes, the errors… and all the learning curves along the way.
For those who have been a part of the teaching team from the beginning, I made it my responsibility to let them know: “This was the understanding I had about this issue during that time. For clarification on my stand concerning this today get the revised and expanded edition of my book, The Scribal Anointing: Scribes Instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
My blog is also a perfect example of this. I am not the same person who wrote the first blog post in 2002. But I do believe it is important that I leave those blog posts up so people can see the growth, witness the transformation, and understand what it means to be teachable.
A teachable believer would not stop at the writer or author, but long to be taught a more thorough definition. An unteachable believer would hold on to what they already believe.
Proverbs 9:9 ESV states, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
HOLD ON TO THESE POINTS OF UNDERSTANDING IN THIS PROGRAM & SET A STANDARD FOR YOUR PROGRAM:
The teacher recognizes that every point of understanding and revelation becomes the floor by which they posture themselves to grow. In other words, we are not to hoard “our point of view or perspectives” on absolutely everything. Of course, foundation is non-negotiable in the Kingdom. There are, however, some things “like the ministry of the scribe” that are constantly expanding before us. Remember, even Jesus grew in wisdom and understanding (Luke 2:52).
The teacher recognizes his or her limitations, strengths, and weaknesses (Numbers 34:1-12, Job 38:11, 1 Kings 4:21). There are many scriptures on this subject. The Lord, however, has always set limits for his people whether it is knowledge, access, or authority. Understanding this is humbling for His Sons. It is also a reminder that where our boundaries STOP the boundaries of others begin… and that is to be honored, respected.
The teacher honors other people in the love of God (Romans 12:10). A teachable teacher has no need to be “right” or to “prove a point” or any of the things that pride demands in a learning environment. Rather, the teacher values the contributions of others and respond to those contributions with great care and concern in an honoring environment.
Teachers are never in competition with the student or one another (Phil 2:13). We were intricately designed to not only help one another but to complement one another within our measure in the Kingdom. When student-teacher, teacher-student relationships are off-balance it is quite difficult to accomplish this.
ARTICLES FOR REVIEW:
Five Traits Prophetic Scribes Must Cultivate: Boldness, Part I
Five Traits Prophetic Scribes Must Cultivate: Competence, Part II
Five Traits Prophetic Scribes Must Cultivate: The Holy Imagination, Part III
Five Traits Prophetic Scribes Must Cultivate: Christ's Kind of Humility, Part IV
Five Traits Prophetic Scribes Must Cultivate: Teachability, Part V (READ THIS ONE)