The Importance of a Halfway Decent Lesson

The number one variable in predicting the growth of a class is the teaching ability of the teacher. If someone is not doing a good job with the teaching, no amount of outreach will be enough to grow a class and disciples will not be made. We need quality teaching to make quality disciple.

On the other hand, groups that have quality teaching seem to grow almost automatically. Jesus attracted huge crowds. This was, in part, because he was such a masterful teacher. Good outreach can accelerate the growth even further, but we must have the basis of good teaching in order to grow a group. Notice that I’m saying “good teaching”—it does not have to be sensational.

I take great comfort in knowing that I do not have to hit home runs with every lesson. I do, however, need to hit singles regularly. If people are not hearing something meaningful and applicable to them, you will not keep them, no matter how often you invite them. The lessons do not have to be the greatest ever, but they must meet needs.

If you want a church to grow, somebody had better be saying something helpful every Sunday morning. Nothing can replace good content. Would you be attracted to a church that had great programs, nice music, a huge advertising budget, but lousy sermons? People may stay in a church like that if they have a strong network of friends. They will stay reluctantly, however.

The same is true of small groups. You may have all the invitations, parties, and games you need to gather a crowd. But if someone is not saying something helpful to the group, people will not come back. In the long run, good advertising will never cover for a bad product. The label is important, but it’s what is in the bottle that counts. Even if people do stay, they will probably not become disciples. It is the truth that sets people free. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Con­se­quent­ly, the disciple-making process depends on halfway decent teaching.

Thom Rainer’s research bears this out: “One significant study done by and for mainline denominations found that in-depth teaching and preaching of orthodox Christian belief was the single best predictor of church participation. Strong Sunday Schools and scripturally-authoritative preaching engendered long-term health for the church.”1 We must have halfway decent teaching.

In the numerous church-growth conferences I have attended, speakers never talk loudly enough about the importance of preaching and teaching. Humility forbids them. Bill Hybels cannot stand up at his church-growth conference and say, “If you would just speak as well as I do, growth would take care of itself.” Yet when I hear Bill Hybels speak, I know that his skill as a communicator is a crucial factor in the growth of Willow Creek Community Church.

Consequently, some will object that I am not casting a high enough vision. In fact, some people have told me that we should ask for better than halfway decent teaching, that we want excellent teaching. They would like me to say that only fantastic teaching will grow a class. There is no doubt that excellent teaching can help and is, in some sense, our goal. I would like you to teach as well as you possibly can. But I also want to lend confidence to you if you are not Bill Hybels or Chuck Swindoll. You do not have to be Chuck Swindoll to grow a class. I am trying, in this chapter, to maintain a delicate balance between emphasizing the importance of good teaching and lending confidence to the teacher of average skill.

I have seen teachers who are so good that they can grow a class without applying many of the principles taught in this book. But they are rare. May I be honest with you? You are probably not that good. I know I’m not. But you are probably good enough to grow a class. Good enough to double that class every two years or less. Good enough to be used greatly by God.

Consider your favorite fast-food restaurant. Do you go there because it sells the greatest hamburgers in the world? Would you give it a ten on a scale of one to ten? Would you give it even a soft eight? I don’t think so. I have asked groups all over the nation to rate fast-food hamburgers on a scale of one to ten. They usually get about a four or a five. That is halfway decent. But halfway decent hamburgers are good enough to make them popular. The halfway decent hamburger is sold around the world in clean stores, with good service, and through good advertising. And halfway decent lessons can be “sold” with good social gatherings and outreach. But they have to be at least halfway decent.

They cannot be like the lesson I heard one teacher present. The lesson was on John 17:12, which refers to Judas as the “son of perdition.” (The word “perdition” means “under condemnation.”) This is how the teacher approached the text: “Predestination. Who really understands predestination?” We have to do better than that! First of all, the word is perdition, not predestination. Second, you need to come up with something better than “Who really understands...” I have observed a lot of Sunday school teachers over the years, and, unfortunately, some of them are teaching on this level. We must do better than this if we are going to double our groups every two years or less.

If you can do better than halfway decent, great. Strive for excellence. But you need to hit at least a single just about every time you come to the plate.2 Central to the process of creating disciples is delivering solid, halfway decent lessons each and every week. Nothing less will do. Because halfway decent teaching is so important, I will discuss in the next chapter the ten essential qualities of good teaching.