I love to teach the word to the church every Sunday morning. It’s definitely one of my passions to edify and exhort God’s people-and to be ministered-to as I study. Reading books from some great scholars and theologians is inspiring, finding real-life illustrations is fun, and then adding a little personal experience completes it: finding the recipe, adding the ingredients, and then “feeding” it to the people!

But Sunday’s (5/17) teaching was a new experience for me because the Lord directed me to a new addition to the recipe: myself. Yes all of the usual ingredients were key parts to the meal, but God made it clear that I was to add a distinctly new flavor to it. For whatever reason, He wouldn’t just let me become a “garnishment” to that meal-because that was about as far as I wanted to go.

Yet I couldn’t escape it. As the Lord ministered to me I realized that this is to become a normal part of the studies that I prepare. It’s based on the words of Paul in 1^st Corinthinas 11:1:

• “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” (NKJV)
• “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (KJV)
• “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (NIV)

Holy smokes! Paul was the leader and teacher of those folks; I’m the leader and teacher of the folks at 2 churches. Paul guided and directed them in various functions of Christian and church life; I do the same. Paul formed personal relationships with fellow leaders and befriended other Christians in the communities that he would minister in; something I enjoy doing (and strive to do more of).

Yes, for sure there are huge differences between the Apostle Paul and Pastor Raj! No one will ever take my words as worthy for doctrine, nor should they. The Bible clearly teaches us that Paul was personally ordained by Jesus Christ Himself to go and become apostle to the Gentiles. His words were absolutely God-inspired and worthy to become two-thirds of the New Testament!

Nonetheless… there are those common aspects of teaching that I, and every other teacher of God’s Word, have with Paul: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV), “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

We pastors are called to teach biblical doctrine, but we’re also called to provide rebuking when someone contradicts the Scriptures; we’re called to teach people how to behave in accordance with Scriptures; and we’re to provide well-rounded instruction so that Christians may be Christ-like in their daily lives.

Wow! That’s a tall order for sure… something that just can’t be done without the power of the Holy Spirit in my life!

But you’ve heard that old adage, “You have to practice what you preach.” I remember growing up, beginning at age 9, I took up soccer. I loved the game and played all the way through my senior year in high school. I also had been on a variety of different teams under a variety of different coaches. I remember one coach in particular: smart guy for sure. He was a “teacher” of the game-he told us about the fundamentals, talked about proper techniques in dribbling, passing, shooting. He would hold a ball in his hand and show us that if we kicked a ball with the right “English”, it would follow aerodynamic principles and curve to the left or to the right. This guy knew his stuff!

Except I noticed something early-on with him: he always coached us in slacks and a dress shirt. He always wore dress shoes. I don’t recall a single time when I saw him in shorts and a t-shirt; I never saw him wear cleats and shin-guards. Obviously he was a soccer bookworm, but that was it. I never actually saw what to do with all of that soccer theory-but I sure knew a lot of soccer theory! Looking back now, I remember also having coaches who went in the extreme opposite direction: they would drop the ball to the ground and start dribbling, doing fake-outs, and kicking it into the net from 30 or 40 yards out; except they couldn’t show me why that stuff worked.

It wasn’t until later on in the game that I had a coach who had just the right balance of both: we’d have “classroom time”, and then practical time. And he would lead both. Now I learned about soccer theory and was shown how to put that theory into practice. “See, if you kick the ball just slightly off-center you’ll put spin on the ball. That’ll make it curve the opposite way.” Then he dropped the ball, dribbled it about 5 yards, then smack! He kicked it so that it began spinning left, like one of those desk world-globes. And I could see it starting to drift to the right and keep going. Very cool!

Well, we all wanted to be like Coach. He was the man. And I remember how hard we all tried to copy him, duplicate his moves; I’d ask him a question and he’d grab my ball and walk me through the whole routine. Yeah, I wanted to be like this guy!

My goal now? To be like that coach, only this time I want to be able to grab someone’s Bible and show them God’s very words about some topic. Then I want to tell him about my experience, or lead him in that experience, or whatever. Just like Jesus, who taught His men that they had to love people with all of their hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Then He did it. Time after time they saw their Coach teach and do…teach and do… teach and do.

All Christians are taught to be like their Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of us is supposed to imitate His example, learn His words and principles, and put ourselves out in a most passionate and sacrificial way. I want to do that for sure (I’m not always successful, of course!)

If Jesus is your Lord and Savior then remember that that is your calling! Quite simply: to be a biblical “theorist” only, or to be a biblical “practitioner” only, would cause you to be incomplete. Make sure to immerse yourself in God’s Word; attend a church that teaches the Bible in an uncompromising and thorough manner; and seek the counsel and insight of fellow-Christians. And then, go and do. Remember that it’s continual, remember that it is a pursuit, and remember that it must become a lifestyle: 1 Peter 3:8-11, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

May all of us boldly proclaim Paul’s words, “Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ“!