Over the past few days we’ve been talking about Spiritual Gifts and the direct influence that they have upon the act of worship in the church.  Today, I’d like to share a few words about teaching (which may just be my spiritual gift, at least that’s what this test said).

The gift of teaching is absolutely necessary for a church to be healthy.  There are members of every church congregation that enjoy digging into the truth of Scripture and unpacking those truths for others in the form of teaching.  Teachers have a strong desire to communicate to others things that they have learned; not only do they want to learn, they want those around them to learn as well.

I think, and perhaps I’m a bit biased here, that teachers make excellent songwriters.  Because a good teacher acquaints himself or herself with truth in a very intimate way, often those truths will lead that teacher to new musical and lyrical ideas.  Much as I hate to admit it, there is also a teaching component to worship as well (Remember this?).   Paul admonishes the church to sing to one another in a way that teaches Scriptural doctrine (Eph. 5).

Teachers also make good worship leaders simply because they have a responsibilty to teach the congregation how to sing songs of worship. A worship leader must educate the church musically in a way that makes it possible for the average church-goer to grasp complex musical concepts and perform these techniques with a level of skill that most pleases God.

How do teachers fit into your worship ministry?