Area #2 – Your Doctrine
Most people who come into your church will say that they want you to teach from the Bible…but often times what they really mean is that they want you to teach from the way THEY see the Bible…AND from the translation they prefer as well!
We are told in Scripture to watch our life and doctrine closely (I Timothy 4:16). We are told that teachers will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). God takes HIS Word seriously…and so should we (Revelation 22:18-19)!!!
However, WE CANNOT teach another person’s theological convictions as our own. We MUST study the Scriptures, seek wise counsel, pray, read and then OWN what we teach. (I Peter 3:15)
UNDERSTANDING that when we do—there are going to be people who disagree with what we teach. Which is OK…as long as we know that we are making every effort to be as theologically sound as we can be. AND…we’ve got to understand as well that godly men and women who really love Jesus have been on both sides of most major theological arguments.
One of the things I often tell the people at NewSpring Church is that I will not lead them astray when it comes to theology or food! We take doctrine seriously…every message we prepare takes hours to shape…and then I gather godly men and women around me who diligently search the Scriptures and hold me accountable on the doctrine that is being taught.
(We’ve had some very lively theological conversations in the meetings I mentioned in the above paragraph!)
We’ve GOT to take what we teach people seriously…WITH the understanding that no matter how much time we put into the message there will always be people who disagree with what we say.
BUT…that is cool because when people do question us it gives us a chance to either KNOW what we believe OR go back and research to see if our convictions are OWNED by us…or just a cool concept we heard on a podcast.