• When we speak, teach, or preach about evangelism, serving, giving, or praying—we fully expect those we taught to get out there and do it!
  
• But let’s be painfully honest: For the most part—it’s not happening—and it’s time we quit pretending and admit it!
  
• Ever wonder why—and what you might be able to do about it? Read on!

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This picture was taken from the archives of the Red Cross—and it shows how the Red Cross used to train people to swim. The Red Cross no longer teaches people to swim in this manner. They discovered that if someone wants to learn how to swim, it is best to first put her into the water—and to do the training in the water!

While this sounds fairly basic, the truth of the matter is that much of the speaking, teaching, and preaching in the church is like teaching people to swim without letting them get wet! We simply hope like crazy people will walk out of church and jump in the water on their own. We preach a sermon on evangelism, serving, giving, or praying, and we fully expect those we taught to get out there and do it! Let’s be painfully frank: For the most part—it’s not happening—and it’s time to quit pretending and admit it! This is why we need to keep speaking, teaching, and preaching—but follow up that instruction with authentic, hands-on training.

Why So Little Authentic Training in the Church?

Why is there so much speaking, teaching, and preaching, but so little authentic training in our churches? One reason is because we tend to mindlessly mimic the American higher educational system. For the most part, we in the church have patterned our “training” approach—not after Jesus The Master Trainer—but after the world (I’m tempted to say “god’) of higher education. Having been “trained” in four different colleges, universities, and institutes, I highly value learning on the college level—but question the method in which most higher education is conducted.

Taught to Swim by Dry People

For example, as a certified teacher for the state of Illinois, I sat through hours upon hours of college classroom lectures in a university that had the reputation for being one of the best teacher training colleges in the United States. Ironically, I was often lectured to by people who had not taught in a public school classroom in years—and in some cases my professors had never taught in a public school classroom. I was being trained to “swim” by dry people. (Think here of the woman on the chair being taught to swim without getting into the water.) While I valued the classroom instruction of my professors, I knew deep in my heart that it could be quite possible to pass all the classroom tests, become a certified teacher, and yet still not really be able to teach effectively in a real school situation. (Getting certified by the state doesn’t really mean one can actually teach. It means you are an OK test taker.) To become a REAL teacher, I needed to get in the water alongside of some wet swimming instructors and learn to swim with the sharks.

Trained to Swim by Dripping Wet Swimming Instructors

By far the greatest authentic training and equipping I received during my under graduate experience happened that one semester I student taught in a real school under the skillful guidance of veteran teachers. Why? One reason was because they used all of my foibles as teachable moments! When they saw me falling—which was often—they caught me and redirected me. I fell—but they made sure the falls were not fatal! And because I felt the need to learn (a natural byproduct when you know you are failing)—I listened to my trainers and immediately applied what they said! Indeed, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. (Before I did student teaching, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about teaching because I sat in all those college classes about teaching! I had twenty-five keys to success in teaching. After about a week into my student teaching adventure, I had about one hundred and twenty-five challenging students—and NO keys to teaching success!) Furthermore, when my veteran trainers observed something good—they affirmed me and then taught me how to do it better. The instruction and teaching I got in the college classroom to be a teacher was, for the most part, good and foundational. But nothing beat the training I got from actually teaching under the wise supervision of skillful veteran trainers who loved, invested, and did everything they could to make me wildly successful as a teacher.

The Classroom AND Real Life

As much as we in the church would like to believe differently, the reality is we can’t effectively train people to “swim” solely in a classroom. In The Lost Art of Disciple Making, respected trainer and disciplemaker, Leroy Eims, candidly confesses his failures in his classroom-only approach to training:

I have tried to train men by gathering them together in a quiet basement once a week to discuss the Christian life and then supplement this with occasional seminars or special meetings. It didn’t work. But men who have ministered with me in the push and shove of life, out where we face victory and defeat daily, out in the world of real living, are today productive for Christ.

If we truly want to train people to swim as disciples of Jesus, we must dare to do what Jesus did—get them into the water with us! (This assumes WE are in the waters of discipleship—not behind the safety of the lectern.) One of the beauties of training is that it includes the classroom—but it also transcends the classroom and flows into the river of real life and ministry. Speaking, teaching, and preaching are all critically important. However, when speaking, teaching, and preaching are reinforced by real life training experiences, the person being trained goes to a wh
ole new level of effectiveness.

The Dire Need of the Hour in Most of Our Churches: Training

This is precisely why I believe that the dire need of the hour in most of our churches is not more speaking, teaching, and preaching. (Please keep in mind this is being written by someone who is a full-time speaker, teacher, and preacher.) Most of our churches are crying—and many are dying—for a “cadre” of people who are trained to train others to do the work of the ministry. We desperately need a Jesus-like on-the-job process that might start in a classroom but for sure ends with the aspiring ministry swimmers in the waters of ministry moving their arms and legs while being encouraged, equipped, and coached by someone who knows how to swim a little AND is in the water with them.

Cadre Ministries: Your Wet Swimming Coaches Cheering You On!

Cadre Ministries exists to assist local churches in becoming the greatest volunteer training organizations in the world. It is not our desire to simply do a training workshop at your church. We don’t want to swim for you. We’d rather get in the water next to you and help you to swim—so you can help others to swim. In the spirit and mode of operation of Jesus Christ, Cadre wants to help you create a movement of hands on ministry training in your church. We not only train volunteers in the church through on site training, but we also train key trainers in local churches and certify them so they can continue the training ministry within their local churches without a fulltime Cadre staff person. That’s right. We understand very clearly that Cadre exists ONLY for the health and well-being of the local church—not for Cadre! Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job by training outstanding trainers in local churches all over the world—so that we are no longer needed! If you are interested in Cadre’s trainer certification process, please contact:
  info@cadreministries.com

Conclusion: Speaking, Teaching, Preaching—AND Training

I did not write this article to slam speaking, teaching, and preaching. Clearly the Bible heralds their importance. And I do not want to take anything away from all the excellent speaking, teaching, and preaching in our churches today where it exists. I applaud it—and I am passionate about seeing the church become a place of dynamic, Holy-Spirit-empowered, Bible communication! However, the Bible also very clearly accentuates the critical importance of training. (Get your concordance out and look up the verses.) Yet, authentic Jesus-like training is rare—if it exists at all—in the church of Jesus Christ. While speaking, teaching, and preaching have enjoyed a huge spotlight, God’s heart for training disciples has become the missing jewel in most of our churches today. I challenge you to not forget the importance of the ministry of training people like Jesus modeled.

Indeed, we can’t make authentic disciples of Jesus Christ by speaking, teaching, and preaching alone—we must also commit to an authentic Jesus-like training approach to making disciples. Are you going to keep doing ministry activities whether or not they actually accomplish the task of making disciples because that’s what you’ve always done? Or are you going to have the guts to follow Jesus’ approach to ministry—and move from speaking, teaching and preaching to speaking, teaching, preaching, AND training? Be very careful how

Application: So What Are YOU Going to Do About Training in Your Church?

1. Is your current STP approach to ministry producing a “cadre” of faithful people who are able to teach others also? Take out a piece of paper and pen and, by name, list those in your church who are faithfully, intentio nally, and systematically passing on to others what you are passing on to them.

2. How, exactly, is all the speaking, teaching, and preaching populating your church with a “cadre” of spiritually qualified workers? Be specific. Share stories of specific people in your church.

3. Would you rather have a small “cadre” of disciples who are equipped to do the work of the ministry, or one hundred or more people who show up only to listen to you speak, teach, or preach?

4. How do you think Jesus would have answered these questions about his ministry? How would Jesus’ answers compare and contrast to yours?

To respond to this article, please send e-mail to:  bill@cadreministries.com

Plan NOW for Fall Teacher, Leadership, and Ministry Training at YOUR Church

Bringing a certified Cadre trainer to your church this fall is easier than you might think! If we can serve you by brining on site training to your church, please contact us at our e-mail below.

For the specific kinds of training we can bring to you, your leaders, and volunteers, check out:

 http://www.cadreinternational.com/training

* Interested in participating in a training workshop and need more details? Contact us at info@cadreministries.com

 

 

Meet Patty Gunger >>
An Awesome Volunteer at Park Community Church in Chicago, IL:

According to Christine Holt, Children's Director of Park Community Church, "Patty Gunger is a faithful K-1st Sunday school teacher at Park Community Church in Chicago, IL. She displays remarkable concern for the hearts of each child in her class, she puts significant thought and effort into teaching her lessons, and routinely seeks the Holy Spirit's guidance and gets it! Sunday after Sunday she comes to me saying, "Guess what! God gave me an idea!"...and she uses these ideas to enhance her teaching. She accepted the role of lead volunteer some time ago, and shepherds the 5 other teachers in our grade school department. She pursues God's leading and growth in her life, shows Christ-like love and humility to everyone she meets, and frequently encourages me as a leader. I refer to her as a "professional volunteer", because she gives 110% to her ministry."

WAY TO GO GOD, PATTY, CHRISTINE, AND PARK COMMUNITY CHURCH

 

Resources You Can Use This Summer:

 

 

Strange But True Stories...

Missed the strange but true Allison stories? If so, click below for a new story:
  http://homepage.mac.com/billc323/Personal7.html

 

 

For more information hosting or participating in a Cadre training workshop, contact info@cadreministries.com

For Cadre training resources, visit: http://www.cadreministries.com/store

The Cadre team. From left to right: Bill, Rennie, Dave, Laura, and Doug... here to serve and bless volunteers like YOU!

In the spirit of Ephesians 4:11-12, it is Cadre's passion to bring glory to God by assisting local churches in becoming the best volunteer training "cadres" in the world.

Cadre is a not-for-profit ministry [501(c)(3)] that exists to make you wildly successful at becoming what God has called you to become as you serve others in your local church and community. We serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries to come alongside volunteers and those who care for volunteers in the church (globally) to help accomplish their God-given mission. Eph. 4:10-17

We provide free monthly online training for volunteers in the church (Cadre Connection), for volunteer Jr. High Youthworkers (Batteries Included), and for Student Leaders (Spiritual Caffeine). Visit www.cadreministries.com to preview our recent free training or to sign up to receive training in your email-box monthly.

For more information about bringing a certified Cadre trainer to coach and train the volunteer teachers, leaders, and youth workers in your church, contact info@cadreministries.com

For Cadre training sources visit http://www.cadreministries.com/store