The Trellis and the Vine (7 page)

Chapter 6.
The heart of training

Readers of this book may well fall into two categories.

There are some for whom ‘training’ is something of a ministry buzzword. They assume they know what it means, and are accordingly either for it, against it, or just tired of hearing about it.

There will be others for whom ‘training’ is something you do at the gym or at theological college or seminary, but who have never considered that ‘training’ ought to happen in the local church.

For the benefit of both groups, and all those in between, let’s pause to consider what ‘training’ really is in connection with Christian life and ministry.

What is training?

A perennial difficulty in discussing ‘training’ (and many other subjects) is that the word has connotations in English that don’t always correspond with how the word is used in the Bible.

In modern English, ‘training’ normally relates to becoming proficient in some practice or art or profession. By a mix of instruction, observation, practice and discipline, ‘trainees’ learn how to do something well—whether that’s running hurdles or becoming a soldier. ‘Training’ in our world is usually task-oriented, with a focus on the processes by which things get done. It emphasizes uniform and predictable responses that are learnt and reinforced by practice. When we undertake ‘workplace training’, we hope that the outcome will be a new level of proficiency in some aspect of our role.

Ministry training can be like this as well—providing knowledge and skills so that Christians can learn how to do certain things. Along this line, many churches run ‘training courses’ to help people become more proficient at reading their Bibles, or sharing their faith with others, or welcoming newcomers, or leading small groups, and so on.

This is good and useful, but it’s not the essence of ‘training’—at least not in the way the Bible thinks about it. In the New Testament, training is much more about Christian thinking and living than about particular skills or competencies. We see this in the pastoral epistles, in the words that are translated as ‘training’ in our Bibles.

Imparting doctrine and life

In 1 Timothy 4:7, for example, we find this instruction from Paul: “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness.” The Greek word here is
gymnazõ
, a word originally used in connection with athletics and contests. As a Christian minister, Timothy was to apply this metaphor of athletic training to his life and character, so that he and his hearers might progress towards maturity and righteousness. In Hebrews we find the same Greek word used in a similar way: “…solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:14). By contrast, false teachers have their hearts “trained in greed” (2 Pet 2:14). The focus here is on teaching and example, leading to a particular character of life rather than to a particular skill or competency.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, the Greek word
paideia
is also translated as ‘training’: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training
in righteousness”. This is the normal word for instruction or teaching intended to form proper patterns of behaviour (in this case, righteousness). It’s the same sort of training a father exercises over a son to mould his character—whether that’s God as our Father who disciplines us for our good (Heb 12:5, 7) or our human fathers who seek to train us in ways of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

In the very next verse (2 Tim 3:17), the training concept is developed further. By being ‘trained’ in righteousness, the man of God is made competent or proficient by the Scriptures, which equip him for every good work. It’s the ‘training’ in righteousness that leads to the proficiency, but the proficiency here is not a particular skill—such as being able to teach clearly, or lead a small group, or whatever—but a quality of character and behaviour based on the sound doctrine of the Scriptures.

The sound doctrine is vital. In the pastorals, a baton is being passed as in a relay—and that baton is the gospel itself. God entrusts the gospel to Paul (1 Tim 1:11-12), who in turn passes it on to Timothy (1 Tim 1:18-19; 6:11-14, 20-21). Paul now wants Timothy to do the same: to entrust what Paul has delivered to him to faithful people who will also be able to teach others (2 Tim 2:2).

The heart of training is not to impart a skill, but to impart sound doctrine. Paul uses the language of ‘training’ to refer to a lifelong process whereby Timothy and his congregation are taught by Scripture to reject false religion, and to conform their hearts and their lives to sound doctrine. Good biblical training results in a godly life based on sound, health-giving teaching.

Relationship and imitation

However, this transfer of the “good deposit” of the gospel is not a barren, educational exercise. It’s deeply and inescapably relational. When we look at the relationship between Paul and Timothy, it becomes immediately apparent that much more than a transfer of skills or information was involved in Timothy’s training. Paul repeatedly describes Timothy with great warmth as his son and beloved child (1 Cor 4:17; Phil 2:22; 1 Tim 1:2, 18; 2 Tim 1:2) and as a fellow-believer and sharer in grace (1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2, 2:1). Timothy was almost certainly converted through Paul’s ministry (Acts 14:6-23, 16:1-3), and became a highly valued co-worker in the gospel mission (“I have no-one like him”—Phil 2:20), whom Paul trusted to send as his emissary to the churches (Phil 2:19-20; 1 Thess 3:1-5).

This close relationship was a vehicle for one of the key elements of Paul’s training of Timothy—imitation. “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me” (2 Tim 3:10-11).

It was not only the good deposit of the gospel that Paul passed on to Timothy, but a
way of life
. And Timothy was, in turn, to model this gospel way of living to others: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). Paul exhorted one of his other protégés, Titus, along similar lines: “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about
us
” (Titus 2:7-8). Notice that Titus’ exemplary teaching and behaviour reflects on Paul as well (“nothing evil to say about us”), because Titus was only teaching and behaving in imitation of Paul.

This methodology of modelling, example and imitation was basic to Paul’s whole ministry:

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. (Phil 3:17)

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (1 Cor 4:14-17)

Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor 10:32-11:1)

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thess 1:4-7)

The chain of imitation flows from the Lord Jesus himself, whom Paul is copying, through to Timothy (who models himself on Paul, and reminds others of Paul’s ways), and to the believers, who become “imitators of us and of the Lord”.

It is worth stressing that Paul wants them to imitate not only his doctrine but also his way of life. Paul never abstracts ethics from doctrine, because a right understanding of the gospel always leads to a changed life. We might cringe at this, from either a pious humility or an honest assessment of the poverty of our example. But Paul showed no embarrassment for himself or his co-workers. He urged Timothy and the others to join him in setting an example for the believers, and he urged the believers to follow it!

However, we must remember what sort of example it was that Paul was setting in his imitation of Jesus. It was the acceptance of hostility and social rejection—an embracing of the self-sacrificial path of suffering and mistreatment for the sake of others. As Edwin Judge argues, the kind of imitation Paul called for was quite counter-cultural in his day. It didn’t consist of following particular ethical rules or traditions in imitation of one’s spiritual master, but of giving up one’s life for others. This “call to sacrifice one’s own reasonable interest to a higher objective was a bewildering upending of the ethical life as the Greeks had refined it”.
[1]

Paul urged his congregations to join him in suffering for the mission of Christ, to seek the salvation of others by forgoing their own rights. His ambition to save others was to be their ambition too.

We are always an example to those whom we are teaching and training, whether we like it or not. We cannot stop being an example. One of the key tasks for pastors and elders is to frame their lives so that they serve as a godly model for others—which is why most of the requirements laid down for elders in places like 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 relate to character and lifestyle. It’s not as if we are to model perfection—that would be impossible. But, as Paul says to Timothy, “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your
progress
” (1 Tim 4:15). We are to set an example in
striving
for holiness, not in displaying perfectly achieved holiness (Heb 12:14). In fact, at the most profound level, the example we set is in modelling the way of the cross. We are not attempting to create clones or a cult of personality, but following our Master’s example in persevering in the face of trials and persecution. If the teacher suffers, so also does the student.

The important point here is that training is inescapably relational. It cannot be done in a classroom via the supposedly neutral transferral of information. The trainer is calling upon the trainee to adopt not only his teaching, but also the way of life that necessarily flows from that teaching. And so the trainer must do as Paul instructed Timothy:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim 4:16)

Training as parenthood

We could summarize the Pauline model of ministry training by saying that it looks a lot like parenthood:

• It begins as someone is instrumental in bringing someone else to new birth.
  
• It is long term and loving.
  
• It includes passing on knowledge, wisdom and practical instruction.
  
• It involves modelling and imitation.
  
• It forms not only beliefs and abilities, but also character and lifestyle.
  

This is a very useful metaphor to keep in our minds as we think about training. Training is parenting. It’s loving someone enough to want to see him or her grow and flourish, and being prepared to put in the long-term, faithful work that will (in God’s mercy) see that happen.

The relational nature of training means that the best training will often occur by osmosis rather than formal instruction. It will be caught as much as it is taught. Trainees will end up resembling their trainers, much as children turn out like their parents.

In relational training, the hearts of both trainer and trainee are exposed. As we train ministers of Christ’s word, we don’t measure progress simply by the performance of tasks, but by the integrity of the heart. Does the trainee genuinely love God and his neighbour? Does he truly submit to Christ’s word? Unguarded, spontaneous words and actions expose the heart of the trainee—the good, the bad and the ugly. In the cut and thrust of life and ministry the relationship is deepened, and the trainer gains insights into the character of the trainee.

Trainees likewise need to see into the heart of their trainers—the sins and confessions, the fears and faith, the visions and realities, the successes and failures. The life and ministry of the trainer is a model for the trainee—not of perfection but of godly desires in an earthen vessel. This requires an honest, open sharing of our lives.

Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the home. In the home, the trainer is no longer the ‘public Christian’, the ministry leader. The persona drops away. He becomes—indeed he
is
—the husband laughing with his wife, the father dealing with his daughter not eating her food, the cook enjoying his creative side, the homemaker fixing the tap, the exhausted man gazing blankly at the TV. He is living out life in the Spirit in the hardest context. And in the same way, when a wise trainer is in the home of the trainee he is also observing how the trainee listens respectfully to his wife, or ignores the children, or expects to be waited upon, or can’t relax. All this is relevant for later reflection and discussion.

Having said all this, it is also important to say that formal training will be an invaluable and irreplaceable complement to relational training. True, we may be aware of that rare trainer who can intuitively judge what is needed in the development of each trainee, and provide it on the fly. The intuitive trainer may not need to reflect very much about a formal training curriculum, so naturally does training come to him. But most of us aren’t brilliantly intuitive trainers. And even those who are often fail to be comprehensive in their training. They have no idea what has been covered or not covered.