Pastors, Priests, Sunday School Teachers, Youth Leaders, Deacons, Elders, Small Group Leaders, Parents, Church Leaders, VBS Volunteers, Christian Authors, Speakers, Artists, and anyone with a mouth to speak about the Lord… this is for you:
We cannot teach what we do not know to be true yet.
Be teachable.
Keep learning and growing.
Be open to instruction.
Be willing to let Holy Spirit change your mind.
Humble yourself and admit when you have spoken about or taught others something that you later learned wasn’t true, whether in part or at all.
Jesus taught his followers what true discipleship looks like. He was showing them how to grow, how to think, how to humble themselves, how to learn, and how to lead others to do the same. They remained teachable and began to do things differently as they learned from the things that he taught them.
LEADERS… first and foremost, you are a follower. If you are reading this, then you are likely a Jesus-follower, just as the original 12 disciples were. REMAIN TEACHABLE. Holy Spirit is guiding… remain pliable to God, because hardened hearts will get you nowhere.
It isn’t a secret that churches in America are in trouble. Many church buildings, once filled with people, are dwindling in attendance numbers with every passing Sunday. Across the denominations, churches are closing and buildings are being abandoned. Church splits are becoming common based on the direction of the denomination because of higher tier leadership making decisions on theology, policies, and constitution.
You have been uniquely positioned by God to be a pastor, writer, church leader, youth leader, or whatever your assignment is at this moment. In these days of churches falling apart and the church landscape shifting, you are exactly where God has placed you, and he will guide you as long as you listen to his instructions.
If Jesus were walking alongside you, he might ask, “ARE YOU TEACHABLE?” Since Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus when he left this earth for a time, the Holy Spirit now asks the same question, “Are you teachable?” We cannot teach what we do not know yet, so we must never stop learning and growing, humbling ourselves to admit when we were wrong, and developing our understanding to better steward the sheep that the Lord has assigned under our care.
You likely know this already, but it’s worth being reminded of every day… As a Jesus-follower, he is our Teacher, our Shepherd, our Savior, our Brother, our Healer, and our Friend. He is The Way, The Truth, and the Life, and the ONLY Way to the Father.
Since you likely skimmed over it, Holy Spirit is telling me to ask you to read that paragraph again, but slower this time.
Now that you’ve proven that you are able to be corrected and to listen to his voice, the Teacher has a question for you… ARE YOU TEACHABLE?
Holy Spirit wants to teach you all things, and Scripture says that he holds back nothing from us. He will reveal all things to those who listen, and he does it through The Word and presents lessons, by his mighty power and wisdom, in a myriad of ways. He doesn’t need everyone to listen to the same sermon, listen to the same podcast, read works by the same author, do the same Bible Study, attend the same church, or to go to the same college or seminary.
Holy Spirit, the One who Jesus sent, just as his Heavenly Father had sent him, is here among us and within us to teach the teachable. Holy Spirit softens our hearts to help us become teachable, and he convicts us gently but deliberately in order that we will grow and mature in our faith.
Holy Spirit reveals God through his Word, guiding us to be obedient, and encouraging us to humble ourselves in order to remain teachable. As we learn and grow in our understanding of the Bible, we may see some areas that we had been taught incorrectly at some point in our lives, we may see some places where we had latched onto a lie, we may see some things that make us aware we have been walking outside of God’s will, and we may experience a shifting of perspective or greater awareness of God’s amazing wisdom as we grow in our faith and understanding.
Jesus wants us to ask ourselves again, “Are you teachable?” Let yourself let go of control, humble yourself and ask for his help to cast out pride, rebelliousness, stubbornness, hardness, doubt, or insecurities that can lead to holding onto a broken script that plays over and over in your head. Many of us have learned about Father, Son and Holy Spirit from others who were only able to teach what they knew at the time, and as leaders, we have passed on to others these same misguided beliefs and flawed thoughts about the things of God and his Kingdom.
Humble yourself and turn to The Word for Truth. If something flares up inside of you when you hear something, ask Holy Spirit to know what he is trying to show you. Be willing to change course if you are shown a giant iceberg ahead so that you don’t go down with the ship, and certainly don’t prevent others from getting off any ship heading straight for disaster. If you have the opportunity to steer the ship, steer it hard with all your might while shouting at the others to either help you or to get to safety.
Don’t let your pride and rebelliousness that drives a human to want to prove that they’re right prevent you from listening to The Teacher himself so you can lead your flock well. After all, we cannot teach what we do not know… yet.
JESUS DIDN’T CHOOSE THE FOLLOWERS WHO KNEW IT ALL, HE CHOSE THE TEACHABLE. Jesus-followers who have been assigned to lead and teach, may we unite around the Truth of the Word, and the promise received through Jesus Christ.
“In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 3:4-6 NIV
(Posted on Facebook, June 15, 2026)