I can feel all fifteen sets of eyes on me… all waiting for me to respond, looking anxiously because I am assumed to have an answer that will settle all disputes.  Teaching and preaching can easily become an exercise in dogmatic certitude if we are not careful.  Humility is often talked about, and frequently held up as a virtue required of all leaders.  Some leaders make grand claims to have attained humility and are quick to recount the episodes in their lives that gave them the ability to somehow remain humble in the face of success all around them.   

“We know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9).  The apostle Paul rightly understands the incomplete nature of our understanding of the world around us.   

Responsible Christian teaching rightly admits the incomplete nature of our comprehension of God.  God is beyond our comprehension; any attempt to adequately describe the God of the Bible always falls short of completion.  A sense of awe and wonder must always accompany any theological enterprise.   

Christian pastors and teachers need to become acutely aware of this limitation, because the temptation to exalt ourselves to the position of all knowing speaker is one that frequently besets us.  It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking we have all the answers, which soon leads to dogmatic statements that extend to every area of theology.  Certainly there should be some subjects with which we speak with great certitude about, however, in many cases a little epistemic humility would go a long way. 

So how can we remain humble in front of others without compromising the imparting of truth, which is the responsibility of Christian teachers? 

First, I would extend a call to all teachers, whatever their status to learn three very important words:  I don’t know.  There is something refreshing about admitting that you do not know something when asked a question.  So much pressure is placed on Christian leaders to have all the answers, because they are professional Christian leaders.  However, admitting that we are not all knowing relieves us from the pressure of having to be infallible on all things in theology.  Pastors admitting that they don’t have all the answers would actually encourage their constituents ensuring them that questions are sometimes ok. 

Second, Christian leaders need to approach any teaching with great humility, knowing that anything they begin to say about God will be in part inadequate to fully capture His greatness.  Any statement about God in human language falls short of His holiness, His perfection. 

So we will begin to readily admit that God is bigger, and greater than anything our words can describe.   

Finally, pastors, and teachers will understand that sometimes starting the conversation amongst your listeners is actually a greater method of teaching than giving all the answers.  The pastor on Sunday morning moves from being the last word on the subject to the first word.  The pastor starts a conversation that will continue throughout the week.  How much more effective would our teaching be if instead of giving all the answers we opened up the world of theological exploration for our listeners, and challenged them to mine the Scriptures to find the ways in which God is currently challenging them to live? 

Questions are often times better than answers, because through our questions we become seekers after God searching the Scriptures prayerfully to encounter a God who is both beyond us, and somehow personally attainable through the Scriptures.

Jonathan Pedrone is a professor in South Florida.  He has been active in ministry for over a decade.  Jonathan has a Bachelors degree from Trinity International University [B.A.]; Masters Degrees from Liberty Theological Seminary [M.A.R.; MDiv]; and is working on a Doctoral degree.  Jonathan loves riding his bike, fishing in the everglades, laying in his hammock on cool nights, and taking his daughter Mia to the park.