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Teaching Generation Z Without a Direct Lecture Style

I'm Generation X, okay. After that it's Millennials, right? And then after that it's Generation Z. These are the kids that are coming into my classroom. Teenagers. I think Generation Z, top bracket, is freshmen in college right now.

This new generation, Generation Z, has grown up entirely unchurched. Many of them. The previous generations have some background in church. They've been to church, even if it's just for Easter and Christmas.

But we got Generation Z coming up, they have no idea. They don't know about atonement for sin. They don't even know sin. They'll tell you they do, but they don't. Instead of having a direct lecture style teaching, which is what we're used to on Sunday mornings, let's figure out some other ways that we can teach.

Jesus shows us many ways. I'm only going to give you three. Jesus, his list is rather long. But just remember, friends, the Bible expects us to be teachers of a sort. Paul says in Colossians 3 .16 that I said, we should be teachers to each other.

Jesus said, we should be teachers to each other. That's the Great Commission, Matthew 28, 19, and 20. Sometimes we just read 19 and stop. It's verse 22. Jesus also said that the goal of the disciple is to become like his teacher.

Well, if he's to be like his teacher, that involves teaching. We need to be teachers of a sort, even though there is an office of teacher in the Scripture. I'm not trying to get into that argument. We should be able to teach.

As a matter of fact, if you think about it, every time we evangelize, every time we give an apologetic or a defense of the faith, we're teaching. We're teaching people about God. So the question is, if we are to teach, then how should we do it?

And the answer is, we should do it like Jesus. We should. So this is where we're headed. The rest of the first session, I'm going to show you what Jesus did in the Scriptures, and I'm going to explain why he did it that way.

And then in the second session, I'm going to see if we can translate that into our circles of influence today. All right. Step number one. There are about three big ideas, actually. There are three big ways that Jesus taught.

And I'm going to, again, acknowledge out loud that Jesus taught in a direct lecture style. I mean, the most obvious example of this is the Sermon on the Mount. Again, this is what we're used to on Sunday mornings, direct lecture style.

I'm going to acknowledge that and move on, because I think we're familiar with that. I'm going to focus on some things that maybe we're not so familiar with, or at least the things that we don't think that we can do.

Jesus Used Leading Questions to Teach

So number one, Jesus asked questions in order to teach, but he didn't ask any old question. There's never a moment where Jesus says, I wonder what time it is. There's always some kind of intention. There's always some kind of teaching involved with the questions that Jesus asked.

These are called leading questions, and we'll get into that in a minute. Jesus also told stories, but he just didn't tell any old story. He told stories to teach. We call them parables. And finally, he gave tests.

I think this is the one that's probably the most commonsensical. If you are a teacher and you're teaching your students, at some point you're going to have to test them. So let's zoom in on number one.

Jesus asked questions. Here are a couple of examples. If you have your Bibles, you can open them up. It's not necessary. Matthew chapter 16, verse 13. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is?

And they said, well, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But he said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Jesus was teaching his disciples a couple of things, but he wasn't speaking in a lecture style.

He was asking. There were a couple of things that the disciples were supposed to understand. Number one, it's truly, truly important that you understand who I am. A lot of people are going to say different things about me, but you need to understand who I really am.

This reminds me of when Jesus was at, he's traveling and he sits down, he's thirsty, and the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman comes up and they start talking. And Jesus says, there will come a day when you must worship in spirit and truth.

In truth, you guys got to get this right. Who am I? Because others are saying different things. That hasn't changed. Thousands of years, that hasn't changed. You get a lot of people out there saying, ah, he was, Jesus was a good teacher.

Jesus was a really good man. Or Jesus was a Hindu. Did you know that? We got to get this right. The second thing is, your understanding of who I am is a gift from the Father. This plays out in the questions that he asks, but he's not simply telling them.

He's inviting them to lean into it and think it through with him. Let me give you another example. Matthew chapter 12, verse 26. In this particular scenario, Jesus is casting out demons and the Pharisees are saying, look at that.

He's casting out demons by the prince of demons, by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus says, verse 26, if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? That's a question.

That's a good question. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. Again, what's his point here? His point here is, clearly, this is the statement.

I'm exercising demons by the power of the Holy Spirit. But instead of saying that, he's asking questions in order to get there. And later on he says, you're in trouble if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit in this manner.

Let me give you another example. Matthew chapter 7, verse 9. This is part of a larger, greater teaching. Or, which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

What's his point? His point is, God's going to take care of your needs. Except, how many times do you hear that? God's got this. How many times can you hear that before it starts to just kind of hit you and bounce off?

God's got this. God's going to take care of you. God's got this. After a while, it sounds like a cliche. I'm not saying this is why Jesus didn't just say it or asked a question. But a great way to get people to lean into an idea is to ask them a question, where the answer is what you want them to know.

And once they're asked the question, they immediately switch from being passive listeners to what you're saying to active participators. And this leads to the big idea. Why did Jesus ask questions? Why did he do this?

The right kinds of questions, we're not asking any old question, the right kinds of questions have the power to change passive listeners into active participators. There are a couple of reasons for this, okay?

Galileo said a long time ago, you cannot teach a man anything. You cannot teach a man anything, ladies. No. You can only help him to find it within himself. See, people, why did Galileo say that? People tend to have this feeling deep down on the inside, and I'm guilty of it too.

I'm not immune from this. People tend to have this feeling on the inside that we are master and commander of our own vessel. We're in control. I got this. And you know what? Nobody really shows me anything.

I discover it for myself. Now, if you have somebody coming up to tell you something that you don't know, whoa, bro, now all of a sudden this seems like mutiny. You're trying to usurp my own authority over myself.

That's why people are typically wary of others telling them what to do. Who are you? Stop. I'm in control. I discover things for myself. But here's the thing. Asking questions instead of telling someone the truth, asking questions maintains this feeling, this sense that everyone tends to have that they are in control.

You maintain it while at the same time you're teaching the point that you wanted to get to anyway. People are drawing the conclusion you want by answering the question you're asking. And the end result of that is people get engaged.

Here's why people get engaged when you ask a question. Something is happening implicitly when you ask questions, okay? There was an ancient, ancient Roman thinker. His name was Publilius Iris. He says we are interested in others when they are interested in us.

Roosevelt said something along the same lines. Nobody knows how much you nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care, okay? In school, when I was in grad school for teaching, that saying floated around so much it was irritating.

It's a cliche, though, for a reason. It's true. William James was an author and a poet a couple hundred years ago. He says the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. Here's what happens when you ask a question.

You're implicitly saying I care about you. I care about you enough to want to know what you think. And if you combine questioning with eye contact, now you're doing something that we know scientifically even builds bonds of trust.

Let me give you something for free. You don't have to write this down. But if you make eye contact with somebody while you're speaking to them and you do it 61 of the time, you are triggering a chemical in the brain called oxytocin.

Oxytocin is the chemical foundation for trust. People start to trust you if you make eye contact with them more. Now, here's the problem. If you make it like eye contact with like 70 of the time, now you're a creep.

So stop it. But here's the thing. When you ask a question, you're leaning in and you're telling somebody without saying it, I care about you. And when somebody knows that they care, or excuse me, that you care, they will care.

They'll care about what you have to say. This is the power of asking a question. You with me? Okay, let's move on. Jesus, number two, Jesus told stories to teach. Let's take a look at an example that we're probably all really familiar with.

The Good Samaritan and the Power of Parables

The Good Samaritan. So this is Luke chapter 10. Again, if you have your Bibles, you can turn with me. Luke chapter 10, verse 30. At this point, let me just give you the context. Jesus is talking to a lawyer who comes up to Jesus and says, what must I do to get into heaven, essentially?

And Jesus starts saying things and the guy goes, yep, did that, did that, yep, that's me, did that, got it, got it, got it, got it. And then Jesus says, well, you got to love your neighbor too, by the way.

And the guy goes, so who's my neighbor? Here's the story. Jesus replied, verse 30, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now, by chance, a priest was going down that road and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion.

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine and then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, take care of him and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.

What is the main point about the Good Samaritan? Does anybody know? I'm putting you on the spot. What's the main point? What's Jesus trying to communicate here? Who is our neighbor? That's right. See, the parable was given in response to the question in verse 29.

Well, who is my neighbor? See, again, Jesus is talking and he's saying, in order to be good, in order to get to heaven, you have to do X, Y, and Z. But also, you know what? You have to love your neighbor.

If you look at verse 29, the lawyer says, who is my neighbor? But he's not asking like, hmm, that's a really great point, Jesus. Who is my neighbor? So I can love them. That's not what he's asking. Look at this, verse 29, but he desiring to justify himself.

So this guy's heart was all wrong and Jesus knew it. This guy's going in here saying, I'm going to ask who's my neighbor and Jesus is going to say the Levites, he's going to say widows, he's going to say orphans.

I got all that covered. And when I say that, Jesus is going to be stumped and he's going to be really impressed. Jesus knows all of that, so he makes a point. The point is, your neighbor is your enemy.

You got to know who Samaritans were to the Jews. Samaritans and Jews didn't even associate with each other. This is the point that Jesus is making. Being a good neighbor means loving your enemies. Now, we know that Jesus has communicated this idea before because on the Sermon on the Mount, he said the same thing.

Love your enemies, pray for your enemies. Instead, now he's saying the same thing, he's teaching the same thing to somebody whose heart is not right, but he's doing the same thing by telling a story. That's what he wants them to know.

Now, the question is, why did he do this? Dale Carnegie once said, the speaker who is easy to listen to is the one who sets images floating before your eyes. Pictures, pictures, pictures. They're as free as the air you breathe.

Sprinkle them through your talks, your conversation, and you will be more entertaining and more influential. Here's the deal. Why did Jesus tell stories? Because most people learn better through stories.

Did you know that? Most people learn better through stories. There are two types of thinkers in the world. There are what's called abstract thinkers and there are concrete thinkers. Abstract thinkers are those who can think in terms of concepts and logic.

They are what we call the left-brained type of people. Maybe they're like theologians, philosophers. Some of our apologists, our more well-known apologists, they easily can think in terms of logic. And it kind of expresses itself in saying premise one, premise two, therefore conclusion.

And when you have a conversation with people like this, it's really frustrating because it's almost like they're speaking another language. Abstract thinkers. Concrete thinkers, on the other hand, they prefer to hear a story.

They want examples. They want to see and experience ideas in practice. And it's through these methods that they then determine and understand an idea, a concept. Here's the deal. Estimates show that four out of five Westerners, the Western culture, four out of five of us are concrete thinkers.

Other estimates show that nine out of 10 non-Westerners are concrete thinkers. Put the math together. The vast majority of the world are concrete thinkers. Most people learn better through stories. Number two, though, the right kinds of stories, they're sly.

They're tricky. They're a little deceptive. And here's why. Stories put people in a passive stance, okay? At least for the moment, as long as the story lasts and the people are into the story. They put people in a passive stance.

It forces them to set aside their own worldview and adopt the worldview of the story in order to inhabit the story, to accept the storyteller's worldview. As a matter of fact, they also have to do what's called suspend disbelief.

Who saw Avengers Endgame? Okay? We're not watching that movie and wondering what the actual physics is of vibranium. We're just accepting it, okay? We're suspending disbelief. Stories do this all the time.

But here's the wonderful thing about stories, and here is why a lot of us need to get into the business of telling stories and making movies. We can actually bring the most hardened atheist to the table and sit down and inhabit the Christian worldview in a story.

They're going to set aside their preconceptions that God isn't real, that he doesn't exist, and they're going to enter into this world, and they're going to walk around. And hopefully, they're going to ask themselves, wow, does this really make sense of the way things are?

Happens all the time, by the way. There are a lot of people... Did you see... What's that new movie that came out recently about abortion unplanned? There were a lot of... Thanks, Chuck. There were a lot of people that walked in pro-choice, that walk out of the movie pro-life.

This was a news article that came out after the movie premiered. Why? Because they had to set aside their preconceptions and sit in and look around. And something struck a chord. We as Christians need to get into the entertainment industry, ladies and gentlemen.

We shouldn't avoid Hollywood. We should invade it. So a moment ago, I said that people prefer to hear a story. That means if you're telling the right story, people will engage because they prefer it. They prefer to hear them anyway.

And stories provide us the opportunity to teach concepts without actually using the words. Let me give you an example by telling you a story, a story about a story. It was the winter of 1862. The noise of various debates and arguments that had arguably started way back with the Declaration of Independence had now crescendoed into an endless clash of muskets and bayonets.

America was engulfed in war. The single bloodiest day of fighting had just passed that September at Antietam. Almost 26 ,000 soldiers died in one day. And in December 1862, almost two years after the Civil War had begun, President Lincoln finally acknowledged what started it in the first place, what started the Civil War.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was in town and visiting the president. She had written a story called Uncle Tom's Cabin about the horrors of slavery, the evil that men commit in its name. As Stowe entered a cozy room in the White House, it is reported that Lincoln stood up, walked over, and he smiled at her.

And as he grabbed and shook her hand, he asked her one question. Is this the little woman who made the Great War? See, according to Lincoln, it wasn't the morality of slavery. It wasn't the economics of slavery or the debates over states' rights or the debates over territorial expansion.

Lincoln suggested that the Civil War started because of a story written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a story that captivated a nation and sparked a pivotal historical moment. All of this from a story. This is the power of a story, the right kind of story.