Striking Bible Teachers

Yesterday, many  teachers were on strike. I am not a member of a teaching union, but I have respect for the concept and admire colleagues’ dedication. Thankfully, I do not work Wednesdays anyway so I had to pass no picket line, nor to cover anyone’s class. Those staff who went in were required to teach absent classes online, so the impact of the strike might be minimal. Although in the 1970s striking became too common and very often seemed to be a first resort rather than the last, a worker’s right to organise and withhold labour is an important one. Nevertheless, children whose education was interrupted by lockdowns suffer again as their educators and His Majesty’s Government each refuse to backdown.

I wonder if some church-based teachers and preachers have been on strike, but for several decades. Too many sermons are collections of anecdotes, catalogues of illustrations or extended periods of personal testimony. One wonders what is actually being taught. I have never been a particularly inspiring school teacher, nor a particularly skilled Bible expositor (the preachers of Martin Top are made to look good by the absence of much competition), but if ever I preach not Christ and His gospel, or refocus on anything other than God’s word, may I be struck off and struck down.