I was given this book at a writers workshop at The Gospel Coalition’s Womens Conference. I couldn’t think of better time to pick up a book like this, since our fall small groups are getting ready to start up at my home church. The book’s first pages have a lot of great accolades, from prominent teachers, that point toward this being a must read for anyone who is in a teaching position over other believers. Pastors. Small Group Leaders. Ministry Leaders. This book was written for you. Not just for those who are currently teaching alone, but also for those who are considering answering the call to teach for the first time.
Regarding the Author: Trevin Wax
When preparing a book that could be used by scholared teachers of the Word AND your every day small group lay leader, it is important to provide content that is easy to follow. Trevin Wax has written a book that stays on track, moves from point to point with ease, utilizes famailiar verbiage, and condenses the information into a format that is not intimidating. This book, if given to a small group leader, could easily be read within a short period. The book is a comfortable read, and it is evident that Trevin Wax understands the audience that will be reading this book.
Regarding the Book: Gospel Centered Teaching
When one steps up to teach a small group, for the first time, it can be a bit scary. What do I teach? How do I teach? Will I be a good teacher? When one has been teaching small groups, speaking in front of groups, or even presenting sermons for a long season; there are times where we can lose focus on what the point of it all is. Perhaps we have gotten caught up in the bible stories themselves, over whom they point to. It may even be a possibility that our every day lives have brought us to a place where we have a world view of things vs. a gospel view. This can taint the perceptions of even the most seasoned teacher. In some cases we may find ourselves teaching a great moral lesson and tacking a quick snippet about the gospel at the end, for good measure or because we feel the need to. It becomes an after thought.
Gospel Centered Teaching is a great book for small group leaders and teachers of all seasons* because it helps bring us back into the heart of the scriptures. We need to know the basics of the Gospel ourselves, we need to make sure that we can present the Gospel accurately, we need to understand WHY we need to keep our teaching Gospel centered, and finally we need to continually remind ourselves to keep the Gospel center to our teaching and presentations. Trevin Wax’s practical explanations & easy to read format, make this a great book to give to your small group leaders and staff members.
From the Text:
“If we are not careful , the pursuit of knowledge is merely a sham to make ourselves feel intellectually superior to those around us. We start to view spiritual maturity in terms of knowledge rather than obedience.” (Trevin Wax, Gospel Centered Teaching)
“If we learn individual bible stories and never connect them to the big story; We put ourselves in the scene as if we are the main character.” (Trevin Wax, Gospel Centered Teaching)
“Just because you know the Bible, doesn’t mean the Word will bear fruit in your life.”
Gospel Centered Teaching
Author: Trevin Wax
Publisher: BH Publishing Group
ISBN: 978-1-4336-8172-1
Gena McCown 