Stricter Judgment (James 3:1)

"My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).

As a full-time "teacher" (i.e. evangelist), I'm very well-acquainted with this verse. While I don't believe James is truly discouraging the act of teaching the gospel, he is clearly offering a disclaimer to those Christians who want to pursue active teaching responsibilities...and that disclaimer is: don't take this work lightly! To teach the gospel of Christ is such a huge deal. 

Clearly, teachers ought to understand the gravity of what they're doing. No teacher should "abuse the pulpit" or approach his studies and presentations lightheartedly. After all, we "shall receive a stricter judgment."

But here's the real question: who is imposing the "stricter judgment" upon the teachers?

It's tempting for believers to assume this role of judging teachers. They might read this verse and think that they have the right to micromanage or be hyper-critical of teachers. Then again, a person doesn't have to read this verse to be that way. A lot of people simply tend to be more critical.

With that in mind, I'd like to remind you (from a teacher's perspective) of certain criticisms to avoid in your examination and/or dealings with teachers.

• Please don't nitpick our words. Teachers are usually expected to speak for up to 45 minutes or an hour at a time. To speak for that long isn't easy. Please understand that we're all going to make mistakes. It may be a matter of semantics or phrasing. Have a lot of patience with us in these areas. Now, if someone shows himself to be consistently careless, then absolutely, take him aside and urge him to be more careful with his words. But if you're going to disagree, make sure that it's substantive.
• Please don't expect a dozen disclaimers for every controversial point. Over the years, I've preached and taught on a number of controversial topics. Now, I try to be very careful in how I present the truth in these areas, and so, yes...I do usually offer disclaimers for the sake of avoiding confusion. But even still, it's not reasonable to expect every teacher to cover ALL bases when dealing with controversial topics. "Now I'm not saying that..." "This doesn't mean that..." "Please don't misunderstand me, I do believe that..." You get the point. We'd never get through a lesson if we sought to clarify every potential point of confusion.
• Don't assume he's talking about you. There have been occasions where I've preached a sermon or taught a class and either someone came up to me afterwards or I hear through the grapevine, that they took it personally...as if I was calling them out or using the pulpit to "bully" them. Don't get me wrong, there ARE cases where a preacher misuses the pulpit in this way, but for the most part, don't take sermons personally unless there is clear evidence to the contrary.
• If you have a substantive disagreement with a teacher, go to him. This is one of my biggest pet-peeves as a preacher. If you disagree with something I've said or an approach I've taken to an issue, please don't tell all your friends about it, don't complain to your family or to others in the church; just come and tell me. The principles of Matthew 18:15-17 apply here.
• Hearers have a responsibility, too. There is no question that teachers need to make a concerted effor to "preach the truth in love." We need to choose our words, our tone and our method of presentation carefully. At the same time, those in the audience also have a responsibility to "listen to the truth in love." Try not to judge the teacher's motives. Instead of being overly-critical of his tone, grasp the truth of what he's saying. There are cases where a man's passion may be confused with anger or meanness. Don't write him off because you think he sounds a little rude. I doubt he really intends to sound that way. Or let's say that a man's presentation is a little disorganized or mundane. Be understanding and sympathetic. Don't complain afterwards. Teaching is hard.
• Finally, it's not your right to hold the teacher to a higher moral or spiritual standard. There are many folks who think that preachers should be held to a higher standard. They can wear blue jeans and a nice shirt on Sunday, but the preacher has to wear a suit and tie. They can miss a service, but the preacher can't. "Regular Christians" can be careless with their words and even their comments in class, but if the teacher makes a mistake or miswords something, he can be scrutinized. They can have a nice house and car, but if the preacher makes any such purchase, he's materialistic and/or squandering the church's money. Their families can be dysfunctional, but the preacher's family has to be perfect. You get the point.

I'd like to close with this thought...

When James says, "Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment," he wasn't encouraging Christians to be judgmental of teachers. The "judgment" here is God's judgment and it's the teacher that needs to hold himself to this higher standard.