Are we Equipping or only Teaching?

rwh27sept Ep.383 – Run With Horses Podcast – Equipping or Educating? Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Author pages with links to all books on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BCSDDVLB – James Norman Smith https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BMGW51FW – Susan Jane Smith

(24:00) Our churches are great at teaching Biblical truth. But sometimes I wonder if we do as well at equipping people for the work of teh ministry. That’s topic of today’s show!

Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is simple in many ways, but potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to grow, to live intentionally and to join in His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Thank you for joining me today! “If you’re new here, you can check out past episodes at runwithhorses.net. As always, I appreciate your feedback, questions, and reviews!”

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Teaching and Equipping

I. Introduction • Many churches excel at teaching but struggle with equipping. The result is knowledge without action, or action without foundation. • How do teaching and equipping differ, and how should they work together in the life of the church?

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II. Defining the Terms

A. Teaching • Imparting knowledge, doctrine, and biblical truth. • Scripture:

B. Equipping • Preparing believers with tools, skills, and confidence to serve and live out their faith.

VI. The Role of Leaders and Members

A. Leaders’ Responsibility • To both teach and equip. • 1 Timothy 4:11–12 – “These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

B. Members’ Responsibility • To move from being hearers to active participants in ministry. • Hebrews 10:24–25 – “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

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VII. Practical Challenges • Overemphasis on knowledge can create spiritual spectators. • Overemphasis on activity without grounding leads to burnout or error. • Baptist churches must intentionally integrate both for effective discipleship.

⸻ Teaching informs; equipping transforms. Teaching fills the mind; equipping activates the hands and heart. Both are necessary for a healthy, missional church.

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Teaching Transfers Information; Equipping Shapes People • Teaching is about what you know. Equipping is about who you become and what you do. • Example: The Pharisees were excellent teachers of the Law, but they failed to equip people to live it (Matthew 23:3).

👉 Knowledge is relatively easy to pass on in a classroom; transformation requires walking with people in real life.

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Equipping Requires Application and Practice • Teaching can stop at hearing; equipping demands doing. • James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” • Equipping means giving people opportunities to serve, make mistakes, and grow — which is harder than just lecturing.

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Equipping Requires Relational Investment • Teaching can happen from a pulpit; equipping usually happens through discipleship, mentoring, and modeling. • 2 Timothy 2:2 – Paul didn’t just teach Timothy; he entrusted him with responsibility to teach others. • This relational work is time-consuming and often messy.

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Equipping Challenges Comfort Zones • Many believers are comfortable learning but hesitant to step into ministry. • Ephesians 4:12 – equipping means pushing saints into the work of ministry. • That’s more difficult than teaching because it involves confronting fear, apathy, or resistance.

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Equipping Takes Patience and Perseverance • Teaching can produce quick results (“I learned a new fact”). • Equipping is long-term, like training an athlete or raising a child. • Hebrews 5:14 – “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” • Growth through use (practice) is much slower and harder.

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Equipping Requires Empowering, Not Controlling • Teaching can be one-directional: “Here’s what the Bible says.” • Equipping releases people to serve, which means leaders must trust God’s Spirit in them. • John 14:12 – Jesus