Bruce H. Wilkinson - The Seven Laws of the Learner: How to Teach Almost Anything to Practically Anyone

Law One:

Law Two:

Law Three:

Law Four:

Law Five:

Law Six:

Law Seven:

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T his may sound a bit unusual, but this book is the result of ten years of repentance. My repentance.

Though I had been teaching and preaching all my life, I found to my utter surprise and dismay that much of my philosophy and practice of communication had been wrong. Incredibly wrong. Tragically misdirected.

So through searching the Scriptures and studying master teachers and communicators, I began to repent and change. This book is a distillation of that personal pilgrimage and reveals the revolution that has occurred first in my thinking and eventually in my teaching.

To repent means to change ones mind. In modern terms, we call it a paradigm shift, which means a new frame of reference or pattern of thinking. Seven times I stumbled upon concepts in the Bible that were exactly the opposite of what I had thought.

Much has been written about teaching that is Christian, but even a brief survey of the material quickly shows that the literature focuses upon the content of what is taught rather than the communication of how it is taught. Certainly the basis of all life change is the truth which sets one free, but how that truth is communicated has a great deal to do with how much freedom is enjoyed.

Although this book frequently discusses the content, it primarily focuses upon what the teacher does to teach that content to the students. This book is full of contentbut the teaching process doesnt actually begin until the teacher begins to teach the students this content. The teacher is the living link between the content and the class, and how he or she accomplishes that is the heart of teaching.

That process of successfully passing on to the next generation the desired content, character, and conduct is the key responsibility of the teacher. Students come to us needing to know or to be or to do, and it is our responsibility to enable them.

Because you are reading this introduction, I know you care about that process and are searching for ways to become more effective as a teacher or preacher or even parentfor we all teach, all of the time.

Its been an amazing journey of discovery, traveling around the world and teaching leaders, pastors, businessmen, teachers, and parents. And one thing that Ive seen everywhere: If a teacher is boring back home, hell be even more boring halfway around the world. If a teacher is irrelevant on the home court, hell be even more irrelevant on the away court.

But if a teacher has mastered the teaching-learning process, you can give her any subject in any country to any audience and, with a suitable amount of preparation, she can be incredibly effective.

Some people have been ablewith years of practiceto master the skill of boredom. Almost without effort they can drive an audience to slumber. Others hit the nail on the head time after time. Wherever they are and whatever they teach, lasting life change takes place. They love teaching and they help others love learning.

How do they do it? They have mastered the universal laws of teaching. Principles as universal as gravity. Principles that work irrespective of subject, speaker, students, or society.

The universals of life are incredibly powerful. Once you discover them and know how to work in cooperation with them, you can use them to accomplish your goals. Every time. Every place. Every one.

Are you interested in the universals that govern teaching and learning? Then this book is for you.

You are about to discover seven universal laws, with examples on almost every page to picture how they actually work in your life. Like the tens of thousands who have learned these laws before you, youll find they are immediately usable. I mean, right at the moment you read or hear them. So many people have told me they went home that very night and rewrote their lessons for the next day. And they didnt wonder what to do; they knew what to do. We taught them, they learned it, and then they did it.

We call it teaching for life change. Unless you are highly unusual, before you have finished this book, youre going to think differently about teaching in far-reaching ways.

Ill never forget the long letter I received from a lady who inspired her pastor to attend The 7 Laws of the Learner conference because their church was dying from an overdose of boredom and irrelevancy. She said the very next sermon was like it came from a different man. It was practical, life changing, interesting, biblicaland so relevant that she felt he had all of a sudden come to understand the needs of the church.

Later I received another letter, this one from the pastor. He was so thankful that the Lord had enabled him to learn the truth about teaching and preaching. For the first time in his long ministry, the people were really changing. For good. So he wrote to thank me. Those kinds of letters I treasure forever.

Maybe someday, if you allow these universal principles to revolutionize your teaching, I may receive a note postmarked from your neighborhood.

But right now, let me explain how to get the most out of this book.

The seven laws are discussed in two chapters each. The first of the chapters aims at changing your beliefs about teaching, and the second aims at changing your behavior as a teacher. The first, your attitude; the second, your actions. The first, your philosophy; the second, your practice.

Ultimately what we all do is dependent upon what we think. The Bible states this simply: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Therefore, if the way we think can be changed, the way we live will be changed.

The goal of the first chapter on each law is to create a powerful paradigm shift in your thinkinga repentance to the biblical way of thinking.

The goal of the second chapter on each law is to equip you with an effective method and approach to instantly use what youve learned the very next time you teacha renewal in your teaching process.

The seven laws are independent of one another and are stand-alone units. They have been arranged, however, in the most logical order for maximum helpfulness. If you have a need or interest in a specific law, then you may desire to jump ahead to the one that suits you best at this time.

If you want to learn how to speed-teach your students twice the content in half the time, then the Law of Retention is for you. Turn to and shift into fourth gear as you discover the four levels of mastery teaching that God revealed to Moses.

If you want to learn how to help your students blossom into everything they should become, then the Law of Expectation is for you. Turn to and watch your students flourish like never before.

If you want to learn how to teach for life change so that your students actually become different people and experience lasting change, then the Law of Application is for you. Turn to and watch your students begin to experience real, positive change almost immediately.

If you want to learn how to motivate your students so that they will want to come to class and learn what you are teaching, then the Law of Need is for you. Turn to and discover the five steps Christ used to motivate His students. Theyll work for you every time.

If you want to rekindle your flame for teaching so that you enjoy teaching the way that you used to, then the Law of the Learner is for you. Turn to and discover the shocking meaning behind the words