One of the five “points of leverage” that enable us to be all we can be as stewards of our gifts. COURAGE was the topic last week (any review, thoughts that came up during the week?). This week the topic is the capacity for continuous learning. Followed by living/working through difficult situations and disappointment, the organizations we are a part of, and finally the routine and rhythm of our lives – solitude and community).
Had a hard time initially relating this to the Christian walk….seemed sort of “worldly” – about keeping up, being prepared for change (in my world of CME credits, documentation etc,..), but then tried to settle in and focus on scripture that sets this into a bigger frame.
- 2 Timothy 1:6 – “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God”
- 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a man who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth”
- Psalm 25:4-5 – “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all the day long.”
- Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days that we may present thee with a heart of wisdom”
- Proverbs 23:12 – “Apply the heart to wisdom and thy ears to words of knowledge” – Proverbs is full of passages which make clear God’s desire and intention for man to grow in wisdom and truth
- King Solomon in Ecclesiastes – “whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might”
Our first and primary intention in excellence and continuous learning should be to serve Christ. We need to realize that God is the author and founder of all knowledge – including “work place” knowledge…he knows more about architecture, medicine, banking, education…than any human being could begin to fathom. And he longs for us to grow, to improve (parables of soil, farmers…)
“Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act.” – AW Tozer
BOOK: Lifelines (Merriam and Clark) – life is fundamentally about two things – our work and our relationships and maturity is found in the inter-relationship between work and love and the key to this capacity is the ability to learn. (e.g. work place relationships….)
How do our work and relationships shape one another? (chat about this…or think about before next class?)
Two streams of learning and self-improvement:
- do better what you do reasonably well
- in response to change (or in preparation for change) learn a NEW skill
Models of learning:
- Cognitively – lectures and reading – intellectual
- Socially – group discussions, conversation, perspective
- Doing – practicing with supervision, trial and error
- Observation – stand back and watch first
While we may have preferred ways (which bleeds over into all of our lives) we all learn in all of these ways and stretching the boundaries helps us see this in new ways. (e.g. language learning in Nepal)
When you think about the most important things you have learned about God, how did you learn them? Have the way(s) you have learned about God changed over the years? What might be the invitation there? What might be the risk? Chat about this or think about it for next class
We can learn to pray ONLY by praying
Evaluation and review – we all need affirmation, but not empty praise and flattery. This is an important role of mentors. Be a mentor, have a mentor. Good mentoring brings hope. Mentoring and apprenticeship is an ancient human dance. It is the dance of the spiraling generations, in which the old empower the young with their experience and the young empower the old with new life.
Proverbs 4:6 – “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you. Love her, and she will watch over you.” Wisdom leads to depth…
“I want my inner truth to be the plumb line for the choices I make about my life – about the work that I do and how I do it, about the relationships I enter into and how I conduct them.”
― Parker J. Palmer
Blacknall's PCF Community 