I Want to Learn

Today, I met with a group at lunch composed of area church leaders and directors of various para-church organizations.  This group included:  Baptist, Catholic, Missionary Alliance, Nazarene, Community Churches, etc.  The issue?  Identifying forgotten people in our area.  We talked for an hour, each expressing the particular people situation that especially concerned us.  I learned much from hearing these concerns.  These included:

• Pregnant unmarried girls.
• Mentally challenged people.
• Those who are addicted to alcohol/drugs.
• Boys with no fathers.
• Undocumented people.

There were a number of other people situations that were also mentioned.  During this discussion, I learned.  I now have some people situations on my radar screen who otherwise would not be there.

After we met, I thought about how refreshing the conversation had been.  I feel like I have so much to learn.  I have been thinking about what I have been learning recently.

• From Gordon MacDonald, I recently learned something about what it means to live a resilient life.
• From James Thompson, (heard him speak last Friday in Salado) I learned that we will present a maturing church to God in the end (I Cor.3:10-15).
• From the Psalms, I have been learning about God being a faithful shield (Ps. 3, Ps. 5:12, Ps. 18:1-2, etc.)
• From Lynn Anderson’s They Smell Like Sheep material, I learned the importance of loving and caring for the flock that is around me.

I also learn from my children.  The other night, one of our daughters talked with me about a bad experience she had in a Bible class, many years ago.  The situation centered around a person’s warped view of Scripture.   As a result, that spilled over to her little Bible class.  I felt sick as she told me this.

We had just moved to a new area and we were new to that church.  Many people in the church seemed nervous and anxious.  I suppose that much of the anxiety centered around them wanting things to work with the new minister.  In the midst of this, our daughter was having a difficult time.  Today, she remembers this as one of the low points in her spiritual journey.

Years later, I can say that I learned from that situation.  I would handle it differently if I could.  Meanwhile, there are many other things in life that I want to learn:

• I want to learn to be calm even when I am around people who seem anxious and nervous.
• I want to learn to have courage even when I can smell the scent of fear on others around me.
• I want to learn to be truthful and open with people, even when I am dealing with people who keep me at arms length.
• I want to learn to smile and enjoy life, even when others whine and complain about some things that have the significance of a gnat.
• I want to learn to be patient with people, who may just now be thinking through an issue that I have been thinking about for a long time.
• I want to learn to choose faith, even when fear seems more reasonable.