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10 Timeless Values Devotional Guide: Month 2- Week 3 Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:33:00 +0000

Week 3

Discipline: SCRIPTURE

Word: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 119:11

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

John 15:1-7

Reflection: ABIDING

Most of us aren’t very good at “abiding”. It implies that we have to remain somewhere or patiently wait in a place or state of being. Most of us live on the run in a world of fast food, drive through service, multi-tasking, and therefore are rarely doing much “abiding”. Some years ago there was a Bible published called “The One-Minute Bible”. I think it was advertised for people “on the go”. But, being “on the go” is very different that being “on the Way”. If scripture is a primary means by which we hear from God and enter into God’s presence, then like any other important relationship, time spent there can’t be rushed. That means for the disciple of Jesus there is no substitute for regularly spending unhurried time in “the Word”.

Learning to experience and listen to God through scripture is like immersion training in a new language. As we spend significant time abiding in the Word, eventually the Word begins to abide in us. We begin to think and hear God speak through the Word, even when we are not literally reading the Word. People who learn a new language say that a sign of real success is when they begin to dream in the second language. The same is true for disciples when we realize that in our daily lives the Word begins to come to us in moments of decision, discouragement, fear, or temptation. I think that is what he Psalmist means by “hiding your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Jesus not only was the “Word made flesh”, but he was so immersed in the written word, that through it God spoke to him in times of crisis. In the wilderness temptations it was scripture “hidden in his heart” that came to him to give direction, protection, and encouragement. The same can be true for us when we learn to abide in him and have his word abide in us. He says it is the key to “fruitfulness” as disciples and we will begin to receive what we ask for, not because we gain some manipulative power over God, but because we begin to “have the mind of Christ” and the desire of God’s heart becomes our own desire. Then we start asking more for that which is within God’s will than our own.

Practice: Two important practices in abiding in God’s Word are meditating on the Word (sitting patiently with a word or phrase of scripture waiting for God to speak through it), and memorizing scripture (pick a verse or two to commit to memory this week (hide it in your heart) and build on that each week.

10 Timeless Values Devotional Guide- Month 2: Scripture- Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:00 +0000

Week 2

Discipline: SCRIPTURE

Word: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Psalm 119:105

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Reflection: DIRECTION

Jesus invited the first disciples, “follow me and I will make you . . . “. So discipleship means “following” Jesus which implies being led in a particular direction and in the process being made into something different than we currently are. To be led or directed requires an act of submission, which requires enough humility to recognize that there may be someone who knows the way better than us. For disciples today, that means looking to scripture as the “inspired word”, for direction in our lives. Before inviting people to follow him, Jesus first called for repentance, which means “turning around”. As Paul wrote to Timothy, for disciples, a commitment to scripture often leads to changing direction, which first requires recognizing we are going in the wrong direction (reproof), and then making the necessary adjustments in our course (correction), all for the purpose of equipping us for the life and purpose God has planned for us.

The amazing thing about scripture is the timeless truth contained in it in spite of its origin in a culture so far removed from our own. But then again, its origin precedes the world in which it was penned. From the Old Testament stories of Israel’s failure to follow God’s direction and the consequences of it, to the practical wisdom writings of Proverbs; from the repeated warnings of the Prophets to turn around or else, to the gentle invitational guidance of the “Good Shepherd”; from the coaching/mentoring of Paul, to the promised and hopeful vision of the Revelation, scripture is all about offering direction for our lives. It points to “the Way” who leads the way to “the life that really is life”. It guides us through the confusing world where pastures are not always greener, waters are rarely still, and there is an enemy who is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and a liar bent on deceiving that he may “kill, steal, and destroy”. Scripture offers direction to an “abundant life”.

Andy Stanley wrote a book entitled, “The Best Question Ever”. In it he proposes that “the best question ever” is, “Is it the wise thing to do?” Then he explores through scriptural wisdom direction through life’s maze of decisions and pitfalls. We all need mentors, coaches, and guides in our lives, but none are wiser than the timeless wisdom of scripture. In Wesleyan tradition our theological guide to discerning the will and direction of God is called the “quadrilateral” (Scripture, tradition, experience, reason). In it, everything is weighed against or contributes to what Scripture says is the way. In the search for direction, we like Wesley, should be well read learners, but in the end, “people of one book”.

Practice:

Spend time this week reading scripture with an eye for wisdom for living or direction for our lives.

10 Timeless Values for Discipleship Devotional: Month 2- Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

Week 1

Discipline: SCRIPTURE

Word: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12

“He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.”

Psalm 147:15

Reflection: Living Words

The first disciples of Jesus were students who learned from the words and actions of their master. As Dallas Willard observed, they “followed him in an attitude of study, obedience, and imitation.” They were first of all students of Jesus, who John called, “the Word (of God) made flesh”. The amazing thing for us is that even though we are removed from Jesus “in the flesh” by thousands of years and miles, we are not “second hand disciples”. We too are students of Jesus and in turn “the Word of God made flesh” through scripture, that by the power of the Holy Spirit is a “living Word”. For those of us who by faith follow Jesus, we do not read scripture as merely a record or history of what God said to people long ago, but we listen through it actively and prayerfully for what God is saying to us personally in the present.

There is certainly a useful place for the academic pursuit of scripture through “critical” methods of study, but in the life of discipleship we are more interested in letting scripture do the work of “breaking into us” and searching “the thoughts and intentions of our hearts” than we are breaking into scripture to search for historical accuracy or “cracking the code” for hidden meaning. To sit prayerfully and expectantly with the Word is to sit at the feet of our Master with “ears to hear what the Spirit is saying”. This kind of study of scripture is devotional not academic, it is to open more than simply our eyes and minds, it is to “open the eyes of our hearts” that “we might see Jesus”, attend carefully to His words of hope promise, challenge, and direction, and through it all to experience the mystery of His presence.

Practice:

This week set aside uninterrupted time daily to “listen” for God speaking through scripture. Begin this time with scripture with the simple prayer of Samuel as a boy, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Read slowly, expectantly, and reflectively using the gift of imagination to put yourself in the presence of Jesus, hearing his words to you personally.

10 Timeless Values Devotional: Sabbath- Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:36:00 +0000

Week 4

Discipline: Sabbath

Word: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.”

Genesis 1:31

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,

but I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10

“I know that there is nothing better from them than to be happy

and enjoy themselves as long as they live.”

Ecclesiastes 3:12

Reflection: JOY

We are a driven people. We are driven by desire for accomplishment, success, power, possessions, completion, even happiness. To be driven is to be pushed even when we want to stop and rest, stop and look, stop and enjoy something. There is no time for enjoyment in the midst of being driven. Our culture lures us into thinking that the fulfillment of a desire will result in happiness, but at best it will be fleeting, because “enough will never be enough” in that kind of pursuit. I have found that there are some much less affluent cultures in the world that move much slower and possess much less than ours, but ironically seem less stressed and more joyful than our own. One of the interesting observations of the creation story is that it is at the end of each day’s work and the week’s work that God stops and recognizes how good everything is. No wonder God’s last act of creation is to create the Sabbath. What good is our accomplishment without taking time to enjoy it all?

Again and again the scripture points to God’s desire that we would have joy and enjoy our lives. Many of us work long and hard trying to provide opportunities for our children’s enjoyment because our desire is that that they know joy in their lives. Our Heavenly Father feels the same about us. How misguided are the ideas of joyless oppressive religion touting a demanding God who is constantly grading our work and expecting more and more from us. Jesus revealed that it is the “thief” who comes to steal our joy, and that he comes to restore it by offering an abundant life. Apparently he modeled such a way of living that the most religious of his day accused him of being a “glutton and a drunkard”. Sabbath for Jesus wasn’t about what you couldn’t do (they wanted to kill him for restoring a man’s health and life on the Sabbath), but what you got to do and enjoy. Sabbath is a time (during a day or week) for joy, laughter, and pleasure and for Jesus that was found in his relationship with God, family, and friends.

Practice: Plan Sabbath time around something that brings real joy and pleasure in your life this week. Plan to spend time with people you love with no other agenda than that you might know joy and give joy during your Sabbath time with them.

Ten Timeless Values Devotion Guide: Sabbath- Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Week 3

Discipline: Sabbath

Word: “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”

Exodus 20:8

“Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God. Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day they’ll be fully prepared . . . “

Exodus 19:10 (The Message)

“Make yourselves Holy for I am Holy”

Leviticus 11:44

Reflection: HOLINESS

We live in a world that has lost its sense of the sacred: sacred place, time, objects, acts, or people. Little is set aside and guarded “religiously” from becoming common or even corrupt. Things that were designed in God’s creation as Holy or sacred (set apart) such as marriage, sex, ritual, symbol, earth, our bodies, or Sabbath time, have been invaded and diminished in their sacredness by our loss of the sense of what is Holy. With it has gone our sense of awe, reverence, anticipation, the Divine, and even the sacredness of life itself. So much of our lives are lived out in the day in day out seemingly mundane act of sleeping, waking, cleaning, working, shopping, cooking eating, cleaning, sleeping, waking, working . . . . . . And even though there is sacredness to all of those acts, in the routine of it all we lose our sense of it.

Sabbath is a sanctuary in time. It is time set apart to step out of the routine, reorient our perspective to what is Holy in our lives. In the Jewish tradition, keeping Sabbath meant a time of preparation, preparing our lives and hearts to enter into the sacredness of life and an intentional awareness of the presence of God. Everything done on the Sabbath was intended to reawaken us to the sacredness of life itself, life lived in the presence of God and enjoying all the gifts God gives us in it. So there is time to rest from our labor, worship in sacred spaces, eat a good meal with family or friends, share intimate times with one’s spouse, revel in the creation, and in it all to be immersed in the sacredness of life. Like any sanctuary, Sabbath offers protection from the world’s constant pull downward to reduce life and everything in it to commonplace. Sabbath changes our perspective by changing the pace at which we live. Perspective is always changed by slowing down. Things look different when walking or sitting than they do driving at 70mph or flying at 30,000 feet. We see the beauty in little things we might otherwise miss and hear with clarity what is drowned out by speed. Sabbath is our sanctuary in time by which we step out of the world and enter into a taste of heaven.

Practice: Guard your Sabbath time with the same zeal you would your work day. Begin the Sabbath, by sitting quietly, breathing deeply, stilling the rushing of the mind and body that we are immersed in during the week’s work. Spend time in confession to cleanse the heart and soul. The night before worship, spend some time laying out clothing or reading the Word in anticipation of morning worship. Start readying yourself early enough for worship not to be rushed and ask God as you enter sacred space to guard your heart and mind from distraction. After worship enjoy a leisurely meal, don’t rush to get up or run out.

10 Timeless Values Devotional: Sabbath- Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:01:00 +0000

A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR
“THE TEN TIMELESS VALUES FOR DISCIPLESHIP

Week 2

Discipline: Sabbath

Word: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“3For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ²a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; ⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Mark 6:30-31

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ’Come away to a deserted place all by your selves and rest for a while.’ For many were coming and going and they had no leisure event to eat.”

Reflection: RHYTHM

There is a reason we often refer to ourselves as “creatures of habit”. We are part of God’s creation and into all of the creation God designed a rhythm. Look no further than nature and the changing of the seasons. In it we see a rhythm of birth, growth, decline, death, rebirth. In the design of Sabbath, God even called for a rhythm of how to use the land for certain number of years, but then to allow it to lay fallow (rest). This is why we don’t like our schedules interrupted, we do best when we live, work, rest, play, with a kind of rhythm to our lives. Habit is a kind of rhythm and Sabbath is a Holy Habit and keeps our lives in rhythm. It creates a balance between the sacred and secular, work and rest. Often when that Sabbath habit is interrupted we not only feel tired from a lack of rest, but we also feel out of sync or step, something is missing.

There is a reason that Jesus seemed to maintain a sense of peace in his life while there was so much chaos and anxiety around him. He maintained his sense of balance or rhythm in his life by the regular practice of Sabbath time in his daily and weekly life. We live in a world that no longer has a rhythm, but rather is constant noise and activity. We have stores that never close, televisions that never go off, cell phones with email and text that go off in the middle of the night from various vendors. We wonder why we are increasingly dependent on medications for acid reflux, anxiety, and insomnia and yet ignore the timeless prescription of Sabbath to bring balance and peace in the midst of our chaotic lives. We cannot escape how we are made, and until we rediscover the sacred Sabbath rhythm built into our nature we will never have real peace.

Practice: Set aside an evening and day this week to prepare and enjoy a meal with family and/or friends. Take a walk, not for exercise, but just to leisurely walk and reflect on nature around us and its rhythm.

10 Timeless Values for Discipleship

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Over the last year, Bishop King has been challenging us to develop an intentional plan for discipling people in our churches. He has suggested what he calls "Ten Timeless Values" for discipleship. They are ten spiritual disciplines that when practiced consistently contribute to deepening our relationship with Jesus and equipping us to follow Him along the way that leads to life.
During 2012, I will be putting our a devotional guide around these "Ten Timeless Values". Each month it will focus on one spiritual discipline and there will be one devotion published each week. The first month will focus on Sabbath and the first week's devotion is below. I pray it will help you give some intentiona focus to your spiritual growth.

A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR “THE TEN TIMELESS VALUES FOR DISCIPLESHIP”

Week 1

Discipline: SABBATH

Word: “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest;

even in plowing time and in harvest time, you shall rest.”

Exodus 34:21

“Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Reflection: REST

It only stands to human reason that if work is commanded six to one over rest, it must be far more important. After all, we live in a world with a market view of everything. In our culture, time is not holy, “Time is money”, and time is a limited resource so we must get the most out of every minute, hour, day, and week. The modern answer to this problem is “time management”, learning how to be more efficient and more effective, to get more done in less time. We hope that technology and technique can offer us power over our unmanageable schedules and lives. And yet in spite of it all we never catch up and so we never rest. Maybe that’s why many of us struggle with feeling more guilt over resting than we do about breaking one of the Ten Commandments! The result of our immersion in this culture of endless pursuit is that we are weary and may only stop when we break physically or mentally.

But, what if we looked to an ancient solution to our problem? What does it say about the power of Sabbath that one day of rest can balance out six days of work? How powerful must the practice of Sabbath be for our lives? And what does it say about the critical nature of rest that God would choose to make it one of only ten primary directives for life? The commands that God offered the Israelites made it clear that if they ignored them they would “surely perish”. Perishing is a good word to describe us, it is to wilt from being depleted. We go and give until there is nothing left and then we perish because we put nothing back. It is telling that God would command us specifically to stop and rest “even in plowing time and in harvest time”. In other words, not when our work is done, but when our work is heaviest. I agree with Eugene Peterson that pastors are the most notorious “Sabbath breakers” of all, and the danger is that our congregations will congratulate us and reward us for it. I don’t think they would feel the same way if we are caught breaking the command about adultery or stealing.

Many of us grew up with an experience of Sabbath as a law instead of a gift. It was all about what we could do or not do. Much like the mistake of the Pharisees, Sabbath became legalistic and oppressive. Jesus however reminds us that “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.” In other words, it was a gift. In the creation story, God gives humanity four great gifts: companionship, provision, vocation, and rest. What we have taken as a command to ignore or rebel against, Jesus came and offered as an invitation to life, “come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” Allow yourself to receive a divine gift this week. Practice Sabbath.

Practice: The traditional Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown with the lighting of the Sabbath candles. This week try setting aside a “Sabbath time” each day and begin by lighting a candle, turning off the cell phone, television, and computer, make a conscious decision to give everything pending in your life to God for your Sabbath time, “be still and know that I am God” (I can handle it while you aren’t!). Then enjoy some silence to sit, breath, and simply be for a while. Find time for a guilt free nap this week during your “Sabbath”.

Resources: “Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest” by Wayne Muller

INCARNATION AND THE MINISTRY OF PRESENCE

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:22:00 +0000

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. . . .

And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”

John 1:1, 14

This is the season of the Christian year that focuses on the incarnation, the mysterious idea that God became human and came to be with us. In so doing, the love of God was manifest in the presence of God. When it comes to experiencing the gift of love, few things substitute for presence. Throughout scripture, God’s most consistent promise was to be “with us”, it was another way of God promising to love us. After all, to leave someone (the experience of rejection) speaks the just the opposite. That is why just before his death, Jesus was careful to reassure the disciples that though he was going away, he would not leave them alone, and just before his ascension, his last words to the disciples were that he would be “with them” always. In Jesus, God modeled for us the power of the “ministry of presence”, and then charged us (the Church, the “Body of Chris”) with extending that ministry until he returned.

Certainly technology has changed the way in which we can be “present” with people. How reassuring it is for our children to be able text or call us from anywhere. And we are grateful for monitoring services for older adults who can call for help by mashing a button around their neck. Today we can even “see” people on the other side of the world as we talk to them. But, that same technology makes it easy to be physically isolated from each other. From “distance learning” to electronic banking, from “Facebook” friendships to “live streaming” of our worship services, we connect without touch or “presence”. For all we have gained by the gift of technology we have to be intentional that something more important is not lost.

As pastors, we need to use every means of technology to “connect” with people and “communicate” the Word, but that will never substitute (only supplement) for the ministry of presence. For all of us it gets far too easy to do ministry from a keyboard, and what is lost is incarnation (the Word made flesh). Our ministries must be moving out of the church buildings and into the world where people are lost and lonely. If the world is to know that God is still “with us” then it will be up to us for His love to be manifest in and through us in tangible and personal ways. This season, let’s ask ourselves how we are doing with the ministry of presence, and in celebration that God loved us enough to come to be with us, let us go out to be with his people. Instead of the Word being made digital data, let’s make it flesh again.

The Real Problem?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Traveling across the District during this Charge Conference season I have heard many conversations about the economic challenges facing in our churches. It is not surprising therefore that when I attend conference meetings, one of the main topics of conversation is the economic challenge facing our conference. If the local churches are struggling the inevitable fallout is that the conference is struggling. Everywhere there is talk of scarcity, budget shortfalls, unpaid apportionments, staff and salary reductions, questions about our future.

While we have to address those issues because they are real and immediate, it is disturbing that we have more conversations about a decline in giving than we do a decline in membership and worship attendance. While we search for ways to teach stewardship and decrease budgets, I have always found the most effective way to increase giving and meet budgets is to grow the church. We should be far more disturbed about the lack of confessions of faith in our churches than the lack of giving. Many of our churches are working hard, and rightly so, to audit rolls, correct numbers, and take off inactive members. We do need to know where we actually stand. But, are we investing the same energy into our efforts to reach new people? We are ready to entertain new ways of raising money and carrying on our ministry with less money, but are we as ready to entertain new ways to worship to appeal to unchurched and younger adults, new ways to open our doors to the community, new ways to share the gospel? I would venture so far as to say it is not the economy that is killing our churches. In many places we have just gotten too comfortable with our church the way it is. Many of our churches have never decided that we wanted to grow (and in so doing have decided that we don’t). Too many of us have no passion to be intentional about meeting new people, and building relationships with people who are unchurched. Most of us don’t know the neighbors three doors down and sometimes even those who live next door. After twenty plus years of serving in the local church and never being out and about on Sunday morning, I have been shocked traveling from church to church to see how many people are at Wal-Mart and restaurants on Sunday morning. Maybe we are in the wrong place on Sunday morning. Undoubtedly the greeter at Wal-Mart has a better chance of sharing the gospel with someone who doesn’t know Jesus than we do in the church. We can no longer operate with a “build it and they will come” strategy in our local churches.

Our mission is the same as it has always been, “Go therefore into all nations and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded.” Could it be that our financial struggles are simply the result of having lost sight of what we are to be about?

Pieces of the Leadership Puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Effective Leadership is the current buzzword in pastoral ministry. It is hard to dispute the theory that the key to effective churches lies with effective pastoral leadership. The critical question therefore lies in what is necessary to create effective leaders for the Church. There are many pieces to the puzzle and it is easy to get focused on one piece at the expense of the others. I'll suggest but three of the critical pieces that need continual attention by leaders themselves and those called to recruit, assess, deploy, and support them.

     The first piece is giftedness or natural ability. Some argue leaders are born and others argue they are made, I would say it is a combination of both. But, it begins with some measure of natural ability intellectually, a personality or relational skills compatible with the job, an emotional stability equipped for the challenges of ministry, and energy/passion to succeed. I know some fairly argue that “God qualifies the called” (i.e. the giving of Spiritual gifts), but it may equally be true that being “qualified (as in natural ability) is a part of calling. Personal and institutional understanding of where a person’s giftedness lies and matching it to the situation is a critical for success (I Cor. 12:27-30).

   The second piece of the puzzle is vital personal discipleship. We can’t expect to lead others into discipleship without having an ongoing personal practice of discipleship. We can’t give people what we don’t have (John 7:37-39) or understand from personal experience, nor can we be sustained in the challenges of ministry apart from that connection (John 15:4-5). Vocational ministry can easily take its toll on the leaders’ relationship to Christ by robbing us of the time, energy, and attention needed for practicing the spiritual disciplines necessary to keep ourselves spiritually connected, nourished, and growing. Included in the discipleship area of leadership development is our connection to other leaders (“as iron sharpens iron”). The practice of fellowship and accountability is vital for isolation created in vocational ministry.

     The third piece is educational (2 Timothy 2:15). Through theological education we are suppose to learn to think theologically, to study the Bible critically, to counsel carefully, and to administrate effectively. However, seminary’s rapid overview of the multiple knowledge areas necessary for a “generalist” vocation like pastoral ministry is intended to only begin our educational journey in ministry. Effective leaders are lifelong learners and not just from the realm of “sacred study”. Theological education does not equip a leader with the management, organizational, evaluative, or technological knowledge and skills necessary to organize for success (Wesley’s genius was organizational). For growth in those areas we need to look to the business world where many of the world’s most gifted, trained, and effective leaders are enabling institutional success in changing environments (which really is the church’s challenge).

     I lift up these three pieces of the leadership puzzle (there are others) to remind all of us who have found our way into leadership positions in vocational ministry that self-assessment and self-improvement are our responsibility if we are to be all we can for Christ and the Church. We can never be satisfied with what we know and how we are leading for the accompanying complacency is tantamount to death.

THE START OR THE HOME-STRETCH?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:07:00 +0000

For most of us, summer ends with the beginning of school not the fall equinox. August now means the start-up of our fall programming after the summer break. If you are in a new church it really feels like the kickoff or the new beginning. The summer months are like warm up laps; getting moved, getting to know people, discovering the expectations, potential, and rhythm of this particular congregation. This is the time we move into implementing the means of disciple-making that can have consistency of participation.

However, even though our church year runs June to June, the calendar year is also at work in our thinking about where we are and how we intend to finish the year. It is a time when we begin to prepare for Charge Conference, which means not just looking at next year, but assessing where we are this year. Now is time we look hard at how we are doing evangelistically and financially. Where are we in our connectional giving towards apportionments? Are we so far behind schedule it seems impossible to catch up? What are we going to do to change our giving if in decline? How are we doing in reaching our evangelism goals? What is our worship attendance compared to last year? What are we going to do to continue a good upward trend or reverse a downward one? How is our participation in small groups for discipleship? All these are important considerations as we move into the fall and start planning for next year at the same time.

Sometimes we come out of a busy Spring so exhausted all we want to do in the summer is catch our breath, and as a result we don’t always find time to review, reflect, and retool for the last half of the year. As school begins and the fall schedules crank up, just summoning up more energy to work harder and do more isn’t an adequate answer. Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” It may be that we are getting the exact results we are designed to get in our ministry, whether good or bad. So if the results are not what we want, our energy may need to go into review, reflection, and retooling for a different result. So whether the end of summer feels like the start or the homestretch, finishing well is important and part of that is preparing for where we go next.

Winding Down & Gearing Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:39:00 +0000

     It creates a bit of cognitive dissonance to have the ending and beginning of your year in June.  Our inner calendars are so culturally conditioned that we wind down in December and gear up in January, but our Conference calendar has us winding down at Annual Conference in June and gearing up a week or so later. For those who are moving it is obvious as you say goodbyes and literally begin again in a new place, but for those who are staying put it is harder to get our minds in the mode of starting over (especially in the summer when the program is gearing down). However, the sending forth service at Annual Conference represents for us a renewed commitment to our covenant with God to serve the Church as instruments of grace and truth. For those of us who are returning to our appointments, the summer is a good time for self-evaluation and planning for how we are going to get better as a leader. We may be thinking (and needing) vacation, but I think we also need at least a couple of days of spiritual retreat and time to plan how we will be more intentional about improving our ministry.
    Last year we focused our life together on worship and fellowship. This year we will be more intentional about sharpening our skills through shared learning. At Camp Meeting, Creede Hinshaw is going to meet with us to talk about preaching skills. In our District Meetings we are going to read four books through the year: "Getting Things Done", "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Leader", and "Bearing Fruit". In addition we have the Conference Connectional Ministry Team coming to do a District Wide training event for laity and clergy.
    There is no substitute for effective clergy leaders in creating effective and growing congregations. The growing crisis in the United Methodist Church demands we get better. The stakes are to high and there is no place for us to simply mark time, do things the way we always did, or resign ourselves that we are in a hopeless situation. As I now begin my second year on the District, I am challenged to find ways that I can contribute to your growth and effectiveness as well as that of our local churches. I covenant with you to work as hard as I can to get better and to serve effectively. I have been challenged recently by my own study and preaching of the story of the woman who anointed Jesus before his death and Jesus description of her, "She did what she could, when she could". None of us want to come to the end of an appointment, a career, or a life knowing that we didn't do what we could for Christ with the opportunities and resources we have been given. (you can find that sermon at the following link if you are interested:   go to www.wesleyssi.org/listen and click on May 29 "An Epitaph").
    I look forward to this new year together, as "Iron sharpens iron" may we sharpen each other to be the best we can be for Christ and the Church.

Blessings,
Ben

Living Water Well Project in Memory of Joe Roberson

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Many thanks to all the churches and individuals who have contributed to the Living Water Well Project in memory of the Rev. Joe Roberson. A special thanks to the LifeSpring UMC who created and headed up the project. To date $26,219.96 has been raised, which is enough for one well and nearly a third of the way to a second well. On May 15th there will be a celebration of the project at the LifeSpring church. The Rev. Bobby Gale, Least of These Ministries, who will lead the trip to actually drill the well in Kenya, will be preaching that morning. The money for the well will be presented to him that day. Your gifts not only remember and honor a great servant of God in our conference, but more importantly will save lives in the name of Jesus both physically and spiritually as the message of the love of God in Jesus Christ is proclaimed through the gift of the well. "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink." Matthew 25

A "Good" Appointment

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:05:00 +0000

    A pastor recently commented to me that they only wanted to move for a "good" appointment. I wasn't entirely sure what that meant since the measure of "good" could be multi-faceted.
    Truthfully, I never served an appointment that was not "good". To think that a group of people who didn't even know me, invited me into their lives to share the heights of their joys and the depths of their sorrows. Who allowed me to be present when their babies and grandbabies were born and to hold them in baptism; who gave me permission to sow wisdom into the lives of their youth as they prepared to go out into the world; who invited me to be a part of their premarital counseling and weddings as they made the most sacred commitment of their lives; who opened the door for me to stand with them in the solemn saddness of their deaths and speak last words of grace; who allowed me the freedom of the pulpit to speak the "Word of God" uninterrupted; who opened themselves for me to speak the truth in love in tough situations, proclaim hope in the face of challenges, to lead them into new levels of commitment of time, talent, and resources; all of these made every appointment more than "good", it made it sacred and humbling.
     I'm sure "good" at some level speaks of salary, and to be fair the large disparity of salaries from a minimum salary to the highest in the conference, makes it easy and even somewhat legitimate to speak of "good" in those terms. However, when I look at job availability and job security in the current economic climate of our country, even a minimum salary elder appointment seems pretty good. Here as some figures that represents in an average minimum salary elder appointment:

salary                                $39,150 (not including supplements for spouse and children)
reimbursable expense            3,000 (just an average amount)
health insurance                     9252
pension                                 1468 (defined contribution)
pension                                 5300 (defined benefit)
housing                                 10,000 (average fair market rental value)
total                                   $68,170

Add to that the "guaranteed" appointment, a comprehensive benefits package including life insurance, disability insurance, retirement, etc, and even a minimum salary appointment seems pretty "good" financially.
    At any rate, I hope that we as pastors keep constantly in mind the honor and privilege it is to serve Christ through the United Methodist Church. It is without a doubt full of challenge, sacrifice, frustration, and heartache, but it is also full of blessing and privilege like no other vocation I know. I hope we all can find the "good" in our appointments whether returning or moving to a new place of service.

"We're not in Kansas anymore!"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:03:00 +0000

     Well it has been almost two months since I posted anything on this blog. Looking back, I realize that is when we began the appointive process. Needless to say it has been all consuming in terms of time, attention, and prayer. Now halfway or so through my first season of appointment making I've learned some lessons that I think might be helpful to pass along.
     The first is simply, this is not as easy as you think. As a sports fan and political and economic observer, I've always found it easy to be an "armchair quarterback". From the relaxed distance of my couch, the plays called or political decisions made seem simple, after all there are no consequences or accountability for me on the couch (remember Ross Perot!). As in sports and politics, in the appointment process there is always a lot you don't know from the outside, and when you are responsible for it there is a weight you carry that can't be described unless you carry it.
     One of the big things most pastors and churches don't know right now is that over the last two years in the South Georgia Conference we have lost over $1,100,000 of salary in full time appointments alone. When you add that to the $800,000 budget shortfall from our 80% payment of apportionments and the subsequent loss of money for equitable compensation, NRCD, and District Budgets, there is as much as $1.5 million dollars less available for the same number of pastors than there was two years ago.
     Another thing a lot of people don't know is that there are a lot of pastors who value the spouse's career, children's school, and quality of life more than simply moving up the next step on the ladder. That means there are pastors who turn down moves to value tenure and building trust enough to take long stagnant churches to a new level. In the process, pastor further "down the line" have to brought up to fill those open positions.
     Another thing more evident than ever is that our conference is shrinking and our church leadership changing. We always knew South Georgia is small, but with all the instant information available, somebody knows something about us everywhere. If we have baggage, people in other churches will know it, no amount of D.S. "spin" can make up for a pastor creating a poor reputation for him/herself.   New SPRC members are younger and operate out of a corporate model of promoting potential and effectiveness and not just incremental steps based on tenure. Which means they not only have a profile, but often a list of names and refuse to accept certain pastors proposed to them that don't fit it. Lest that sound critical of the churches, t is not that they are necessarily wrong in doing so. The frightening decline in the effectiveness of our churches has many pieces, but one is obviously our system of moving pastors incrementally up the line based on tenure not talent or proven effectiveness. We cannot keep doing what we're doing to protect ourselves while we watch our church die. All of that creates real issue in morale for those of us who have grown comfortable with a system that has "kept" us well, but is now calling us to accountability.
     If I've learned anything, it is I am far better off settling in, working hard, and growing my own church (and with it salary) than I am depending on the "system" to grow it for my by moving. I have to be particularly careful not to "burn bridges" or "saw the limb of behind me" so that I have to move instead of someone coming to get me. What is available if I've put myself in position of having to move may not be as good as where I am. Finally, I need to work hard to educate my church on the importance of being connectional and paying apportionments since an ever growing percentage of it goes into pastoral support and benefits. There is no doubt the world has changed, the church is in trouble, and we will have to change or die. Dorothy was right, "We're not in Kansas anymore."

DISCIPLE COVENANT CONFERENCE

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:26:00 +0000

“The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs.” UMBOD para 120

There are few if any of us as United Methodist pastors who could not quote the mission of the church as stated in our Discipline. There are few if any of us who would disagree with the mission as stated in there. The challenge will always be with how we move from what we “know” to what we “do”. The key in making the transition from knowing to doing is rooted in intentionality.

Intentionality begins with a vision or a goal that is manifested by a plan, driven by passion and commitment, and kept on track by accountability and evaluation.

In the church, accomplishing any goal is dependent up our ability to lead people into that shared vision, inspiring them to have passion and commitment for the goal, teaching them to formulate a plan to accomplish it, and loving them enough to gain the trust that allows us to hold each other accountable for staying on task and reaching the goal. The breakdown that leads to our failure to accomplish our goal can happen in any of those things, but it begins with a lack of intentionality. In many of our churches we know we are suppose to make disciples and we have many activities that can contribute to that end, but there is a lack of intentional focus and planning that drives everything we do towards that end.

This is where the DISCIPLE COVENANT CONFERENCE comes into play. Bishop King is compelling us to act with intentionality in the area of “making disciples” by bringing leadership from our churches together to catch a vision, be inspired to commitment, and begin the process of formulating a clear plan for instilling the values of the faith into the lives of our people. I encourage you to make plans to be a part of this special time of commitment in Macon on February 11-12th. Inspire your leaders to join you in leading your church to a new and focused commitment on the mission.

PPR, Consultation, and Appointment Making

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:22:00 +0000

     In the United Methodist system, the dawning of a new year brings with it more than new budgets and calendars, it brings the beginning of the appointive process. Unfortunately it carries an excessive preoccupation for us that will linger over the next six months. The beauty of our system lies in the Apostolic nature of it (being "sent"), the means through which to develop leadership through experience, and a process to make leadership changes without necessarily dividing congregations. The downside however, has been in the great temptation to always be looking ahead, to run from problems rather than work through them, and to foster a sense of competitiveness among clergy. We would think that our divine "calling" would protect us from such things, but our humanity and cultural immersion relentlessly plays upon our hearts and minds.
     A couple of important things to remember as we enter this season of PPR meetings, paperwork, and consultations:

1) Longer term pastorates are proving to be far more effective in growing the church. It takes years to build the kind of leadership trust and clout to make the significant changes often necessary to take a church to a new place in its life and ministry.

2) Work hard to always leave returning as an option, even if you are open to a new opportunity. It may just be that where we are is better than we think when we see the alternatives.

3) Remember Bishop King's analogy of David when Samuel came looking to anoint a new king. David was in the field taking care of his sheep, not lining up for the position, but God knew where he was all the time, and He knows where we are if He needs us.

4) We are a blessed and "kept" clergy in an economic environment where jobs are precarious, be thankful for the opportunity we have been given.

     Be in prayer for the Bishop, Cabinet, pastors, families, and churches, as we begin this process once again.

Some Things Never Change

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:00:00 +0000

    A conversation between the comic characters "Calvin and Hobbs" went like this: Calvin: "I'm getting disillusioned with these New Years . . . . They don't seem very new at all! Each 'New Year' is just like the 'Old Year'! . . . Here another year has gone by and everything's still the same! There's still pollution and war and stupidity and greed! Things haven't changed! . . . I say what kind of future is this?! I thought things were suppose to improve! I thought the future was suppose to be better!" Hobbs: "The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present."
                                                                                                         (Calvin and Hobbs, by Bill Watterton)

     Hobbs is right, "The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present." In the Church, the future has turned into the present much too quickly and for the most part we are not prepared for it. We proclaim a timeless changeless Savior ("Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever" Hebrews), and we believe it so much that the way we proclaim it is timeless and changeless as well. Hence in the church we are running the risk not just of being irrelevant, but eventually non-existent. The New Year is always an opportunity to ask ourselves if the future has become the present while we are stuck in the past? How will we as leaders of the Church influence our future? Can we capitalize on crisis to effect needed change? Today is the time, because the future has turned into the present.

A Night Like No Other

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:16:00 +0000

In the Jewish celebration of Passover, to prompt the telling of the story of God's deliverance, a child is prompted to ask the question, "What makes this night different from all other nights?" That is the question that prompts the telling of our story tonight. Christmas Eve: "What makes this night different from all other nights?" Tonight we tell the story that contains the message that the world wants to hear more than any other; that God loves us, God is with us, and God desires a relationship with us. Tonight families will gather in worship to hear that message and make their way to an altar to kneel and experience that message. Some will be there because they want to, others will be there only because they have to. No other night offers such an opportunity to share the heart of the Christian message. This may well be the night that someone in or visiting your congretation really hears it and recieves it for the first time, or hears it again in a meaningful way for the first time in a long time. So go and tell this story with passion and compassion, with faith and hope, and above all with love for the God who chose you to be an instrument of grace and love for the people He sent you to serve.

Merry Christmas!
Ben

The Humility of Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:29:00 +0000

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, ⁸he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:3-11

This week as we celebrate the incarnation it is a good time to remember that for God to come among us and take on human form was an act of humility. Beginning in his birth he was modeling key aspects of leadership. No virtue is more critical to our ability to lead than humility, and yet the postion of leadership always carries with it a vulnerability to a loss of that essential virtue. Being a "servant leader" is a means of maintaining humility in leadership. As leaders seeking to cultivate and/or maintain humility we should regularly put ourselves in positions to do simple acts of service that go beyond what we are "expected" to do. It never hurts the "Senior Pastor" to clean a bathroom, empty the trash, or set up chairs. Not only do acts of service keep us humble, they remind those we are leading that we never ask people to do what we aren't willing to do ourselves. From his humble birth that we celebrate on Christmas, to his sacrificial death that we remember at the Christmas Eve table, Jesus modeled for us servant leadership and the humility that position requires.

Incarnational Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:02:00 +0000

"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory,

the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

This season is a celebration of the incarnation: God appeared as a person. No longer would people have to follow a "pillar of fire" or "cloud in the sky", now they could walk in the footsteps of a leader who walked among them. No longer would they listen only to "the still small voice" or read the words of a book, but they could converse with the leader who taught among them. No longer would they have to merely conform their lives to a set of laws laid down, now they could imitate the lifestyle of a leader who lived among them. The incarnation was new form of leadership for God, it was "leading from the middle" not the mountain.

If we, the Church, are to be an extension of the incarnation, and we as pastors are called out to be leaders in the Church, then this is our model of leadership. How we live is the content of what we teach and is the means by which we lead. Our ministry is among our people, and particularly among our leaders. How much of our time are we investing among our leaders? How much intentionality are we giving to modeling discipleship? Even preaching, at its best, is an incarnational act. By that I mean it is not merely theroretical, theological, or even Biblical, but more importantly is applicable for real life and illustrated by personal experience. The larger our churches grow, the easier it is to get isolated and insulted from our people and we lose the power of incarnational leadership. We must continue to find ways to live, teach, and lead "among" our people.

"We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life." I John 1:1

Disciple Covenant Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Do we have a systematic plan for discipling people in our churches? Is there a method or path for helping people grow in their relationship with Christ? Do we have a well defined means for teaching the timeless values of our faith? Too often in our local churches the answer to those questions is no. That doesn't mean it doesn't still happen, but it is inconsistent. There is an opportunity to gather with your lay leadership, and the teams of other local churches in South Georgia, under the direction of Bishop King, Lovett Weems, and Eddie Fox, to formulate a more consistent and effective plan for discipling our congregations. The event is the Disciple Covenant Conference. It will be held at the Macon Marriott on February 11-12th. Registration information about the event can be found on the Conference Website. Challenge your leadership to make a commitment to this event, and more importantly to a renewed emphasis in 2011 upon discipleship.

The Three Great Words of Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Three Great Words of Advent

Falling between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Advent maybe a lost season in our culture (and maybe even in our churches beyond “Hanging of the Greens” and the Advent wreath). However, the themes of Advent may make it the most important season of the church year to speak to the struggles of our society. The three great words of Advent describe those themes: wait, expect, and prepare.

1. WAIT- Advent as a season of waiting conflicts with the culture of “having it now”. In a world of instant communication, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year business, and living on credit, we have lost the discipline of waiting. Our faith is in a God who is never in a hurry and finds waiting to be a virtue (“Those who wait up on the Lord . . .”). Often we have to wait on God to work, wait on the solution to problems, wait on people to catch up with where we are trying to lead, wait on change, or wait on understanding. Advent may help us to remember to not rush to giving overly simplistic answers to complicated questions, overreaching in our church or ministry, or rushing in or out of critical relationships. No discipline is more important in the culture in which we are living and doing ministry.

2. EXPECT- Expectation is critical for waiting. Without it we move from waiting to resignation. Expectation is a factor of faith and hope (“faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction not seen”). In pastoral ministry (and in life), circumstances can leave us jaded and living without the critical virtue of expectation. It is expectation that keeps us energized and persevering with anticipation. The ironic thing about the future oriented nature of expectation is that Biblically it is rooted in the past. We live with expectation because the God who was faithful in the past is the God who will not fail in the future. The entire Biblical story offers the gift of expectation by telling the story of the timeless faithfulness of God who holds the future in His hands. Advent is a good time to recapture our lost expectations.

3. PREPARE- Preparation is what we do while we wait with expectation. When we live without waiting, we prepare poorly, if at all, for we rush ahead unprepared. When we live without expectation we don’t prepare, for we don’t believe there is any point in it. Preparation is critical for success in pastoral ministry. To preach, teach, counsel, or administer unprepared is its own kind of preparation; it is preparation to fail. If anything, Advent does lend itself to cultural preparation, everywhere there is a call to prepare for Christmas. But, without waiting and expectation, that preparation is more about superficial things than matters of the heart and mind.

This Advent consider focusing some attention of the themes of Advent both personally and in your congregations. They might just change the way we are living in the world and serving in the church.

Ezra's Model of Discipleship Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0000

"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:10

The Ezra 7:10 model:

LEARN IT, LIVE IT, LEAD (teach) IT

PART 3: LEAD IT

Jesus' goal for his disciples was that they would go out and disciple others. This is always the final step because until we have learned and are living what we've learned, we cannot effectively lead others. This is really a circular, never ending process, for even when we are leading others we are still learning and living what we learn ourselves. One of the interesting things about Jesus is that while he did teach the "crowds", he discipled a very limited number of people at any one time. As pastoral leaders we are often put in positions to practice almost exclusively "teaching the crowds", but as disciples of Jesus, our model is to disciples a smaller group. The ministry of mentoring/discipling individuals or very small groups of potential leaders is a critical part of discipleship that some people are recapturing. None of this was new with Jesus or Ezra before him, Moses in Deuteronomy taught the same model, "Hear O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing before you today; you shall learn them and observe (live) them diligently. . . . teach these to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away . . . (Deut. 5 & 6). So here is a simple model for disciplship from Ezra: "Learn It, Live It, Lead It".

Ezra's Model of Discipleship Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Martin) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0000

"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:10

The Ezra 7:10 model:

LEARN IT, LIVE IT, LEAD (teach) IT

PART 2: LIVE IT

Matthew ends the "Sermon on the Mount" with Jesus' parable about the wise and foolish builders. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock." A disciple is one who not only studies under the teaching of the master, but who also imitates the master by putting the teachings into practice. The old saying is that, "knowledge is power", but not if it is not put into practice. It could be argued that we haven't really learned anything until we are able (or willing) to LIVE IT. For Jesus, the goal of discipleship was to raise up leaders who could in turn disciple others. But, we cannot teach what we do not live. Ours is an "incarnational theology". "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) Jesus taught by being a "living Word", he modeled what he taught. He taught us to learn it so we could live it and ultimately lead it. Some of us love to learn, and even to lead (teach), but we may need to be careful we don't skip the second step of living what we are learning.