Learning Along The Way

           

           “You always inspire me,” I said to the young man. 

            “Why?” he asked.  

“Because you have such knowledge of the Bible,” I responded.  

“I’ve had good teachers,” he said. “Like Sunday School teachers?” I questioned.  

“More than that,” he explained. “I’ve been ‘discipled’ by three Godly men from church.  We meet as a foursome once a week, and often I meet with them one on one, at least one other time in the week.  We talk about all kinds of things.  The Bible certainly, but also about parenting, leadership, marriage, decision-making, conflict resolution and whatever else we choose to talk about. It’s about learning; and I want to learn!”

A Pastor friend of mine and I had a similar discussion; and he has used this idea in a sermon or two, as well. Learning along the way is such a good idea!  It’s more than just studying your Bible, which is hugely important.  But when strong Christian leaders can sit down with us and share their knowledge in conversations that meet us where we are or need, we tend to learn better.

It’s more than just listening, even to a sermon.  While we try to stay focused on what the Pastor is saying, our minds sometimes wander, or there is a distraction from a child or even from someone moving down the pew from us.  We often tend to think of a sermon as being “generic.”  It can (and should) apply to any person in the congregation.   Yet when there is an opportunity for conversation, it becomes more personal because we are actively involved, rather than passively.

Informal settings allow us to let our “hair down” and become real.  It’s when we share our hearts with those strong Christian men and women around us that we are able to grow exponentially!  We learn from, as one person put it, “the Department of Life!” Our mentors (and note more than one is absolutely wonderful, since each brings their own personality and strengths to our learning) are able to use their life experiences to teach us lessons they have learned.

While the young man I mentioned above had specific men from his church assigned to him, many congregations don’t do this.  Even for the person who recently accepted Christ as Savior, finds himself floundering as he is trying to get a handle on his new beliefs, since he is left to his own means to search for answers to his questions.  This would be such a great asset to the congregation for new Believers or young people just “growing” into the Kingdom.

When we have mentors, the learning process allows us to “learn along the way” and often is the perfect environment for acquiring information that otherwise can be difficult to absorb. Further, having people who care about us, and our faith, is good for both sides, because everyone has their own perspective.  Often when we “teach” we learn; and no one is beyond learning!

I encourage you to ask God to send people into your path who can help you grow in your faith, or on the other side, ask that you might be paired up with someone (or several someones!) who needs a mentor.  Either way it’s personalizing God’s message allowing building of the Kingdom.