One of the only negative memories I have from my undergrad is a certain class I took. Surprisingly, it was a leadership class. I swear the entire course could have been taught in a weekend, and I'm sure I still wouldn't have remembered anything. In the professor's defense, it was his first time teaching it. I think it'd been thrown at him and I heard it got way better in the coming years.
During those four months the fact that a teacher was teaching something he didn't seem to grasp troubled me. Leadership for ministry majors is like learning the 5 basic sauces for culinary students. It's foundational.
Thinking about that experience earlier today set the context for these words tonight:
"You're Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and you don't even understand these things?" (John 3:10)
Story #2
On a recent walk with a friend I somehow made a comment about the Holy Spirit being so much more active than we ever imagine. In that moment, I thought about disciples healing the sick, and how I'm afraid to even try to pray over someone at work who's barely standing, or I don't continue to evangelize for whatever reason. (Fear is often the best and most effective demotivator.) I had to ask myself, "You're a pastor, and you don't even understand these things?"
Thanks, Jesus.
There are plenty of things I can get away with knowing very little about. For instance, predestination or free will? Whatever you want is fine with me. Just know that it will directly impact how you interact with non-Christians.
But there are some things I just can't get away with, like the reality of the Holy Spirit and what its role in the world is. Beyond that, actually living in that truth instead of just intellectually assenting is the step that proves real knowledge, heart knowledge. It's what makes a person say, "You understand these things."
I'll never say that every Christian, not even a pastor, needs to know everything. But there are things that each Christian should understand: creation, fall and redemption are prime examples. And I don't expect each Christian to explain these the same way, but they are integral to the story.
What I've learned so far is as a follower of Jesus Christ I need to continue learning, seeking, asking, wrestling and growing so that when I'm in a tough spot, I'm not faced with, "and you don't even understand these things?" And when I am faced with that question, my hope is that it won't be because I was lazy.
What do you do to continue growing in faith and knowledge?
