What Have I Learned?

"What have I learned?" That's a good question for reflection. It's good to ask once a week, as part of Sabbath rest. It's good to ask once a quarter so you can improve. It's good to ask once a year, so you can make major changes the following year. It's good to ask over long spans of time.

In June, I'll have been in church work 20 years. What have I learned? (Notice I said "learned," not "mastered.")

• Windor Locks, CT & Englewood, NJ > I learned how to submit. I might not have agreed, I might not have liked it, and I might even have been right now and then. As a staff worker, "it" wasn't my call to make. So long as what I was asked to do wasn't illegal, immoral or unbiblical, it was my duty to comply. I learned there is a big difference between compliance and willingness.
• Gorham, NH > I learned how to speak. Some think I've still got a lot more to learn -- and I do! I learned I had better have something to say, since everybody in the room was giving me more than a half hour of time. There would never be the same "right now moment" again.
• E. Syracuse, NY > I learned how to specialize. I had a specific role on a great team. For 7.5 good years, I focused upon guests, new converts, and discipleship.
• Lockport, NY > I learned how to serve. When you're the pastor of a smaller church, sometimes there isn't anyone to do what you want done. Everyone is already overloaded, it seems, with multiple roles. There are certain things that absolutely must be done. If no one else can get it done, I must get it done. It may not be fair or right, but it is extremely practical. It helps me when I remember that I serve the Lord first, my family second, and my church third.