Dear friends,
I apologize for the long delay in time it has taken me to write this
study and ask for your forgiveness for my tardiness. Yes I know I
promised you that I would write my exposure of the emerging/emergent
church, and I apologize that this has not been done. You see When I
moved I lost my desk that I had in my dorm room, so it has been rough
doing any serious work that takes hours and hours of study. I will get
a desk again, and when this happens perhaps I will have more time to
write some very in depth exegetical, and theological messages.
Topical Bible Message-Building a teachable spirit
Prov. 15:32 He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever
heeds correction gains understanding.
Prov. 15:33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility
comes before honor.
Friends having a teachable spirit is something that most lack, and I
will be the first to admit and put me into the list of "most people." A
good way to find out if you have a problem in this area is to ask
yourself the following question.
Question
How do I respond to correction?
People that hate taking advice are the kind of people Pro 15:32 is
speaking about. They get bent out of shape when they are corrected, or
believe that they are being attacked, you name it.
Some criteria for those that are insecure in their identities and often
not willing to take advice from others
They never feel secure about their identity, and are constantly
comparing themselves to others
When someone corrects them they get defensive
They wont take advice from people not like themselves
They are the kind of people are constantly trying to prove something
They may tend to lie to make themselves look good in front of others
They are ashamed to let others know who they really are
When they are corrected, they typically feel rejected
Looking at the list, there is no question that I meet some of the
criteria. This is something I am not ashamed to admit. I know Iım not
perfect, but I know that my heart is right where God wants it to be.
Besides me being insecure in some areas, itıs important to realize that
just because I am insecure in some areas, does not mean that I overall
lack a teachable spirit. It may mean that in certain areas I may lack
such a spirit, but I know that in other areas I have a very teachable
spirit.
Criteria for Secure people
Secure people can be corrected, without feeling rejected
They are teachable and often willing to take advice
They listen to constructive criticism
They listen to their critics (at least the ones that do not attack them
At Simpson in a ministry course called Teaching Ministry of the Church I
was required to read some Church Education books, and one of the authors
Howard Henricks wrote a book called Teaching to Change Lives
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1590521382/qid=1120024927/
sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-1180370-7764911?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
My review of the book Teaching to Change Lives on amazon.com
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Well done book for Church Education staff, May 14, 2005
Reviewer: John Wolf "2 Tim 4:2"
This book is an excellent resource for Church Education staff. This book
covers some basic principles (or laws as he calls them) regarding
teaching in the church environment. The law of readiness is my personal
favorite of the bunch, as it basically states that both student and
teacher must be prepared for the teaching environment. This is so true
and often followed in higher education, but perhaps not very well
followed in church education. The sad news is that typically the teacher
is blamed for the studentıs poor scholarship or lack of learning. But
according to Henricks a student must study, must come to class on time,
and must be interested in the material to proactively learn. There is
much more good stuff in this book. Grab it its a great read!
In the read Dr. Henricks talks about the Law of Readiness, which states
that a teacher is both a teacher and learner. This is a shock for some
people who think that because they have their degrees, a high profile
job, or such they no longer need to learn, because they know it all! No
we need to stay teachable, and put off our pride no matter what. We
need to be critical thinkers; we need to not just blow off everyone that
disagrees with us! I will say it again, that I have some work in this
area.
Prov. 15:12 A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.
One thing I learned on my own is that itıs wise to hang out with wise
people who are most often older than me. In doing so I have become ways
as Proverbs also states.
Prov. 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of
fools suffers harm.
Sadly I know so many young people that resent correction, because they
will not consult people older than themselves. They do not want adult
mentors; they want to only hang with their own peers. At Simpson there
were many people like this and many of them lacked a teachable spirit as
a result. However the Simpson college faculty and staff made many
opportunities for students to find staff mentors, teachers, and other
wise people. I chose Dr. Barth Campbell as my mentor and his webpage is
here.
http://www.southcoast.net/johnw/bcampbell/
Dr. Campbell was my mentor for 3 years, and although my main in person
mentor, I had and still have many authors, preachers, teachers and other
ministers as mentors. Pastor Joel Osteen is probably the most well
known of my public mentors, and of which this message was inspired from.
Sadly Dr. Campbell was taken from me and called home in early 2005. But
not before the Lord provided Pastor Al about a year ago to fulfill the
mentor role, because the Lord knew that Dr. Campbell would go home in
April of 2005. Before Dr. Campbell went home, he did take a look at my
bible page, and was impressed, but gave me some ways to improve the
site. His ideas will be implemented soon Lord Willing.
To conclude I am aware that some may believe that I treat the cults like
second class. If this is true I apologize. I am aware that the
Christian newsgroups are plagued with the cults sadly, but I do know
that in some areas there are things I can learn from the cults. For
example, I know one member of the oneness theology cult whom I often
interact with on Usenet. Although unsaved heıs got a great heart, and
even though we disagree on the "trinity" which is an essential area in
Christianity, we have in other ways learned to agree to disagree. I
strive to preach and teach the word with conviction and to expose false
doctrine, but I also strive to do it with gentleness and respect (1 Pet
3:15).
So friends we need to be humble, and we will be exalted. We cannot be
proud, and arrogant, because in so many ways these kinds of people are
not teachable. We need to listen more to people and talk less is a good
rule of thumb to take into consideration on building a teachable spirit.
Remember that secure people are teachable and insecure are not. Also
remember that honor rarely comes before humility.
May God bless you!
John Wolf
BA Church Education Ministries, Simpson University 2005
AS Business Computer technology specialist, Canada College 2000
--
http://johnw.freeshell.org/bible/
Heb. 4:12-For the word of God is living and
active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes
of the heart.
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