Today’s Readings: Psalm 21; Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Matthew 9:14-17; Colossians 2:1-7; Psalm 92
I’m someone who generally enjoys learning in a classroom environment. I love the opportunity to explore possibilities and try things on for size. In the 25 years I spent in the classroom (13 as a student in the K-12 system, 4 as an undergraduate, 3 as a graduate student, and 5 as a teacher), there was really only one activity I came to despise. It was an activity that we did at the end of my formal studies in seminary; that activity was called a verbatim. Let me tell you what a verbatim is. In our pastoral care classes we would have to select an incident that had happened to us in a church setting; we would then write out the flow of the encounter as if it were a script of the incident. Other students in the class would then read through the verbatim and tear it apart – analyzing what you could/should have said/done better in the encounter. While I understood the purpose of the activity, I hated the way verbatims often got played out. People in the classroom who knew nothing of the individuals involved got to sit back in judgment and conclude what should have happened. The individuals who sat in judgment usually had no clue about the larger context of the encounter. Everything seemed so easy when you removed the context for the situation and treated the pastoral encounter as if it were a mathematical equation (i.e. if Person A says this, then Person B should say that). If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life in parish ministry, it’s that each and every pastoral care encounter is different – even if two people are dealing with the same issue. So what got me on my anti-verbatim soapbox? Today’s reading from Colossians. The author of today’s passage wrote: “You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!” (Colossians 2:7 from The Message). That verse reminded me that while it’s easy to sit around in a classroom setting and talk about how one’s faith ought to get lived out, it’s absolutely essential to move out of the theoretical mode and into the practical mode where you finally get the opportunity to put your beliefs into action - for it’s ultimately through the realm of action where most folks really encounter the Gospel in life-changing ways. As you start your New Year today, I would encourage you to look for more ways to put your beliefs into action this year. You just might be surprised at what happens in 2009 if you do that. Til next year…
I’m someone who generally enjoys learning in a classroom environment. I love the opportunity to explore possibilities and try things on for size. In the 25 years I spent in the classroom (13 as a student in the K-12 system, 4 as an undergraduate, 3 as a graduate student, and 5 as a teacher), there was really only one activity I came to despise. It was an activity that we did at the end of my formal studies in seminary; that activity was called a verbatim. Let me tell you what a verbatim is. In our pastoral care classes we would have to select an incident that had happened to us in a church setting; we would then write out the flow of the encounter as if it were a script of the incident. Other students in the class would then read through the verbatim and tear it apart – analyzing what you could/should have said/done better in the encounter. While I understood the purpose of the activity, I hated the way verbatims often got played out. People in the classroom who knew nothing of the individuals involved got to sit back in judgment and conclude what should have happened. The individuals who sat in judgment usually had no clue about the larger context of the encounter. Everything seemed so easy when you removed the context for the situation and treated the pastoral encounter as if it were a mathematical equation (i.e. if Person A says this, then Person B should say that). If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life in parish ministry, it’s that each and every pastoral care encounter is different – even if two people are dealing with the same issue. So what got me on my anti-verbatim soapbox? Today’s reading from Colossians. The author of today’s passage wrote: “You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!” (Colossians 2:7 from The Message). That verse reminded me that while it’s easy to sit around in a classroom setting and talk about how one’s faith ought to get lived out, it’s absolutely essential to move out of the theoretical mode and into the practical mode where you finally get the opportunity to put your beliefs into action - for it’s ultimately through the realm of action where most folks really encounter the Gospel in life-changing ways. As you start your New Year today, I would encourage you to look for more ways to put your beliefs into action this year. You just might be surprised at what happens in 2009 if you do that. Til next year…
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