Asking the Questions

I recently read a very interesting book, entitled "Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling", by Edgar H. Schein.  No, this isn't a theology book.  If we classified it, it might be more of a business management style book at heart.  However, the author does indeed raise some very intriguing points that I believe we are wise to think about as Christians.

Basically, Dr. Schein writes about how we live in a "tell" society.  Think about your conversations.  Don't we spend more time telling others what we think, what we have seen, what our thoughts are, and the like, rather than asking what others think, or how others percieve things?  Truth be told, I have even seen this in myself, where I am part of a conversation, and as someone else is talking, I'm already thinking about the next thing I want to say rather than listening to what they are saying.  I really do believe this is one of the signs of being raised in a "tell" culture.

Instead, what Dr. Schein proposes is to be more inquiring when it comes to conversations in any and all situations.  Instead of a "tell" culture, he calls for developing an "ask" culture.  Okay, so what does that look like.  Imagine having a conversation where the other person genuinely is interested in what you are saying, is asking questions that show that they are truly paying attention, and aren't interested in telling you what they think or what their experiences are.  That would be something like what Dr. Schein would propose.

Sounds good, right?  Who doesn't want others to have a genuine interest in what they say or think?  And here is where I think this connects with our Christian faith.  Instead of "telling" others what we have that they are missing, or "telling" them where they are straying from God's will and design, what if we asked questions with a genuine interest in discovering what led them to the place in life that they happen to be in?  We might discover a lot of connection points with our God and our Christian faith.  We might discover that they aren't as far "out there" as we might think.  We may even discover that, since we have shown a genuine interest in them, they may also return the favor and show interest in us.  What possibilities might that hold for us to speak of our Savior, our God, and our faith?

As I read through the Gospels, I find Jesus asking a lot of questions and listening intently to the people He conversed with.  In this instance, I would suggest that scientific study and research has done nothing more than uncovered what God has shown us all along.  Listening and building the relationship will go much further than pretty much any form of us "telling" them what they are missing.  And who knows?  That just might create a new relationship between that person and their Savior, Jesus, as we open our ears and show genuine interest in others more.

Renewing the spirit, the mind, and the body

From Acts 3:19-20, "Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,..."

You haven't heard from me for a few days.  In part, this is because I have been undertaking a bit of a time of refreshing.  So often in life, we find that our particular careers and vocations make us hit the ground running, and I have experienced some of that over the past several months.  It isn't that we dislike our work, or that we find it burdensome, but rather, we discover that you can be doing something you love, but as you give your best and your all to it, every once in a while you need to have some time to just sit back and take a brief break from it.

My break is in the form of a class that I am taking.  But more than that, it's a time away from the hustle and bustle that comes with my chosen vocation (or maybe I should say the vocation chosen for me).  Time away doesn't mean that I'm uninvolved, but rather, that I take the opportunity for a bit of renewal of the mind, the spirit, and the body.  In fact, a couple of days ago, I found it very refreshing to simply sit in a church building for a time of prayer and of Bible reading.  In a way, it truly seemed as though the Spirit was doing some measure of cleansing of my mind and my spirit, which truly did cause my body to feel refreshed as well.  I hope to do that a few more times.

God's Spirit refreshes our spirits.  But more than that, I also believe that He does the same thing to our minds and our bodies.  Sometimes we need to feel the burdens of our vocations lifted for a time, to be re-invigorated for what God prepares ahead for us.  That refreshing then allows us to re-discover the joy of our vocation, as well as a greater focus.  For me, the academic portion of it also serves to sharpen my mind, which provides endless benefits when it comes to ministry.

When the voice hides THE VOICE

This past weekend was an interesting one.  Over the past week or more, there have been quite a few wildfires out here in the west, and the smoke has invaded our mountain valley.  In addition, we had a large quantity of hay bales catch on fire, adding even more smoke and trapping it all inside our sheltered little valley.

This has had a dramatic effect on me.  It started with my sinuses, and then slowly worked its way down to my throat, inevitably landing in my voicebox.  Thus, over the weekend, I could hardly be heard when I spoke.  I wasn't sick or anything like that, I simply couldn't talk. 

Now, for most people, this might not be that big of an issue, but when you are in the profession I'm in, if Sunday rolls around and you can't talk, you have some issues.  After all, public speaking is part of the job description.  But as I stood before everyone and attempted my best efforts to speak, I also was reminded that it's not my voice that everyone gathers to hear.  It's God's voice that they need to hear.

I think that's one of the things that I need the occasional reminder of.  I know it sounds very simple, and yet, I have come to see that it's also a pretty challenging thing to do.  I am to be God's voice to His people.  That means that I speak what God says to His people.  When I find myself wanting to spend more time talking about things that I have a few thoughts on, I need the reminder that the people don't need to hear my thoughts.  They need to hear what God says about it.

I think most people in my profession understand this, but also find it challenging to consistently practice.  We all have our issues or topics that we enjoy spending more time on, or our personal favorite sins to rail against.  Keeping the focus off of our voice, and instead, letting God's voice be the one that shines through may seem fairly cut and dried, but my experience is such that it actually takes a lot of work to do.

In the end, this weekend served as a great reminder that it's not my voice that needs to be heard.  God's voice is the one that needs to resound.  It's His voice that needs to declare what is right and wrong, how we stand before Him as sinful and yet forgiven.  It's God's voice that needs to speak when it addresses our lives and what we do with them.  Yes, I may speak what He has to day, but when I start finding that I'm a bit too interested in the subject, or in crafting clever words to say, I need the reminder that I need to step aside and make sure that it's God's voice that rings through loud and clear, not mine.

Discerning God's Will and Design

One question that Christians may face as they live their lives is the question of what God would have them do at particular times in life.  Many Christians face that question when it comes to things such as finding out who their spouse will be, or what to study in college, or whether God wants this particular job for me.  We want to know what God's will is when it comes to such things, and may even be tempted to believe that God has one perfect piece of the puzzle for each of these that we "should" choose.

One of the things we are trying to do when we ask that type of question is to discern what God's will is.  God is the one who has created this world, and everything happens in this world according to His will.  (Yes, I know there are those who will disagree with that statement, but anything less means God is not all-knowing, all-powerful, and that all authority has NOT been given to Jesus, which would make Jesus out to be a liar.)  So part of what Christians mean when they ask this question is, what is God's will in this situation?

I find this to be an intriguing question, not so much because I think there are black and white answers, but because it shows us that much of what God does in this world is "hidden" from our view.  What I mean by that is, the answers are not just plainly obvious in front of us.  If they were, then none of us would ever marry the "wrong" person, or take the "wrong" job, or study the "wrong" field.  We wouldn't find ourselves asking what the "right" thing is to do in any given situation. 

God's will and design covers so much more than I can talk about in one single post, so over the next few days, you'll probably be reading some of my thoughts on this matter.  But more than anything, I hope that even this preliminary set of thoughts gets you to thinking about those parts of your life where you try to discern God's will.  How do you go about doing that?  My hope would be that you are driven back to God's Word, the Bible, to see what He might have to say.  No, you aren't going to find the name of your future spouse in there, or what career He would have you take.  But what you will find is that He has a lot to say about how He designed you to live, and how He wills you to live your life.  Then, with that background, you can start looking at the various options put before you in life to see which opportunities allow you to best live according to that will and design. 

Where do you find strength?

"The LORD is my strength and my shield..."  Psalm 28:7

There are many kinds of strength in the world.  There is physical strength, measured by muscles and how much physical exertion a person can expend.  There is mental strength, where a person can focus their thoughts and overcome obstacles that get in the way.  There is military strength, measured by the amount of people, weapons, and capacity for destruction.  There is influential strength, measured by how far a person's influence goes in the world.

But where do all of these kind of strengths come from?  And when you find yourself weary in one way or another, where do you turn to draw more strength?

The Psalm writer of Psalm 28 made it clear what he saw as his source of strength.  It is the LORD his God.  This is also a theme throughout the whole Bible.  God is our source of strength.  And yet, since God rarely steps in directly in ways that we can visibly see, that may cause us to wonder how He is indeed our strength.

How is God our physical strength?  Well, He is the one who created the body in which we live.  He is the one who has given us food for nutrition, and the means of physical exertion, which builds up our strength.  Though we may be the ones who lift the weights or run the miles, we're doing it all by relying on God to provide what we need in order to do all of that.

How is God our mental strength?  He has given us minds that are unique and creative.  He gives us the ability to focus on tasks, and even the ability to refine our focus.  He has made our minds in such a way that we can think about things in a different way, and we can try new ways to figure out how to solve problems and challenges, and He even gives us the minds of other people to help us grow mentally.

How is God our influential strength?  He is the one who gives us the ability to process thoughts and put together words that have an impact on other people.  He gives us the ability to learn and grow in how to do this, so that we are able to make better sense to others.  He gives us the ability to listen and learn what other people need, so that we are able to respond to their needs as they share them, and not what we determine are their needs.  And then, when He works through His people, God gives His Spirit to change hearts and draw people to Himself.

So much of how we acquire strength traces back directly to God.  That is why we today can still echo those words of the Psalmist.  The LORD is my strength and my shield!

Speak Before You Think? I Think Not!

One of the regular tasks I have in my career is to work with 7th and 8th grade students, teaching them about some of the more important components of the Christian faith.  As part of our classes together, we spend a good deal of time reading the Bible and simply trying to figure out what it says.

Every once in a while, we will finish reading a section of the Bible, and I will ask the students what they just read.  It always amazes me when they give an answer that is completely unrelated to the Bible reading we just completed.  I really try to stress to them that pre-packaged answers, given without thought, do no one any good.

Yet, I have experienced that more than just in working with these young people.  I am constantly amazed at how few people really seem to think before they speak.  There seems to be an amazing lack of discipline when it comes to putting thoughts into words.  I've been part of conversations that seem to go all over the place, with no rhyme or reason on how the person got to the next subject.  Yes, I recognize that we all make some kind of connection with our thoughts in our mind, but that seems to be exactly the thing that I'm talking about.  It seems that we should think about that thought, and its place in the conversation, rather than just blurting it out.

In fact, I would dare say that mental discipline begins with the skill of listening.  Our society and culture has become much more oriented toward speaking rather than listening.  Developing the discipline of listening to what the other person says is one of the first steps toward building a greater mental discipline.

Today, when you find yourself in conversation with others, I suggest that you listen intently to what they are saying, and then focus the conversation on what they are talking about, and not the brilliant idea or thought that just popped into your head.  I truly believe that the first step of developing greater mental discipline is simply to listen to the other person, and then, to follow their lead.  Try it, and if you'd like to share your experience, I would love to listen to you and hear all about it!