Always Learning

From the Pastor’s Desk:

Always Learning

Recently, a scripture verse from I Peter filled my mind.  The passage that kept coming to my mind was ‘Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.’  (I Peter 2:2-3)   I do not know why this passage kept coming to my mind, but I sat with this passage and what it means.

As I reflected upon this passage, one of the themes that kept coming to me was the call to long for that spiritual milk—for me this involves always seeking to learn and study God’s Word.  It can be easy to become complacent in our study of God’s Word (particularly as a pastor)—for sometimes it is easy to think ‘I know this’ or ‘I have read this before.’  Instead, I need to always long for or crave to learn and seek God’s Word (this pure spiritual milk).  I need to always be asking myself—what do passages say to me today.  To always be learning and growing.

I remember what some of my seminary professors would say.  They would state that it is a terrible thing to be able to know when a person graduated from seminary by looking at the books in their office.  This may not make much sense to you.  But too often pastors do not always keep up with current scholarship and current issues within the church.  So what happens is that the books they have are all from when they were in seminary.  If you have been in my office, you know that this is not true for me.  I enjoy books and reading (and have many, many books).  I work at balancing reading some about the Bible, theology and pastoral ministry with actually reading the Bible.

What does longing for spiritual milk mean for you? 
 
How do you continue to learn and grow in your faith life?  
Do you use a devotional like ‘Christ in our Home’ or ‘Portal of Prayer’ (both available at the welcome center)?  
Do you read the Bible daily? 
Do you systematically read through parts (the Psalms, Gospels, etc.) or the whole Bible?  
Do you read Christian authors that help you in understanding scripture and theology?  
Do you listen to podcasts that deal with spirituality and/or the Bible?   

I encourage you to pray about where God may be calling you to learn and be engage with God’s Word.  A couple of opportunities to consider:

Attend the Adult Sunday School Class.  I will be starting a new study in September looking at Land in the Bible.  How the land plays a role in the whole story of God and what it says to us today.  Look for more information in this newsletter.
Attend a group like Ruth Circle, WINGS or the new women’s group that is starting or the Men’s group that meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month.
If there is something you would like to study or learn about, talk with pastor and we can look at beginning a new class or study.

There are all kinds of ways that you can work at longing for spiritual milk, many more than I can list or raise up here.  The important thing is that there is not a perfect or right way, the key is that we engage with the Word in one way or another.