Thursday, July 21, 2011

July 21 Be a Building Block

I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Paul is bringing this letter to a close, and I love it that as he ends the letter with admonitions and advice, he also commends them...he affirms that he sees more than what they lack. He has caught them doing something good and tells them so.

I have been involved in the training of college residence hall staffs since 1984, and I often tell my staff to catch students doing something good. Build them up by recognizing what they are doing right or well, and they are much more likely to be able to hear your counsel where they need to learn something.

In this part of the letter Paul tells these young believers to encourage and build each other up. Remember, these are very young believers since the church itself was pretty young at the time of this writing. Paul believed these early and young Christians had something to offer each other...and it certainly was not going to be the advice we too often give, "Read your Bible more. Read other writers...Listen to tapes. Memorize the Word." - meaning the Bible. What we have to remember is that none of these things were even available to the early Church in the way they are to us today.

So how do we encourage and edify each other? Well, to be heard, it is helpful to have relationships. You have to have demonstrated that you do care about other people, and not for how they help you, but for who they are as a child of God and your sibling in the faith.

Then, remember we are self-centered people; really we are. And if you want someone to understand or learn something, you have to get them involved in the process. You cannot simply give them a lecture or a set of notes and expect them to believe they need this material. Yes, God sometimes uses those methods, but be sure it is in the minority of situations that this works.

So what does work? I think, and loads of experts support this, ask them questions. Get them thinking about what they need. In the 18th century, leaders of small study groups (not pastors) used the following four questions as the focus of what we might call Bible study or small groups: "How doth your soul prosper?" or how have you been doing in your personal walk with Christ this last week?

The second questions was "What advantage have you take of the means of grace?" or what are you doing to facilitate your own spiritual growth? The third question, "What opportunities have you had for service and witness and how did you avail yourself of them?" gave the group members an opportunity to share the blessings and challenges of ministry (serving others). The final question was this: "What temptations have you faced and how did you overcome them?" Do you see how even just the final question could bless the participants? As you shared how you were tempted and what helped you overcome, you are encouraging (by your transparency) and edifying (by sharing what worked for you and could well work for others) the body.< The four questions are found in One Conversation at a Time by Henderson, p67-68>

Sometimes I think we fear Bible studies and even witnessing or talking to other believers about spiritual things because we might be put on the spot and we might not have the right answer. But we don't have to have the right answer. The Holy Spirit will guide believers; John says he will teach you all things (John 14:26). And it all boils down to loving others and asking very simple questions.

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