I remember when I graduated for the last time. Finally! I walked across the stage, received my diploma, shook the Dean’s hand, and promised I would never read another book again. I was done.
Famous last words.
Not only was I not done, but I was just getting started. I soon realized all my years in school had prepared me for what would be a lifetime of learning. My education had taught me how to read a book. What was the main point of the book? What arguments were presented and what facts were quoted to prove the arguments? Yes, I learned to check footnotes and look for primary sources, and, if needed, track down those primary sources to make sure the author interpreted those primary arguments correctly. I learned not to trust books without footnotes.
I also learned how much I didn’t know. I didn’t know much about organizational leadership. So, I had to start attending workshops and reading about organizational systems, administrative structures, how to lead an effective meeting, time management, and leadership communication. I know some people are frustrated when the church uses corporate leadership practices, but people seem to thrive best in a well-structured and focused system, whether or not that is a church or a business. Most church systems are dysfunctional and hinder the kingdom work to which the church is called.
I had to read a lot about understanding people. For instance, in preaching class, we learned a lot about how to grasp the essential message of each biblical text. We didn’t spend as much time talking about how to understand the people who would be sitting in the congregation. A good preacher, I found out, spends as much time thinking about how their congregation will hear the message as they do thinking about how they will preach their message.
I had to learn how to talk about money and how to effectively budget to support the church’s ministry. I had to read up on sexual abuse, PTSD, addiction issues, marital problems, and mental health. I had to learn about human development, discipleship, and human flourishing. I had to be trained on new software packages and how to design an effective PowerPoint presentation. (Yes, you can make PowerPoint work). I had to learn about the web, social media, and how to talk about the gospel in 140 characters.
In short, my education didn’t stop when I graduated. In a lot of ways, I was just getting started.
Growing old isn’t so much an accumulation of years as it is the result of the decision to stop learning, to stop growing and adapting. We grow too comfortable in our habits, too accustomed to our way of doing things. We get lazy, and we stop learning new things. Sometimes, we don’t realize we’re making these decisions. We just go home, sit down in our recliner, and we never get up.
When we do that, we decide to die. We all know there’s more than one way to die. One way is to stop breathing. The other way is to stop living.
So, get a pen and a piece of paper and write down what you want to learn. Do you want to learn how to work with photographs on your computer? I bet your nearby community college has a class just for that. Want to learn to play chess? Find the nearest chess club. Of course, the chess club is filled with young people, but trust me, the young adults love it when someone new wants to learn to play.
Take art lessons. Learn to play the piano. Trace the path of Lewis and Clark. Write poetry. Teach a young married Sunday School class. Learn to bake. Use your smartphone to make a movie of your life. Run for political office.
God has placed us in this great, big, beautiful universe and called each of us to a life-long adventure of discovering. The more we learn about our universe, the more we learn about the God who created it. I’ve always been fascinated by God’s decision to introduce Himself to us as an artist. You would think Exodus, the story of salvation, would be the first book of the Bible. It’s not. Genesis, the book of beginnings is first. We’re told about creation before we learn about our salvation. God wants us to know Him as an artist first.
Why? Because artists love to show you their work. Learning is how God shows us His creation. It’s His way of showing us Himself.
So, grab your books. Class is in session. Our topic is as infinite as God Himself.
