August is the time when most schools start back up. There is the purchasing of new supplies, getting of schedules, gathering clothes, and getting back on the “school schedule”. It is a time when more learning is going to take place. I must admit that after seminary I was a bit burned out on ‘learning’. After decades of the annual push for more growth I was a bit tired. Yet to stop learning is a very dangerous and damaging decision. Instead we need to make the choice to learn more, grow more, and develop more year after year.
So as so many kids, youth and adults who are going back to school this month, what continued learning to you need to do this year? In what areas do you need to focus at this time in your life and career? Perhaps one of these areas is what you need:
(1) Do you need to do some intellectual muscle memory work? Muscle memory is when you repeat a task or skill over and over and so train your body to respond in the desired way more quickly and easily (think athletes, artists, musicians). I think we need to do that intellectually as well. There are some things that are helpful to know almost instinctively. In the church we do this as we teach the Lord’s Prayer, Doxology, or many other things. Do you have something you need to do some repetition work with?
(2) Is there an area of forgotten material that needs to be reviewed? There were things that I was ‘taught’ many years ago that didn’t quite sink in. They still are valuable learnings but unless I take the time to revisit them I will not gain the benefit of really knowing them. How about you? Is there something that you should have learned before but didn’t? It might be in some basic skills in cooking, some repair skills around the house, or ….?
(3) Is there an area of new material that you need to grow in. A few years ago I spend a great deal of time examining the topic of conflict. I looked at causes, possible responses, levels of conflict, cultural issues that impact how we view issues, and more. I had experienced conflict and read brief thoughts on it before, but I had never taken the time and given the effort to learn about its complexity and ways to deal with it most effectively. Do you have an area like that? Is now the time to take the time to start the learning on it?
Learning in our world is certainly a lifelong need. So what will the coming year bring for you? What learning will your help bring to your congregation? Perhaps we can help through our resources or online courses. We have free presentations on many relevant topics (theology, Bible, Spiritual growth, stewardship, conflict, administration, Goal Setting & Evaluating, and more) waiting online for you or your congregation.